- Welcome to the, "World's Greatest Cruises."

I'm Lynn Elmhirst, a Travel Journalist with a deep passion for sailing the high seas.

Navigating timeless routes on a world that's 70% water, cruising may be the most authentic way to travel.

Not to mention its spectacular scenery, fascinating ships, maritime traditions, and local people and cultures.

Join me on the, "World's Greatest Cruises."

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Today on, "World's Greatest Cruises," we're cruising close to home, an eight day Expedition Cruise of three of North America's Great Lakes, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the USA to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

We're cruising aboard the Viking Octantis, one of two of Vikings newest class of ships, Expedition Ships designed to sail about 400 guests and 250 crew members to even the most remote regions of the world with its Polar Class hull.

Of course, on a summer expedition, cruise on the Great Lakes, we don't see any ice.

And expedition cruising isn't just about exploring the Earth's poles, as I discussed with Vikings Director of Expedition Operations.

- Expedition cruising is also very much a mindset in how you deliver, wanting to learn about the places you go to, using a Zodiac like this.

- Right.

- Other means of tools or toys like we call 'em.

- Most other ships have to dock in ports.

- Yeah.

- But with the Viking Octantis, we don't need to be in port.

- Yeah, yes.

- We can embark on an excursion.

- Yeah.

- On an exploration right from the ship on a Zodiac or a kayak.

- [Jorn] Yes.

- Or a special operations boat.

- Yeah.

And we have a group of highly qualified staff members in that expedition team.

And they're either masters of PhDs in their particular subject matter.

- Which might include.

- Yeah, which might might include geology.

- Right.

- Biology, history, and so on.

- So they can really bring the experience.

- Yeah, exactly, exactly.

- Yeah, it's not just a sort of immersive way to see the world.

- Yeah, yeah.

- It's fun to actually get out and get into it in this way.

- Yeah, yes.

(air whooshes) - In addition to all the fun exploration toys, expedition experts are also conducting real science in the waters where we sail.

And we get to be part of that scientific inquiry.

(group applauds and cheers) We're exploring North America's Inland Seas.

The five Great Lakes between the United States and Canada are the world's largest freshwater ecosystem.

Holding a fifth of the surface freshwater on the planet.

The Great Lakes are vast, spanning over 750,000 square miles.

And on, "World's Greatest Cruises," we're exploring parts of the three largest and Westernmost Lakes, Michigan, Huron, and Superior.

During our eight day voyage, we visit some of the Great Lakes storage cities and charming islands.

We explore remote landscapes that inspired some of North America's most famous artists, and step back in time to early fur trading and Indigenous history.

- [Will] Fire.

- Woo, I think we're eating chimney for dinner tonight.

This cruise gives you a whole new perspective on the Great Lakes.

(ship horn blows) On the Western Shores of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee is a revitalizing city, celebrating its heritage, culture, and modern lifestyle with a transforming waterfront as Great Lakes cruising from the Port of Milwaukee is taking off.

(upbeat music) What a beautiful day to sail away from Milwaukee onto Lake Michigan.

And the start of our Great Lakes cruise.

(upbeat music) Viking's two expedition ships the Viking Polaris and the Viking Octantis are both sailing in the Great Lakes this summer.

It's so exciting when sister ships get to meet in port.

(upbeat music) (water splashing) (air whooshes) Our sailing northeast towards the Canadian border takes us to our first port of call, one of America's most famous islands.

As we sail through the Straits of Mackinac and under the I-75's Five Mile Bridge, we cross from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron.

The first thing everyone notices about Michigan's famous Mackinac Island isn't the pastel colored century buildings or its famous summer resort atmosphere, it's the horses.

(horses whinny) Cars have been banned on Mackinac since all the way back to 1901, creating a one of a kind horse culture, unparalleled in United States.

There are fewer than 600 human inhabitants of Mackinac Island, and in the summer, about the same number of horses.

We take a horse drawn carriage tour of the postcard perfect island, whose fort dating from the 1700s paints a picture of early North American history.

As the island between two Great lakes evolved from strategic stronghold to summer playground, where the who's who of wealthy Midwestern families built famously picturesque homes facing the lake breezes.

Today, the entire island's a National Historic Landmark and the single most famous building is the Grand Hotel whose in-House historian shared its secrets, as we stood on the longest porch in the world.

