Sailing from Cape Libery; can we expect to see the Statue of Liberty from the ship?

[PaperSniper4]

Sailing on Celebrity from Cape Liberty. I suspect the answer is "no" as that's about 7 miles south of the Statue, and the ship would likely depart to the south on the way to Bermuda....unless it deviates north to give passengers a peek?

 

Anyone done a cruise from Cape Liberty? I think Manhattan is a mile or two north, but I suspect those ships also would not see the Statue unless the ship deviates north on that purpose.

 

Doug

 

[Bo1953]

Pending on the Captain and route filed, it has been reported on sail away day X has passed by TSOL, on our last sailing out of Bayonne, we did not, YET on the return (and if you are up that early) we did pass by TSOL... a beautiful sight at 5a...

 

bon voyage

[JFontaine]

Three cruises on Summit and they all went to the Statute of Liberty, where the ship turned so that all sides had a view. I'd suggest staying outside while you go under the Verrazzano Bridge.  

[GTJ]

If you're arriving in advance of the departure from Bayonne, consider going to the adjacent community of Jersey City, from which there are ferries that travel to Liberty Island (the ferries depart from Liberty State Park). The ferries make a loop that also includes a stop at Ellis Island (there's actually a bridge connecting Jersey City with Ellis Island, but the National Park Service prohibits non-employees of the NPS from walking over the bridge so as to the protect the financial interests of the ferry company).

[meadowlander]

Ships departing from Manhattan Cruise Terminal do pass by the statue.  As pointed out, it is the discretion of your Bayonne departing ship's captain to deviate so as to give cruisers a view of the statue. Only once of my 5-6 Bayonne cruises did the captain bring us to the statue, having previously seen it, it was still enjoyable.

 

I second the suggestion, if you arrive a day or 2 earlier to visit from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, the statue and Ellis Island (which you could spend hours at prior to reaching Liberty Island).

[TSS Alex]

12 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Sailing on Celebrity from Cape Liberty. I suspect the answer is "no" as that's about 7 miles south of the Statue, and the ship would likely depart to the south on the way to Bermuda....unless it deviates north to give passengers a peek?

 

Anyone done a cruise from Cape Liberty? I think Manhattan is a mile or two north, but I suspect those ships also would not see the Statue unless the ship deviates north on that purpose.

 

Doug

 

In general, ships sailing out of Cape Liberty do not sail past the statue; however, you do stand a better chance on Celebrity than Royal.

 

As a lifelong New Yorker (and the last 30 on Staten Island), I do feel the need to pick on your distances. I'm lucky - I get to take a 30 minute "cruise" twice a day on the Staten Island Ferry - so I'm quite familiar with where things are in the harbor. Cape Liberty is about 2 miles south of the Statue. The tip of Manhattan is about 1.7 miles from the Statue. The length of the Upper Bay (from the Verrazzano to the tip of Manhattan is just under 7 1/4 miles.

 

And, yes, you can see the Statue from Cape Liberty. This is from Anthem while still moored at Cape Liberty.

[PaperSniper4]

9 hours ago, meadowlander said:

Ships departing from Manhattan Cruise Terminal do pass by the statue.  As pointed out, it is the discretion of your Bayonne departing ship's captain to deviate so as to give cruisers a view of the statue. Only once of my 5-6 Bayonne cruises did the captain bring us to the statue, having previously seen it, it was still enjoyable.

 

I second the suggestion, if you arrive a day or 2 earlier to visit from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, the statue and Ellis Island (which you could spend hours at prior to reaching Liberty Island).

We are flying in 2-3 days early and staying with my cousin in NJ. I wanted to know if the ship would likely pass by the Statue. Sounds like it is captain's (cruise line's) discretion whether to burn the fuel to steam around 15 miles off course. With all cruise lines hurting right now, my expectation is that the ship will probably not deviate from its most economical route to Bermuda. So......gonna we will fit in a land visit to see her! Not the ship, the Statue!😎

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies from everyone.

 

Doug

[PaperSniper4]

8 hours ago, TSS Alex said:

In general, ships sailing out of Cape Liberty do not sail past the statue; however, you do stand a better chance on Celebrity than Royal.

 

As a lifelong New Yorker (and the last 30 on Staten Island), I do feel the need to pick on your distances. I'm lucky - I get to take a 30 minute "cruise" twice a day on the Staten Island Ferry - so I'm quite familiar with where things are in the harbor. Cape Liberty is about 2 miles south of the Statue. The tip of Manhattan is about 1.7 miles from the Statue. The length of the Upper Bay (from the Verrazzano to the tip of Manhattan is just under 7 1/4 miles.

 

And, yes, you can see the Statue from Cape Liberty. This is from Anthem while still moored at Cape Liberty.

