MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Cruise ship operators that offer tours of the Great Lakes first suspended their 2020 schedules, then due to the cornonvirus those schedules were canceled.
This year was scheduled to be a record year for cruise ship stops at the Heritage Landing dock in Muskegon with four ships making 35 stops.
The stops which bring 100 or more visitors to town at a time were to start May 13, with the Victory II visiting Muskegon's downtown.
The 2020 scheduled called for two cruise ships to dock in Muskegon on the same day, a first for the city. That was to happen twice.
"We're seeing more and more benefits to the businesses in the community from the cruise ship passengers," said Bob Lukens with Visit Muskegon. "Mainly because we have more of them now, 35 calls compared to the typically 15 to 20 we would have, that was a substantial increase. It's going to hurt everybody a bit this year."
The last ship of the season was scheduled to stop in Muskegon on Oct. 16. If the cruise operator keeps previously released schedules for 2021, Muskegon will see nearly 50 cruise ship calls.
RELATED VIDEO:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
