Lake Express High-Speed Ferry — Local services in Muskegon

If you are travelling from Michigan to Minnesota or back google maps might automatically route you to this ferry without letting you know. This is insane, a mistake in Google Maps. The ferry costs about $100 for the car plus $100 per person. The ferry when it leaves is pretty fast but it only leaves twice a day. So if you get there five minutes after it leaves that means you have added several hours to your trip. Google maps is unaware of the ferry schedule and just plops you on the doorstep of the ferry place without taking into account when the ferry leaves. The ferry website is not continually updated on the status of the ferry. If there is bad weather and large waves in Lake Michigan the ferry will not depart, and Google Maps is unaware of this as well. So best case you arrive just a few minutes before the ferry goes, and you have to pay $300 more than you budgeted. Worst case Google Maps drives you 100 miles out of your way and you get to the ferry when it is not running. I realize this is not the correct place to complain, I will talk to Google Maps. The ferry itself seems highly cool, the employee I talked to at the ferry seemed friendly and engaging with plenty of helpful information. It absolutely was not his fault that I had just driven 100 miles in the wrong direction and the ferry was not going to be running for probably 48 hours. You have to call ahead to confirm the ferry is running. The ferry should update the world on its website about when it is running and whether it is running, and this information has to be integrated into Google Maps. When you want to ride a $300 ferry, the decision is whether you want to ride a ferry. It is not about saving five minutes (theoretically) on an algorithm to bring you to a new location. What the heck google maps. I was driving 700 miles and we were able to afford a $300 ferry, but I have driven that far on a budget in the past and $300 would have been end of story. By the way, in google maps settings you can select a setting that says avoid ferries. You should also be able to have a setting that says "avoid $300 unplanned incidental costs or alterations to my planned trip that might delay me by 24 hours or send me on a wild goose chase 100 miles...

I’m a Milwaukee native and have spent the majority of my 59 years on this planet based out of Milwaukee. Last weekend my family and I had our first Lake Express experience on our way home from the east coast. We ordered our tickets for both the car and us passengers ahead of time as we heard it sells out. We were fortunate that we did as we were told we got the last car spot on that particular trip (Monday afternoon, 1-way, Muskegon to Milwaukee, 4:45pm).

The waiting area in Muskegon appears to be a newer facility and it’s comfortable and clean. The bathrooms were clean and in good condition. There are a few vending machines as well.

Passengers walk on the boat with the exception of the driver who is directed when and where to park the car. They really pack the cars in tight, so getting out of the car once you’ve parked and back in when you leave can be tricky. They have all passengers get in the car when you leave, so everyone has to be able to squeeze in with the car door barely open. I could see how this would be difficult if not impossible for plus size people, but we managed.

The boat was clean and comfortable in the cabin with plenty of space. This is where my 4 star rating comes in however. The cabin was FREEZING. They had the AC cranked up high and it was like a meat locker in there. Now, it was a hot summer day so having AC was nice, but it was too darn cold. You do have the option of going out onto the deck and we did go back and forth a bit. We were lucky that on our trip the weather was sunny and calm and the lake was calm all the way across with no waves or swells. The ride is 2.5 hours and 78 miles and it went off without any issues whatsoever.

They have a small concession stand in the cabin if you’re hungry with various options. We didn’t partake.

You get off the boat at the south end of the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee which was extremely convenient for us since we live in Bay View. We were home in 5 minutes.

All in all it was a great experience but a bit pricey at $550 one way for the car and 3 passengers. Other than the very cold cabin, there were zero issues. The crew was all friendly and...

I understand that the weather is out of their control but their customer service today was abysmal. I had booked a round trip from Muskegon to Milwaukee and back again tomorrow. I get a call early this morning of a pre-recorded message and from that moment I tried to come up with alternatives but no viable options were available. Again, not their fault, but understandably I'm frustrated. I called just a moment ago to ensure I would be getting a full refund and the lady on the phone told me I could get a full refund for today but only a partial for tomorrow. I a had conversation with her about how they need to provide a full refund for both days as that is the whole point of a round trip, what good is a ride back to Muskegon from Milwaukee tomorrow if I never made it there today. She tells me she is going to put me on a hold (offers no reasoning) then when she comes back on the phone she bluntly informs an email will be sent confirming the refund then hangs up on me. I wasn't provided an opportunity to thank her let alone ask if it will be the full refund of both days or a partial for tomorrow. She is not someone who should be handling customer relations and they should review their refund policy as this situation is not one that should have required a supervisor to review (I only assume that's why I was...