Bob, we knew we were on Mackinac Island because we saw the hotel.

What a landmark.

You can see this hotel from sea and it lights up the island, doesn't it?

- Nothing else would look quite right than this 660 foot long porch with 210 rocking chairs out here, - You've counted them all?

- I've counted every one of 'em.

There's a lot of things you can do on Mackinac Island, but the best thing to do is take time, get on island time, sit down and take in the view.

You expect a museum or it to be Victorian or period.

We're at Dorothy Draper, Carleton Varney.

Dorothy Draper and Company believed in bright, fun, splashy colors never represent a single period in time.

Be best of a bunch of periods.

I have antiques from the 1600s all the way up to present, colors you would never put together.

We don't decorate a room.

We gift wrap every room, 400 rooms.

Every single room is different.

The uniqueness of the place, it's not one thing, it's everything.

But to take a bow to a little town that time forgot, to get off a 160 year old dock, an antique carriage to come to 135-year-old hotel and the whole horse culture is part of it.

- It's really like we've almost sailed back in time.

Coming to this hotel, it makes you feel like there's still a sense of occasion in the world that you dress up for things, that there's special places and special moments that are worth slowing down for.

- Sure, sure.

- Yeah, so we're going to have tea here this afternoon, so.

- Oh, lovely.

Sit down, have some sherry.

Most importantly turn off your cell phone and enjoy the moment.

- It will not even leave my bag, I promise.

(Bob and host laughs) (customers murmuring) Well, I broke that promise, didn't I?

But it's impossible to resist capturing the exuberance of the colors and the occasion of afternoon tea, surrounded by generations of memories of summer on the lake.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) Exuberant Maximalist design at the Grand Hotel contrasts sharply with our ship's cozy Nordic minimalism, that reflects the cruise lines Scandinavian family heritage.

Here the design emphasizes natural rustic materials with handcrafted details and signature touches of Nordic lifestyle.

Pale woods, uncluttered spaces, views of the outdoors, even from the ship's Lecture Hall, along with toasty fires and throws that would make you feel cozy in the fjords of Norway or among polar icebergs.

It also feels very much in tune with a cruise along the iconic granite outcroppings and tree-lined shores of Great Lakes cottage country.

(upbeat music) Not every space on board's Nordic inspired though, there's a classic Italian restaurant and a private dining room.

Even a sunroom-like aft terrace bar and dining area that lets us take advantage of fair midsummer weather.

But when it comes to dining on the Viking Octantis, my favorite restaurant is Nordic in both design and cuisine.

Mamsen's is named after Viking Cruises, Hagen family, matriarch, evoking homey, Norwegian hospitality, fresh Scandinavian cuisine, including the closely guarded family secret waffle recipe.

Every grandma's secret ingredient, love.

(upbeat music) (ship's horn blows) Once we reach one of Canada's most famous freshwater playgrounds, Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, the expedition toys start coming out of their hangar.

So this is the hanger?

- Yeah, this is the hangar.

And you can see that in height it is two decks.

- Yes.

- Here we're standing on the Special Operations boat that is against standing on a hydraulic slipway.

- Right.

- So this.. - So that's how you can launch it in the water.

- Yes, exactly.

So the aft part of this slipway slides back into the water and then the wheels.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Jorn] They roll the boat backwards into the water.

- [Lynn] Right, so two Special Operations boats.

- [Jorn] Yeah, yeah.

- [Lynn] And then I'm trying to count Zodiacs quickly.

- [Jorn] Yeah, we have 16 or 17 Zodiacs and we have two submarines.

- [Lynn] On either side?

- [Jorn] Two yellow submarines.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Jorn] On either side.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Jorn] They are on a track.

- [Lynn] Oh.

- So when they are being launched, they, you know, we open the hangar and they are going forward like a train to underneath that transversal crane.

- [Lynn] Okay, so if that opens like a garage door.

- [Jorn] Yes, yes, exactly.

- [Lynn] And they zoom out.

- [Jorn] Yeah, they zoom out underneath the crane, the two hooks.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Jorn] That you can see over there.

- [Lynn] And then that... - [Jorn] Yeah.

- [Lynn] Goes out over... - [Jorn] Yes, yes.

- [Lynn] The water and lowers it down.

- [Jorn] We have Kayaks in the rack over there.

- Do you like it down here?

- I love it down there.

- Is it cool for you to be down here still, - Yeah.

