Courtesy photo Escanaba Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Craig Woerpel speaks to the crowd at a workshop held Tuesday, March 21 at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce to discuss preparing for the American Queen Voyages Cruise ships docking in Escanaba this summer.

ESCANABA — The Delta County Chamber of Commerce and Escanaba Downtown Development Authority hosted a workshop on Tuesday for area businesses and community members to learn about the American Queen Voyages ™ (AQV) cruise ships that will be docking in Escanaba at North Shore Marine Terminal and Logistics’ deep-water port this summer. It was a full house at the workshop, as over 75 people came to discuss how they can best serve the cruise guests who will be coming to Escanaba.

If the enthusiasm and thoughtful questions posed by area business people and community members are any indication of the kind of welcome our cruise ship guests will receive this summer, it’s going to be great!

The workshop was led by Chamber Executive Director Vickie Micheau and Escanaba Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Craig Woerpel.

Attended by many Delta County businesspeople and community members, the workshop helped give them clarity on how they can plan for the extra visitors this summer. According to Woerpel, the workshop was very fruitful.

“The workshop went very well,” Woerpel said. “I was impressed with the number of people who were asking questions and giving great suggestions.”

Woerpel noted that there will be approximately 170,000 travelers on the Great Lakes this year. We [in Escanaba] are going to be greeting about 5,600 of these travelers–potentially from all over the world–during their 26 visits this summer, which shows the tremendous potential for the future.”

Cruise ship passengers will be able to take a ‘Hop On Hop Off’ bus route down Ludington Street with stops at various businesses, including Sayklly’s Confectionery & Gifts, Sand Point Lighthouse, and the Delta County Commerce Center building to tour the Webster Marble: Inventing the Outdoors Museum and U.P. Military Museum, which are both housed at the Commerce Center building. Passengers can choose to visit other businesses in town, visit Ludington Park, and any other establishments during their day-long stay in Escanaba.

The Bonifas Arts Center is one of the stops the cruise ship guests will make in Escanaba. Kate Oman, Bonifas Gallery Director, described some of the ways the arts center will cater to the cruise ship passengers: “We’re going to do everything we can to meet the needs of our visitors this summer. Along with our long-anticipated traveling show, ‘Vitality and Continuity’ exhibit, we are going to offer pop-up classes for the cruise ship participants, and opportunities for them to shop for artwork by our local artists in our studio gallery and our Kasota Gift Shop.” The Bonifas will also extend their hours for the cruise ship dates.

Micheau said the American Queen Voyages executive staff met with the Chamber staff and other city leaders in late January and were impressed by the Escanaba businesses and community’s offerings. “We appreciated the enthusiasm of the American Queen Voyages crew who visited Escanaba in January to discuss the plans for their scheduled stops in Escanaba.”

Micheau said she is extremely pleased with the amount of people who participated in the workshop and shared their knowledge, and everyone’s enthusiasm. She is looking forward to the arrival of our cruise ship guests this spring and summer.

“We want to thank all the businesses and members of our waterfront community for coming to our workshop to learn about how they can best serve our cruise guests this summer. We know they will make us shine. We hope this will be the first of what will hopefully be many stops for cruise ships in the years to come.”

American Queen Voyages Great Lakes cruise ships will dock in Escanaba starting on May 14 on various days and running through Oct. 2. Each ship will hold up to 202 passengers per trip; the cruise line’s 26 visits will have a projected economic impact of $1.2 million to the Escanaba area.

Because it is a Great Lakes cruise, the AQV passengers will also be offered the opportunity to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the shoreline of Lake Superior as an excursion, traveling to Munising from Escanaba via chartered bus. Since AQV is a private company, they are making the decisions on the specific shore excursions they are offering their passengers.

Micheau said she knows the local businesses will welcome our visitors this summer and serve them with kindness and professionalism. She reiterated her pride and thankfulness to the community for their continual support and dedication to the Delta County area: “Our members are continually showing their ongoing commitment to our local area,” she said. “Their support and dedication will undoubtedly make our waterfront community shine this summer when we welcome our cruise ship guests.”

For more information on American Queen Voyages, visit their website: HYPERLINK “http://www.AQVoyages.com” www.AQVoyages.com, or call the Chamber at (906) 786-2192.

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Vicki LaFave is with the Delta County Chamber of Commerce