There are many options available for charter boats large enough to seat several hundred guests for dinner and dancing, and some of these even offer cocktails and live entertainment. Often there is room enough for a dance floor and an area for a wedding ceremony.

The Chicago area has a couple of options large enough to handle this type of event and there are shifts available from Toronto to Minneapolis that are large enough to be able to handle a wedding at sea. These charter boats can be hired by the hour or the day and some will allow you to rent only part of the ship, so if your wedding party is a small one you may want to only hire one deck of a multi-deck ship.

But, this supposes you would be interested in a conventional charter. Remember that the Great Lakes has a number of schooners available for charter and many of these offer meals on board. What could be more romantic or exciting than wedding on a schooner under full sail? Yet another option to consider is one of the paddlewheel boats that still work some of the rivers connecting into the Great Lakes. These boats are often large enough to accommodate over 100 people and some still offer dinner on board.

If you are thinking about planning a wedding at sea, you’ll want to begin scouting charter companies early. Give yourself at least six months of time to find and select a company that you would like to do business with. Sometimes these boats are chartered months in advance, and so you need to leave yourself plenty of time.

Remember that you’ll need to find out if the charter boat has a galley or kitchen, and you’ll need to know if the charter company can provide catering or if you will need to have food brought in from outside. Other questions are: Will the charter company allow you to place decorations on the ship? Will you need your own ushers or will the company provide them? What arrangements can be made for late arrivals? Will the ship be at sea before the wedding or will that take place at the pier?

All of these are things you need to think about when planning a wedding on a charter boat. Getting answers to these questions will take some time to negotiate between yourself and the charter company, and you may need to search further away from home than your own port or city in order to find a charter company that you feel comfortable with.

Try to meet with the staff of the charter company well in advance of your event in order to help ensure that they understand your requirements and can meet them. A little extra time taken a few months in advance can save a lot of the hair pulling people go through as they try to figure out problems at the last minute.

A Great Lakes cruise can make a wonderful honeymoon vacation. It can also make a beautiful and romantic setting for your wedding. The wedding should be enjoyable and memorable. What could be more memorable than taking all of your guests on the charter cruise?

At 77 feet long, the Red Witch is somewhat smaller than her more northern cousin the Manitou, which resides in Traverse City, Michigan. Still, even though she is a little bit smaller, the Red Witch will carry a respectable 49 passengers for a wonderful afternoon of fun.

The Red Witch is operated by Lakeshore Sail Charters out of Chicago, which also offers Great Lakes cruises on the Crescendo, a 36 foot Beneteau that carries up to 6 passengers.

You can take Great Lakes cruises on Red Witch one of three ways, you can charter the entire ship for your group event, or if you have a small group and you agree to share the ride with another small group, you can enjoy a lower rate. According to their website, a shared charter is priced at $600 for two hours in 2009 pricing. This covers up to 10 people and after that it is $50 for each additional passenger. If you want a 3 hour tour, the fee is $900 for the first 10 people and $65 per person after that. Tours include soft drinks, water and snacks. These rates are a significant discount over the regular rate which starts at over $1000 for the two hour tour if taken on a weekday.

The other way to get a ride on the Red Witch is to take advantage of one of the special events this small charter company offers. The Red Witch offers a few “ticketed” events every year, this means that individuals can buy a ticket to sail on these specially scheduled events. The events that Lakeshore Sail Charters schedules are Wednesday and Saturday fireworks cruises, Whale Watching/Happy Hour cruises, and Musical Mondays. Tickets start at $50 per person, which is cheap enough when compared to the charter rates.

Besides, anyone who has lived around the Great lakes, or knows anything about the Great Lakes will tell you that the Whale Watching/Happy Hour cruise must be very interesting indeed. Even if you don’t see any whales, I’m sure you will return happy, and if you do see a whale…well, I guess you will return even happier.

Like all sailing vessels, the Red Witch makes tours of an approximate length, and the actual time it takes for the cruise may vary slightly based on the wind and weather, but the fun will always be large. If you live somewhere in the vicinity of Chicago and you long for a schooner ride, you might consider taking your Great Lakes cruises on the Red Witch.

