Summit sailaway today, wasn't 'the norm'?

She departed from Bayonne and sailed northeast past Governors Island almost to the Battery, then after the Norwegian Breakaway passed she turned and headed back down river. How often do ships sailing from that NJ port do this?

If they have the time and good weather, that's what Summit normally has been doing so folks could get a good look sand some pictures of the Statue of Liberty.

Yes, in good weather they do that for passengers! Now off Sandy Hook heading for Bermuda!

What a nice gesture by Celebrity Cruises, and an unexpected treat for those thinking they'd not get to see Lady Liberty or the NYC skyline up-close. :D

It's been going on for almost a year now, started I believe in July or August last year.

Fingers crossed that Summit will repeat this maneuver next week!

We were on the July 3rd sailing and we did this.

Since the "road" to Bermuda is two lane, they do that to let Breakaway go first because they dock 1/2 an hour earlier on Wednesday than Summit does. :D Yeah that's the ticket!

It's been going on for almost a year now, started I believe in July or August last year.

She did it for sure in August 2015. A nice view of Lady Liberty!

We have done it twice on our last 2 Summit cruises.

Last September on our Canada/New England cruise and then again this May on our Bermuda cruise.

It's not guaranteed they do it. Not all cruises this season have gone up past the Statue.

Since the "road" to Bermuda is two lane, they do that to let Breakaway go first because they dock 1/2 an hour earlier on Wednesday than Summit does. :D Yeah that's the ticket!

That could be the case, but the Captain told me last year that they follow Breakaway just in case their GPS malfunctions -- they don't want to get lost. :D

What a nice gesture by Celebrity Cruises, and an unexpected treat for those thinking they'd not get to see Lady Liberty or the NYC skyline up-close. :D

we sailed on June 12th and hung a right instead. the weather was good,but it was a bit windy.we had a great cruise anyway.we have sailed celebrity 18xs,6 on the Summit.happy to hear you had a great time.lets do it again.:)

She departed from Bayonne and sailed northeast past Governors Island almost to the Battery, then after the Norwegian Breakaway passed she turned and headed back down river. How often do ships sailing from that NJ port do this?

Hi Dave - great to see you over here on Celebrity. Hope you weren't impacted by all the recent flooding in WV.

DH & I were on the Summit in May and went by the Statue of Liberty - as many have already said, it was a great experience.

Kay (aka S'villeGals)

Hi Dave - great to see you over here on Celebrity. Hope you weren't impacted by all the recent flooding in WV.

 

DH & I were on the Summit in May and went by the Statue of Liberty - as many have already said, it was a great experience.

 

Kay (aka S'villeGals)

Hi Kay,

The really bad flooding missed us, although the storm damage from the winds and torrential rain fall did not. Most of the worst damage seen on the national news was all in the lower part of the state.

And believe it or not I actually started over here at the Celebrity Boards several years ago. I had cruised Galaxy to Alaska in 1999 long before I found Cruise Critic, and joined just before my cruise on Century (2008), followed by Mercury (2010), and later on Millennium (2011), which was my first ever Live thread. Celebrity was my cruise line of first choice (sprinkled with intermittent cruises on Holland-America, the Princess Sun-class from 1997-2002, and others from Carnival, Cunard, and RCI) until the sale of all three Century-class and the subsequent butchering (Solsticization) of the Millennium-class left me with the Solstice-class, of which I have no desire to cruise. I returned to RCI (Allure of the Seas) and Princess (Ruby Princess), and that was in Dec. 2012 when Royal Princess was still being built. You know the rest of the story. ;)

I've been watching a LOT of cruise cams in the past year, mostly the Florida departures, but have recently been paying attention to the webcams for the NYC area sailings too. That's why it sort of caught be off-guard to see Summitt go so far back upriver since I hadn't recalled seeing it before. It's nice that that the cruise lines that sail from Bayonne offer this when the weather allows.

:D

It's been going on for almost a year now, started I believe in July or August last year.

It started in June 2015. I was on the first cruise where it was done. June 21. Captain Leo announced it was the first time.

She departed from Bayonne and sailed northeast past Governors Island almost to the Battery, then after the Norwegian Breakaway passed she turned and headed back down river. How often do ships sailing from that NJ port do this?

