The Great Lakes region has become somewhat of a hotbed for international tourism in recent years thanks to the rise of freshwater cruising, and Milwaukee’s port continues to play a key role in that momentum.
With the 2025 Great Lakes cruise season just around the corner, industry leaders and state and local officials held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the market’s growth trajectory and forecast what could be a record-breaking year.
From late April to mid-October this year, more than 22,000 individual passengers will cruise the Great Lakes, up nearly 10% from 2024. Those passengers will be carried by eight different cruise vessels that are expected to collectively make more than 700 port calls, generating more than 150,000 cruise passenger visits. Cruise activity on the Great Lakes this year is expected to have a $230 million economic impact on the region, an increase of 15% from 2024.
“The ongoing expansion of Great Lakes cruising continues to bring significant economic benefits to both large and small communities throughout the region,” said Cathy Domanico, tourism director of Cruise the Great Lakes, the region’s cruise marketing program. “With a growing variety of ships navigating the regions, we are providing more options for people to tailor their travel experience, to their taste, not to mention the variety of expressions with environmental environmental entertainment, historical or cultural focus.”
Port Milwaukee, which serves as a turnaround port for many Great Lakes voyages, is expecting 22 port calls from six different vessels, bringing about 11,000 passengers to the city. That’s down from 27 port calls and 13,568 cruise ship passengers in 2024.
The anticipated dip in traffic is the result of Viking operating only one of its two expedition vessels on the Great Lakes this season. The Switzerland-based cruise line began docking at Port Milwaukee in 2022 when it entered the Great Lakes market with the launch of its identical 378-passenger Octantis and Polaris — the largest cruise vessels to sail the Great Lakes.
Viking opted to reduce its Great Lakes cruise options this year to “keep their itineraries fresh” for return customers, said port director Jackie Q. Carter.
“They want to make sure that they’re offering a variety. … It’s nothing about Milwaukee or the region. It’s just to keep some fresh options for their customers,” said Carter
Viking will go back to operating both of those vessels on the Great Lakes in 2026, contributing to what Carter expects to be a “record-breaking year” for both global passengers and vessel visits at Port Milwaukee.
What’s more, the port will soon begin construction on its new South Shore Cruise Dock, located just south of Jones Island and east of the Lake Express Ferry terminal, for a spring 2026 completion.
The project has been in the planning stage for the past couple of years and its price tag has increased to $17 million. City taxpayers are funding $5 million of that cost, thanks to a recent budget allocation by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, providing the last piece of funding needed to complete the project, said Carter.
The South Shore dock site has a deep-water draft that will be able to able to accommodate larger cruise vessels including Viking, which has docked since 2022 at the port’s industrial heavy lift dock.
“We believe that the investment in the cruise dock is one of the pieces that we need to really solidify our position as a Great Lakes premier cruise destination,” said Carter. “We believe that our investment in the project will take us from goods or great. We offer good service in Milwaukee, but we want to offer a great service and we want to contribute to the regional impact that cruising has had on the Great Lakes industry.”
As has been the case for the past three years, Viking will be the first cruise ship of the season to dock at Port Milwaukee — arriving slightly earlier than usual this year on April 28.
Port Milwaukee will also welcome back Victory Cruise Lines this season after a seven-year hiatus. The New Albany, Indiana-based company has three turnaround visits scheduled for 2025 and has already committed to some early bookings for 2026, said Carter.
Local, state and Great Lakes cruise industry officials at a press conference at Discovery World in downtown Milwaukee.
