Cruises That Leave From New York City

Open a map, touch New York City, and starting from there, trace lines across bodies of water. Chances are that whatever route your finger follows, there's a cruise line that goes there. New York City is the port of embarkation for cruises to Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, Latin America, New England, Canada, Iceland, transatlantic crossings and beyond. Two cruise terminals are in operation in New York City, one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. A third cruise terminal to supplement New York City's capacity is Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey, which came into operation in 2004.

Seven cruise lines currently call New York City their home port: Carnival Cruise Line, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises. Cape Liberty is the base of New York City operations for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. An additional 14 cruise lines use the Manhattan and Brooklyn terminals as a departure port for certain warm-weather destinations on cruises throughout the milder months of the year.

A sail-away from Manhattan Cruise Terminal provides great views of the skyline and close-up views of the Statue of Liberty. Brooklyn Cruise Terminal has some of the best views of the skyline, although Statue of Liberty views are from afar. From Cape Liberty, passengers turn around for an impressive skyline sail-away view from the rear of the ship. Leaving New York Harbor, all three departure routes pass under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, an exciting moment for a tight squeeze under one of the world's longest suspension span bridges.

Purpose-built for some of the world's largest passenger ships, Manhattan Cruise Terminal is New York City's principal terminal. It is located at Pier 88 and Pier 90 on the Hudson River at 711 12th Ave., with the entrance at West 55th Street.

Transatlantic sailings are on board Norwegian Breakaway, Bliss and Jade; MSC Divina, Silver Muse and Seven Seas Navigator. Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Breakaway frequently sail to Florida and the Bahamas from the Hudson River terminal; Disney Magic makes three more of these trips, and Crystal Symphony makes one. Bermuda departures from this terminal are on board the Norwegian Escape, Carnival Horizon, Disney Magic, Seven Seas Navigator and Silver Spirit.

Approximately three dozen annual departures head for New England and Canada on board the Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Escape, Insignia, Windstar Pride, MV Marina, MV Fram, Zuiderdam, Rotterdam, Seven Seas Navigator, Silver Wind and Silver Spirit. The Manhattan Cruise Terminal is popular for eastern Caribbean trips on Norwegian Gem, Breakaway and Escape as well as Carnival Horizon and one departure on the Zuiderdam. There's also one departure for Puerto Rico on Disney Magic, one to New Orleans on Norwegian Breakaway and one transatlantic crossing by each of the following: MSC Divina, Silver Muse, Seven Seas Navigator, Norwegian Breakaway, Bliss and Jade.

Opened in 2006, the modern Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is at 72 Bowne St. in Red Hook. Cunard Line's flagship Queen Mary 2 is most noted for making its signature transatlantic crossings from this terminal. In June, an additional transatlantic voyage is on Pacific Princess. Ships departing from Brooklyn bound for a New England and Canada cruise are Royal Princess and Regal Princess, the latter making a fall journey to the Bahamas and Florida as well.

Three ships from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises currently call the Cape Liberty Cruise Port home. The terminal is across the harbor from Brooklyn in Bayonne, New Jersey, where secure paid parking is available for cruise passengers. Departures are for New England and Canada, the Bahamas, and Bermuda and the Caribbean, which are all itineraries on sailings by the ships Anthem of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Summit.