Cruising the Great Lakes: Toronto to Chicago

Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Fairmont Royal York or Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. A transfer is included from Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport or Toronto Union Train Station to your choice of two premium hotels in the heart of downtown, Fairmont Royal York or Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. Settle in and join us for a welcome reception followed by dinner at Casa Loma, a castle in the city center with an intriguing history and magnificent views of the Toronto skyline. Stay Two Nights: Fairmont Royal York (D)

Drive to Niagara Falls to see the awesome power of the falls up close aboard a private boat (raingear provided). The falls on the border between the US and Canada – Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls – pour 6 million cubic feet of water over their crests every minute, cascading down 170 feet and churning clouds of mist with a roar that can be heard for miles, a stirring experience you'll never forget.

Then a tour, tasting, and lunch await you in Niagara on the Lake at Chateau des Charmes winery, surrounded by rose gardens. Chateau des Charmes has won awards for its artisan wines, set in a region fast becoming known as an international wine destination. Return to your hotel in Toronto, and the evening is yours. The city is hip, vibrant, and some of its best restaurants and nightlife are close by. (B/L)

Take your choice of sightseeing excursions in Toronto today. A visit to the Royal Ontario Museum offers you the world under one roof, with 40 galleries and a collection of 6 million artifacts of art, culture, and natural history, from dinosaur fossils to African art, Egyptian treasures, South Asian culture, meteorites, giant totem poles, and Canadian history. Or visit the Ontario Art Gallery, housing 90,000 works of art from the first century to the present, including major works by Rodin, Picasso, Goya, Tintoretto, Degas, Rothko, and many more; not limited to paintings and sculpture, its collection includes historic objects, architecture, ship models, medieval illuminations, and video art.

Enjoy free time to explore Toronto on your own then embark on either Le Dumont d'Urville or Le Bellot, your home for the next seven nights. This evening, sail Lake Ontario, bound for Detroit. Stay Seven Nights: Le Dumont d'Urville or Le Bellot (B/D)

At Port Weller, your ship enters the Welland Canal, which links Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, for a day spent at sea. The 27-mile canal is a marvel of engineering which allows ships to bypass the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. Through a series of eight locks, your ship rises to a level high enough to cross over the Niagara Escarpment, sometimes called the Backbone of North America, a passage that takes about 11 hours. An onboard lecture on the canal and its history is provided by expert Howard Shuster. After passing through the cities of Welland, Thorold, and St. Catherines, the ship emerges at Port Colborn, and sails the length of Lake Erie towards Detroit. (B/L/D)

After arriving in Detroit midday, you’ll have a choice of activities in and around the city today. Get a guided tour of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village – a.k.a. The Henry Ford – in Dearborn... an amazing, award-winning, state-of-the-art museum with interactive exhibits dedicated to innovation, not just in machines, but in trailblazers who shaped the world we live in. In 9 acres of exhibition space you can step aboard the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat; make yourself at home in Buckminster Fuller's autonomous Dymaxion House; discover the science behind Pixar animation and motors that moved the nation; see the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop; Thomas Edison's laboratory, Igor Sikorsky's prototype helicopter, the house Henry Ford was born in, and the courthouse where Lincoln practiced law.

Attached to the complex is Greenfield Village, a living museum with costumed interpreters, historic structures, and working steam locomotives. Alternatively, take a guided sightseeing tour of Detroit's famous landmarks, including the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant that produced the first Model T; the Motown Historical Museum, a pair of modest houses where the record company was born in 1959; the Detroit Institute of the Arts; the Renaissance Center; and the award-winning Campus Martius Park, "crossroads of downtown Detroit." Dine aboard ship this evening and depart across Lake Huron, bound for Mackinac Island. (B/L/D)

Spend the day sailing Lake Huron up the scenic east coast of Michigan toward the Mackinac Straits. The eastern shore is called the Sunrise Coast, a long parade of beaches, sand dunes, inlets, small towns, and as many as 30 lighthouses. The vast freshwater lake also encompasses 30,000 islands. Enjoy the amenities aboard the ship, which include an infinity pool with a counter-current swimming system and transparent wall, fitness center, spa, sun deck, and panoramic lounge. (B/L/D)

Mackinac Island has been a popular retreat since the 19th century when wealthy industrialists built imposing summer cottages here. The island restricts the use of motor vehicles; except in emergencies, the only way to get around is by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage. It also maintains its period look so well that it feels like a small town serenely lost in time. Take your choice of a carriage ride or a bicycle tour around the island, past impeccable Victorian mansions, the picture-postcard main street of quaint shops and confectioners, out to the fringes of forest, marshes and beaches, and Fort Mackinac, a 19th century military outpost.

