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The Great Lakes: A Voyage Through North America's Magnificent Inland Seas

Close to home is one of the great natural wonders of the world. Nearly fifteen thousand years ago, the last of the great glaciers retreated, leaving us with the legacy of the Great Lakes. The lakes are unique, for although they are called lakes, they are in reality vast inland seas that comprise one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. First used as a means of transport by Algonquin and Iroquois tribes, the lakes later became a thriving commercial hub and a heavily traveled waterway with the arrival of European settlers. 

More than fifty years ago, the Great Lakes were the busiest waterway in the world and North America’s treasured summer destination. Today, travelers are rediscovering the charms of the vast, sweet water. On the shores of Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior, welcoming towns have changed little since the 19th century—in marked contrast to much of the North American continent—and warm summer breezes skim through the lush leaves of the woody, rocky coasts.

Aboard the 100-guest Clelia II, with its combination of intimacy and elegance, we are pleased to revive the grandeur and pleasure of a classic Great Lakes cruise.

On this unique itinerary, which sails between American and Canadian ports, travelers will thrill to the thundering of Niagara Falls, witness Native American culture on Manitoulin Island, enjoy Mackinac Island’s bygone Victorian charms and revel in the pristine beauty of the Keweenaw Peninsula, one of North America’s most unspoiled regions. A highlight of our voyage will be transiting the many scenic waterways and locks that connect the Great Lakes as we sail the vast expanse between Lake Ontario and the western shores of Lake Superior.

Itinerary

Day 1 • USA | TORONTO, Ontario, Canada | EMBARK | LAKE ONTARIO

Day 2 • PORT WELLER | WELLAND CANAL | NIAGARA FALLS | LAKE ERIE

Day 3 • AT SEA | LAKE ERIE | LAKE HURON

Day 4 • LITTLE CURRENT, Manitoulin Island, Ontario | LAKE HURON

Day 5 • MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan, United States | LAKE MICHIGAN | LAKE HURON | SOO LOCKS | LAKE SUPERIOR

Day 6 • HOUGHTON, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Day 7 • THUNDER BAY | OLD FORT WILLIAM | THUNDER BAY, Ontario, Canada

Day 8 • DULUTH, Minnesota, United States | DISEMBARK

THEME CRUISES
Several of our Great Lakes cruises will feature special themes that are aimed to enhance your experience aboard Clelia II. These themes are in addition to the lectures and presentations on the history, geology, ecology, and other topics related to the Great Lakes, which will be presented on every cruise. The special themes we will offer are as follows:

FAMILY CRUISES: July 3-10 & July 24-31
These two July cruises will be especially attractive to multi-generational families. Learn about the history of North America’s native peoples, the War of 1812, and the fur trade as well as the region’s natural wonders and feats of engineering. Grandparents and parents will enjoy talks by expert lecturers while children participate in educational and recreational activities designed to bring the Great Lakes alive.

PHOTOGRAPHY: July 17-24 & September 11-18
Improve your photography skills during workshops featuring expert photographers. The July 17th departure will be led by Allen Rokach, photographer, author, and educator. Allen will be on hand to help create memorable photographs of your cruise, lecturing on key elements of travel photography, including digital. His photographs have appeared in National Geographic, and he is the author, with wife Anne Millman, of Focus on Travel: Creating Memorable Photographs of Journeys to New Places. David Graham will lead the September 11th departure. David’s work has been collected by museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, Sarah Lawrence College, and the International Center of Photography in NYC.

MUSIC: June 19-26 & August 28-September 4
Our June 19th cruise features classical and American music performed by an ensemble of exceptional musicians from Carnegie Hall, The Julliard School, and the Weill Music Institute. Our August 28th cruise features concerts of Great American Music from Broadway, Hollywood, and Jazz, along with lectures by musician/music historian Bill Messenger.

TECHNOLOGY: September 4-11
The Welland Canal, part of the celebrated St. Lawrence Seaway, remains to this day a supreme technological achievement. Science and technology buffs will enjoy discussions by William Halal, an aerospace engineer on Apollo, Air Force officer, Silicon Valley manager, and professor.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: September 18-25
This cruise will focus on how to maintain your health. A series of lectures will be led by Dr. Stephen Sinatra, an integrative cardiologist who treats patients with the best of conventional and alternative therapies, including nutrition and stress reduction. Also offered will be a yoga program led by Peggy Cappy, seen nationwide on PBS and whose gentle yoga approach helps reduce stress and create greater ease in body, mind, and spirit.

Click here to view the voyage reading list from Longitude Books.
Click here to view the Family voyage reading list from Longitude Books.

