The Great Lakes cruise industry flourished until economics, and the foul stench of pollution, nearly killed it off in the 50s. Maybe it's coming back --
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For about 120 years, Great Lakes cruise ships plied North America's inland seas, stopping at most major cities of the day.
On one of them in 1842 was English author Charles Dickens, headed across Lake Erie en route to Buffalo on his grand tour of North America.
Though the vestiges of that grand era ended sometime in the 1960s, Great Lakes cruising has staged something of a comeback in recent years.
In 11 years, the number of cruise passengers has multiplied 20 times from about 300 in 1993 to 6,000 last year.
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2005/03/14/story4.html
Posted by Dave at March 14, 2005 08:01 AM