American Cruise Lines launches Great Lakes trip from Syracuse

Cruise vacations usually involve vibrant international destinations and exotic tropical locales. Syracuse and Buffalo generally do not come to mind.

And yet in May, American Cruise Lines launches a nine-day Great Lakes and Thousand Islands Cruise, starting in Syracuse. Guests will overnight there before traveling to Oswego to board the 130-passenger ship that will take them to Buffalo.

"Our passengers requested Great Lake itineraries," said communications manager Alexa Paolella, explaining this is one of 11 new journeys the line added for 2026. Other new trips include a Smoky Mountains cruise and a national parks cruise, expanding an extensive list of itineraries on both coasts that encompass rivers, coastal waterways and lakes. "Interest in domestic cruises has really taken off in the last eight years," Paolella said. "We’ve gone from seven ships to 22," said Paolella, adding that six more will be added in the next three years, all being built at the line’s affiliated shipyard in Salisbury, Maryland.

Sailing on smaller, more intimate ships that carry from 90 to 180 passengers appeals to the line’s customers, said Paolella, acknowledging a "more mature audience, affluent curious travelers who are interested in shore-focused activities like museums and historical sites. You’re able to have a river cruise experience" without leaving the United States, she said. "We’re always sailing within sight of land," she said, noting that cruising close to home provides of level of comfort for passengers who don’t want to travel too far or might require medical care.

The domestic itineraries mean no passports, she said, and passengers often live close enough to be able to drive to the port. What you won’t find: Swimming pools, hot tubs, casinos, water slides or long lines for the buffet. "Our passengers don’t care about those things," Paolella said.

"A big part of the draw is that these ships are smaller and more intimate," said Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of the website Cruise Critic. "They have to be small to transit the locks and canals of the Great Lakes," she said, noting that passengers are really fascinated by the experience.

"You really get to know your fellow passengers," said McDaniel, who cruised the Great Lakes last summer with Victory Cruises. She grew up in the Midwest and said she wasn’t all that interested in the trip. But she ended up loving it. The cruise left from Toronto and then hit Niagara Falls before stopping in cities like Cleveland, where the ship docked near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; Toledo, Ohio, where passengers visited sights made famous by the iconic TV series "M*A*S*H"; and Milwaukee to tour the Harley-Davidson Museum. "What really surprised me about the trip," she said, "was that there were actually a lot of people from the Midwest."

The new American Cruise Line’s Great Lakes trip begins with one night in a Syracuse hotel. Guests are encouraged to visit sights like the Erie Canal Museum and historic Clinton Square before taking a bus the next morning to board the American Patriot, one of two new ships the line introduced last year. The ship cruises through the Thousand Islands on Lake Ontario, stopping in Clayton, where excursions include a tour of Boldt Castle on Heart Island or a glass-bottomed boat ride to the Rock Island Lighthouse.

Other stops include Ogdensburg, one of the northernmost ports in New York and home of the Frederic Remington Art Museum and Rochester, where passengers can tour the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House. The cruise continues through the Welland Canal, where locks help the ship transit nearly 100 feet between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, then ends in Buffalo, where wings are on the menu and excursions include a visit to Niagara Falls.

While American Cruise Line dominates the American market, other lines are plying the waters. The small French luxury line Ponant and Pearl Sea Cruises offer occasional trips that include the Great Lakes.

Viking, an international cruise line with ocean liners and riverboats sailing the world, has several itineraries in the Great Lakes — a roundtrip from Milwaukee stops in Mackinac Island, Michigan and Chicago, another that starts in Toronto and ends up in Duluth, Minnesota. The line also cruises the Mississippi and in the fall offers a few cruises along the Eastern Seaboard, traveling between Montreal and New York City. "Viking is intent of making sure people can see the world on their ships," said McDaniel of Cruise Critic. "By putting their ships on the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, they’re giving people who trust Viking the option to see these destinations."

Victory Cruise Lines, an Indiana-based company with two ships, sails all the Great Lakes, the New England coast and the St. Lawrence Seaway. As with many of these cruises, educational enrichment is more important than Broadway-worthy production extravaganzas. A 10-night cruise on the Victory I leaves Chicago on April 25 with award-winning photographer Gary Bogdon onboard. The cruise will transit all five Great Lakes, as Bogdon hosts workshops and guided photo walks to help passengers get great travel photos, whether on a phone or a digital camera.

With a focus on history, these cruises often attract multigenerational family groups, Paolella said. Especially popular cruises, she said, include the American Revolution Cruise, which goes from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, with stops at Mount Vernon, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, among others, and the Snake River trip that follows the trail of Lewis and Clark.

In honor of the nation’s 250 birthday this year, the line is offering several extended cruises. The 35-night trip May 5 to June 9 will explore Civil War battlefields, and a 31-night Revolutionary War cruise from Oct. 8 to Nov. 8 will sail from Albany down the Hudson River during peak foliage season. For inveterate cruisers, the 51-night Great United States Cruise starting May 29 will sail from Portland, Oregon, first traveling the Columbia and Snake Rivers, cruising the Columbia River Gorge with stops in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. Passengers will transfer to another ship taking them down the Mississippi River, stopping in Memphis and New Orleans, before a third ship ends up in Boston for celebrations marking the Semiquincentennial.

It’s an exciting way to experience history, McDaniel said. "The historians who come on board always have such great stories to tell. It’s a great way to learn a lot about things you didn’t know you didn’t know."