Great Lakes Cities

[Steely Dan]

Well, it looks like we're gonna get a cruise ship docking at navy pier this summer after all.

Too bad it's not Viking Octantis.

New Cruise Ship Sailing Great Lakes to Dock at Chicago's Navy Pier
Published 5 hours ago • Updated 4 hours ago


A Florida-based cruise line sailing the Great Lakes will dock at Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier, becoming the only overnight cruise ship to do so.

A Florida-based cruise line sailing the Great Lakes will dock at Chicago's iconic Navy Pier, becoming the only overnight cruise ship to do so.

The Ocean Navigator from American Queen Voyages holds up to 202 guests and travels between Chicago and Toronto, stopping at ports in various places like Mackinac Island, Detroit, Cleveland, Niagara Falls and more.

Guests who book the cruise will get a pre-cruise hotel night and can take optional tours of the city, including the popular Chicago River Architectural Tour.

Source: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...r/2836134/?amp

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Well, it looks like we're gonna get a cruise ship docking at navy pier this summer after all.

Too bad it's not Viking Octantis.




Source: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...r/2836134/?amp

Yeah, those are the rebranded Victory cruise ships. They were sailing out of Calumet previously, but were able to purchase one of the Navy Pier operators right before the pandemic. Since the ships are only about 90m long, they can manage Navy Pier without too much trouble.

[Tom In Chicago]

This is interesting. . .

. . .

[Steely Dan]

i really like this image i came across of Viking Octantis heading up the Detroit River with one of the towers of the under construction Gordie Howe bridge and Zug Island in the background.


source: https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-...it/9627247002/

[deja vu]

There's a lot of awesomeness happening in that photo

[Velvet_Highground]

^^That really is a dope pic.

Speaking of Viking Octantis next year the Great Lakes are to be the northern hub of its new longitudinal cruise service. This mind blowingly long trip included a visit to Antarctica a tour of the America’s and either starting or ending in the Great Lakes.

Maybe in the future with the increased scope and popularity getting a slip on Navy Pier will be in the cards? Nothing against Milwaukee it’s got a top notch waterfront but when I think of Great Lakes & cities Navy Pier is is one of my top mental images.

These Brand-new Longitudinal World Cruises Sail From the Great Lakes to Antarctica — Here's How to Get on Board

Travel & Leasure
Stacy Leasca
June 1st 2022

The first sailing, Longitudinal World Cruise I, will depart on March 2, 2023, and conclude on May 5, 2023, taking 65 days to visit 29 ports across nine countries on three continents.

The trip will take guests south to north aboard Viking Octantis. The trip begins in Buenos Aires, where guests are invited to explore the Argentine capital to take in the art, architecture, and food before setting off on the rest of the journey.

From there, guests onboard will make their way to Antarctica where they'll see penguins, seals, and whales. Then, they'll sail back to Argentina, up to Chile, Peru, Ecuador, through the Panama Canal, then up to Mexico and the United States. In the U.S., guests will sail along the coast of Florida, South Carolina, and up to New York City. From there, they'll cross into Canada, going through Nova Scotia and Quebec before making their way to the St. Lawrence River, onto Ontario, back through the U.S. to Detroit, and finally ending the journey in Milwaukee.

….

On the other hand, the Longitudinal World Cruise II sails north to south aboard Viking Polaris. This journey is slightly longer — lasting 71 days and visiting 33 ports (still across nine countries and three continents). Polaris will sail from Duluth, Minnesota, to Ushuaia, Argentina from Sept. 12, 2023, to Nov. 21, 2023.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/cru...l-world-cruise

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i really like this image i came across of Viking Octantis heading up the Detroit River with one of the towers of the under construction Gordie Howe bridge and Zug Island in the background.


source: https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-...it/9627247002/

thats fantastic. Pure American Industry

[suburbanite]

Pretty sure the ship was built in Romania though.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Pure American Industry

or at least was. for now.

all 3 blast furnaces on zug island were indefinitely idled back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

who knows if US steel will ever restart them again.

[galleyfox]

Great Lakes ports already giving Octantis a hard time.

Great Lakes cruise ship bypassing Houghton because of high winds
https://www.wnmufm.org/tourism/2022-...-of-high-winds

https://www.cruisehive.com/viking-sh...kes-port/73085

Viking Ship Misses Great Lakes Port
https://www.cruisehive.com/viking-sh...kes-port/73085

[Velvet_Highground]

I didn’t think so at the time but now ehh maybe it’s possible? The war in ukraine taking out production in Russia and Ukraine and adding pressure to already straining global supply chains. Im not sure who would step in but someones gotta be thinking that just in time delivery is all well and good but there’s a reason why having a locally sourced option as part of the picture is needed.

Missed Bayfield too eh? They skipped Houghton a week or so ago due to bad weather as well. *I think it was heavy fog that time though first time in port tight squeeze and rocky shores n all. Great Lakes weather takes some getting used to compared to the sea the wavelength spaced closer together comes to mind.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

I didn’t think so at the time but now ehh maybe it’s possible? The war in ukraine taking out production in Russia and Ukraine and adding pressure to already straining global supply chains. Im not sure who would step in but someones gotta be thinking that just in time delivery is all well and good but there’s a reason why having a locally sourced option as part of the picture is needed.

