The Cape Liberty Cruise Port is one of three trans-
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
passenger terminals in the
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
It includes the sy ...
. It is located in
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
at the north side of the long pier of the
Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, a former military ocean terminal, and began operations in 2004.
History
The Cape Liberty Cruise Port is located on a site that had been originally developed for industrial uses in the 1930s and then taken over by the U.S. government during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as the
Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne
Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was a U.S. military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1967 to 1999. From 1942 to 1967 the site was the Bayonne Naval Drydock. The site is on Upper New Yor ...
. After conversion of a portion of the site for use as a passenger terminal with full customs and immigration facilities, in May 2004, the ''
Voyager of the Seas'' became the first ship to depart from the site, the first time in almost four decades that a passenger ship had departed from a port in the state. The ''Voyager of the Seas'' was one of two ships to have her base of operations shifted to Bayonne from the
Manhattan Cruise Terminal
The Manhattan Cruise Terminal, formerly known as the New York Passenger Ship Terminal or Port Authority Passenger Ship Terminal is a ship terminal for ocean-going passenger ships in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was constructed ...
on the
Hudson River
The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
waterfront of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's West Side.
Operators
Royal Caribbean International, Royal Caribbean is one of the port's primary tenants. In May 2006 – then the world's largest cruise ship – was christened in a broadcast carried live on the NBC's ''Today (NBC program), The Today Show''.
Celebrity Cruises bases ''Celebrity Summit'' out of Cape Liberty from May to October.
Before the cruise terminal opened in 2004, no cruise ships had been based out of the New Jersey Hudson Waterfront since the Hamburg-America Line left its Hoboken, New Jersey dock several decades previously.
''Oasis of the Seas'' was originally supposed to begin to sail out of Cape Liberty in May 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it ended up beginning to sail out in September 2021 for the 2022–24 seasons.
Ferry service
The city of Bayonne has rented land from PANYNJ and is negotiating with SeaStreak to establish ferry service to Manhattan, with a terminal adjacent to the cruise port. Service was expected to begin in September 2020.
See also
* Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
References
External links
Official website
{{Hudson County Transportation Network
Water transportation in New York (state)
Transportation in Bayonne, New Jersey
Ports and harbors of New Jersey
Port of New York and New Jersey
2004 establishments in New Jersey
Cruise ports
Water transportation in New Jersey
Transportation buildings and structures in Hudson County, New Jersey