By Paul Hubbard, Interim Executive Director Maritime Academy
Guest Column
On Friday, May 30, the Victory One Cruise Ship with 145 passengers docked in Toledo Ohio at the Port Authority across the road from Maritime Academy. The ship can accommodate 198 passengers. Victory One is the first Cruise Ship to dock in Toledo in 22 years according to Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz.
Victory One usually docks in Detroit once a week. However, the Grand Prix is in Detroit on the waterfront this weekend of May 30. The Victory One passengers were welcomed to Toledo by Maritime Academy art students with a welcome banner and a painting of a cruise ship.
Toledo School for the Arts provided Island music with its steel drums band. Passengers on Victory One were standing on the upper decks of the four-deck ship enjoying the dancing of students from Maritime Academy and the music from the School for the Arts.
The students from both schools enjoyed the experience and got good press coverage. Victory One sailed over night to Toledo from Sault St Marie, Michigan and cruised overnight to Cleveland from Toledo. From Cleveland it will cruise to Toronto, Canada.
While in Toledo for a day, some passengers took a bus trip to Detroit to the Henry Ford Museum which is next to the Motown Museum. Another bus full of passengers went to the Toledo Maritime Museum for a tour and spent time on the Museum’s boat. A third group of passengers went to the Toledo Museum of Art which is one of the top 10 art museums in the country.
Victory One’s chef treated guests to cruise ship type finger food and champaign. At the parking lot reception, Captain Andrew was presented with gifts including a Mud Hens’ jersey, crystal, a history book of Toledo and other nice gifts from Toledo’s mayor, Toledo Port Authority, Lucas County Commissioners, Maritime Museum, Destination Toledo and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur who has brought money to Toledo for Great Lakes projects.
The Metroparks’ frog mascot and Destination Toledo were also major participants with exhibits. At the end of the formal program people were taken on a tour of Victory One which is like a mini-Cruise Ship that sail the oceans. This was a great event that everyone there hopes will happen again in Toledo in the future.
