Victory Cruise Lines launched new Great Lakes sailings that focus on the works of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The voyages sail to Illinois, Michigan, and Canada and take passengers to important Wright sites.
While beach breaks, ziplining, and walking tours are common shore excursions on a cruise ship’s itinerary, architectural immersions are less so, particularly in the U.S. To geek out over design, cruisers would need to drop anchor in Milan or Barcelona.
But a new partnership between Victory Cruise Lines and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is changing that by bringing architectural enthusiasts to some of the late architect’s sites in Illinois and Michigan.
The journeys will be available starting May 2025, onboard Victory I and Victory II. Fresh off a 2024 refurbishment, each ship can accommodate up to 190 guests in 95 staterooms.
There are lectures on board that educate travelers about Wright’s work, life, and legacy—all curated by the Foundation’s Taliesin Institute. Off board, there are shore excursions to his sites in three ports: Muskegon, Michigan; Chicago; and Detroit, Michigan. These are available on some of the 10-Night “Toronto to Chicago” voyages, the 10-Night “Chicago to Toronto” voyages and the 15-Night “Chicago Roundtrip”.
Victory Cruise Lines
Chicago is an epicenter of Wright’s work, as he launched his career in downtown Chicago working as a draftsman with Louis Sullivan. While ships dock at Chicago’s Navy Pier, travelers can visit four sites via the “Frank Lloyd Wright: His Home & Vision for the Future” excursion:
- Unity Temple, which Wright designed between 1905 and 1908 in the near-Western suburb of Oak Park.
- The Frederick C. Robie House, a 9,000-square-foot example of Wright’s Prairie School Style completed in 1910 near the University of Chicago on the city’s South Side.
- Wright’s home and studio in Oak Park, where he raised his family. It is also the largest concentration of Wright homes worldwide, home to 25 of his projects.
- The Rookery Building, designed by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root in 1888 in the Loop. (Wright was tasked to remodel the lobby in 1905).
In addition to Illinois, cruisers can also visit Wright sites in another Great Lakes state, Michigan. From the Muskegon port of call, one excursion visits the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, a Prairie School Style home completed in 1909, and the David M. and Hattie Amberg House Wright designed in 1911.
Journeys start from $5,779 per person and you can learn more or book your sailing at VictoryCruiseLines.com.
