Boat with Cool History Arrives in Petoskey's Little Traverse Bay for Sunset Cruises
Published: Friday, July 28, 2023 10:00 am
By: Tanda Gmiter, MLive
Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company's newest boat is the Harbor Princess, which is booking sunset cruises now. Photo provided by Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company's Harbor Princess.
PETOSKEY, MI - When big boats motor into Petoskey’s beautiful Little Traverse Bay, they tend to attract attention. The neighborhood’s newest double-decker arrival is inviting people to step aboard.
The Harbor Princess - a boat with a storied history on two Great Lakes - has settled into its new home here and is now offering sunset cruises on the bay. It’s the new big sister in the Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company fleet. The ferry service for the last few years has been port-hopping around Little Traverse Bay with stops to pick up and drop off passengers in Petoskey and neighboring Bay Harbor and Harbor Springs.
For now, the Harbor Princess will be used mainly for sunset cruises. These evening trips will be offered several days each week. Each cruise departs from the Petoskey Clocktower Pier at 7:30 p.m. The cruises motor around the bay for about an hour and a half, then return to the pier at 9 p.m.
Tickets are $35 per person. A cash bar is available on board. The boat has two decks and covered seating areas.
You can book your tickets in advance on the company’s website here.
“We take pride in bringing Harbor Princess back to her rightful home,” said Capt. Chris Chamberlain, owner of Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company. “Given our success with our ferry on the Little Traverse Bay, it was a natural choice to introduce another vessel to the Greater Petoskey Area. Northern Michigan holds a special place in our hearts, and we couldn’t be more excited to extend a warm welcome to everyone aboard.”
Upcoming sunset cruise dates include:
- Thursday, July 20
- July 26 through July 29
- Aug. 1-5
- Aug. 9-12
For additional dates or information about private charters, see the details on the company’s website, www.littletraversebayferry.org.
The Harbor Princess is the newest fleet member of the Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company. It's now booking sunset cruises. Photo provided by Little Traverse Bay Ferry Co.
Cruise With History
People familiar with tour boats that ply the Great Lakes know that vessels can change hands and change names several times over the decades they are on the water. The same is true of the newly-christened Harbor Princess. This boat has a pretty cool history that includes two well-known islands and Michigan’s biggest city.
It was launched in 1955 and first known as the Emerald Isle, built for the Beaver Island Boat Company. The 65-foot boat could carry up to 125 passengers and nine vehicles between that remote island in northern Lake Michigan and Charlevoix, its mainland port. It was later bought by the Arnold Transit line to ferry people, horses and other cargo between Mackinac Island and mainland docks in the Straits of Mackinac. Its most recent incarnation under Chamberlain and his team was as the Diamond Jack, a dinner and river cruise boat in Detroit.
tags: Great Lakes, History, Lake Michigan, Michigan
