DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — A Viking cruise ship carrying about 300 passengers arrived off Algoma Thursday, ferrying visitors to shore by tender boats — but one popular destination was off limits.
Crescent Beach was closed after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources found elevated levels of E. coli bacteria in testing.
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Bradley Kautenburg, executive director of the Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce, said the ship's arrival still drew plenty of attention.
"The first initial shock is, wow it's a cruise ship in a small town. No one anticipates to see a cruise ship when they come to Algoma."
"It's a different way to travel around the Midwest."
For some visitors, the beach closure meant changing plans. Cheryl Multerer, who traveled from Menominee, Michigan, said she had been looking forward to the stop.
"We traveled all the way from Menominee Michigan, we could not wait to get here, this is my favorite beach to go rock and fossil hunting and we seen the sign, the red flag."
Fellow rock hunter Danielle Swan said the group ultimately decided to stay.
"We kinda got disappointed, we were gonna turn back but it just said don't swim so we thought we could pick rocks."
The DNR closes a beach when bacteria levels exceed 1,000 colony forming units — a measurement used to determine the number of living or viable bacteria cells — per 100 milliliters of water.
Kautenburg said the closure is not necessarily long-term.
"The beach is tested often enough where today the flags are red, tomorrow they could be green, it's not a permanent closure."
The DNR recommends checking beach conditions before heading out to swim, especially after heavy rainfall, and avoiding the water if a beach is under a swim advisory or closure.
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