Looking for a cruise that no one you know is likely to have done before? Check out what’s being promoted as the Superior Inside Passage.
No, it’s not a route through the islands along the west coast of Canada on the way to Alaska– Let’s hear it for Terrace Bay, Rossport, Schreiber, Red Rock, Nipigon and Thunder Bay, in Ontario.
You heard that right. Over the past two years, the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition has been investigating the potential for expedition cruise ships to visit the bays and islands along the North Shore Archipelago, east of Thunder Bay.
“It’s a very nature-based experience. There are hiking routes, scenic kayaking between the islands and potential for zodiac touring to view the wildlife on the islands,“ that includes wolves and caribou, said Stephen Burnett, executive director of the coalition.
The appeal is for a new generation of mature, yet active, cruisers, looking for new itineraries that are adventure and experientially focused, he says. “It’s not just see and go home; we’re talking about people that have an adventure mindset and want to meet local people, experience life as a local and hear in-depth lectures on board about the history.”
The coalition, along with Parks Canada, has interested three cruise operators who are investigating the logistics of setting up a North Shore Inside Passage route, he says.
The northern Superior communities have developed because of the shore’s protected anchorages. Terrace Bay and Rossport offer hiking and kayaking opportunities, while Red Rock and Nipigon have cliffs decorated with pictographs—ancient rock paintings visible from the water–along with opportunities to experience Indigenous culture at Red Rock First Nation, Burnett notes.
Shore excursion attractions include abandoned silver mines, the legendary Sleeping Giant formation, spectacular waterfalls, historic lighthouses, and a number of established nature hiking trails.
GLCC is a not for profit international advocacy group to promote and grow the Great Lakes cruise industry, Burnett says. “We aren’t running our own cruises, we provide a portal for cruise operators to find all the people they need to know, including the directors of tourism and marine agents and suppliers for food and fuel. “Once we get this going, we move back and are still there to help advise them.”
Adding the Superior Inland Passage route would boost the number of cruise passengers visiting the lakes, which is relatively small but growing fast, Burnett says. Now at about 12,000 passengers annually, Great Lakes cruising is seeing substantial growth each year and the GLCC projects the total will grow to 18,000 annually in the 2020s.
One of the biggest cruise expansions in the lakes has been Victory Cruise Lines whose 220-passenger Victory I and Victory II spend the summer season between May and October doing itineraries as long as two weeks between Montreal or Toronto and Chicago. The Victory II is offering a Lake Superior itinerary in 2020 to or from Thunder Bay, with stops in Duluth, Marquette, Houghton and Sault Ste. Marie.
