Port Milwaukee: Record-breaking cruise season in 2026

But yes, it is getting colder. We are shifting seasons here, and that means that the cruise season is officially over. Obviously not the time really to be out in a boat anymore. That wouldn't be too enjoyable. But joining us here on Fox 6 Now, Benji Tim, the Milwaukee Municipal Port Director. Tell me more about the 2026 season at Milwaukee's port. Record-breaking. That's huge. It is. Good afternoon, Haley. Yeah, so we're celebrating our record-breaking cruise ship year. We've had 62 cruise ships call on Port Milwaukee, and that brought about 20,000 passengers to our shores who eat at our restaurants, stay at our hotels, see all the attractions that Milwaukee has to offer. And it's a huge bump, and it just shows the power of cruising on the Great Lakes. There's a lot of interest in this region. Yeah, what does it mean for you guys as well, I mean, to have some of these cruise lines? Come back year after year, make Milwaukee a stop, but also now to be adding new cruise lines. I know American Cruise Lines stopped for the first time this past season as well. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we have six cruise lines that call in Milwaukee. And as you mentioned, American Cruise Lines is our newest company. And they're an American crewed and American owned vessel. And so they stop at American ports. So they're a little bit different than our international cruise ship lines. And they offer a different itinerary than the others. So that's what each of the cruise lines try and do. They try and stand out a little bit among the pool and try and bring different visitors in, different passengers in to experience different things. And I think, you know, you hit on this a little bit, but sometimes I think, you know, you hear cruising in Milwaukee and you think, well, that has nothing to do with me. I'm not on the boat. I already live here. But this does impact our economy. So why should we really care and celebrate that it was a record-breaking cruise season here? Yeah, absolutely. It brings a lot of money into our region, into our economy. People are staying at our hotels. They're eating at our restaurants. They're going to places like Purple Door Ice Cream and Lakefront Brewery. They're going to church. They're doing all the things that Milwaukee has to offer. And we really want to make sure that we stand out as a destination among the Great Lakes ports and keep bringing people to our shores and spending their money here. Yeah. And when you talk about keep bringing people to our shores, I know the expansion underway for the new South Shore cruise dock. What is the latest status there? I feel like at one point we thought maybe it was going to open in August. I know it hasn't done that yet. So kind of where's the status? Sure. The city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin invested $16 million in a new cruise ship dock, and that's just east of the Lake Express ferry terminal down here on the lake front. And that's really a dock that can accommodate the largest cruise ships that can come into the Great Lakes system, the Viking cruise ships. And it offers a kind of a dramatic view of the downtown skyline and really is an attractive place for passengers to disembark. Thank you, Mark. The cruise ship season will kick off in May of 2027. Viking will be our first cruise ship company coming here. And we really, we delayed the cruise ship opening, the dock opening this year until next spring. And really, we want to put it on the best face possible for all the passengers and all the visitors coming to Milwaukee. So we, you know, we could have opened it this year. But it would look like a construction site. So we have a beautiful new cruise dock, but it's still kind of a construction site. So next spring, we'll have some landscaping, and we'll really dress it up to kind of put our best foot forward for the people visiting Milwaukee. Yeah, absolutely. So next spring is when we can expect that dock to open. How exciting is it for you guys then to now be able to have some of these bigger cruise ships stop in Milwaukee because you have the structures needed? Yeah, well, so Viking does call in Milwaukee on a regular basis. In fact, this year we had two Viking ships at our port at the same time, which is the first time that's ever happened. So, So currently they call in our industrial dock, which isn't the most attractive place to disembark and view our city for the first time. With our new cruise ship dock, they'll be looking again at the skyline and getting a much more dramatic view of Milwaukee. And so it kind of just gives them a... More friendly greeting into our city, which we hope that they love and that they come back to. And again, to your point, that supports our economy, so there's plenty of benefits. Obviously, in 2027, the new dock will certainly be a highlight. What are some of your other kind of goals that you're already looking ahead to for next year and next season? So we're working with our partners at Visit Milwaukee and Great Lakes Shore Excursions to basically build bigger and better itineraries to diversify the portfolio and offer different things to the passengers who come here. But certainly we want them to come here and we want them to tell their friends, tell their family about it so that they encourage more development, more business, more traffic. We will have new development potential at our cruise ship dock. That's something that will be coming in the near future. So that's an opportunity for kind of a new development and new opportunities at that location. Yeah, absolutely. Anything else you wanted to mention while we have you here on Fox 6 Now? The Great Lakes are a wonderful place to visit. We encourage anyone to come see Milwaukee and enjoy all that it has to offer. Absolutely. Well, Benji, we really appreciate you taking some time this afternoon, and again, congratulations on your record-breaking 2026 cruise season. Thank you very much.