- even though you - Yeah.

could do it anytime?

- Yeah.

- Because it seems like it's a garage basically.

- Yes, yes.

- But it's pretty cool garage.

- Yes, so everything is very purposeful and functional, but at the same time.

- There is a cool factor.

- Yeah, there's a factor.

- There is a cool factor.

And you have these apertures.

- [Lynn] Yes.

- [Jorn] From public spaces inside the ship.

- [Lynn] Yes, yes.

- [Jorn] So you're in the foyer of the OLA, and you can peek down into the hangar.

- [Lynn] And you look down, yes.

- And that was important for us because it kinda gives guests on board a peek into the inner workings.

- Yeah, behind the curtain a little, yes.

- Behind the curtain, behind the scenes.

- Now, I did notice when we came how wonderful it was to be able to go to see in and to see your expedition - Yeah.

- in the making - Yes.

- almost by looking in.

- Yes, yes.

- Yes.

(air whooshes) Our first Zodiac tour brings us up close to the signature shoreline of Lake Huron's Georgian Bay with its iconic granite rock formations, characteristic of Canadian Shield Geology, where Eastern White Pine trees seem to miraculously grow out of rocks exposed by ice age glaciers and wind and waves over a millennia, inspiring artists over a century ago and visitors like us, to this day.

Our Expedition Team Leader navigated us close to shore, into quiet coves where we practiced identifying local birds, flora and fauna.

(upbeat music) (air whooshes) (upbeat music) Fresh air and spending time outdoors on the lake works up an appetite.

And Viking has arranged for guests to take part in a fish fry, a local tradition for campers, cottagers, and visitors to resorts like Killarney Mountain Lodge.

And sitting with friends outdoors on the rocky shore overlooking Georgian Bay scenery makes a simple local dish into a memorable delicacy.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows) (upbeat music) On this expedition cruise, we don't just explore above water, onboard submersibles mean we can literally be immersed in the waters around the ship.

Jewelry off.

Life jacket on, and no shoes.

You have to put on these nice soft booties, so we don't scratch up the submarine.

(group murmuring) (upbeat music) And down we go.

There's six of us plus a pilot and you'd better like the guest taking the submarine ride with you, because we're very cozy, as the sub dives into Lake Huron's green, green waters to a maximum 300 meter depth.

(upbeat music) Our seats swivel towards the bubble-shaped full length windows on both starboard and port sides giving us a maximum view of, well, today, not much at all.

(upbeat music) We're back.

(water gurgles) (upbeat music) So we didn't see much today.

Not even a whitefish we might have for our lunch, but it's a really great experience just to be in a submarine.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) From green depths to top speeds, Viking Octantis's Special Operations Boats, which they also call SOBs, are straight out of an action movie.

They really are made to get military operatives around.

For Expedition Cruise guests on the Viking Octantis, they allow a dozen of us at a time to explore faster and farther away from the ship.

Our excursion brings us to more distant waters around Lake Huron's, Manitoulin Island, the largest Lake Island in the world.

So large, over a thousand square miles, that it actually has over a hundred lakes of its own, a marine setting unique in the world.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) Back on board, it's time to slow down and warm up in the spa.

It's not just a room with a view, it's a pool with a view.

So I can relax after an exciting day without missing any of the scenery outdoors.

Nordic traditions reappear here in the spa too, if you dare.

They tell me for the full Scandinavian experience, you start in the BADESTAMP.

(upbeat music) Then you go to the SNOW GROTTO.

They say the SNOW GROTTO's the easy one.

It's like February in here.

Followed by the SAUNA and finally the BUCKET SHOWER.

The cameraman said that the BUCKET SHOWER wasn't so bad.

Right?

- [Cameraman] Yeah, it's no big deal to do it.

- Okay, here we go.

Three, two, one.

(Lynn yells) (ship horn blows and bell rings) Early morning draws most of our fellow passengers on the Viking Octantis to the bow of the ship.

Not just for the spirited coffee pop-up service by the ship's crew, but to experience our transit through the Soo Locks, the so-called Linchpin of the Great Lakes.

Michael, a lot of people are really fascinated to go through Locks.

- [Michael] Yes, the Soo Lock, it takes 10,000 ships every year.

- Are they entirely on the American side or do they actually straddle the border between the US and Canada?

- They straddle the border.

- [Lynn] Right.