We did that last summer. Captn Leo joked that we were going to say Hi to Lady Liberty.:)

That could be the case, but the Captain told me last year that they follow Breakaway just in case their GPS malfunctions -- they don't want to get lost. :D

Capt Kate told me Bermuda is so small it takes her two days to find it, but coming back to the US, it's large enough for her to see and she makes the trip in one day!

Capt Kate told me Bermuda is so small it takes her two days to find it, but coming back to the US, it's large enough for her to see and she makes the trip in one day!

Actually most cruise lines used to go to Bermuda and get there in a day and a half. In years past Celebrity sent two ships every week to Bermuda, at various times, Meridian, Horizon and Zenith. The first year they existed one of the Azamara ships replaced the Celebrity ships, a bit of a story behind that. I suspect the current timeframe going there has something to do with Berths in Bermuda since the newer ships can't get into Hamilton or St. George which the ships went to every week.

One ship would leave on Saturday around 4 and get into Bermuda on Monday morning. The other ship left Sunday and got in Tuesday. I've related before the story of the gentleman who used to sing on the ships for Celebrity. He would go to Bermuda on the Sunday ship, do his shows and then switch over to the other ship and do his shows on the return trip, getting back into New York on Saturday. Pretty good deal.

As far as following the Breakaway its just a safety measure. Back in the 90s, there would generally be three or four ships leaving New York heading to Bermuda. You would play leap frog to Bermuda but it was also quite reassuring.

I've just got back from New York, and i knew the two ships were departing that afternoon, so combined a trip to Liberty/Ellis island with the ships sailing! Beautiful spot to watch the ships. Saw the Summit go from its berth, but it stopped for a good 15 minutes. Couldn't figure out why until the Breakaway set off, sailed past and it then came down the river a bit, did a turn and followed it out!!!

A view of the Breakaway from the shore- I only have video footage of the passing and no pics- it was a bit too far away and i had no zoom lens on my DSLR!!!! Managed to get a picture of me with both in the shot though!!!!!

I've just got back from New York, and i knew the two ships were departing that afternoon, so combined a trip to Liberty/Ellis island with the ships sailing! Beautiful spot to watch the ships. Saw the Summit go from its berth, but it stopped for a good 15 minutes. Couldn't figure out why until the Breakaway set off, sailed past and it then came down the river a bit, did a turn and followed it out!!!

 

A view of the Breakaway from the shore- I only have video footage of the passing and no pics- it was a bit too far away and i had no zoom lens on my DSLR!!!! Managed to get a picture of me with both in the shot though!!!!!

 

Nice picture, when we lived in Jersey we used to go down onto one of the beaches in the bay and watched them come out. Sometimes if I was up early, watched them going in.

It started in June 2015. I was on the first cruise where it was done. June 21. Captain Leo announced it was the first time.

I know, we were on the June 14 cruise, the last one that didn't do it. :eek:

I think it's also good advertising for them. We ended up on the NCL because we saw her docked in NYC and liked what we saw.

Port Liberty has its pros and Con Vs sailing from midtown NYC, but I think a big Con for the for Cruise lines that sail from PL is that the ships don't get the same free advertising that comes with visual exposure.

If one or two families visiting Lady Liberty or WTC look out to the harbor, see the ship and get interested, it's a winner for them.

Does RCCL's Anthem do this too?

 

Does RCCL's Anthem do this too?

No, at least on the cruise I was on they did not do it.

I did not know the Breakaway docked first. Thanks for the info. Since the Breakaway docks first, does that mean that the lines for transport tickets, beach transfers, etc., are already long by the time anyone on Summit gets off the ship? We are on Sunday's sailing and making plans on what to do first.

Will look forward to the view of the Statue of Liberty. Thanks for this informative thread.

I did not know the Breakaway docked first. Thanks for the info. Since the Breakaway docks first, does that mean that the lines for transport tickets, beach transfers, etc., are already long by the time anyone on Summit gets off the ship? We are on Sunday's sailing and making plans on what to do first.

Will look forward to the view of the Statue of Liberty. Thanks for this informative thread.

The lines are not long. For transport tickets each berth has its own Visitor Information Center selling tokens and passes. Each has its own taxi line. For the beach shuttle minibuses there are plenty of those. Got off when the ship cleared and got right unto a shuttle and off to Horseshoe Bay.

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