Here’s a ship-by-ship accounting of Great Lakes cruises for 2001. Information is organized from the largest vessel to the smallest according to cabin count. We include a few words about the ship’s origin and personality, sailing dates, double-occupancy prices and contact phones and Web sites.
Port charges, taxes and shore excursions may be additional. Some dates already are close to selling out.
Columbus: 205 cabins
German upscale. Four sailing dates in 2001: Seven-night cruises depart Aug. 29 Toronto-Chicago; Sept. 5 Chicago-Chicago; Sept. 22 Windsor-Chicago; Sept. 29 Chicago-Windsor. Prices range $1,098-$4,696. A 10 percent discount is given for bookings made by Dec. 15. Contact Great Lakes Cruise Co., Ann Arbor, Mich.: 888-891-0203; www.greatlakescruising.com.
Arcadia: 139 cabins
Greek refurbished. Twenty-one sailing dates in 2001: Three-night itineraries depart July 4, July 29, Aug. 15, Sept. 5, Sept. 26. Four-night itineraries depart June 12, June 30, July 21, July 25, Sept. 1, Sept 22. Seven-night itineraries depart June 16, June 23, July 14, Aug. 1, Aug. 18, Aug. 25, Sept. 8, Sept. 29, Oct. 6, Oct. 13.
All cruises embark from Windsor, Ontario, and disembark in Detroit–with one exception, a four-night Toronto-Detroit voyage departing June 12. Three-night cruises range from $430-$770. Four-night cruises range from $570-$1,030. Seven-night cruises range from $995-$1,795. Contact Great Lakes Cruises Inc., Waukesha, Wis.: 877-777-4524; www.greatlakescruises.com.
Cape May Light: 114 cabins
American, new construction in “golden era” style. Eight sailing dates for 2001: Seven-night cruises embark July 21, Aug. 4, Aug. 18 Quebec City, Quebec-Buffalo, N.Y.; July 14, July 28, Aug. 11 Buffalo-Quebec City. Fourteen-night cruise embarks June 30 Halifax, Nova Scotia-Buffalo; Aug. 25 Buffalo-Halifax. Seven-night cruises range from $2,985-$4,285. Fourteen-night cruises range from $5,585-$8,185. Contact Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, New Orleans: 800-215-0805; www.coastalvoyages.com.
Nantucket Clipper: 51 cabins
American, mid-’80s resort casual. Four sailing dates for 2001: Fourteen-night cruises embark June 9 Halifax, Nova Scotia-Rochester, N.Y.; Aug. 18 Rochester-Halifax; June 30 Quebec City-Chicago; July 14 Chicago-Quebec City. Prices for Halifax-Rochester/Rochester-Halifax range from $3,990-$6,160. Prices for Quebec City-Chicago/Chicago-Quebec City range from $4,150-$6,580. Contact Clipper Cruise Line (INTRAV), St. Louis, Mo.: 800-325-0010; www.clippercruise.com.
Le Levant: 45 cabins
French luxury yacht. Two sailing dates in 2001: June 3-11 Toronto-Chicago; Sept 10-18 Chicago-Toronto. Both sailings are for an eight-night trip, one night on land and seven nights on the ship. Prices range from $4,043-$5,801. A 10 percent discount is given for bookings made by Dec. 15. Contact Great Lakes Cruise Co., based in Ann Arbor, Mich.: 888-891-0203; www.greatlakescruising.com.
Niagara Prince: 42 cabins
American, casual, 6-year-old. Eight sailing dates for 2001: Fourteen-night cruises embark June 6, Sept. 10 Chicago-Warren, R.I.; embark July 5 Warren-Chicago. Six-night cruises embark July 29, Aug. 5, Aug. 19, Aug. 26, Sept. 2 Chicago-Chicago. Prices range from $2,430-$3,370 for 14 nights; $1,080-$1,560 for six nights. Contact American Canadian Caribbean Line, Warren, R.I.: 800-556-7450; www.accl-smallships.com.
Georgian Clipper: 9 cabins
Canadian, Georgian Bay and North Channel specialist. Numerous 2001 departures for two-night, four-night and six-night cruises embark/disembark Parry Sound, Ontario, June 22-Sept. 2. Prices range from $390-$1,150. Several fall-color departures for two-night and three-night cruises embark/disembark Penetang, Ontario, Sept. 23-Oct. 5. Prices range from $350-$480. Contact Heritage Cruise Line, Barrie, Ontario: 888-271-2628; www.heritagecruise.com.
Also to/from Chicago . . .
The Niagara Prince sails New Orleans-Chicago on 14-night cruises departing April 19 and May 21. Chicago-New Orleans embarks May 5. Prices range from $2,280-$3,170. Contact American Canadian Caribbean Line, Warren, R.I.: 800-556-7450; www.accl-smallships.com.
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Toni Stroud’s e-mail address is tstroud@tribune.com.