Missed Bayfield too eh? They skipped Houghton a week or so ago due to bad weather as well. *I think it was heavy fog that time though first time in port tight squeeze and rocky shores n all. Great Lakes weather takes some getting used to compared to the sea the wavelength spaced closer together comes to mind.

yes, the lakes all have their personalities to get to know.

i have been out on lake erie many times as a kid and later on lake ontario barely making it back to shore before a horrible stormy gale blows over you in an eyeblink.

its kind of fun and scary as a kid racing a storm, but not so much as an adult when you know better than to doddle out there or play stupid dares with mother nature.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

or at least was. for now.

all 3 blast furnaces on zug island were indefinitely idled back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

who knows if US steel will ever restart them again.

I hope they don't ever restart them... at least not in their current form. US Steel lost its way long ago, and ceased to be a technological leader. Instead relying on milking century-old blast furnaces and coke ovens which are terribly inefficient and destructive to our air.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I hope they don't ever restart them... at least not in their current form. US Steel lost its way long ago, and ceased to be a technological leader. Instead relying on milking century-old blast furnaces and coke ovens which are terribly inefficient and destructive to our air.

tell me about it. that's why someone is trying to attract a new navy repair yard to ne ohio onto the site of a old us steel plant or nearby gypsum plant.

if us steel or anyone else can't pony up for new tech then let those crummy old steel sites go to be redeveloped.

now you might think well, good luck with that, but if cleveland can remediate and redevelop a freaking former highly poisonous battery plant site into the highly attractive residential battery park development, anything can be done if there is the will and effort to do it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I hope they don't ever restart them... at least not in their current form. US Steel lost its way long ago, and ceased to be a technological leader. Instead relying on milking century-old blast furnaces and coke ovens which are terribly inefficient and destructive to our air.

for sure, the old blast furnace -> basic oxygen furnace method of turning iron ore into brand new steel is horribly inefficient and polluting, but purely from a national security standpoint, our nation needs to maintain some amount of legacy capacity to make new steel from mineral ore at fully integrated steel works like the now idled great lakes works on zug island.

it's indeed a very good thing that more and more steel continues to be made from recycled scrap at electric arc furnace "mini mills", as steel is such a relatively easy material to recycle, but we still need to be able to turn some mineral ore into brand new steel as well.

at last count, i think there are only 18 operating blast furnaces left in the US (and 11 of those are at the 3 giant steel mills in NW indiana). it would be nice to see USX and cleveland-cliffs invest the necessary billions to modernize those facilities using the much less toxic DRI -> EAF method for processing iron ore into steel, but with the way the US steel industry has taken it on the chin over the past handful of decades, that's probably a big ask. but we can hope, right?

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

its kind of fun and scary as a kid racing a storm, but not so much as an adult when you know better than to doddle out there or play stupid dares with mother nature.

Isn't that partly why the Edmund Fitzgerald sits at the bottom of Lake Superior?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Isn't that partly why the Edmund Fitzgerald sits at the bottom of Lake Superior?

yeah, the floors of the great lakes are littered with thousands of ship wrecks.

but the edmund fitzgerald was the last major ship to sink to the bottom back in 1975.

modern technology like weather radar/satellites, navigation radar, sonar, GPS, and the like has made commercial shipping on the great lakes orders of magnitude safer.

prior to the fitzgerald, large commercial ships were frequently lost on the lakes.

It's kinda hard to believe that's it's been almost half a century now since a major ship was lost on the lakes.

[mrnyc]

o geez — here we go — get ready

watch stephen a. and mad dog chris russo go at it over mad dog’s pick of the top city with the best sports fanbase.

you know what it is cleveland.

https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/34096932

[bnk]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I hope they don't ever restart them... at least not in their current form. US Steel lost its way long ago, and ceased to be a technological leader. Instead relying on milking century-old blast furnaces and coke ovens which are terribly inefficient and destructive to our air.

So outsource energy intensive industry to China and other Asian countries.
So we can virtue signal how clean we are. The EU does this too.

Also "we don't no stinking jobs". Also It's not important to be able produce things anymore, we have other countries that could put us over the barrel. Who needs to be independent and not rely on risky supply chains. From medication, rare earths, military components ect... , so many things we choose not to make or mine in the USA.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

tell me about it. that's why someone is trying to attract a new navy repair yard to ne ohio onto the site of a old us steel plant or nearby gypsum plant.

if us steel or anyone else can't pony up for new tech then let those crummy old steel sites go to be redeveloped.

now you might think well, good luck with that, but if cleveland can remediate and redevelop a freaking former highly poisonous battery plant site into the highly attractive residential battery park development, anything can be done if there is the will and effort to do it.

For what it's worth just a few weeks ago it was announced that Stelco's old steel plant lands in Hamilton (800 acres worth) sold for $400 million USD. To be redeveloped with modern industrial uses:

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...velopment.html

A $518-million deal to purchase all of Stelco’s prime waterfront land is poised to transform the massive former steelmaking territory into a “state-of-the-art” industrial park.

In a media release Wednesday, Slate Asset Management announced its plans to purchase and transform around 800 acres of industrial land once dedicated to steelmaking into a revitalized commercial district — a development that a study from Ernst & Young said could create up to 23,000 new jobs and inject $3.8 billion into Ontario’s economy.

The deal was inked Wednesday, according to a press release from Stelco.

In a statement to The Spectator, Stelco spokesperson Trevor Harris confirmed the sale includes all of the Stelco land, which sits at 386 Wilcox St. by the harbour.

The remaining steel plant in Hamilton, Accelormittal-Dofasco, is also about to begin a $1.4 billion USD electrification process to remove it's coal blast furnaces and replace them with electric equivalents. The conversion, as well as the conversion of Algoma Steel's mill in Sault Ste Marie will result in a reduction of Canada's Greenhouse Gas emissions by 1% from the two projects alone.

https://www.canadianmanufacturing.co...turing-278712/