by Geri Bain for Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
We are out on deck at 7:45 a.m. to watch the weekly weather balloon launch. It’s July but still chilly on a Lake Superior morning. The crew has set out coffee and pastries, upbeat music is playing and the mood is festive as we count down to the launch. Helium carries the balloon up with its precious data collection module, which transmits detailed information back to the U.S. National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. After the launch, guests are invited to the Expedition Central area, where members of the scientific team are on hand to explain and answer questions. It’s exciting to learn that there are synchronous launches collecting data around the world.
This is one of many activities that draws us into the research being performed on-board every day during our 8-day “Undiscovered Great Lakes” cruise, which combines pristine Canadian wilderness with Midwest cities. We set out from Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada and travel through Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan before ending in Milwaukee, WI.
Viking Cruises has two identical expedition ships—Polaris and Octantis. The ships are actual research vessels that partner with Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and other universities and institutes to contribute data to scientific projects. Both offer itineraries of varying lengths from Antarctica to the Arctic. Each sails with a team of scientists, historians and naturalists who lead explorations and on-board hands-on educational activities, offer lively lectures, and share information about nature and citizen science apps such as iNaturalist and iBird.
My husband and I are drawn to this cruise as it allows us to travel together while exploring at our own paces, sharing some activities and splitting up for others. (My ideal trip is almost non-stop activity; my husband enjoys his downtime.) I love that Viking Polaris has its own fleet of kayaks, Zodiacs and submarines and offers guided hikes and bike rides; he is excited by the chance to experience the high-speed, turn-on-a-dime, military-grade Special Operations Boats. We both look forward to basking in the Nordic Thermal Suite of steam, sauna and snow rooms, the heated pool with a relaxing area with massaging jets, and a traditional “badestamp”, a sheltered outdoor hot tub. And we both love the camaraderie of a small ship and low-key nightlife.
Our cruise departs from Thunder Bay, Ontario. We arrive a day early to explore this nature- and history-rich area on our own. Our home base, Delta Hotels Thunder Bay, is a four-star Marriott with pretty views of the lake from our room and its gastropub. Before arriving, I download the local ride share app, uRide, and we find its drivers reliable and personable.
We arrive in time for dinner and a walk along the waterfront which is dotted with sculptures and art installations. We especially like the trail that winds through Spirit Garden, designed in collaboration with the Anishinaabe and other indigenous cultures with sign posts about the nature and culture of the region. On the horizon, we identify the “Sleeping Giant,” a rock formation across the bay that looks like a reclining giant.
The next morning, we take a guided tour of Fort William Historical Park where costumed reenactors recreate daily life at an 1815 fur trading fort. At an Anishinaabe camp, women talk about how they plant and move with the seasons and insulate their wigwams to keep warm in winter. Inside the Fort, we meet a voyageur, a laborer from Quebec who does the backbreaking work of loading and transporting furs, and chat with the wife of the fort’s director who shows us around her house and talks about the difficulties of frontier life. We spend more than two hours here and we’d like to stay longer, but also want to see Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, which has 130-foot tall falls and easy-to-hike trails.
Back in Thunder Bay, the history and art museums are closed the day we visit, but we get a sense of the vibrant art scene admiring the murals on “graffiti alley” before boarding the Viking Polaris, which is docked about a half mile from our hotel.
We board in time for the orientation, where we learn that fitness tests are required both to go kayaking (the test consists of climbing in and out of the kayak without leaning anywhere that would tip it) and to take a submarine ride (basically the ability to squat). We love that we can attend the daily pre-dinner port talks and all the major on-board lectures either in person in The Aula, an inviting, two-deck auditorium, or on-demand in our cabin.
Our cabin’s sleek wood design feels chic yet super-functional with lots of drawers and closets, plus a special drying closet, and its heated bathroom floor and complimentary, custom-stocked drink fridge and snack drawer are nice touches.
That evening, we dine at World Cafe, the main dining room. Meal choices, surprisingly varied for a ship with only 378 passengers, are served buffet style, including every-night sushi and seafood stations where lobster is always on tap, and “The Grill”, with fresh meats, lobster and fish cooked to order. There is also 24/7 room service, two waiter-service restaurants, and Mamsen’s, a small light-bite eatery that features Norwegian recipes inspired by Viking President Thorstein Hagen’s mamsen (mom).
We wake up to find ourselves anchored off Silver Islet in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. We have signed on for a hike along the Sea Lion Trail. Our guide, Tom, whose wife’s family has been on the island for generations, talks about the geology and nature of the area and what it’s like to live in a tiny community with only a handful of year-round residents and a single general store. He notes that the town once supported one of the richest silver mines of the mid-19th century.