- Right behind us is the, also is the International Bridge.

- [Lynn] Right, right, so how long is the passage usually?

- [Michael] It takes about a 45 minute process.

- [Lynn] So we're climbing.

That's important to notice too.

Our journey from Georgian Bay Lake Huron into Lake Superior, we have to climb elevations.

- [Michael] That's correct.

- [Lynn] And to be able to be outdoors on the deck of a ship in lovely weather with this great scenery and this fascination.

- [Michael] Right.

- [Lynn] I mean no wonder everyone is out here with us.

(air whooshes) Original Expedition Cruises, were tourists tagging along on scientific ships.

Viking ships were built for guests, but they maintain a core science mission.

At Expedition Central guests can interact with Expedition Team Leaders, but the science goes beyond sharing existing knowledge.

(air whooshes) Josh, this is not a space that you would normally associate with a cruise ship.

- You're absolutely right.

It's not very common to find yourself in the lab on a cruise ship.

- Right.

- So to have a lab that actually gathers and collects scientific research is quite valuable.

- My understanding is that this is not a token lab.

There's real science that goes on here.

- Correct, yeah.

- So tell us what real science happens on this ship and is happening right now on our cruise.

- So we have a weather balloon, okay, Which is scheduled to launch tomorrow at eight o'clock.

And globally, we have about 900 stations that release balloons every day.

What are... - These are NOAA Weather Balloons.

- NOAA Weather Balloons, right.

So what are NOAA Weather Balloons are used for?

Basically, to collect atmospheric variables.

- Right.

- So as these balloons go up, they're collecting information on temperature and pressure with altitude.

We're one of the only air cruise lines that are authorized to release these balloons.

We have a special partnership with NOAA, for the fact that we're able to access these locations really far away.

- [Lynn] Actually, we're lucky that we're here, because you're getting the weather balloon ready to go.

- [Josh] Correct.

So these weather balloons are made of entirely degradable latex.

- [Lynn] The balloon gets released from the deck of the ship.

- [Josh] Yeah.

- [Lynn] And goes up, up, up.

And then you just say goodbye and walk away?

- [Josh] Once everything is good and the systems are all rigged up and ready to be released, the balloon, with the radio sound attached, this device goes up 20 miles into the atmosphere collecting this data.

- [Group] One, two... - [Josh] And we release the balloon and everyone's happy and clapping (group claps and cheers) and we get data live streamed straight back to the Expedition Central.

- [Lynn] Ah, so that's incredible.

- [Josh] Yeah.

- [Lynn] And so that really also for guests too, right?

It's not nebulous, it's very real and in the moment.

- [Josh] Correct.

- [Lynn] Right?

You have instant gratification from your science.

- [Josh] Yeah.

- [Lynn] Which is wonderful.

- For me when they walk away saying that they had no idea that they could contribute to science or they had no idea this was possible, that really, that makes me wanna just get up and do it all again the next day.

(upbeat music) - The ship's designers built a little mystery into the Viking Octantis.

THE HIDE is well named, a hidden away lounge in the bow of the ship that guests need to engage their spirit of adventure just to find.

Locating THE HIDE makes it feel like we've got our own secret speakeasy onboard.

Complete with a bar card of sipping spirits and an atmosphere conducive to sharing tall tales of our expedition adventures.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) (upbeat music) Our final expedition excursion gives us the opportunity to get closest to the surface of the water and really become part of this Great Lake's landscape.

I can't imagine a more beautiful day to be out, right on top of the water.

Elsa is with me.

And we're going to do a little tour in Silver Islet, which is, as you say, one of maybe the most beautiful places along our route.

- It is a highlight usually from our guests.

- And beautiful clear beaming water and a very famous structure.

- Yeah, this is a very interesting rock formation.

The locals call it the Sea Lion.

But if you look at it, you don't really see a lion, do you?

- [Lynn] No, I think you're right.

I think it looks more like a horse.

- [Elsa] It does look like almost like a seahorse.

- [Lynn] Can we sail right under it?

- [Elsa] We can.

- [Lynn] Can we Kayak right under it.

- [Elsa] Yeah, we can.

(upbeat music) - [Lynn] You'd never know, this area used to be a big silver mine.

It's returned to nature in the most spectacular way.

(upbeat music) But there's something very special I think, about kayaking.

- [Elsa] The Kayak, I think, is very peaceful, right?

