Cruise Toledo's Coast
J&M Cruise Lines adds a new vessel and Lake Erie Islands route to its summer schedule.
Casting off a new adventure from Toledo, Ohio, J&M Cruise Lines is launching a 64-foot vessel, Glass City Pearl, that will carry guests on a two-hour tour to Put-in-Bay. “We started looking for a secondary vessel that could absorb the overflow of people wanting cruises during our busy season — there weren’t enough hours in the day for the Sandpiper,” says Paul Lis, owner of J&M Cruise Lines, speaking of the company’s flagship boat that holds 100 passengers. Glass City Pearl will hold 125, and includes a lower deck and second level seating area.
“Once we made the decision to add to our fleet, we wanted to make sure the new vessel we procured could make the trip out to Put-in-Bay,” Lis says.
As a longtime Toledo resident, Lis says locals and visitors have been asking about a cruise to the Lake Erie Islands. J&M is planning an initial schedule of every other Saturday. Tentatively, the vessel will depart Toledo at 9:45 a.m., allow about five hours of time for guests to enjoy Put-in-Bay, then leave for home port at 7:15 p.m., arriving back in Toledo at about 9:45 p.m.
The vessel will spend the remainder of its working hours on the Maumee River and Toledo Port for public and private cruises. “We will host musical dinner cruises, some Taco Tuesday cruises and lighthouse cruises to Turtle Island and out to the Toledo Harbor,” Lis says. The boat is also available for rental for celebrations and corporate events.
Tickets are available through jmcruiselines.com.