Thanks very much. I had gotten my distance from the Cape to TSOL using mapquest....duh. That's land miles, dummy.☺️ You're obviously correct that the "sea miles" would be less, so maybe the Summit will divert enough to get a good view. However, my wife would NOT be satisfied with the view as kindly posted in your photo, and I am not willing to take the chance the ship will go nearer the statue. So, we'll plan for a land/ferry tour to see the Lady in the Harbor.

 

Doug

[meadowlander]

Oasis of the Seas had a test cruise Sunday 8/22/21 and the ship did first sail to the statue. The Royal cruise I was on was a repositioning cruise that sailed by the statue. You have a better chance on Celebrity but that does not mean it will occur.

 

Statue Cruises is the only authorized seller of tickets.

Statue of Liberty Tickets & Tour Experiences | City Experiences

There is security screening prior to boarding the vessel. From Jersey City, the 1st stop is Ellis Island, 2nd stop is Liberty Island. Depending how long you visit Ellis Island, catch the next ferry to Liberty. If you chose, you can board a ferry to NYC rather than returning to Jersey City but you will not be allowed to return to Jersey City from NYC. There is another ferry from NYC that will get you close to your departure point in Jersey City but not at the same dock (a short walk away).

 

[navybankerteacher]

You do get to see the statue, but not very close up...As you leave the pier it will be about a couple of miles to the northeast -, roughly half the distance to Manhattan.   

[mking8288]

Cruise ships that sail from Manhattan Cruise Terminals and the Brooklyn Terminal will be up close and near the SOL's front side.  Those sailing from/to Cape Liberty will be passing by too, odds of passing it close-up or not, depends on harbor traffic & other factors - and you might see the backside and/or from the side, instead of the front as Lady Liberty is mostly facing Lower Manhattan.  

 

Here's an early pre-dawn return to MCT as viewed from our balcony for disembarkation - as others suggested, if you have time and are staying in Manhattan, take the free Staten Island Ferry (round trip time is about 1 hour) for a up-close view ... have a good camera with digital/zoom lens to capture the close-up (weather permitting, of course.)  

 

The few sailings we took over the SOL, ships just headed straight for the VZ Bridge and out to sea - it isn't just at the ship captain's discretion, but I believe subject to maritime traffic for the busy harbor, managed by the "master" & US C.G. (I listen to VHF radio over marine frequencies sometimes ... you might be lucky to see a playful whale in the Upper or Lower Bay, they've been sighted further upstream on the Hudson River during migratory seasons).  

Edited August 30, 2021 by mking8288

[PaperSniper4]

28 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Cruise ships that sail from Manhattan Cruise Terminals and the Brooklyn Terminal will be up close and near the SOL's front side.  Those sailing from/to Cape Liberty will be passing by too, odds of passing it close-up or not, depends on harbor traffic & other factors - and you might see the backside and/or from the side, instead of the front as Lady Liberty is mostly facing Lower Manhattan.  

 

Here's an early pre-dawn return to MCT as viewed from our balcony for disembarkation - as others suggested, if you have time and are staying in Manhattan, take the free Staten Island Ferry (round trip time is about 1 hour) for a up-close view ... have a good camera with digital/zoom lens to capture the close-up (weather permitting, of course.)  

 

The few sailings we took over the SOL, ships just headed straight for the VZ Bridge and out to sea - it isn't just at the ship captain's discretion, but I believe subject to maritime traffic for the busy harbor, managed by the "master" & US C.G. (I listen to VHF radio over marine frequencies sometimes ... you might be lucky to see a playful whale in the Upper or Lower Bay, they've been sighted further upstream on the Hudson River during migratory seasons).  

Thanks for that information and posting the photos!

 

 

Doug

[mking8288]

41 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Thanks for that information and posting the photos!

Doug

 

It's something to look forward in early 2022 to and dream of - Summit is a beautiful ship, we've docked along side here in Bermuda twice, I think.  Here's a different & better higher resolution image of Lady Liberty from our balcony as we return "home" - sailing quietly up the Bay just before 6 am.  

 

The Staten Island commuter ferry crossing (safely) just in front of us, port side - that's how much our typical "route" up the Hudson River ... look closely at the far left side of this image, you can faintly make out the image of a cruise ship ... that is over at Cape Liberty in nearby NJ, on the other side of the Hudson & southwest of the SOL.  

 

In my original post, I meant to say, the few sailings out of Cape Liberty on Royal Caribbean (not SOL) ... 

A bonus close-up pix of LL as we sail down and out to sea - our ship, like all other sailings from NY side is much closer than those using Cape Liberty.  

[PaperSniper4]

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

It's something to look forward in early 2022 to and dream of - Summit is a beautiful ship, we've docked along side here in Bermuda twice, I think.  Here's a different & better higher resolution image of Lady Liberty from our balcony as we return "home" - sailing quietly up the Bay just before 6 am.  

