My husband and I have been fortunate enough to take 2 trips. We got both through charity auctions and being the highest bid at the end. Neither trip came cheap, but both were for great causes.
Logistics of meeting a ship to board and departing the ship can be difficult. We live west of Buffalo. Length of trip is just an estimate, boarding/departing times can and will change hourly. we were in constant contact with the company coordinator leading up to the tentative boarding day.
First trip - Michipicoten - boarded in Windsor ON and departed in Port Colborne. Boarding location was not confirmed until 3 days prior.
Second trip - Kaministiqua - boarded in Port Colborne at IMS around Midnight and departed in Port Colborne at Lock 8.
Both trips were fantastic, crew was awesome on both. Food was incredible.
Trip on the Michipicoten (was asked by Lower Lakes to write an article for their newsletter)
My husband and I were fortunate to get the high bid in the auction that was offered on Boatnerd.com in support for the Owen Sound Marine and Rail Museum in the fall of 2006. We left home on Saturday morning June 23rd. We traveled by car and VIA Rail Canada to Windsor, Ontario where we were scheduled to board the Michipicoten on Monday the 25th of June.
We boarded at Sterling Fuel dock in Windsor, Ontario on Monday morning at 7 am. The crew showed us to our room and went back to work loading supplies while we were taking on bunker oil.
We departed the fuel dock and headed for the SOO. We arrived at the SOO locks on Tuesday morning we locked through the MacArthur Lock with the American Integrity beside us in the Poe Lock.
Once we left the lock we headed to Algoma Steel Mill to unload coal that had been loaded Sunday night/Monday morning in Toledo, OH. We made the dock at 2:15 in the afternoon and started unloading.
We finished unloading at 10:30 pm and headed for Marquette, MI to load Iron Ore Pellets.
We arrived in Marquette on Wednesday the 27th and tied up at the south side of the dock at about 11 am. We waited for the James C. Barker to finish loading and for the train cars to recharge the dock. We made the dock at 8 pm and started loading. The Captain and Crew of the Michipicoten are very proud of their ship and the way they can load Iron Ore. One of the crew members told us while loading in Marquette that “God built the Michipicoten to haul Iron Ore”. They loaded 24,000 tons in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
We left Marquette and headed back to Algoma Steel to unload. We unloaded on Thursday morning and departed Algoma Steel for the 27 hour trip to Superior, WI to load Iron Ore for Hamilton Ontario.
While at sea we able to tour the engine room, forward and aft crew areas, the windlass room, and the pilot house. We walked through the tunnel and investigated other nooks and crannies of the ship. The crew is very knowledgeable and is happy to answer your questions as their schedules allow. During daylight hours when not loading or unloading cargo the crew is always busy doing maintenance on the ship, cleaning and painting areas of the deck.
When we arrived in Superior we went to anchor at about 4:30 pm on Friday the 29th, waiting for another ship to finish loading and the train cars to recharge the dock. Anchor was lifted and made our way to the dock at 5 am on Saturday morning and started loading at 7:30 am. We loaded another 24,000 tons of Iron Ore and departed the dock at 11 am for Hamilton, Ontario. The trip from Superior to Hamilton was expected to take us 3 days. Due to vacation constraints Jim and I had to depart the ship in Port Colborne, Ontario at Lock 8. You need to be very flexible with your schedules; I found that out when I was working with Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. to schedule our trip they were helpful and kept us well informed of any changes in the schedule. We did not have confirmation of when we would be boarding the ship until Friday afternoon. We were also in contact with the shipping company throughout the weekend.
It was a very exciting trip we learned a lot from the crew and Captain Brandon. We learned that even in June Lake Superior is still very cold and you have to be ready for anything. Wednesday we woke to the fog horn blowing and when we went to make the dock at Superior on Saturday morning we were awakened by the anchor being raised. Our accommodations were very comfortable but they were rustic we felt right at home. The first couple days it was very warm and the crew provided us with an air scoop to bring outside air into our room because we did not have air conditioning. An air scoop is the predecessor to modern air conditioning. It works very well and cooled the room incredibly once you were out on the open lake.
The trip likely was a once in a lifetime chance for us. These trips are not for everyone. If you like an adventure and can keep yourselves busy reading or taking pictures (I only took 500) of the incredible views and about 100 other vessels on the lakes this would be the trip for you.
For us our departure at Lock 8 was a bittersweet ending to an excellent trip. We had such a wonderful time and cannot thank the crew of the Michipicoten enough for such an excellent time, but like most people we were anxious to get home after an incredible trip.
Thank-you Captain Brandon and Crew
Passenger
-
ejawac6n
Re: Passenger
Buy a $10.00 raffle ticket from the ship masters in alpena on the ss alpena and hope for the best. I believe a valid passport is required. Does anyone know of any other raffles?
Re: Passenger
Polish Steamship (Polsteam) was accepting passengers between Europe and the Great Lakes (or vice versa) until the pandemic struck in 2020. As far as I know they haven't re-initiated any passenger service since. Their vessels were set up to take between 3 and 6 passengers each trip.
I think it has been years however since they accepted cash or allowed anyone to ride just the North American portion of the trip. In 2015, one way fares were around $2000, plus you had to pay your airfare home. And of course you had to be flexible since the number of days for the voyage and the visited ports could change on a moments notice.
2019 article: https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/t ... r-service/
2015 and 2011 articles: https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/tag/polsteam/
I think it has been years however since they accepted cash or allowed anyone to ride just the North American portion of the trip. In 2015, one way fares were around $2000, plus you had to pay your airfare home. And of course you had to be flexible since the number of days for the voyage and the visited ports could change on a moments notice.
2019 article: https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/t ... r-service/
2015 and 2011 articles: https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/tag/polsteam/
-
guest
Re: Passenger
Years back polish lines use to allow passengers to travel on the great lakes. But you either got on the us or Canada. You paid thr captain $100.00 at the end of each day. On the ship from Duluth to Montreal.and it took 8 days you paid the captain $100.00 everyday so it cost you $100.00 x 8 or $800.00 total. The food was good. Do they still do this? I don't really know. Talk to persons who done it and they said it was okay. So have a pocket full of cash and bobs your uncle. Or perhaps your related to mark barker. Perhaps its worth looking into. Remember no one rides for free
Re: Passenger
There are only two realistic ways to be a passenger on a freighter.
1. Through raffles conducted by maritime organizations such as the Great Lakes Historical Society, which is your best bet.
2. Get a hold of their head office and ask them if you could arrange a trip.
Option 2 is normally reserved for Press, VIP's, or a very specific circumstance such as making a documentary, book, or an other type of media. They are not in the game of cruising for a vacation or catering to an enthusiast.
Remember that they are working boats and accommodations for passengers are limited and liability for the company is a factor. There's dangerous spaces that one can easily blunder into and a variety of other concerns. Best to visit a museum ship and enjoy the experience.
1. Through raffles conducted by maritime organizations such as the Great Lakes Historical Society, which is your best bet.
2. Get a hold of their head office and ask them if you could arrange a trip.
Option 2 is normally reserved for Press, VIP's, or a very specific circumstance such as making a documentary, book, or an other type of media. They are not in the game of cruising for a vacation or catering to an enthusiast.
Remember that they are working boats and accommodations for passengers are limited and liability for the company is a factor. There's dangerous spaces that one can easily blunder into and a variety of other concerns. Best to visit a museum ship and enjoy the experience.
-
Guest
Re: Passenger
Generally no. Passengers are winners of a raffle or execs of business related companies and their families. Officers are allowed family as passengers.