Lake Geneva cruise takes guests on ‘watery Polar Express’ to Santa’s Wisconsin summer home

Did you know Santa summers at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin? That’s the claim of the people at Lake Geneva Cruise Line who run the annual Santa Cruise, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

“Some refer to our Santa Cruise as the watery Polar Express,” said Bill Gage, president and owner of Lake Geneva Cruise Line.

Before the boat ride, you can walk through a Christmas tree festival of trees decorated by local nonprofits.

On the boat — which is enclosed, heated and decorated with lights — you can sing along with holiday songs, buy snacks and drinks from a cash bar and hear the story of Santa’s summer in Lake Geneva. All this is before the boat stops right outside Santa’s hideaway, where he’ll come out, wave at everybody and call out each of the kid passengers’ names.