On a warm and sunny spring morning this week, Milwaukee kicked off its busiest cruise ship season ever.
The Viking Polaris, the biggest Great Lakes cruise ship, called at Port Milwaukee’s Heavy Lift Dock shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, April 21. As the 300 passengers disembarked, ending a six-day journey that began in Toronto, Visit Milwaukee volunteer Erich Adam greeted them with a customary rendition of the “Beer Barrel Polka” on the accordion.
The Polaris was the first of 64 cruise ships that will visit Milwaukee between April and October in 2026, nearly triple the 23 vessels the city welcomed in 2025.
And those 64 ships will carry a total of about 20,000 passengers to Milwaukee this year, nearly double the roughly 11,250 passengers the city saw last year.
Port Director Benji Timm attributed the surge to rising interest in the Great Lakes region, including Milwaukee, as a cruise destination. Two of the visiting ships are part of American Cruise Lines’ newly launched Great Lakes itineraries, with two of the three new itineraries departing from Milwaukee.
“The word is out that cities like Milwaukee and other Great Lakes cities are hidden gems,” Timm told the Journal Sentinel. “They’re affordable, they’re accessible and they’re typically not somewhere that most people think about cruising, so it’s a new region to explore for a lot of people.”
Cruise surge set to boost Great Lakes economy
In Milwaukee and across Wisconsin, officials and tourism industry leaders hope a growing cruise industry will bolster the state economy.
In 2025, the cruise season generated $2.5 million in local economic impact for Milwaukee, and it’s projected to exceed $3.5 million this year, city officials said at a Thursday news conference.
Of the 20,000 cruise ship visitors, 15,000 will be turnaround passengers. That means their voyages will end or begin in Milwaukee, and they’re likely to spend extra time in the city. Of the 80 different cruise itineraries passing through the city this year, 11 are Milwaukee round trips.
Every visiting ship adds “real momentum in our city,” Ald. Andrea Pratt said at the news conference.
“It’s people getting off the ship and heading into our neighborhoods,” Pratt said. “It’s folks sitting down in our restaurants, shopping in our local stores, walking our streets and getting a feel for who we are.”
To accommodate the extra traffic, Port Milwaukee plans to launch its third designated cruise dock by August, which is currently “75% completed,” Timm said. Construction began in September on the $17 million South Shore Cruise Dock, which will serve the Great Lakes’ largest cruise ships.
The economic impact won’t be limited to Milwaukee. Across the entire Great Lakes region, this year’s cruise season is expected to generate $300 million, said Travel Wisconsin deputy secretary Maria Van Hoorn.
On their way to Milwaukee, many visiting cruise ships also stop at Sheboygan, Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay and Algoma – all of which are also likely to see record-breaking cruise seasons, according to Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee.
“They’re not just passing through,” Williams-Smith said. “They’re discovering us.”
Local business owners prepare for busy cruise season
For some local business owners, the cruise season is their busiest time of year. Theresa Nemetz, founder of Milwaukee Food & City Tours and Great Lakes Shore Excursions, plans and executes tours across 20 port cities on the Great Lakes every season.
Nemetz told the Journal Sentinel she works with about 250 guides across the region, including 20 in Milwaukee. Her local excursions include a Milwaukee industrial history tour; a churches and chocolate excursion; and, the most popular, a “greatest hits” Milwaukee tour, including stops at the Bronze Fonz, the Milwaukee Art Museum and a closing toast at the Pabst Mansion.
Most of the cruise ship passengers that arrived in the Polaris on Thursday were headed to the Great Lakes Shore Excursion.
As a born and raised Milwaukee resident, Nemetz also said her favorite part of the job is seeing visitors discover the city.
“One woman last year, when she was getting back on the cruise ship, she turned to me and said she was embarrassed she had never thought to come to Milwaukee in her 75 years,” Nemetz said. “She said, ‘I’m going to be back.'”
Milwaukee’s final ship of the season will be an American Patriot, part of the new American Cruise Lines trips, expected to arrive in the city Oct. 31. You can track the arrivals and departures of cruise ships throughout the season online using Port Milwaukee’s live vessel map.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A record-breaking cruise season is officially underway in Milwaukee
Reporting by Maia Pandey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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