We learn more about the silver mine that afternoon on a zodiac trip that stops right over the hauntingly abandoned mine, now fully underwater. We marvel at the creativity and work it took to build an island around an underwater silver deposit and then pump out the water to build mining shafts that descended as far as 384 meters below the surface.
That evening we have reservations we made pre-cruise (allowed once here and in The Restaurant) for Manfredi’s, justifiably known for its excellent Italian dishes; my favorite is steak brushed with porcini mushroom dust. We enjoy the waiter service and we come back twice more and have no trouble being seated.
After dinner, I take off to explore the ship’s many lounges. There’s a trio playing in the Explorer’s Lounge and the game room has a competitive scrabble contest in play. My personal favorite is the Hide Lounge. Here, each evening a different crew member chats about the topic of his/her choice. My favorites were entertaining talks on sailors’ superstitions and legends of the sea. As non-gamblers who tend to watch history and nature shows at home, my husband and I find this ship exactly our style—as do our fellow cruisers.
The next day, we are anchored off Terrace Bay. Our group of six heads out on a Zodiac with Kelly, a geologist, who explains that the terraced shoreline was caused by various glacial retreats, which also allowed the land to rebound from the weight of the glaciers as they melted. He drops us off at Terrace Bay Beach, where we follow a boardwalk along the shore and then hike up to a waterfall and gorge. As we pull out, we spot a bald eagle.
McGarvey Shoal, our destination for the next day, comes with a morality tale of hubris. The luxury yacht Gunilda was shipwrecked here in 1911 because its owner declined to hire a pilot, opting to navigate his own way through this archipelago of low-lying islands. Fortunately no one died, but his boat sank. Exploring the shallows by Zodiac and kayak, it is easy to see how this could happen. In the late afternoon, we take a special ops boat ride that combines a nature tour with a breath-taking demonstration of the boat’s extreme speeds and maneuvering.
We awaken in time to take in Duluth as we sail slowly along the waterfront. Since this is our first U.S. port, we need to pass through U.S. immigration, which amazingly sets up its operation steps from where we dock. After a quick pass through immigration, we join a morning tour of Glensheen Mansion, the art-filled estate of turn-of-the-century Duluth lawyer and legislator Chester Adgate Congdon. His life and wealth reflect the burgeoning mining, trade and brewing of his times.
It’s an easy walk from the ship to the Lake Superior Maritime Museum and the William A. Irvine Ore Boat Museum. We have signed on for a walking tour which provides a historic overview but does little more than take us to the two museums. In hindsight, I would have skipped the tour and explored the waterfront and museums on my own, and perhaps have added the nearby Great Lakes Aquarium, which a fellow passenger raved about.
Thanks to the Soo Locks, ships don’t have to run the rapids to safely navigate the 21-foot drop from Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Passing through the lock is an experience no one wants to miss. Since the timing is unpredictable, we have a full day “at sea.” I had worried that I’d be restless, but with expedition center activities, tours of the laboratory and The Hanger (where the water toys are stored and dispatched), and an indulgent visit to the spa, the day goes way too quickly.
I spend almost an hour at the Expedition Center, where I learn that the ship scientists collect phytoplankton, the basis of the entire food chain. A fascinated handful of us watch them dance around on a microscope slide whose image is projected on a big screen, and a few of us attempt to isolate one with a pipette. Then, touring the lab, I learn about the micro-plastics and bio-diversity studies the ship participates in and see the lab that analyzes the DNA of phytoplankton—like the one we tried to capture with a pipette.
Viking offers bike tours and a lunch/tour at the Grand Hotel, but we prefer exploring on our own. On a short horse-drawn carriage ride, we learn how the island was transformed from a military fort and trading stronghold to a tourist town. We walk around, stopping into a few of the 17 fudge shops along the town’s main street. We arrive back at the ship in time to compete in a trivia contest and I savor one last swim and sauna before dinner.
All too quickly, we find ourselves disembarking in Minneapolis and headed to the airport. Back home, we feel an almost mystical connection with the natural and human forces that formed and continue to re-form the Great Lakes and are looking at our local landscapes and wildlife with new eyes.
The Basics: Viking Cruises offers expedition cruises of the Great Lakes varying in length from eight to 17 nights between late May and mid-September. Prices for the 8-night “Undiscovered Great Lakes” cruise start at around $6,995 per person and include a land or shore excursion in every port including those on kayaks, zodiacs & special operations boats (with any needed gear such as dry suits for kayaking provided), port fees, gratuities, beer, wine & soft drinks with meals, access to the Nordic Spa and fitness center, self-service laundry, 24-hour room service, and more. Submarine excursions are $499 per person; pre- and post- tours and additional land excursions are available at added cost.
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