Table Of Content
Join Viking for a unique voyage across the historic waterways of all five of the majestic Great Lakes. Experience culture-rich urban centers and admire the awesome power of thundering Niagara Falls. Explore the granite islands and sheltered inlets of Georgian Bay and traverse the famous Soo Locks. Study the aquatic ecosystems of the lakes as you journey and venture into the dense boreal forests that line the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
Soo Locks Are a Highlight on a Viking Great Lakes Cruise
On each voyage, passengers will witness (weather permitting) at least one weather balloon launch and, in Exploration Central, watch as the balloon's transmitter sends back wind, temperature and pressure data from altitudes that can reach 18 miles. Lectures routinely take place, mostly on subjects related to the Great Lakes and the geology, history, and wildlife there, in the ship's high-tech Aula theater, which offers expansive 270 views thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a giant 4K screen. Mackinac Island, MI, a completely car-free throwback to simpler times, is easy to navigate on foot, in a horse-drawn carriage, or on a rented bicycle, which can be used to ride the 8.2 miles perimeter around the island in about 1.5 hours. From the fudge-forward downtown, it is a 20-minute hike to the grounds of the famed Grand Hotel or a $7 ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Rides on all these ‘toys’ are included with the cruise and the crew takes them out whenever possible. We enjoyed our zodiac rides to and from excursions and loved exploring in the SOB, which launches from a slipway inside “The Hangar” and has individually suspended seats for an incredibly smooth ride at high speeds.
Day by Day
Led by Greg Stephanson, a guide who doubles as a bush pilot, I scramble 152 metres up the craggy ridge for a spectacular view, overlooking Baie Fine to the north and Frazer Bay to the south. Vanstone, her siblings and their partners (ranging in age from 70 to 83) immediately signed up for the expedition. “We’ve all been to different spots in the Great Lakes, and now we are completing the circle,” she says. The trip offered a great way to explore the nuances of some familiar sites and some completely unique ones by kayak and guided hikes. According to Reagan Errera, a research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, guests will have plenty to take in on their cruises to the region. The Viking Great Lakes cruise season runs roughly from April through September, and itineraries have been popular with cruisers, many who are North American guests looking to explore a little closer to home.
Highlights of the Great Lakes & Canada Cruises
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We spent several hours with the staff working to protect the Georgian Bay Biosphere and visited their apiary and turtle lab. In Killarney, still in Georgian Bay, we hiked to a lighthouse and stopped at the Killarney Lodge for selfies with what is said to be the world’s largest canoe paddle, which is 107 feet long and weighs in at 22,000 pounds. We attended Great Lakes-oriented lectures presented by a highly-credential expedition team on everything from discoveries made on an epic 1000-mile hike around Lake Michigan to the geologic history of the region. We toured the working science lab, while others participated in a microplastics workshop where the observations made help inform a global database.
I can no longer see the red and yellow beads on my necklace; instead everything looks green, then grey as we approach 46 metres (150 feet). We submerge alongside the vertical wall of a rock island covered in fine sediment patterned like a tiled floor. The refraction of the light makes it look like you could reach out and touch the wall, though it is several metres away. So, it is a revelation to sail along Georgian Bay’s grayish-pink granite shoreline into the heart of Ontario cottage country aboard Viking Octantis. This 665-foot, Polar Class 6 luxury expedition vessel was built by Viking to explore the world’s most remote regions, redefining ocean cruising.
Here are our impressions of the ship, the onboard science and other offerings, and tips on activities and excursions in ports visited on Viking Octantis Great Lakes sailing. Other new Viking itineraries include a 14-day Patagonian shores and Chilean fjords journey from Santiago, Chile, to Ushuaia, a town that's been lovingly nicknamed "the end of the world." Take a Zodiac ride along the waters of Lake Huron and learn about endangered local wildlife.
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Meena Thiruvengadam is a lifelong traveler and veteran journalist who has visited more than 50 countries across six continents. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Departures, TripSavvy, and other publications. Admire views of the Sleeping Giant; learn about Thunder Bay’s history and heritage.
Additionally, the vessel can stop immediately to allow anyone to capture the "perfect shot." The Polar Class Viking Octantis features 189 staterooms and holds 387 passengers, so you'll never feel crowded onboard. Many ways to unwind include sitting in the Explorers' Lounge, with its amazing views over the lake, and hitting the pool, sauna, or steam room at the Nordic Spa. The luxurious staterooms offer all the comforts of home, from luxury linens to a large flat-screen TV, plus a floor-to-ceiling heated drying closet and 24-hour complimentary room service.
This team shapes your cruise with lectures and on board research opportunities in and outside of the onboard Laboratory. The team also guides passengers in port and ashore and is available to answers questions in the casual setting of Expedition Central. Pulling a cruise ship into the locks and waiting for 22 million gallons of water to raise the water level by 21 feet to match the level on the other side takes a lot of time. But the journey, and history of the locks and the surrounding area, were well-narrated by the expedition team from a perch up on the bridge. Travel to picturesque Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest freshwater lake island. Onboard, passengers are able to have in depth discussions about the science of the area, Errera said.
Viking Great Lakes cruises offer a well-rounded variety of port visits, with big cities like Toronto and Milwaukee and lesser-known spots like the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and Silver Islet in Ontario, Canada. The commonality of all Viking Great Lakes itineraries is that they visit a combination of U.S. and Canadian ports. Viking Octantis and Polaris are sized to perfectly fit through the narrow Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the Canadian province of Ontario. In fact, Viking's newest expedition ships were supposed to be wider, but a change to the blueprints was made when it was determined they would be slightly too big to make it through the canal and transit from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes. Viking's cruises on the Great Lakes have proved so popular, much of the inaugural season on Viking Octantis sold out by April.
Our eight-day expedition begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan. It then sails to the car-free island of Mackinaw, perched between Lakes Michigan and Huron, then on to the rugged beauty of Georgian Bay’s 30,000 islands and unspoiled provincial parks. Better known for its luxurious river cruises in Europe, Viking Cruises is one of few cruise lines offering itineraries on the Great Lakes, the world’s largest body of freshwater. Launched in 2022, Octantis and her sister ship Polaris ply the Great Lakes and the Arctic in summer and the Antarctic in fall and winter. And one of the newest expedition cruise companies in the industry thinks it has the best option for sailing there. Viking Great Lakes cruises are grabbing the attention of travelers eager to try something new.
By registering with Cruise.com you will be able to view these special rates and offers. There are no casinos, formal nights, art auctions or water slides; instead, it is an adults-only ship with classical music, lectures in the auditorium, a well-curated library and inspiring quotes and photographs of explorers throughout the ship. It turns out that an expedition to remote places on a luxury ship is quintessentially Canadian. You don’t have to endure buggy cottages to appreciate the sapphire lakes that are so clear you can see to the bottom, lush forests, and Jack Pine hills of this magnificent wilderness. Casson trail, named for the youngest member of the Group of Seven, who made the raw beauty of this wilderness so famous.
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