ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The City of Escanaba is once again preparing to welcome cruise ships to its shore.
This spring and summer, Escanaba will welcome cruise ships to Little Bay de Noc 39 times.
“We’re starting on May 3,” said Vickie Micheau, Executive Director of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce. “Hopefully the ice will be off the bays by then, so we won’t have any problems with that. Then, it’ll end at the end of October.”
Returning this year will be Victory Cruise Lines and Pearl Seas Cruises. American Cruise Lines will join them for its first season here. Also new this year, passengers on four of the stops will stay overnight.
“We’re noticing that the interest by Great Lakes cruise lines continue to expand, and the investment continues,” Micheau said.
Cruise lines are crafting itineraries for their passengers. Micheau says their focus is on exploring the history, arts, and sweet treats that make Escanaba what it is.
“While the cruise lines look for information and input from our community, they have done a lot of market research,” she said. “They know what their guests are looking for in shore experiences, and they’re making sure that they accommodate what their interests are.”
In the past, locals who know the area best have served as tour guides. This year, some cruise lines have hired those local guides.
“They’re investing in the guides, in training, in writing the scripts for our guides,” said Micheau. “As we look at the scripts that they have prepared, they all say, ‘Our goal is to make sure that our guests learn something about Delta County that they didn’t know before.’ I think that probably what happens for us is we learn something about the community that outside eyes make us aware of. That’s been very positive for us.”
As most Escanaba residents are well aware, extensive construction is set to begin on Ludington Street later this month. However, the chamber says it won’t interfere with the visitors’ experience.
“The cruise lines that we’re dealing with, the excursion companies that we’re dealing with have a lot of experience,” Micheau explained. “They navigate around road construction at just about every single one of their ports. We feel confident that they’ve come up with alternate routes that will shine a wonderful light on our community.”
The Chamber believes another season of cruise ships docked on the shoreline will be a great opportunity for the cruise lines, for their passengers, and for Escanaba.
“We have guests that stop here at the Commerce Center, and they ask for information about our community,” said Micheau. “They’re impressed with our hospitality, and we’re thinking that maybe they’ll make a return visit or—who knows—they might end up living here based on how impressed they are with our waterfront community.”
