Great Lakes Cruise Company expands its educational tours

Michigan Public | By Stateside Staff

Published March 10, 2015 at 5:32 PM EDT

Chicago, one of The Great Lakes Cruise Company's destinations.

This year marks the17thseason of The Great Lakes Cruise Company, and three new cruises between Chicago and Montreal, along with a new ship, the Saint Laurent, will be introduced this year.

"What we're trying to bring to people in that itinerary is the history of the Great Lakes, the cultural aspects of the Great Lakes, the geography and the geology, and we have enrichment speakers aboard to talk about that," explains President of the Great Lakes Cruise Company Chris Conlin.

Conlin stresses the company is protective of the Great Lakes, careful not to bring invasive species to the area.

And for Conlin, it's also important that the destination for customers is not the ship itself, but the region.

"The concept here is to learn more about our nation's history, learn more about the formation of the Great Lakes and what role and importance they had in the formation of our nation," Conlin says.