CLEVELAND — It may be September, but the Great Lakes cruise season is still in full swing; the last stop for the season will be in mid-October. On Wednesday, leaders from the industry gathered in front of the just-docked, 210-passenger Pearl Mist to talk about what has been one of the best Great Lakes cruise seasons yet.
"We'll have 53 calls at the end of this year, that's a record for us," said Dave Gutheil, Interim President of the Port of Cleveland. "50 already on the schedule for next year, with still a couple of vessels that haven't finalized their schedule. So to continue to see the growth that we've experienced over the last eight years since we've been doing this is really gratifying."
The event was organized by Cruise the Great Lakes, the industry's marketing arm, which said the economic impact of Great Lakes cruises in 2025 is expected to exceed $230 million, reflecting a 15 percent increase. The organization's goal is to attract even more passengers. However, Pearl Seas Cruises' Operations Manager Kristen Lambert said they don't know where to put them.
"Next year is sold out," Lambert said. "We are struggling to be able to book our guests on cruises next season, so we're already almost sold out for 2027, and we're starting to sell for 2028."
And they find the word is still getting out there that these cruises are an option.
"People, when I tell them, talking about cruises, the Great Lakes people are like, wait a minute, 'There's cruise ships on the Great Lakes?'" said Sally Berry, Director of Tourism at Cruise the Great Lakes. "So it's been awesome being able to teach people, yes."
While the East Coast, West Coast and overseas markets are big, the Great Lakes are where there's growth.
"The cruise industry around the world is fairly mature; there's not a lot of new places to go," said Gutheil. "And now we see repeat passengers coming on these vessels."
While the cruise ships that come in each summer are different sizes and offer various amenities, the routine for the passengers once they're here is pretty much the same. Spend their time and their money exploring all that we have to offer. Tour buses wait to take them on excursions to places like the Rock Hall, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Amish Country and more. And with many visiting Cleveland for the first time, there's a short-term and long-term impact.
"What's so important is just to build that tourism economy," said Cleveland Museum of Art Chief Marketing Officer Todd Mesek. "Not just to give people a good experience but to go away as ambassadors to tell their friends and to help grow that Cleveland tourism brand."
