GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — After years in-the-making, it’s a sight that may be coming to Northeast Wisconsin for the very first time.
The Great Lakes Cruise Ship called the “Ocean Navigator” was recently spotted in ports around the Great Lakes, and anticipation is growing at the Port Green Bay, for a scheduled arrival on Thursday.
“It’s really exciting. We’ve been working on this for six plus years. Between COVID, and sales of the cruise ships, and things like that. So, it’s really nice that it’s finally here,” said Sue Broberg, C & M Presents Owner.
Broberg books tour groups for a living, and says bringing cruise ships to Green Bay is a good fit.
“We’re on the water. We’re on the big Fox River, out into the bay of Green Bay, and out into Lake Michigan. So, it’s about time that they stopped by-passing us, and stop to see what we have to offer here in Green Bay,” she said.
The nearly 290-foot Ocean Navigator is on its way. It has been making stops at various ports of call, like Michigan’s Marquette, and Houghton too. Broberg says the ship offers first class accommodations, and when the 108 passengers dock in downtown Green Bay, they will visit local sights, including the Neville Public Museum, and of course, Lambeau Field.
“There’s a buzz about cruise ships, and I think it’s something unique that is happening in the Green Bay community,” said Cameron Teske, Discover Green Bay VP of Visitor Experiences.
Teske says there is demand for Great Lakes cruises, and says his group will track the tourism numbers.
“We always look back at an event like this, and measure where did they go? Who spent what? And where were they all coming from? So we do it when we have actual data not all these projections,” he said.
The Ocean Navigator is expected to arrive before 7:00 Thursday morning. Teske says he will be here to greet the ship.
“When the community’s excited, the passengers, the visitors, they feel that excitement, and they feel that welcoming, and that’s when everyone has an even better time,” he said.
In addition to Thursday’s stop, the ship is scheduled to make another overnight visit to the Port of Green Bay, on June 30th.