If you want a truly unique dinner cruise experience, the Spirit of Chicago offers a Thanksgiving Dinner cruise featuring Walnut crusted turkey breast, orange glazed ham and slow braised center cut sirloin. There are also two after Thanksgiving Champagne brunch and dinner cruises available on November 27th. There are few other small ship cruise lines that offer this level of dining, or trips as late into the fall as the Spirit of Chicago offers.

For those who like the night, the Spirit of Chicago offers a midnight moonlight cruise. This Lakes cruise includes a professional DJ, cash bar and light hors d’oeuvres. Sorry, this cruise is adults only (over 21) and you must be able to show a valid photo ID before boarding.

Another cruise offering is the Sweetest Day Dinner cruise which is offered October 17th. Offering live music, champagne and memorable views of the Sweetest Day fireworks, this cruise promises to be a winner. Fireworks cruises are always popular among dinner and evening cruisers and small cruise ships offer an outstanding platform for viewing fireworks unobstructed by either buildings or milling crowds. The Spirit of Chicago offers an upper level observation deck as well as several open patios on the other decks and should allow excellent viewing.

Fireworks cruises are available on the Spirit of Chicago on the fourth of July, Sweetest Day and News Years Eve. Since many Great Lakes cruise ships are closed for business during the winter season, this makes the Spirit of Chicago exceptional as it offers cruises most of the year.

The spirit of Chicago offers three dining decks and an observation deck and has a reported capacity of 572 passengers. They will take single passengers, small groups or even large group charters that occupy one or more decks. The decks are open and spacious and appear well lighted. The ship departs from Navy pier and the cruise provider reports that ample parking is available at the Navy Pier parking lot. There is also a continuous running (and free to ride) trolley that carries passengers from the parking a lot along Navy pier.

There is a dress code of sorts for the dinner cruises, so be certain to check with the cruise providers for exact recommendations. These cruises are generally not shirt and tie affairs, but the cruise line prefers passengers on the dinner cruises be a little more dressy. There are also enhancements you can add to your cruise to make to more memorable. These include private tables, balloons, roses, appetizer plates, open bar, champagne, wine, souvenir glasses, photographs, guaranteed window seats and other perks that add to the experience of a Great Lakes cruise on this small ship.

For a unique day cruise, these folks offer two different glass bottomed boats that will take you to view a number of shipwrecks dating from the turn of the century (the last century, not this new one). Ships wrecked in Lake Superior tend to stay in reasonably good condition due to the cold temperature of the water, and the water is relatively clear. The tour company promises visibility of 50 feet or more which is good for many areas in the Lakes.

The 2 hour long tours include stops at 3 wrecks, the Bermuda, the Scow and the Herman H. Hettler. A guide narrates the visits and explains the history of the ship and the wrecks.

The company bills itself as the only glass bottomed boat company in the United States that views shipwrecks. This may be so, it is certainly the only one in Northern Michigan.

This short Great Lakes cruise also includes a view of the East Channel Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses on Lake Superior and the Pictured Rocks, a destination and tour worthy by themselves.

At the moment, fours cruises are offered per day in July and August, two per day in June, September and October. The cost is advertised at $30 for an adult and $12 for children 12 and under which places the pricing in line with other day cruises in the Munising area.

As a unique Great Lakes cruise that is hard to top anywhere, these Glass Bottom Boat tours are unlike anything else in this part of the world, and if you find yourself in or near Munising, you might want to consider giving them a try.

In fact, I found out cruise lines all have regulations about what can and cannot be carried aboard. Since the regulations are at least partly determined by the cruise line itself, the list of restricted items varies somewhat from company to company as does the disposition of the contraband. Most companies will simply confiscate the item and hold it until the cruise is over, then return it to the owners. In some instances, the goods may be destroyed or thrown away.

Perhaps the most common item to be confiscated is alcohol. Most Great Lakes cruise lines have a policy of some kind about bringing alcohol on board. Some allow it, and some do not. Along with alcohol is any kind of drugs other than prescription medicine. Remember, all prescription medicine should be brought in the original pharmacy bottles. In the eyes of someone searching a bag the difference between prescription medicine and illegal drugs is often only the label on the bottle–so, always bring the original bottle with the original label intact.

