Victory II Opens Duluth Summer Cruise Season

Duluth's summer cruise season opened Thursday as Victory II, a Bahamas-flagged Great Lakes cruise ship carrying about 200 passengers, arrived beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge and tied up behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The ship docked at the DECC seawall, where repair and infrastructure work was completed last year. The call gave Duluth its first cruise visitors of the season at the downtown waterfront, with passengers spending the day visiting local businesses across the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior. The DECC waterfront is Duluth's primary cruise docking location, giving passengers direct access to Canal Park and the downtown area. The port's cruise infrastructure also includes customs and security processing for foreign-flagged vessels, a requirement for Great Lakes itineraries that cross the U.S.-Canada border. Victory II was expected to depart Thursday evening. No full-season call count or next-port details were included in the announcement.