CLEVELAND, Ohio – A new cruise line is coming to the Great Lakes, and this one will start and end sailings in Cleveland, adding an economic boost to the city.
American Cruise Lines, known for its U.S.-based river cruises, will start sailing three Great Lakes itineraries in 2026.
Unlike other Great Lakes cruise companies, American Cruise Lines will stop only at U.S. ports, skipping Canadian cities, so passengers won’t need a passport or have to go through customs.
“Guests have long asked for our style of cruising on the Great Lakes,” said Charles B. Robertson, president and CEO of American Cruise Lines. “We are now proud to offer these cruises as only American can, aboard a new small ship sailing 100% domestically.”
David Gutheil, interim president and CEO of the Port of Cleveland, called the announcement “extremely good news for Cleveland,” in part because of the increase in spending that comes from starting or ending a cruise in the city.
No other cruise company operating in the Great Lakes starts its trips in Cleveland.
The cruise line will use Cleveland as its embarkation city for two of its itineraries, including its signature 14-day American Great Lakes sailing, which starts in Cleveland and ends in Milwaukee (or the reverse). In addition, the nine-day Great Lakes and Thousand Islands itinerary starts in Cleveland and ends in Syracuse, New York (or the reverse).
These are not bargain vacations. The nine-day cruise from Cleveland starts at $8,675 per person; the 14-day sailing runs $14,270 per person and up.
All cruises include a pre-cruise hotel stay and domestic airfare.
Activities in Cleveland are likely to include trips to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Art, and excursions to Amish country.
The company is also offering a third itinerary, a nine-day trip through Lake Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, starting and ending in Milwaukee.
Gutheil said the new cruise line likely will not dock at the Port of Cleveland, just west of Huntington Bank Field, which is where the other Great Lakes cruise ships tie up. The American Cruise ship won’t need to use the port’s customs facility because it is sailing only to U.S. ports.
In years past, some small cruise ships have docked along the Cuyahoga River in the Flats.
“They are still working out the final schedules and docking location,” said Gutheil.
American Cruise Lines will use its new 130-passenger ship, American Patriot, in the Great Lakes. The ship features 69 all-balcony staterooms, plus two restaurants, a top-deck lounge, walking track, fitness center and other amenities.
Founded in the 1970s, American Cruise Lines is the largest river and small-ship cruise company in the United States. The company, headquartered in Connecticut, has 28 small cruise ships that sail along the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers; the Columbia-Snake river system; and along the East and West coasts.
The addition of American Cruise Lines to the Great Lakes comes as the region is nearing the end of a record year in 2025.
Earlier this month, Gutheil said the port expects 53 ports of call in Cleveland in 2025, with 8,000 total passengers.
The 2025 cruising season runs through October with ships from Pearl Seas, Viking, Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd and Victory cruise lines.
New Great Lakes cruises will start in Cleveland, stop only at U.S. ports
