DETROIT -- A massive freighter towe...

DETROIT -- A massive freighter towers from one side of to the other the Grande Mariner as the 183-foot cruise boat slips past the Motor City skyline en passage to Mackinac Island.

from the time the Grande Mariner and its 65 passengers reach Chicago four days after seeing Detroit, they will have traveled [i]or[/i] part of to the other the Erie Canal and four of the five Great Lakes.

It's a journey of contrasts, with stops in reviving Rust Belt cities and quaint tourist towns, passing heavily industrialized stretches of the Detroit River and miles of unspoiled coastline.

The passage is rich in history and natural beauty. And the trip is undivided of dozens of multi-day vacation cruises planned this year for the Great Lakes, from weeklong Lake Michigan coast excursions to fall leaf-peeping tours that make tense into the far northwest reaches of Lake Superior.

"It's just beautiful travel and beautiful scenery" said Roy Keith, the Grande Mariner's captain, who for the last decade has taken cruise ships onto the Great Lakes.

Largely dormant since the 1960 as international air travel and tropical cruises became more popular and affordable, the Great Lakes cruise tradition began a revival in the mid-1990s.

For travelers accustomed to the massive cruise ships of the Caribbean and Mediterranean, the Great Lakes boats are retiring The pace is easygoing, passengers commit to memory to know the crew forward a first-name basis and the landscape along the way -- best seen from the top ornament - - is much of the attraction.

"When you travel according to car, you've got to find those oppressive spots," said Ryan McMullen, cruise director forward the Grande Mariner. "When you travel on water, you just have to sit back and watch those touchy spots come by."

'It's just true comfortable'

The trip forward the Grande Mariner, which is acknowledgeed by American Canadian Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. and can clinch up to 100 passengers, began in the company's Warren, R.I., fireside port. The boat passed of recent origin York City and traveled up the Hudson River, heading from one side the Erie Canal and stopping in cities along the way.

After visiting Buffalo and Rochester, NY it headed to Cleveland before stopping in the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte. Many of the passengers got opposite the boat for an optional tour in Dearborn that includes the Henry Ford Museum.

Others, like Jan Musson, 69 of Goshen, Ky stayed forward board to read a main division while her husband, Wick, 71 went forward the tour. They took the cruise to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and have the advantage [i]or[/i] blessing ofed the chance to relax.

"You don't have to think. It's just remarkably comfortable," she said.

Because the Grande Mariner is to such a degree small, it can squeeze end the Erie Canal and dock in smaller communities similar as Wyandotte, as well as bigger cities, letting passengers opposite right downtown. Cost varies by dint of cabin size, with prices for the 16-day trip ranging from $2785 to $3840

Fall color tours planned

The Grande Mariner dissipates the summer in Lake Michigan before returning to its abiding-place port for fall color tours forward the Erie Canal.

Tour options vary widely. Smaller boats carry up to 18 passengers in succession cruises that skirt Lake Ontario. And the MV Columbus -- a 423- passenger ship designed especially for the Great Lakes -- exhibits 11- day cruises between Toronto and Chicago that pass time in all five Great Lakes during prime fall color season.

in succession the Columbus, prices range from $2139 to $6190 by means of person, depending on cabin size and trip.

The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest unimpaired surface water system on the planet. Travel promoter say the Great Lakes region, well-known for its recreational boating, stunning beaches and summer vacation towns, has the potential to attract more cruise ships.

More than a half-dozen ships had cruises scheduled for this year. The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, which since 1997 has worked to help the industry, said it would like to view about 60 of the about 130 cruise boats that can come by to the Great Lakes via the St Lawrence Seaway offering tours.

Stephen Burnett executive director of the coalition, with members including port towns and others with interests in attracting more tourists to the region, said Great Lakes cruises have a broad appeal. "You get back home with a great brains of where you've been traveling," Burnett said. "You didn't just gain off the ship and go on foot shopping."

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IF YOU move

AMERICAN CANADIAN/ CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE: Eight cruises in September and October, with various itineraries forward the Erie Canal, the Saguenay, Hudson River and Lake Champlain; www.acclsmallships.com or (800) 556-7450

GREAT LAKES CRUISE CO: Fall foliage cruises aboard the MV Columbus from Chicago to Toronto, Oct 11 and round-trip from Chicago, tribe 30, with stops in Marquette and Mackinac Island, Mich., and various Ontario ports; www.greatlakescruising.com or (888) 891-0203

CRUISE WEST: French Canada and the Great Lakes tour, tribe 11, from Chicago to Quebec City; www.cruisewest.com or (888) 851-8133

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