The view of Lake Michigan from the cedarwood sauna on the Ponant Le Champlain was an expanse of blue as far as the eye could see. The vista truly wasn’t that different from what I’d seen from land, but it felt more vast, nuanced, and alive when at sea. Earlier that day I had also been surrounded by cedar, albeit in the North Woods of Mackinac Island, which was the last official stop before disembarking in Milwaukee on the Voyage Along the Great Lakes, a Smithsonian Journeys and Ponant Explorations cruise.
Smithsonian Journeys and Ponant, a French cruise ship operator, have been partners for almost five years and in 2026 will offer three dozen departures. Ponant supplies the sailing vessels, in this case the intimate Le Champlain ship with just 92 staterooms that can accommodate 184 passengers. Smithsonian and Ponant partner on the itineraries while Smithsonian sources the experts onboard. For the Great Lakes voyage from Toronto to Milwaukee, the focus was a combination of natural and man-made wonders (waterfalls, locks, and the maximalist interiors of Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel) and history of the areas we visited both on land and at sea.
While I grew up in Chicago, Lake Michigan was never a huge part in my life. There were, to my mind, more interesting shores to seek out, preferably on other continents. But I have since been convinced of the treasures in my own backyard after being on board. I awoke the first morning to find that our ship was entering the 27-mile-long Welland Canal, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The ship’s sixth-floor Panoramic Lounge boasts floor-to-ceiling windows offering 180-degree views of the environs. It also has a massive outdoor deck, so I headed up to investigate. As I entered the lofty space, I was surprised to hear the voice of Viktor Kaczkowski, a towering, impressively coiffed transport geographer specializing in ships and canals. He treated us to a play-by-play of what was happening in the lock and to our ship. When the gates of the first lock slowly opened, I ran outside to observe the rising waters. It took about 12 hours to traverse all eight locks, which would ultimately raise Le Champlain to the height of Niagara Falls.
Having the Smithsonian Journeys experts on board for the sailing offered the promised highly informative lectures but also allowed for fun, often spontaneous interactions à la Kaczkowski’s Welland Canal narration. That evening at dinner I joined Fred Stonehouse, a noted maritime historian and Great Lakes explorer. The fascinating conversation revolved around Stonehouse’s encyclopedic knowledge and studies of the thousands of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. The biggest surprise of the dinner came when Stonehouse declared that the greatest maritime disaster in terms of the loss of passenger life was not the Titanic or the Lusitania. It was the SS Eastland, a steamer that in 1915 capsized while docked on the Chicago River, causing the deaths of 844 passengers. Despite my Chicago roots, I have passed that very spot many times unaware of its significance. Stonehouse also mentioned that the victims were brought to what was then the Second Regiment Armory, which later housed Harpo Studios, where Oprah Winfrey taped her talk show.