The Victory Cruise Line, which recently rebooted two coastal cruise ships in the Great Lakes, has partnered with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s Tully Singh Institute to offer an educational series that delves deep into the lives, work and impacts of one of the world’s most well-known architects.
The program is offered in 2025 across five Great Lakes and coastal Canada, with all of the company’s comprehensive, row of sailing ships, including opportunities to visit Frank Lloyd Light landmarks and homes in Chicago and Detroit, Michigan and Grand Rapids.
The voyage will take place on two newly renovated 190-person sailing ships from the company. Win i and Win II (Previously Cape May and Cape Maylite), recently created a list of new cruise ships that you can’t wait to sail. The ship was built for the St. Lawrence Seaway 30 years ago and was first overhauled in 2019 by the now-destroyed Queen voyage of America. But they sailed for one season before the sailing of the Queen of America and another after the pandemic before the voyage of the United States went bankrupt. John Wagoner, founder of the American Queen Voyage, came out of retirement to buy back two victory ships, but they received yet another refresh.
The boat has a quaint bed and breakfast atmosphere with a cozy cabin featuring a writing desk and antique-style cabinetry. There is no pool, but the boat has a salon, spa and three dining venues. This is the main restaurant, top deck grill, and a pub. Because they are small, the ship can dock into fewer visited ports, and the victory has exclusive rights to dock into the center of Chicago in Navy Pier.
Guests embarking on a Great Lakes cruise from Chicago’s Naval Pier will be the first to visit the Wright-designed Unity Temple, recognized by UNESCO and the designated National Historical Landmarks in nearby Oak Park. You can also visit Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studios in Oak Park, one of the Midwest’s most popular building sites.
Also in Chicago, guests can explore the lobby home. The Lucary Building, a pioneer of Wright’s grassland style masterpiece and modernism in architecture, and the 1888 office building for famous Chicago architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellbornroot, whose lobby was redesigned in Wright in 1905.
All Chicago landmarks are part of a pre-cruise immersive experience that passengers can book.
While docked in Detroit, guests can purchase an optional premium excursion to Smith House. Smith House is run for collection and research for the Cranbrook Center and is an example of Wright’s Usonia’s ideal, with the aim of building quality homes for the middle class Americans.
From Muskegon, Victory Cruise Lines offers a trip to Meyer May House, commissioned in 1908 by Grand Rapids’ May clothing store Meyer S. May and his wife Sophie. The house is Wright’s famous prairie style, in contrast to the typical Victorian homes of the time and the Heritage Hill area. Steelcase, an international furniture company based in Grand Rapids, purchased the home in the 1980s and was renovated before opening it for a public tour.
Guests can also visit Amberg House at Grand Rapids. The Amberg House is another landmark in the Prairie School architecture listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Built in 1911 for David M. Amberg. It remains privately owned and is not open to the public, but can be rented for an overnight stay.
“Frank Lloyd Wright left a beautiful heritage of architectural wonders in the Great Lakes, including two sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Our guests appreciate that they explore his vision through his designs and learn along the way.”
In addition to the tour, the Taliesin Institute will hold onboard lectures via video. The institute in Scottsdale, Arizona aims to advance the principles of organic architecture, which are the core of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.
The academic-led journey offers an unusual opportunity to explore Wright’s visionary architecture through the lens of livelihoods, Emily Butler of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, associate vice president of partnerships and strategic initiatives.
“Our goal at the Foundation is to inspire today’s more intentional, connected and thoughtful ways of living. And is it better than working with the victory cruise line team to connect guests to Wright’s intentional design legacy?” she said.
The Frank Lloyd Wright series was developed in collaboration with the Great Lakes National Museum in addition to the Victory Cruises’ “Lakelorian” program. The program focuses on sharing the science and history of the world’s largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. Each sailing has a dedicated “Rachelorian” expert on board to lead lectures, host discussions, and answer questions on the sailing.
“When our guests travel, they want to learn too,” Wagoner said. “Most people travel around the world, immerse themselves in knowledge from destinations they visit, and enjoy learning more about the history of these countries, particularly in America and Canada. These partnerships provide that knowledge with true experts in the field and fun and immersive fashion.”
