By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
June 29, 2025
MANISTEE — “It’s like being on vacation,” is the comment my wife, Becky, said when we departed the Princess after a 90 minute shoreline cruise Saturday evening. The boat’s crew was hospitable and entertaining. The drinks were refreshing. The passengers were having a great time. The weather was perfect. And, the sunset was glorious.
The Princess is a 65-foot former Mackinac Island ferry boat owned and operated by Manistee Harbor Tours. It offers various daily cruises in the summer including its Family Day Cruise beginning at 2 p.m., the 501 Cruise beginning at 5 p.m. and the Sunset Cruise, beginning at 8:15 p.m. (departure times change after Aug. 22). Check the website for daily departures.
The boat is docked at 428 River St. along the Manistee River. Most cruises take place along the shoreline but it will venture onto Manistee Lake at times as well in the case of stronger seas on the Big Lake. The two earlier cruises will travel either north to Portage Lake or south to Big Point Sable.
For owner Capt. Albert “Wally” Laaksonen, the boat is a labor of love and a dedication to his late father, Capt. Al Laaksonen, who died last December at the age of 86.
Known as “The Finlander,” Capt. Al was a pioneer in Lake Michigan sport fishing. He began charter fishing on his boat, The Finlander, out of Ludington in 1975, 11 years after king salmon were planted in Lake Michigan by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Following a career of 32 years as director of off campus life at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Al and his wife, Roberta, retired full time to Ludington.
“In 2019, my dad, at the age of 80, decided he wanted to operate a tour boat out of Ludington or Manistee,” Wally said. “That’s when we purchased the Princess.”
The boat was built in 1973 by DeFoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City for Straits Transit Inc. Originally christened the Island Princess, it operated as a Mackinac Island ferry operating between the island and Mackinaw City and St. Ignace.
The boat is 65 feet, 7 inches long, 20 feet, 5 inches wide and has a depth of 7 feet, 3 inches. It operates with two Detroit Diesel that operate at 895 hp and is capable of reaching 19 knots (21 mph).
The boat was then owned by Arnold Transit, the oldest Mackinac Island ferry service, which began in 1878.
It later operated as a tour boat at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, both along Lake Superior.
Wally and Al acquired the boat in 2019 and initially operated it in 2020 — during the COVID pandemic — as the Princess of Ludington, based in Ludington. Due to the lack of dockage, the operation was moved in 2021 to Manistee and the name changed to the Princess.
“I have spent my life as a charter boat captain and never thought I would operate a tour boat,” Wally said during Saturday’s cruise.
Wally doesn’t typically operate the boat.
“I like walking around talking to the passengers too much,” he said.
He gives credit to his crew for making the Princess a great experience.
“Our crew is great. They really enjoy interacting with the passengers and being part of this operation. They have a lot of pride in what they do.”
Al’s son, Gus, 16, works on the boat too. He began helping his grandfather when he was 13.
During Saturday’s cruise, the boat leisurely ventured north along the coast with various landmarks being pointed out from time to time, including Orchard Beach State Park, and the Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary and Audubon Society. The boat even stopped to try to give passengers a glimpse of a shipwreck, however it wasn’t visible in the evening light.
The 148-passenger vessel was named the “Emerging Business of The Year” by the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce in 2022.
The boat is also available for charters as well.
For more information about Manistee Harbor Tours, visit its website, www.manisteeharbortours.com.
Read more about Capt. Al Laaksonen here.
This Great Lakes Boat Blog is a presentation of House of Flavors Restaurant of Ludington and the Mason County Historical Society’s Port of Ludington Maritime Museum. Please be sure to visit our companion site, www.greatlakesboatblog.com for more stories about the Great Lakes maritime industry.
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