View Detailed Itinerary

Sally Reynolds’s love affair with the Great Lakes began in a childhood spent near Chicago and on numerous trips throughout the region.  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Indiana, she earned a Ph.D. in French at the University of Chicago and became a tenured professor at the University of North Carolina.  Her fluency in French has enabled her to peruse the journals of the explorer Champlain and to research original sources on the lucrative fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans and the battle for North America as empires clashed during the French and Indian War, the War for American Independence, and the War of 1812.  Sally is eager to share on this cruise her fascination with the history of the Great Lakes and its surprising implications for Western civilization.
(September 11, September 18)

Victoria Pebbles has worked on Great Lakes policy for 15 years and on national environmental policy for 25.  She currently directs the Great Lakes Commission’s program on Economy and Society, which addresses clean energy, coastal management, ports and navigation, and tourism and recreation.  Ms. Pebbles has published dozens of articles and technical reports on critical environmental and economic policy issues, including smart growth, land use, sustainable development, coastal zone management, and habitat conservation.  She looks forward to sharing her extensive experience of Great Lakes policy and management with fellow travelers this summer.
(July 10)

Photographer, author, educator, and lecturer Allen Rokach will be joining us to help you create memorable photographs of your journey. He will offer lectures focusing on key elements of travel photography, anticipating the kinds of subjects and lighting conditions we are likely to find at our ports of call. He will include pointers on digital photography. He will also schedule critique sessions for those who want his comments on images taken during the cruise, and he will be available informally to answer questions aboard ship and during land excursions.

An expert at capturing people and places, Allen Rokach has traveled the globe during 30 years of photography assignments and workshops. His photographs are in many collections and have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, and every major photography magazine. For 12 years, he was Director of Photography at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) and spent 10 years as Senior Features and Garden photographer at Southern Living magazine. Allen founded/coordinated the Center for Nature Photography and the Certificate Program in Garden and Nature Photography at The NYBG. He is the author, with his wife Anne Millman, of Focus on Travel: Creating Memorable Photographs of Journeys to New Places, and several other books.
(July 17-24 & September 11-18)

Frederick Stonehouse has authored over 30 books on maritime history, including The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a regional best seller. He has been a consultant for both the U.S. National Park Service and Parks Canada and has appeared as an expert for National Geographic, History Channel and Fox Family.  Recipient of the 2006 Association for Great Lakes Maritime History Award for Historic Interpretation and the Marine Historical Society of Detroit’s “2007 Historian of the Year,” Fred has taught at Northern Michigan University and is a consultant for numerous Great Lakes projects and programs.
(June 19)

Teacher, composer, historian, music critic, author, pianist, and lecturer Bill Messenger will entertain us with the wit and whimsy of 20th-century, popular, American music.  In five presentations he will regale us with anecdotes about and excerpts from the great American music of Broadway, Hollywood, and jazz.  Gershwin, Berlin, Jolson, Scott Joplin, and W.C. Handy along with stars of the theater and the screen all come alive as Messenger traces the evolution of American music from ragtime to jazz.  He has been receiving accolades for years at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, one student commenting on “his total recall of his material” that “kept an electric current flowing through the class.”  A professional pianist since he was a teenager, Messenger has been critically acclaimed as ”a cross between Max Morath and Victor Borge.”
(August 28)

David Graham is a photographer living in three worlds.  He makes his own work, which has been collected by museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. This work has also been published in seven books, including American Beauty, Only in America, Alone Together and the latest Almost Paradise. He is represented by the Gallery 339 in Philadelphia.  David also works in the freelance world, shooting for magazines including The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, Forbes and Details. Additionally, he has shot ad campaigns, most notably for MasterCard.  Lastly, David teaches photography; he has taught at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, Sarah Lawrence College, the International Center of Photography in NYC, and he is a professor in the Media Arts Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA..
(September 11)

Peggy Cappy, an internationally recognized yoga teacher, has taught yoga for 30 years. Best-known for her PBS Yoga for the Rest of Us programs, Peggy enthusiastically trains students and teachers throughout the U.S.  Peggy’s love of yoga has taken her to India many times to advance her study of yoga and meditation. Her desire to help others gain greater ease in body, mind and spirit led Peggy to develop yoga programs that are easy, effective, and enjoyable. Peggy is the author of Yoga for All of Us, an accessible guide to modified yoga poses. And in addition, she has created a guided relaxation audio CD series to enable people to minimize stress and achieve a deep state of relaxation.  During our cruise, Peggy will offer yoga classes and a series of talks on meditation for those who are interested.
(September 18)

Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.C.N., C.N.S., C.B.T., is a board-certified cardiologist, certified bioenergetic psychotherapist, and certified as a nutrition and anti-aging specialist and has more than 30 years of experience in helping patients prevent and reverse heart disease.  He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Nutrition as well as the former chief of cardiology at Manchester Memorial Hospital, where he had previously been Director of Medical Education for 18 years. Dr. Sinatra is also an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.  He is the author of several books. The new updated edition of The Sinatra Solution/Metabolic Cardiology was recently released.  Dr. Sinatra also writes a monthly national newsletter entitled Heart, Health and Nutrition published by Healthy Directions, L.L.C. Dr. Sinatra is a world-wide lecturer and has been a featured guest on many national radio and television shows including CNN, MSNBC, and Fox on Health.
(September 18)

We will also be welcoming aboard performers for our June 19-26 & August 28-September 4 Music voyages.

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:  A limited number of singles are available in Category D - A  for an additional charge of $1,995.  Singles in Categories AA, VS, PHS are available at double the per person, double occupancy rates.

