LANSING – The Michigan Princess is a 500-passenger riverboat that has carried more than 500,000 people on the Rio Grande since its debut in 1991. On Friday, February 27, the ship was dismantled.
The popular riverboat docked at Grand River Park has never been restored and will not be rebuilt after it was damaged in late 2024, owner Chris Chamberlain said.
“At this point, the Michigan Princess is part of history,” he said.
The news comes more than a year after the riverboat last sailed in August 2024 and was raised from the water for routine maintenance. When it returned to the water, the airbags failed and the boat suffered structural damage, Chamberlain said. It has not been used since.
“There is insurance, but it’s not enough to get the boat back into service,” he said.
Humble beginnings for the riverboat business
A view of the Michigan Princess riverboat being dismantled at Great River Park on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Lansing.
Chamberlain said the decision to retire the riverboat was a difficult one. His parents, John and Karla Chamberlain, launched the boat in 1991, 15 years after launching a canoe rental business in Lansing’s Potter Park.
“My dad just bought six canoes and started renting them out,” Chamberlain said. “Six dozen results in about a hundred and fifty.”
The couple moved from renting canoes to purchasing an aging barge and building their first boat. The Spirit of Lansing travels along the river from Porter Park to Adado Riverfront Park. Princess Laura debuted in 1984 and can accommodate 110 people.
The Michigan Princess was completed in 1991, Chamberlain said.
“There’s no galley on the ship,” he said. “We do all the cooking, catering and catering offsite, but it’s very popular.”
In 1997, after John Chamberlain’s parents went to see the movie “Titanic” in the theater, he decided to enlarge the size of the ship.
“So over the next year or so we built another section of the ship and enlarged it by a third, increasing its capacity to 500 people,” Chamberlain said. “Most people have become familiar with the ship since then, including the dance floor, atrium and staircase.”
Over half a million rides
Over the years, the Michigan Princess has carried more than 500,000 passengers, including prominent local politicians such as former Governor John Engler. Companies and families celebrated on board.
John Chamberlain, who died in 2013, was an entrepreneur, his son said.
Today, the operation includes four other ships, including the Detroit Princess which plies the Detroit River, the Grand Princess in Grand Key, the Harbor Princess in Petoskey and the Little Traverse Bay Ferry in Little Traverse Bay.
“It started with canoe rentals 50 years ago and it’s been going on ever since, and I guess it’s kind of like the American dream,” Chamberlain said. “We’re a family business, so there’s always some kind of adventure along the way.”
He said his family is proud of the Michigan Princess history.
“Nothing lasts forever,” Chamberlain said. “We’re delighted that, you know, in the 30-plus years that this ship has been in operation, we’ve had over 500,000 people cruise. At this point, the Michigan Princess has just disappeared into history.”
Contact reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal: Lansing’s Michigan Princess riverboat is being dismantled