Ports Envision Growth in Great Lakes Cruises

Ponant’s La Bellot cruise ship docked at Pier Wisconsin in Milwaukee on Sept. 1, 2024. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The total number of cruise ships visiting Milwaukee will decline in 2025, but all you’ll hear from regional partners is optimism about the industry’s future.

“Cruising on the Great Lakes is on a long-term growth trend and 2025 is shaping up to be another very strong season, potentially even record breaking,” said Cruise the Great Lakes tourism director Cathleen Domanico at a press conference Wednesday morning at Discovery World.

The regional association of cruise lines, ports, convention and visitor bureaus and other stakeholders is hosting its multi-day annual meeting in Milwaukee.

“It’s sometimes, as individual states, we tend to be a little bit more competitive, but in this instance, we get to work together to attract international visitors and increase economic impact in the region,” said State of Minnesota tourism director and Great Lakes USA chair Lauren Bennett McGinty.

Cruise the Great Lakes is estimating that 22,000 individual passengers will visit in 2025, up almost 10% from 2024.

Approximately half of those passengers will end up in Milwaukee at some point on their journey. The city, which is building a new $17 million cruise ship terminal, has capitalized on its geographical position to capture turnaround service where one voyage ends and another begins. Turnarounds double the number of passengers and provide an extra economic boost as visitors are likely to spend more money locally.

“By the numbers, 2025 will bring 22 cruise vessel calls, 44 itineraries in Milwaukee, five cruise companies, six different vessels and we’re estimating about 11,000 passengers,” said Port Milwaukee director Jackie Q. Carter.

In February, the port director told the Common Council that 2025 would be down from 2024’s near-record-total of 13,568 passengers, but that the port is already projecting growth for 2026 when the new dock comes online. A total of 18,486 passengers are expected in 2026, driven in large part by Viking Cruises scheduling both of its Seaway-max-sized vessels in the Great Lakes and Victory Cruise Lines dramatically expanding its presence in Milwaukee.

“We believe that the investment in the cruise dock is one of the pieces that we need to really solidify our position as a Great Lakes premier cruise destination,” she said. “We think that our investment will take us from good to great.”

“With Lake Michigan at our doorstep, our city is uniquely positioned to offer vibrant and immersive experiences that capture the essence of this region, and that’s why partnerships like these are so critical,” said Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith.

In 2024, the Pabst Mansion attributed $76,000 in revenue to cruise ship passengers and the Harley-Davidson Museum estimated more than 5,000 of its visitors came as a result of cruise itineraries. Passengers are typically offered multiple excursions.

The cruise line representatives present Wednesday said they like Milwaukee, and even feature the city prominently in their marketing materials, but at least one of them isn’t rushing to use the new cruise ship dock.

“This is going to be our fifth year coming to Milwaukee,” said Pearl Seas operations manager Kristen Lambert. The company operates the 200-passenger Pearl Mist vessel and likes the dock it currently uses.

“This is like the home of the Pearl Mist,” said Lambert while standing less than a football field away from the Pier Wisconsin dock for which the company has a 20-year lease. “Just the location of the pier itself is perfect; very quick walking or Uber ride or taxi Downtown and just visually, it’s beautiful, especially when the ship is actually at the pier… It’s just a perfect location for a small ship of our size and it’s just super convenient and very close to anything that our guests want to see as they’re enjoying Milwaukee.”

The Pearl Mist will make three turnaround visits to Milwaukee in 2025.

A new company is also entering the market, with two vessels from a now-defunct line.

Victory Cruise Lines will visit Milwaukee three times in 2025 for turnaround visits. That’s scheduled to grow to more than 30 in 2026. Each of its vessels, Victory I and Victory II, can carry up to 190 passengers.

Both Victory and Pearl Seas cater primarily to American tourists from outside the Great Lakes region.

A Victory representative said many are in their 70s and looking for a way to see the country.

“It’s just a really intimate feel, not only on board our ship, but in the smaller ports that we’ve visited as well,” said Lambert of the Pearl Mist expeditions.

Ten-night Victory cruises between Milwaukee and Toronto are listed at $7,300 and currently discounted to $5,000. Pearl Seas lists a 15-night cruise from Milwaukee to Quebec City for $13,480.

Viking, which operates the much larger Octantis and Polaris vessels, can carry up to 378 passengers on each of its vessels and will ship from an industrial inner harbor dock to the lakeside cruise ship pier next year. Its ships cannot dock in many places the smaller ships can. Its lowest price Milwaukee cruises are eight-day trips that start at approximately $6,000. A 69-day cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Milwaukee starting in February 2026 is listed at $53,000.

The Ocantatis, said Carter, will kick off Milwaukee’s cruise season on April 28 when it makes its first call of the year. In addition to Pearl Seas and Victory, two other cruise ship companies, Ponant and Hapag Lloyd, are scheduled to visit the city.

When it comes to Wisconsin, vessels don’t only stop in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Anne Sayers promoted the success Algoma and Green Bay are seeing. “As always, travelers can expect Wisconsin’s signature hospitality, unexpected communities, and an overall memorable experience, and we can’t wait to welcome them as they travel Wisconsin,” said the tourism secretary.

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