S.S. Badger passenger and car ferry on Lake Michigan ups its food, drink offerings

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• Operators of the S.S. Badger, a ferry that travels across Lake Michigan, announced new food and drink options for the 2025 sailing season.
• A variety of new food options, including healthier choices, sandwiches, and full-course meals, await passengers traveling on the S.S. Badger this season.
• The S.S. Badger is a cross-lake car ferry that can accommodate 600 passengers and 180 vehicles between Michigan and Wisconsin.

Ahoy!

When the 2025 sailing season begins in May, passengers planning a trip aboard Michigan’s car ferry service from Ludington, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, can plan on new and enhanced food options.

Passengers spending the four-hour trip playing bingo or sunning on deck can nosh on healthier options, including sandwiches and new, full-meal entrée options, the boat’s operator, Lake Michigan Carferry, announced.

“We have listened to our passengers and are providing some new options to make their cruise an even more enjoyable experience,” said Wesley Paggeot, Lake Michigan Carferry director of hospitality, in a news release.

Aboard the historic, 410-foot, coal-powered steamship are three dining options: The Badger Galley, The Cabana Room, and the Upper Deck Café.

The Badger Galley will continue to offer stadium-style concessions with the addition of healthier options in the form of salads, fruit and vegetable cups, and fresh sandwiches. There’s also an assortment of ice cream treats, according to a news release.

The ship’s Upper Deck Café is serving new menu wityh full meals, including items like baked chicken breast, beef tips and gravy, or meatloaf. Each meal comes with a choice of two sides or a one soup plus a soft drink. In the mornings there are still full breakfast offerings. The afternoon features hamburgers and other hot sandwiches.

Badger’s Cabana Room is where passengers can relax with new alchol and alcohol-free signature drinks from the bar or its coffee service featuring whole coffee beans ground fresh for each cup.

For more than 70 years, the historic S.S. Badger has been a shortcut across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin and back. Originally used to move railroad freight cars, it’s known as the largest passenger and car ferry service on the Great Lakes.

Accommodating 600 passengers and 180 vehicles, from cars to RVs to motorcycles and trucks, the S.S. Badger is a key shortcut across Lake Michigan. The ship, named a National Historic landmark in 2016, makes connects travelers from Michigan to Wisconsin in about four hours.

Since S.S. Badger’s 1992 re-birth, (it was out of commission for nearly two years undergoing renovations), the ship has transported millions of passengers.

Amenities aboard the Badger include:

• Badger Bingo
• Shopping in the “Boatique”
• Staterooms
• Free movies
• Lounging indoor and out
• Open Deck for walking and fresh Air
• Board Games
• Museum
• Quiet areas
• Kid’s activities include a scavenger hunt, coloring contest, movie theater, game room and play area

Reservations are now open for the Badger’s 2025 sailing season which begins May 16 and runs through Oct. 12. Operating daily, the ship departs Ludington, Michigan at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, crosses into another time zone, and arrives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, at noon Central Time. The ship departs Manitowoc at 2 p.m. Central Time and arrives in Ludington at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Included in the 2025 sailing season are regular overnight crossings starting June 20 and through Sept. 1. Overnight sailings departing Ludington leave at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time, Thursday through Tuesday, and arrive in Manitowoc at 11:45 p.m. central time. Overnight sailings departing Manitowoc leave at 1:30 a.m. central time Friday through Wednesday and arrive in Ludington at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time.

For information on tickets or times, go to ssbadger.com or call 800-841-4243, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. One-way tickets for adults 16 and up this spring start at $75.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X. Subscribe to the Free Press.