Cruise ship to dock in Escanaba on Sunday for first time ever

ESCANABA, Mich. (WLUC) - This weekend a cruise ship is coming to Escanaba for the first time ever.

On Sunday, 140 people will come off the American Queen Voyages cruise ship at the North Shore Dock behind the Escanaba library.

“We often say ‘hello’ on the sidewalks. Now there’s an opportunity to say ‘hello’ to people coming off the ships. I think it’s going to be a good thing,” said Craig Woerpel, the executive director at the Escanaba DDA.

“To be chosen as one of the spots, I think, is absolutely amazing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to show other cruise ships, because there’s eight of them on the Great Lakes, that Escanaba is a port they need to add to their itinerary,” added Woerpel.

The ship docks at 8 a.m. and at 8:30 a.m., there is a community welcome program celebrating the first cruise ship to dock in Escanaba. The Escanaba City Band will perform, and the mayor will greet the visitors with a key to the city. Everyone is welcome to attend.

From there, cruisers will get on buses to tour the town.

“We hope it’ll be a wonderful experience for guests, and not only will they enjoy their first time in Escanaba and all of Delta County, but they’ll make their way back for future visits,” said Vickie Micheau, the executive director of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce.

Buses will stop at various locations throughout town like the museums at the Chamber of Commerce, the Bonifas Arts Center and the Standpoint Lighthouse.

“I was working with the cruise ship on what makes Escanaba unique and that wasn’t a hard thing to come up with. Certainly, timber sports and log rolling are a big part of it. Native American culture is extremely important for us,” said Woerpel.

This is the first of 28 cruise groups coming to Escanaba this year through Oct. 2.

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