We told you in February about how the former Ocean Navigator cruise ship was sold and set to return to Green Bay with a new name. Tuesday is the day of its return.
For the first time since 2023, a cruise ship docks in downtown Green Bay, at Leicht Park, as a group of roughly 200 passengers has a chance to tour Titletown on Tuesday.
Victory II, formerly the Ocean Navigator, is refurbished and now owned by Victory Cruise Lines — and docks in Green Bay this week.
"In 2022 and 2023, when the Ocean Navigator came to port, we just heard rave reviews from the passengers, from the moment they were greeted by our mobile Visitor Center to their tours around the city," said Nick Meisner, Discover Green Bay's vice president of marketing and communications. "They came back and said Green Bay was one of the best stops on on the cruise. And when you can do that, and those people go home and talk to their friends and family, and talk about the amazing experience they had in Green Bay, or even coming back for a little bit longer trip when they see all there is to offer — the benefits are endless."
Watch Karl Winter's broadcast story here:
The ship comes to the Bay of Green Bay from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, now making its penultimate stop on a 15-night cruise of the Great Lakes.
Meisner says it raises the city's profile.
"The waterfront looks beautiful when the ship is docked there," said Meisner, Discover Green Bay's vice president of marketing and communications. "So you know, from a visuals perspective, from just a storytelling perspective, knowing that we are on the Great Lakes, that we are a waterfront destination, the cruise ship enhances all of it."
The guests have a chance to visit places like Lambeau Field, the National Railroad Museum and the Green Bay Botanical Gardens before departing Wednesday.
The ship's next stop is Muskegon, Michigan before it heads back to Chicago, but it will be back at Leicht Park in two weeks (June 24-25), with a new group of cruisers.
