With ship names like the Grande Caribe and the Pearl Mist, you might picture yourself plying the warm currents between Cozumel and Miami or perhaps making the rounds of the jeweled islands of the Bahamas, but one company is marketing cruises that echo the vessels, amenities and activities of more tropical locales – on the waters of our own Great Lakes.

VINTAGE PURSUIT

Chris Conlin is the owner of Conlin Travel in Ann Arbor, Mich., which got its start in the late ’90s. In 1997, he was working on group travel packages when he heard of a German vessel from the Hapag-Lloyd cruise line that brought one of their ships into the Great Lakes.

"Those cruise ships weren’t even all that accessible to Americans at that time," Conlin said. "The ship was full of German passengers."

Conlin was enthralled by the idea of having large cruise ships on the Great Lakes again, as the pursuit had faded away decades ago.

"So we formed a relationship with that company and started selling Americans passage on that ship," he said.

LAKE CONNECTION

The following year, Conlin and his father, travel industry veteran Tom Conlin, formed the Great Lakes Cruise Company, bringing in ships and expanding their services to become a singular source for Great Lakesbased cruises.

"We don’t own any of the ships individually," Conlin explained. "They are owned by their respective companies, and then we sell the trips to individuals and travel agents."

So far, their biggest customers have been from the southwest and western United States and mostly range from professional people to retirees, with few kids on board.

"We get a lot of guests from California, Texas and Arizona," Conlin listed, "also Florida and people who grew up in Michigan or Minnesota and then moved away.

Many of them tend to have already had some sort of connection with the Great Lakes, for instance having grown up near them."

WATER VIEWS

Other passengers are experienced cruisers looking for something more unusual to check off their bucket list.

"For people who haven’t grown up here, it’s very different, in that you get out in the middle of one of the lakes and it’s just like the ocean, where you can’t see shore at all," Conlin said. "They don’t expect that."

The cruises run an average of 6 to 11 nights, with Chicago to Toronto the most requested route so far. Conlin explained that it’s the easiest to access because of major airports in both cities, but the company now has four major ships running regularly, with a half dozen itineraries to choose from.

"Some of our cruises actually travel farther than the Caribbean cruises," he added.

POPULAR ROUTE

That aforementioned most popular route – Toronto to Chicago – also makes as many stops as many Caribbean cruises. Beginning in Lake Ontario, the route cruises through Niagara Falls, going through eight locks that allow passengers six or seven hours to either stay on the ship or disembark to visit the falls themselves. From there, the ship travels through Lake Erie, past Windsor and Detroit, docking so guests can check out Greenwich Village or the Henry Ford Museum. Then it’s up Lake Huron to Georgian Bay.

"That’s one of my favorites," Conlin said, "great topography, all those islands, cottage communities and the biggest freshwater island in the world: Manitoulin Island."

Up next is a visit to Mackinac Island, then underneath the Mackinac Bridge and onward to Holland, Mich.

"We sometimes stop in Traverse City along the way," Conlin added, "and then, ending in Chicago, we pull right into Navy Pier."

CLASSY CRUISERS

By now, you’re probably wondering about the ships themselves. While far less glitzy than the major Caribbean lines, these ships still carry a similarly elegant seafaring aesthetic, from their chic dining rooms to their comfortable accommodations.

The Grande Caribe and the Grande Mariner are the two more casual ships, decked out in festive colors with a flatter ship profile that’s designed for moving through shallower waters.

The Pearl Mist and Saint Laurent offer additional decks and more upscale decor in calm blues and earth tones, with all their cabins "outside" (all with windows, some with private balconies.) The larger ship’s staterooms include such amenities as honeycomb robes, high-quality linens, bottled water, fine bath amenities, flat-screen TVs and available WiFi.

Food selections vary from day to day on all ships and are served in well-appointed dining rooms. And then there are the activities – everything from the shore excursions previously mentioned to libraries, spas, lecture programs, cooking classes and lounges with nightly entertainment.

UNIQUE CLUB

The only catch to all this? The price doesn’t exactly rival Caribbean cruises of similar length, which you can sometimes snag for as little as $800. Seven nights start at $1,999 per person on the smaller Great Lakes ships, $4,910 on the larger ones, and that doesn’t include shore tours or gratuities.

"The prices may seem high to some people, but for one, these are ships that carry, at most, a couple hundred people, not thousands of people, so it’s a much more personalized journey," Conlin explained. "It’s also more expensive to sail in the Great Lakes, from the costs of going through the locks to provisioning the ships themselves."

He added that these trips are well worth the cost for the perspective they offer on the lakes; and since there are far fewer ships making these cruises than there are ships in the Caribbean, they also put guests in a much more unique travelers "club."

"The Grande Mariner was my own first Great Lakes trip, around 1999," Conlin said. "And I’ve been on many others since then. They’re just magic."

For more information on the or to book a cruise, visit greatlakescruising.com. This year’s itineraries begin in early May.