Lunch is at the palatial Grand Hotel that boasts the longest porch in the world (660 feet); since 1887, the hotel has entertained presidents and their wives; Mark Twain was a frequent guest, as was Thomas Edison – who gave the first demonstration of his phonograph on the porch. Don't leave without sampling the Mackinac Fudge! Enjoy dinner onboard tonight en route to Great Traverse Bay. (B/L/D)

You'll have a choice today once your ship arrives in Traverse City. One option is a visit to the Music House Museum, a treasurehouse of working, antique automated music machines. Among the collection you'll find calliopes, nickelodeons, player pianos, a 1922 Amarylis (dance organ), a 1924 Wurlitzer theatre organ, air-powered music machines, music boxes, and a reproducing piano used by Rachmaninoff and George Gershwin (though probably not at the same time). There are also recreations of a saloon, a lyric theatre, and a general store on the premises. Alternatively, explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, where miles of beaches and forest are dominated by immense sand dunes draped over the headlands, rising 400 feet above the waters of Lake Michigan in an awe-inspiring seascape.

Following lunch aboard the ship or in town (your choice), pay a visit to Brengman Brothers' Vineyards for a tour and tasting. The area around Traverse City is one of Michigan's primary wine-producing regions, where the sandy soil and lake climate are ideal for the Brengman Vineyards' estate grapes such as Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Pinot Gris, Chardonnays, and Pinot Noirs; tour the cellars, sample their award-winning wines, and learn about the brothers' sustainable, organic methods of viticulture, which include sheep for weed control and guinea hens for insect control. Tonight, sail for Muskegon, midway down Michigan's western shore. (B/L/D)

Head out from Muskegon for a choice of activities. You may choose to travel to Saugatuck to experience the giant sand dunes that line the shores of Lake Michigan; dunes as high as 200 feet rise along an area of woods and beachfront on privately owned land, where you can ride through the scenic, wind-carved landscape in a modified Jeep vehicle on a fast-paced, exciting ride with an experienced guide*, and learn about its natural history and ecology.

Or visit the town of Holland, an enclave of Dutch culture, complete with dikes, canals, tulip gardens, and Dutch architecture, settled by Dutch immigrants in the 19th century. Its array of downtown shops even includes a wooden shoe factory. Visit Windmill Island Gardens, which feature a working 250-year-old windmill brought from the Netherlands; the historical district, and the scenic Hope College campus, established in 1851 by the Dutch Calvinists who built the town; Holland is on the National Register of Historic Places. Return to your ship early this evening as you chart a course for "The Windy City." (B/L/D)

In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire burned a swath through the city center, erasing thousands of buildings and leaving more than 100,000 people homeless. But the catastrophe left space for new generations of architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and Mies van der Rohe to fire up their creativity, fueled by the city's fabulous industrial wealth.

Upon arriving in America’s “Second City” this morning, get a dazzling, informative look at their legacy today on an architectural sightseeing cruise along the Chicago River, with a docent from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Learn about Chicago's role in the development of skyscrapers, as you absorb the eclectic styles and histories of its landmark buildings, like the Tribune Tower, the Willis Tower, and the Wrigley Building, and the stories of the architects who built them. Get a taste of the city's famous stuffed, deep-dish pizza at legendary Giordano's Pizzeria. Check in to your choice of downtown hotels: Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, or Four Seasons Hotel Chicago; settle in, and enjoy the evening as you please. Stay Two Nights: Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (B/L)

You have a choice of two sightseeing tours this morning. Visit the celebrated Chicago Art Institute, a palatial Beaux Arts-style building on Michigan Avenue that houses more than 300,000 works of art and an architectural school that has had a profound influence on design in America; the landmark building debuted as part of the Chicago World Exposition in 1893, and a local guide will introduce you to its iconic features and extraordinary history.

Alternatively, take a guided walking tour of Millennium Park (leisure or active pace... you choose), inside the Loop, the central business district; built to welcome the 21st century, the park has become the city's centerpiece with imaginative features like the bandshell Pritzker Pavilion, the Cloud Gate, a reflective sculpture, the Crown Fountain, an interactive video sculpture, and the Lurie Garden atop the world's largest green roof. Spend the rest of the day exploring Chicago on your own then join us tonight for a farewell reception and dinner at your hotel. (B/D)

Tour ends: Chicago. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park or Four Seasons Hotel Chicago to Chicago O'Hare or Midway Airports. Allow three hours for check-in. (B)