Cruising 2020 and beyond

Freshwater Crossings

Set sail on North America’s glorious lakes and rivers

With Great Lakes and awesome rivers, North America has several wonderful alternative to ocean cruising. These cruises are more intimate and often have more land time as ports are closer together. The five Great Lakes — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Erie — make up the largest body of freshwater on Earth at 6 quadrillion gallons (that’s a six with eighteen zeros). The region includes cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland and natural wonders like Niagara Falls. There are sandy beaches, historic islands, and fascinating wildlife and birdwatching.

Victory Cruise Lines’ Great Lakes Grand Discovery will start in April, 2021 sailing from Chicago to Montreal stopping at Mackinac Island with its elegant Victorian architecture, rustic Manitoulin Island, the famous Soo Locks, one of the world’s busiest, and Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto.

Chicago & Lake Michigan

American Queen Steamboat Company and Lindblad Expeditions both lead river cruises and Viking will start in 2022. The Mississippi, called Great River by the Ojibwe, is the quintessential American river and the river’s foremost chronicler, Mark Twain even took his pen name from a term he heard as a steamboat pilot. Mark Twain means “mark two,” the safe depth for a steamboat on a line used to measure how deep the water is. Highlights of a Mississippi River trip visits to Twain’s boyhood home in Missouri, spirited New Orleans, bluesy Memphis, as well as Civil War battlefields and antebellum homes.

Mississippi River

The Ohio River, which Thomas Jefferson called the most beautiful river on earth,” goes from Pittsburgh to Illinois where it joins the Mississippi. Highlights include: Cincinnati and its zoo, Louisville home of the Slugger, and historic river towns that were stops on the Underground Railroad.

Ohio River

A cruise along the Columbia and Snake Rivers follows in the steps of Lewis and Clark. From 620- foot Multnomah Falls to scenic Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America, this is the Pacific Northwest at its most spectacular. Sail past frolicking sea lions and majestic bighorn sheep; pass through intricate locks, and enjoy onboard tastings from the region’s wineries.

Columbia River, Idaho

Small is Beautiful

Since the CDC’s no-sail order only applies to ships with more than 250 passengers, small ships are getting back to business. Hurtigruten has been in business for over 125 years and travels to some of nature’s most alluring destinations including Alaska, Antarctica, and The Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Seeing these pristine destinations from small vessels is ideal because they can enter scenic coves and ports that larger ships can’t and they let guests witness wildlife up close. Each ship has a science center where guests can learn about their destinations and participate in experiments. A pioneer in sustainability, Hurtigruten recently introduced MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen, the world’s first hybrid electric-powered cruise ships.

Micro Cruises

Also known as “sampler cruises,” these short jaunts are a great way to test the waters and witness the cruise lines’ enhanced safety protocols first hand. Norwegian Cruise Lines offers 3-day cruises to Norwegian’s private Great Stirrup Island and Nassau from Miami and from New York to Bermuda.

Royal Caribbean also has a 3-day cruise to its private island, CococBay and Nassau as well as a 4-day Western Caribbean cruise that sails from either Galveston or Tampa to Cozumel.

Celebrity has 3-day cruises from Miami to Nassau. If you’re really short on time, both Princess and Holland America have overnight cruises from Vancouver to Seattle.