Could small cruise ships revive the Port of Rochester?

“We have to sell ourselves and I think the best way to sell ourselves is to make people who come here happy with what they see and what they experienced,” says Mayor Bob Duffy on the subject of the future of the Port of Rochester. “There are people who have put their heart and soul into businesses and lost money, some have left, some are still hanging on.”

City leaders say the answer to bringing money back to the port lies not within ideas like the large fast ferry but in little ships like the Grande Mariner, which docked at the Port of Rochester on Wednesday. Now that Rochester is a stop on the great lakes cruising coalition for ships like the Grande Mariner, Duffy says there’s a good argument for new development at the port in the next four to five years.

“We are listed in the book, as a destination point and it my hope, if you close your eyes, that maybe a few years down the road, you'll see more improvements to our Port area.”

“There is definitely the market for a marina here and if any development that does go on, say apartment or condos, definitely a market for boat slips,” says Bob Stevenson, Rochester City Councilman (D).  

An environmental survey of the Port is currently underway by the City of Rochester. Stevenson says once the city can determine what it will take to develop the area, a large marina could be the first choice followed by town homes and condominiums. 

“I assume it's going to work. The market is there, all of the studies that have been done show marketability.”

Stevenson estimates it could take 10 to 15 years to fully develop the area. As for cruising the Great Lakes, the small cruise ship business is also a relatively new venture. There may be one to two ships docking in Rochester next season.

“We call it a fragile cruise industry actually, we're building from scratch,” says Stephen Burdett, executive director of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition.