Mount Washington Cruises helps couples navigate to new wedding plans after purchase of Winnipesaukee Belle

LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE — The Lakes Region is a hotbed for summer wedding planning, and this summer will be no different. 

Though its regular cruising schedule had been reduced in recent seasons, the Winnipesaukee Belle still played a role in the Wolfeboro Inn’s offerings as a venue for group events and weddings. 

The Belle was sold last month to Mount Washington Cruises, and has been temporarily taken out of commission. The vessel will undergo “lengthy” refurbishment, a press release said, at the cruise shipyard in Center Harbor.  The Belle is expected to return sometime in 2025, its 40th year. 

In the meantime, wedding plans must be adjusted.

“Long before any information was released to the public about the acquisition, [the inn] had reached out to any clients who had already planned events” for this season, said Mount Washington Cruises General Manager Jared Maraio in an interview. The couples were referred to him. 

“It was [the inn’s] specific interest that those groups and those couples not be left high and dry. So we worked really hard and closely with them to be sure that, although we would tell them that the Belle was not available, there were other options,” Maraio said. 

The Belle joins four other antique, large passenger cruise boats in the Mount Washington fleet — the 230-foot M/S Mount Washington, the two mail boats Sophie C. and Doris E., and the 56-foot, more modern Winnipesaukee Spirit. Her acquisition marks a consolidation of all such vessels on the lake under its umbrella.

“​​The two companies mutually agreed that a sale of the vessel would be in the best interest of this local attraction to expand the schedule and service the community in a greater capacity,” read a press release from Mount Washington Cruises about the acquisition. 

“Everybody's goal was to make sure that we could keep the vessel on the lake,” Maraio said. “So that's what we're trying to do.”

The 65-foot, 150-passenger capacity ship stylistically mimics a turn-of-the century paddleboat, but was built and first hit the lake in 1985.

The inn had struggled with staffing shortages since the pandemic, Maraio said, and was forced to cut back on the number of tours the Belle could offer and limited the inn’s ability to maintain her. 

Learning of these struggles last fall, Mount Washington Cruises reached out to offer support and advice. At the end of the summer season, when the ship was hauled and the extent of its maintenance needs became apparent, Maraio said, “the conversation shifted to whether it was in the best interest of the vessel to sell it to us.”

“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” Wolfeboro Inn General Manager Janell LaFleche said in the press release. “However, we know the Belle’s best chance for long-term success is under the stewardship of a company that specializes in cruise vessels and is fully equipped with resources to support her operation.” LaFleche declined further comment for this story.

Like the Spirit, which first set sail with Mount Washington Cruises in 2021, Maraio hopes the Belle will help to continue to expand the company’s private event offerings. 

“Having more options for passengers is never a bad thing, especially when it comes to private functions,” Maraio said. 

The full extent of repairs is still being evaluated, according to Maraio.

But the primary goal, he noted, is getting the Belle back out on the lake. 

"There's a little bit of a long road there in order to make sure that happens," Maraio said. But with the Belle, he continued, "We know, like most all of our vessels, people become very, very attached to them."