AIRFARE: Airfare is not included in the cost of the program. Please call the Air Travel Desk at toll-free 877-711-9896 or 212-592-1340 to make your reservations, or see your travel agent.

Clelia II Deck Plan

• 7-­night cruise aboard the all-suite, 100-guest Clelia II
• Welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship
• All meals aboard ship, including house wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
• Open bar aboard ship throughout the cruise
• Complete program of tours and excursions
• Educational program of lectures and discussions by accompanying guest lecturers
• Professional Travel Dynamics International tour staff
• Complete pre-departure materials
• Baggage handling and transfers abroad on the designated program departure and arrival dates
• Port and embarkation taxes
• Gratuities to porters, guides and drivers

Day 1
USA | TORONTO, Ontario, Canada | EMBARK | LAKE ONTARIO
Fly from the U.S. to Toronto, Ontario’s dynamic metropolis and the largest urban center in Canada. Overlooking the shores of Lake Ontario, Toronto is Canada’s leading cultural and financial center. Transfer to the port to board Clelia II and sail.

Day 2
PORT WELLER | WELLAND CANAL | NIAGARA FALLS | LAKE ERIE
Arrive this morning at Port Weller, from where Clelia II begins the dramatic passage from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie via the Welland Canal. A series of seven locks designed as a continuous flight of “stairs” lifts Clelia II 324 feet over a distance of 27 miles. From the decks of the ship witness the mechanics of this engineering marvel which took over 100 years to complete. Stay on board for the entire transit or disembark for an excursion to Niagara Falls, one of North America’s most spectacular natural wonders, where we’ll see both the American Falls and Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls.

Day 3
AT SEA | LAKE ERIE | LAKE HURON
Spend a relaxing day at sea as we cruise from Lake Erie to Lake Huron. Enjoy the views from deck as Clelia II makes the 106-mile transit through the Detroit River, sailing past Detroit into Lake St. Clair, and then on to Lake Huron via the St. Clair River. During this passage there is an eight-foot change in elevation between the lakes.

Day 4
LITTLE CURRENT, Manitoulin Island, Ontario | LAKE HURON
Land at Little Current, the main settlement on Manitoulin, the world’s largest freshwater island and one of 30,000 islands that grace Lake Huron. Manitoulin is the home of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, a thriving Native American community that bears the distinction of being the only tribe in Canada never to have ceded title to its land. Drive to the reserve, where a traditional Native American powwow will be held, and visit the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, whose exhibits chronicle the story of the native people of Manitoulin and the north shore of Lake Huron.

Day 5
MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan, United States | LAKE MICHIGAN | LAKE HURON | SOO LOCKS | LAKE SUPERIOR
Arrive in beautiful Mackinac Island, a Victorian-era haven where cars are forbidden and bicycles share the road with horse-drawn carriages. Explore this idyllic island and see the ancient limestone formations that were considered sacred by the Straits Indians and visit the impressive Fort Mackinac, built atop a high cliff by the British in 1780. Also enjoy time at leisure to stroll along streets lined with gingerbread-trimmed buildings, browse in the charming shops, or visit the Victorian Grand Hotel, a landmark of the island. As we sail from Mackinac Island, be out on deck and enjoy breathtaking views as Clelia II sails under the Mackinac Bridge to enter Lake Michigan. Rising 552 feet above the Straits of Mackinac and five miles long, the bridge connects Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. At 8,614 feet, it is the longest two-tower suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. Return to Lake Huron and proceed to the scenic waterways of the North Channel which lead to Sault Ste. Marie. Here Clelia II transits the Soo Locks, the busiest in the world, where some 12,000 ships pass annually.

Day 6
HOUGHTON, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Today Clelia II will navigate through the Portage Waterway, the narrow channel that separates Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula from the mainland, to call at quaint Houghton, built on a bluff facing the channel. Keweenaw witnessed the country’s first mineral rush, when vast deposits of copper were discovered in 1840. By the time the rush was over early in the 20th century, copper had generated enormous wealth, estimated to be ten times more than the money generated by the California Gold Rush. The legacy of the copper rush is still evident today in the abandoned mines, deserted settlements nestled in the forest, and the opulent buildings in the region’s towns. We will explore this historic region, an area not only rich in history, but also a place of extraordinary natural beauty.

Day 7
THUNDER BAY | OLD FORT WILLIAM | THUNDER BAY, Ontario, Canada
The land around the attractive bay where Thunder Bay is sited was first settled by the French in 1679. Shortly after the American Revolution, the British established a settlement, Fort William, which flourished on the booming fur trade. This was the origin of Thunder Bay, now the largest city on Lake Superior. We tour Old Fort William, the impeccably restored fur-trading post and headquarters of the North West Company. Also spend time exploring Thunder Bay, a vibrant frontier town and cultural center.

Day 8
DULUTH, Minnesota, United States | DISEMBARK
Morning arrival in Duluth, Minnesota, whose history is tied to its strategic location as a transportation hub on Lake Superior. Disembark and transfer to the airport for return flights home.

Please note that the June 26, July 10, July 24, September 4, and September 18 voyages sail in the opposite direction.