Other things to avoid bringing are anything that makes a flame other than a cigarette lighter and anything that produces heat. So, leave at home the candles, incense and hot plates. Some Great Lakes luxury cruises may also curtail the use of small appliances like irons and blow driers so be sure to check with the cruise provider before bringing these items.

Of course pets are usually not allowed on board Great Lakes cruises except for service dogs and even they require advanced permission to bring. Some people have been known to argue that the animals they want to bring are not pets and therefore fall outside the ban. Therefore, most cruise lines simply state “animals” and this is implied to include fish, birds, bug collections, etc. Likewise, plants, seeds, shrubs and other similar items are often banned. These last two categories are important especially to travelers who may go off on a shore excursion and want to bring something back on board with them. Check with the cruise line first.

Also banned on Great Lakes cruise liners and most other cruises are explosives, firearms, ammunition, fireworks, knives, axes, bottled gasses (except oxygen for breathing and again only with advanced permission), and anything else that might be considered a weapon in general.

Skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, pogosticks, bicycles, tricycles, unicycles and motorized carts or scooters (wheel chairs and scooters will again require advanced permission).

To round out the list, certain foods might not be allowed, fruits, vegetables, etc. This again can be a problem when visiting different ports.

The best advice is: When in doubt, leave it out.

Great Lakes cruises can be had for under $100 a person if you are willing to cruise for under 1 day. Longer trips can be had for under $1000 and still longer trips might reach the $5000 mark. A lot depends on length of the trip and what you expect out of it.

A nice thing about Great Lakes cruises is the number and variety of small cruise operators running one to three boats and providing sightseeing tours of the shoreline. These tours are often centered around a scrumptious dinner, but there are also shipwreck tours, color tours, ice cream social tours, wine tasting tours, paddle wheeler tours, fireworks tours, waterfall tours, river tours and a host of others. Almost every port on the Great Lakes has at least one operator offering these short tours and some of the larger cities such as Chicago have many.

It is important to remember that even though these ships are smaller, they are still required to meet stringent US Coast Guard requirements for passenger vessels, which means they are inspected for safety on a regular basis.

Even longer Great Lakes cruises may be cheaper in direct comparison to ocean cruises because the ships are smaller and less costly to operate. And, while the ships are smaller, they are still luxurious mini-yachts.

The waterways are still an important part of the U.S. and Canada. So, is it any wonder that a lot of people still enjoy their vacations on the decks of Great Lakes cruise ships?

Whether it is a Great Lakes cruise, some chartered fishing time, scuba diving, or a dinner cruise, Great Lakes ports provide it all. Several companies offer luxury cruises on the Great Lakes as well as ocean luxury cruises and dozens more offer charters and dive excursions. Great Lakes cruises are available in all of the lakes, although a bit of shopping might be necessary to find one Great Lakes cruise that goes to every lake.

A favorite course seems to be from the Northwestern tip of Lake Superior through Lakes Huron and Erie and to Niagra Falls, and this Great Lakes cruise touches a greater number of the Great Lakes that most other Great Lakes cruises known available.

Another fun thing to do is charter a boat for fishing or scuba diving. Great Lakes charter boats are usually smaller that the luxury cruise ships and are often run by individuals who either specialize in providing charter services or provide the services part time. Which is better? It depends on what you want to accomplish. For a Great Lakes dive excursion, a competent dive master is a must. But, many of these individuals don’t earn their living exclusively from operating a boat. Many may run dive shops, provide equipment repair or lessons, and are still more than competent to handle the occasional charter.

Fishing charters are often the same way. The charter captain may have fished the Great Lakes for twenty years and operated a boat all of that time and still only be a part-time captain. Sometimes, even full time captains can provide poor service.

Great Lakes cruise ships and charter boats are required to be inspected for safety by the U.S. Coast Guard. This is a thorough inspection that helps ensure the passengers will have a safe and happy trip. Passengers who are nervous about the condition of a ship can always question the crew about the results of this inspection. With only a small bit of caution and effort, most people are able to have a safe, happy holiday on their Great Lakes cruise.

Remember, that Great Lakes Charters, like Great Lakes Cruises are best enjoyed in the warmer months between June and early September, and if you prefer the air to be a bit less nippy, you might want to consider late July and early August.