What's happening: The Ocean Navigator will dock at the Houghton pier Thursday morning, marking the first of two visits this summer. The 286-foot Ocean Navigator, part of the American Queen Voyages fleet, will be the only Great Lakes cruise ship visiting Houghton this season. The city recently completed a $5 million pier to accommodate cruise ships; the pier also serves as a town square and event venue.
Employees from the city of Houghton, Visit Keweenaw and the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce will greet passengers and American Queen Voyages staff as they visit the city.
The cruise: The ship visits the Keweenaw Peninsula on its seventh day of a 16-day
cruise, hitting popular Great Lakes destinations like Marquette, Duluth and
Thunder Bay, Ontario. The ship was built in 2001 and refurbished in 2019. It houses five decks and can accommodate a capacity of 202 guests. Eighty-four crew members man the ship on its voyages and the ship visits Houghton as part of a Chicago roundtrip.
What will they visit: Passengers on the Ocean Navigator will enjoy the Houghton waterfront and can explore the city. They have the opportunity to visit the Quincy Mine, the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum and the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw.
Where to watch: You can watch the Ocean Navigator come into the canal after 8:00 a.m. and it plans to depart for Duluth by 5 p.m.
Cruising the Great Lakes: The Houghton day visitors – hundreds of passengers on any given ship – are part of a growing number of vacationers boarding cruise ships to explore the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Great Lakes cruise industry has experienced an uptick in business after the pandemic. Other Upper Peninsula ports include Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba and Mackinac Island.
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