Construction is underway on Milwaukee’s $17 million South Shore Cruise Dock as the city looks to bolster its growing cruise industry.
The South Shore Cruise Dock will be Milwaukee’s third designated cruise dock. It will have the capacity to serve the Great Lakes’ largest cruise ships, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said during a groundbreaking with city officials on Sept. 4.
Funding for the project came from state and federal grants as well as $5 million from the city’s 2025 budget.
The dock is expected open ahead of the 2026 cruise season, which in Milwaukee typically starts in April or early May and runs through October.
Here’s what to know about the project:
Where is the dock located?
The South Shore Cruise Dock is located at 2320 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive, neighboring the Lake Express High-Speed Ferry terminal. The land is currently vacant.
Where do cruise ships currently dock in Milwaukee?
Milwaukee operates two docks along Lake Michigan that serve cruise ships.
The Pier Wisconsin cruise dock at 530 N. Harbor Drive, near Discovery World, connects ships to downtown Milwaukee. However, larger cruise ships can’t enter the shallower waters around the dock.
Larger cruise ships can dock at Port Milwaukee’s heavy lift dock on Jones Island, though it primarily serves cargo ships.
It also sits next to the city’s primary wastewater treatment plant.
“That’s not the welcome (to Milwaukee) you want to get,” said Port Milwaukee Director Jackie Carter.
How many cruise ships visit Milwaukee each year?
There were 27 cruise ship visits to Milwaukee ports in 2024, totaling more than 13,500 passengers, according to an annual report from Port Milwaukee.
Carter said the city is projected to see 22 cruise ship visits this year.
That number is expected to more than double in 2026 — 55 visits have already been scheduled for next year, Carter said.
Milwaukee’s cruise industry has grown significantly in the past decade. In 2015, the city saw just four cruise ship visits, according to Port Milwaukee.
Why are there so many cruise ships in Milwaukee?
Though cruises often conjure the image of tropical ocean vacations, Great Lakes cruises have risen in popularity over the past few years.
Great Lakes cities are projected to see 150,000 cruise passenger visits across 700 port stops in 2025, according to cruise marketing program Cruise the Great Lakes, a 10% increase from last year.
That’s a yearly regional economic impact of $230 million, the agency said.
Why does Milwaukee want to attract cruise ships?
Cruise liners bring with them millions of dollars spent on hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the city, Johnson said.
“That activity, what it means is jobs,” Johnson said.
The 2025 cruise season has made a local economic impact of $2.5 million, Visit Milwaukee President Peggy Williams-Smith said. It’s projected to jump to $3.5 million next year, she added.
Milwaukee is particularly looking to secure its role as a “turnaround” city, the point at which a cruise starts or ends.
Pearl Seas Cruises has already agreed use Milwaukee ports for turnaround stops through 2030. Viking Cruises has made multiple turnaround stops since its liners started sailing the Great Lakes in 2022.
The city is also one of the few along the Great Lakes with a deep draft port that can serve larger ships, Carter said.
But that might not last long as other Great Lakes port cities look to invest in their own cruise infrastructure.
“When you can provide those services, and nobody else really can, you can afford an ugly dock,” Carter said. “We see other Great Lakes ports making investments, and so we want to make sure that we retain premier growth status.”
How was the project funded?
The dock’s price tag more than doubled from an initial estimate of around $7 million in 2022 to $17 million.
State and federal grants provided $4 million in funding for the dock, while Port Milwaukee contributed $7.6 million from its reserves.
The remaining $5 million came from the city’s 2025 budget approved by the Common Council in November, though not without opposition from a few aldermen.
Ald. Robert Bauman introduced an amendment to divert the $5 million to other city infrastructure projects, citing cost concerns.
Bauman’s amendment was defeated 12-2.
Will the dock serve non-cruise ships?
That’s not the plan, Carter said, though the city may serve other ships on the South Shore Cruise Dock if other docks are at capacity.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Construction begins on Milwaukee’s $17 million cruise ship dock. Here’s what to know
Reporting by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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