Welland Canal Canada, Lake Ontario-Lake Erie
7
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Ponant (3 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
A sailing day. There is no landing: the full 43-kilometre transit through eight locks takes about ten hours, experienced from the decks.
Because there is no way through Niagara Falls. The eight locks raise ships nearly 100 metres, the height of a 30-storey building, to carry them over the Niagara Escarpment between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Locks 4, 5 and 6, twinned in a flight up the face of the escarpment near Thorold. They follow one another without pause: the ship climbs the cliff like a water staircase while freighters descend the parallel flight.
About 14 metres per step, for a total rise of 99.5 metres between Port Weller on Lake Ontario and Port Colborne on Lake Erie.
The current canal, opened in 1932, is the fourth of its name. The first, dug by pick and completed in 1829, had 40 wooden locks. Each generation widened the passage to keep up with growing ship sizes.
The current chambers measure 233 metres long by 24 wide. Those dimensions still dictate the maximum size of cruise ships allowed onto the Great Lakes.
About 3,000 vessels a season, April to December. Lakers, freighters designed to the centimetre for the chambers, pass ocean-going bulk carriers from Europe and Asia — known here as salties — loaded with Prairie wheat or iron ore.
On the forward and upper decks for the entry into each lock, and at the stern to appreciate the ground covered. The concrete walls slide past within centimetres of the hull.
Yes: St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne, among the orchards and vineyards of the Niagara peninsula, one of Canada's major wine regions. At Lock 3 in St. Catharines, a viewing platform draws spectators who come to watch the ships go by.
It depends on the itinerary. Some include a call at Port Colborne or an excursion to the falls during the transit, depending on the direction of travel and the schedule assigned by the Seaway.
