By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
MUSKEGON — Two cruise ships visited the Port of Muskegon Tuesday with one of the ships scheduled to return Thursday. The MV Le Champlain made its first visit to Muskegon for 2025 while the MV Pearl Mist made its seventh visit. There are 16 cruise ship visits scheduled for Muskegon this year.
Cruise ships visiting Muskegon dock at Heritage Landing, owned by Muskegon County, near downtown. On Wednesday, the Pearl Mist docked at the slip while the Le Champlain anchored in Muskegon Lake, shuttling passengers via tender.
The Le Champlain was built in 2018 by Vard Holdings LTD in Tulcea, Romania. VARD is a subsidiary of Fincantieri, which also operates Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. and Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wis. It is owned by Compagnie du Ponant (known commonly as Ponant), based in France. The ship is 431 feet long with a width of 59 inches, a depth of 59 feet and 9,976 gross tonnage. It can accommodate up to 184 passengers and has 92 passenger cabins. It operates with a crew of 118 with 72 crew cabins. The Le Champlain operates at a top speed of 15 knots (17 mph) with an average cruising speed of 12.5 knots (14 mph). It is operated by four 1,520 kilowatt diesel generators that run two electric driven 2,000 kilowatt propellors.
The Le Champlain is expected to arrive in Muskegon again at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27 then again on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and Thursday, Sept. 11.
Read more about Ponant here.
The Pearl Mist began service in June 2014, four years after its construction was completed. It was originally ordered from Irving Shipyards, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. A dispute between Irving Shipyards and ship owner, Pearl Cruises, broke out five months after the keel was laid down in July 2007. The ship was launched on March 14, 2008 and construction was completed in June 2010. However, Pearl Seas Cruises refused to accept the ship and it was laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia.
In 2013 a United States federal appeals court made a ruling and a settlement was reached. The Pearl Mist was accepted by its owner and towed to Baltimore, Md. in April 2013.
Pearl Seas Cruises is a subsidiary of the family-owned American Cruise Lines, which operates American-flagged ships. However, the Pearl Mist is flagged under the Marshall Islands, allowing it to have a foreign crew (American-flagged vessels can only have American crews).
The Pearl Mist is 325 feet long, 52 feet wide and has a depth of 15 feet. It operates with two Caterpillar diesel 3516C engines that operate at 2,950 hp each for a total of 5,900 hp. Its maximum speed is 14.5 knots or 17.84 mph. It has twin screw fixed pitch propellers; a 390 hp bow thruster and a 250 hp stern thruster.
It has a capacity of 214 passengers and has 65 crew members which include four deck officers and four engineering officers. It includes 106 passenger staterooms and 30 for crew. There are four different styles of passenger accommodations: veranda suites, up to 450 square feet; vista balconies and premium balconies, over 300 square feet; standard and deluxe balconies, at 275 square feet, and single balconies at 200 square feet.
The ship includes a large dining room, two entertainment lounges, four sun decks, and a library. The ship typically travels with its own on board entertainers, but it also hires local entertainers in various ports-of-call as well.
The Pearl Mist is expected to visit Muskegon again on Wednesday, Sept. 10th and Friday, Sept. 19.
Read more about Pearl Seas Cruises here.
According to Cruise the Great Lakes, the cruise ship industry is expected to have a $230 million impact on the ports the ships visit in 2025, a projected 15 percent increase from 2024. There are six cruise lines operating on the Great Lakes this season: Pearl Seas, Viking, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines, Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd, and Victory.
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