New York Passenger Ship Terminal
Encyclopedia
Passenger ship
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
s on Manhattan's west side
West Side (Manhattan)
The West Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan Island which abuts the Hudson River and faces New Jersey. Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and lower Broadway separate it from the East Side. The major neighborhoods on the West Side are West Harlem, Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, Upper...
.
The terminal consists of North River
North River (New York-New Jersey)
North River is an alternate name for the southernmost portion of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City and northeastern New Jersey. The colonial name for the entire Hudson given to it by the Dutch in the early seventeenth century, the term fell out of general use for most of the river's...
Piers 88, 90, 92 and 94 on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
between West 46th and West 54th Street
54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
. (As a general rule, pier numbers in Manhattan can be determined by adding 40 to the corresponding cross-street.)
Ships now dock at Piers 88, 90 and 92. Pier 94 on the north side is now used for exhibition space. Pier 86, once used by United States Lines
United States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
, is now home to the USS Intrepid
USS Intrepid (CV-11)
USS Intrepid , also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle...
. In 2003, the terminal handled 900,000 passengers. The city is forecasting that 1.5 million will use the terminal by 2017.
The piers are 1100 feet (335.3 m) long and 400 feet (121.9 m) apart. They were first completed in 1935 to replace the Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic....
as the city's luxury liner terminal. The new terminal was built to handle bigger ships that had outgrown the Chelsea Piers. The piers were renovated in 1970 and are currently undergoing another $150 million renovation. The renovated plans call for it to handle three large ships at a time. In doing renovations, the city is also considering decommissioning Pier 92.
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
. With an upsurge in cruise ship traffic and the terminal's ability to handle comfortably only three large ships at a time, two new terminals have opened in the harbor — the Cape Liberty Cruise Port
Cape Liberty Cruise Port
The Cape Liberty Cruise Port , sometimes called Port Liberty, in Bayonne, New Jersey is one of three trans-Atlantic passenger terminals in New York Harbor...
opened in 2004 in Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
(used by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
and Azamara Cruises
Azamara Cruises
Azamara Club Cruises is an up-market cruise line owned by the Norwegian-American company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., as one of their subsidiaries. The line currently operates two ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest...
), and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is one of three terminals for ocean-going cruise ships in the metropolitan New York City area. The terminal is located at Red Hook Pier 12, which forms the south side of the Atlantic Basin at Pioneer and Imlay Streets in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York. The...
(used by the Queen Mary 2 and other ships of the Carnival Corporation cruise brands) opened in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York.
The West Side Highway
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
takes a small jog east from the piers to below West 42nd Street because when the terminal was built land had to be taken away from Manhattan to allow for longer piers. The US Army Corps of Engineers, who control the waterfront dimension, would not extend the pierhead line farther into the river, so the city extended the pier by cutting away at the land. The city earlier did this for the Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic....
; however in Chelsea only landfill was taken away. At the Passenger Terminal actual Manhattan schist
Manhattan schist
The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings, and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur in locations where the formation is close to the...
was taken away.
RMS Queen Mary 2
RMS Queen Mary 2 is a transatlantic ocean liner. She was the first major ocean liner built since in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the Cunard Line....
and Freedom of the Seas, before the Brooklyn and Bayonne terminals opened. The SS Normandie
SS Normandie
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.Her novel...
caught fire and subsequently capsized at its Pier 88 berth during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...
's soon to be newest ship the Norwegian Breakaway
Norwegian Breakaway
Norwegian Breakaway is a cruise ship under construction for Norwegian Cruise Lines, scheduled for delivery in April 2013.Construction of Norwegian Breakaway began on 21 September 2011, when the first piece of steel was cut at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany...
will sail year-round out of the New York Passenger Ship Terminal. The city will spend $4 million to renovate and upgrade the cruise terminal to accommodate the ship.
See also
- Transportation in New York CityTransportation in New York CityThe transportation system of New York City is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure. New York City, being the largest city in the United States, has a transportation system which includes the largest subway system in the world, measured by track mileage; the world's first mechanically...
- Cruise shipCruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
- Cape Liberty Cruise PortCape Liberty Cruise PortThe Cape Liberty Cruise Port , sometimes called Port Liberty, in Bayonne, New Jersey is one of three trans-Atlantic passenger terminals in New York Harbor...
- Brooklyn Cruise TerminalBrooklyn Cruise TerminalThe Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is one of three terminals for ocean-going cruise ships in the metropolitan New York City area. The terminal is located at Red Hook Pier 12, which forms the south side of the Atlantic Basin at Pioneer and Imlay Streets in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York. The...
- Port of New York and New JerseyPort of New York and New JerseyThe Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...