Everything has an engine and is quite loud.

With the kayak you get really close to nature and then just paddling into those beautiful places.

Sometimes you get the sound of all the birds.

You get close to the rocks.

You get close to the trees.

And then it's very peaceful, and I think that's what people are looking for when they come kayaking.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) - We've reached our final Port, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

It's the Western most port on the Great Lakes in Canada.

The pleasure boats in the harbor of the city's Waterfront District where we're docked, shows that today's Thunder Bay, while still vital to shipping, is as much about recreation and enjoying the region's natural wonders.

We're also here to learn about its European and Indigenous history as a fur trading center.

Fort William Historical Site includes a replica of an Indigenous encampment from around 1815, that illustrates how the interaction between Europeans and local Ojibwe included an exchange of knowledge as well as fur.

I think a lot of people would recognize this, but they might not understand the full significance of the snowshoes that we all know and love today with your ancestral knowledge, and that we learned from ancient peoples.

- Yes, exactly, this is handmade.

And a lot of people think that we bought them honestly, at first.

And they don't realize that we had the technology to shape wood like this before Europeans came.

- And the Europeans, - Yes.

- of course took this knowledge.

And of course now, I mean you would never see an expedition to the Antarctic or any pole without a modern version of something that we learned from people around here.

- Exactly, yeah.

Because without these, they'd be up to here in snow.

- Not so much fun.

(air whooshes) Indigenous people and fur traders converged on Fort William every spring and summer making the fort a boom town.

So they first came here and they got repackaged by weight, 90 pound bags.

- Exactly, so we always heard 90 pound bags.

Each of the voyagers would carry between four to six of these.

And they were responsible to get them back to Montreal.

- All the way from here to Montreal, through all the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River to Montreal, where they'd be taken to Europe and they would did it in 90 pound bags in canoes.

So imagine I am either an Indigenous person, or a fur trapper, a European fur trapper, and I'm bringing in my haul from the winter to get some goodies.

So you then, would negotiate with me, and then I would hopefully walk away happy.

After some negotiation role playing, I ended up trading my furs for a new musket and ammunition.

Perfect, do you shake hands now?

- Oh, we do, absolutely.

Now, would you like to go fire one?

- I would absolutely like to test fire my new musket.

(Lynn and David laugh) (air whooshes) You're the man.

- Yes.

- To help me learn to fire.

- So with the Northwest Company Trade Musket here, it is a flintlock musket, meaning we're using a piece of flint right here at the back.

- Okay.

- [Will] It's very, very hard.

It's gonna strike the steel right here.

- [Lynn] So that's gonna create a spark.

- [Will] Exactly, that's what'll ignite the black powder charge in there.

And if we were loading with a live ball today, that's what would shoot.

- So in order to get our musket to fire, we're going to need powder from our powder horn and?

- Pour a little bit of that measure on the side.

- [Lynn] Oops.

- [Will} That's okay.

- [Lynn] Okay, sorry about that.

- [Will] That's okay.

- [Lynn] Right here?

- [Will] Right, just like that.

And fill that oval.

- [Lynn] Fill the oval.

- [Will] Perfect, just like so.

- Wearing my 21st century safety gear now.

- Okay, Lynn, so find the trigger.

Just have your finger by it.

- [Will] Take care!

Fire!

(musket fires) - Woo.

(Lynn Will laughs) - There we go.

- I think we got the chimney.

I think we're eating chimney for dinner tonight.

(Lynn and Will laugh) (air whooshes) Just as they would've at the fort hundreds of years ago, before we departed the Viking Octantis, we gathered with friends and colleagues around a fire to say goodbye in a timeless ritual on land or sea.

Until next time, on, "World's Greatest Cruises," wishing you fair winds and following seas.

(upbeat music) (air whooshes) More information about, "World's Greatest Cruises," and the ship and ports of call featured in today's program, on our website at www.worldsgreatestcruises.com.

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Next time on, "World's Greatest Cruises," we're discovering Arctic Natural Wonders, Greenland, with its majestic fjords, and uncharted waters that the ship's crew maps in real time, and Iceland's volcanoes and geysers.

(upbeat music) (ship horn blows and bell rings) Waterfalls, and the view from inside a glacier.

Plus, we celebrate a nautical tradition for sailors above the Arctic Circle.

-Oh, I felt his teeth.

(laughs)