Photo by Viking The Octantis, a Viking cruise ship and research vessel, is seen in Antarctica. The ship will make seven stops in Houghton as part of a Great Lakes cruise, part of nine total cruise visits to the Keweenaw this summer.

HOUGHTON — Houghton and the Keweenaw will welcome thousands of people seeing the area for the first time this summer as part of a series of summer cruises.

Between June 1 and Sept. 21, seven cruises from Viking and two from Victory will dock in Houghton.

Theresa Nemetz, founder of the Milwaukee-based Great Lakes Shore Excursions, had coordinated tours there with Viking. The cruise line later approached her about helping to coordinate activities at stops throughout the Great Lakes, including Houghton.

“We are from the Midwest, and we want all the things to be done to be really kept local, to feature local businesses, to feature local history, because one of the frustrating things for me is when someone just comes into your town and doesn’t see all the amazing things and know about the history of your town,” she during a presentation on the ships at Wednesday’s Keweenaw Alliance Breakfast.

The Viking cruises will use its new 665-foot expedition ships — smaller than an ocean liner, but the largest ship that could get through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Because the ship cannot fit under the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, it will have to turn 180 degrees and head back out to Lake Superior

The icebreaker ship is currently in Antarctica, where it spends half the year. In addition to a cruise ship, it also serves as a research vessel. The cruises are geared more at learning, including scientific equipment and an auditorium for lectures.

The ship will dock somewhere near the Kestner Waterfront park. Visitors will be carried to the shore by tender boats, which Nemetz said would carry about 40 to 70 people at a time. They will disembark near Bridgeview Park.

As required for international cruises, the city is also developing a port security plan.

“There’s going to be some barricades and some pedestrian channeling devices that are going to get put out for that day so we can get people on and off the tender boats processed, because those are the rules,” said City Manager Eric Waara.

Plans call for the ship to arrive at 8 a.m. and leave at 5:30 p.m. There will be two sets of excursions during the day, each lasting about two-and-a-half hours. About 90% to 95% of guests will do at least one, Nemetz said. They will eat lunch on the ship.

Among the excursions are visits to the Quincy Mine, a hike at Hungarian falls and a seaplane flight over Copper Harbor and Estivant Pines. One still being developed would bring people to Finlandia for a class on how to play harp.

A walking tour of Houghton will be centered around historic bars and breweries.

“As soon as we went to the Douglass House, we’re like, ‘Okay, this is something that we have to be able to showcase,'” Nemetz said. “And then we went over to the Ambassador, and we saw the amazing murals and we learned about the history of murals. We’re like ‘Okay, this could tell a really compelling story.'”

About 630 people will be getting off the Viking boat, including 300 or so guests, said Brad Barnett, executive director of the Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau. Victory’s total will be smaller, about 240 guests and 70 crew.

The Viking visitors will generally be between 60 to 80 years old, Barnett said. With ticket prices starting around $7,000, they will also generally be well-off.

Barnett cautioned people to temper their expectations of the economic impact. Because they’ve already spent on lodging and transportation, direct impact will be limited to entertainment spending at the excursions, with some limited food and beverage spending.

But it’s still important to make a good first impression. About 30% of cruise ship passengers ultimately return to one of their stops, Barnett said.

“This is the real economic impact of the cruise industry for communities like Houghton, Hancock and the Keweenaw at large: having a great first experience and then having them come back for longer vacations and longer experiences,” he said. “So we really want to put on a good show.”

He suggested businesses update their profiles on Google and TripAdvisor with current information and photos, as well as with the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce and KCVB.

Businesses with printed literature can also have it included in the information handed to passengers as they get off the boat.

Customers will have limited room to take things back to the boat, so Barnett encouraged them to offer shipping.

“Have signage ready to go in your window, or in your store, saying ‘Hey, we ship,’ because that will bring people into your brick-and-mortar store,” he said.

The crew’s staff will also be looking for consumable goods, such as sunscreen or socks, Barnett said.

Everyone will need to be back on the boat by 5 p.m., meaning they might need to make a quick exit. Barnett encouraged businesses to staff an extra person on those days to help process people.

There are also opportunities for volunteers to serve as ambassadors for the area during the visits, Barnett said.