A U.S.-flagged cruise ship makes its first visit to the Twin Ports today.
The M/V Yorktown is scheduled to arrive in Duluth around 6 a.m. and dock behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center for the day. After passengers disembark and new passengers board the 138-passenger vessel, the ship will depart Duluth around 11:30 p.m. for an 11-day Great Lakes Grand Discovery voyage to Detroit, with stops on Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. Today several passengers will take bus tours of the city, the Rose Garden, Glensheen and the Great Lakes Aquarium.
About 95 passengers are booked on each leg of the voyage, paying about $5,000 to $9,000 for the voyage.
Built in Florida specifically for coastal cruising, the ship was completed in 1988 as the Yorktown Clipper. The 2,354-ton ship is 257 feet long, 43 feet wide and draws 8 feet of water, enabling it to visit smaller ports. The Yorktown's U.S. registry makes it possible for the ship to offer domestic itineraries unavailable to foreign-flag ships. The ship features a forward observation lounge, walk-around promenade deck and all outside cabins.
The Yorktown is owned and operated by Travel Dynamics International, which sent the 4,077-ton Clelia II into the Great Lakes in 2009 and 2010. The New York-based firm acquired the Yorktown last year, and the ship made its maiden voyage into the Great Lakes in June.
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"It's great to see another passenger vessel visiting the Twin Ports this year," said Ron Johnson, trade development director for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and treasurer of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition. "It's a boost for the local economy and for several port communities along the lakes. We look forward to welcoming additional cruises in 2013 and beyond."
Travel Dynamics is planning additional Great Lakes cruises between June and September next year. Before then, the Yorktown will offer cruises in New England, on Chesapeake Bay, in the South and from New Orleans.