 

The Staten Island commuter ferry crossing (safely) just in front of us, port side - that's how much our typical "route" up the Hudson River ... look closely at the far left side of this image, you can faintly make out the image of a cruise ship ... that is over at Cape Liberty in nearby NJ, on the other side of the Hudson & southwest of the SOL.  

 

In my original post, I meant to say, the few sailings out of Cape Liberty on Royal Caribbean (not SOL) ... 

A bonus close-up pix of LL as we sail down and out to sea - our ship, like all other sailings from NY side is much closer than those using Cape Liberty.  

 

This reply may be a duplicate.......thanks for the photos and information. We will likely take some sort of land tour before we sail. If we are able to see the Statue from the Summit, that will be a bonus and a different perspective.

 

Doug

[Got2Cruise]

When Capt Leo and Capt Kate were the Captains 7 years ago they would drive past and the NYFD would put on a show. But I think they did away with that. 
 

 

[AMCJavelin]

Two cruises on Celebrity Summit out of Cape Liberty and both cruised out past The Statue of Liberty and then turned around to head out to sea so both sides of the ship got good views of the statue.

 

One cruise out of Cape Liberty on RCI Anthem of the Seas which did not cruise out past the statue.

 

Our cruise on Celebrity Summit scheduled for July 12, 2022 has the following listed in its itinerary:

DAY 1,Sun, Jun 12

Cape LibertyNj (Ny Metro)Departs: 4:00PM

 

DAY 1,Sun, Jun 12

Statue Of Liberty (Cruising)

[GTJ]

On 8/30/2021 at 7:17 PM, mking8288 said:

The Staten Island commuter ferry crossing (safely) just in front of us, port side

 

Living in NYC, and having been on the ferry to Staten Island so many times, that the passing of the Statue of Liberty is so ho-hum, However, a few years leaving NYC on a repositioning cruise, we had become positioned directly astride the Staten Island ferry, and it was a "race" (perhaps not unlike the races that would be had by the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central, leaving Chicago on parallel tracks destined for New York). I took several photographs, as we sped along through the harbor, increasingly at higher speed and leaving the ferry increasing distant behind us. The race was more exciting to watch than a statue.

[matt1]

^^^ GTJ -

Your story is actually very sad, from the perspective of this non-NYC native. I can only imagine that the millions of visitors a year that went to the Statue of Liberty pre-pandemic, and the millions that took harbor tours and/or used the Staten Island Ferry just to get a glimpse of “a statue” (as you put it), would disagree with your “ho-hum” assessment. I’m cruising out of Bayonne in December, and would be beyond absolutely thrilled if the ship detoured up towards Manhattan and cruised back past Lady Liberty. 🙂

[JFontaine]

I am a life long Brooklyn/Manhattan resident, and I've seen the Statute of Liberty tens of thousands of times. Always a humbling and prideful moment for me. 

[GTJ]

On 9/8/2021 at 6:33 PM, matt1 said:

I can only imagine that the millions of visitors a year that went to the Statue of Liberty pre-pandemic, and the millions that took harbor tours and/or used the Staten Island Ferry just to get a glimpse of “a statue” * * *

 

That something has been seen so often to become ho-hum does certainly not diminish what it symbolizes: friendship between the people of France and the United States, and their mutual admiration for liberty from government control. But even those who visit the statue itself do eventually tire of looking at it and turn away to go elsewhere. The same is true in places like Washington, D.C., where visitors from out-of-town might well stare at the White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court building, but those who work in that city have seen them so often and they have other places to go. There are just so many things in places like New York, Washington, and other big cities that are worthy of attention, but there are many other things to be seen. Out-of-towners: take in your views if you have not seen it before. But when I am in New York Harbor, I want to experience new things, or to focus on business at hand; the fact remains that I have little need to again stare at a statue that I've seen hundreds of times before. This is not a rejection of the symbolism involved, but just the recognition that there's much more to New York City, and its harbor, than just one statue.

[matt1]

I’ve had the privilege to serve for 12 years in the military - being stationed in and visiting dozens upon dozens of countries from one end of the globe to the other - then worked as a travel agent for nearly 17 years taking 50 cruises (several out of NYC), traveling to almost all of the 50 states, and adding to my Bucket List one domestic and global destination at a time.
 

At the ripe old age of only 62, I haven’t been tied down to a single city long enough to see everything, or get bored with the same vista, so it’s been a pleasure returning as a guest to The Big Apple year after year to attend Broadway shows, see new sights and revisit old ones, and discover history that, as a child, I could only have imagined existed in text books and in my mind’s eye. Guess I’m fortunate, and that coming from someone who lives in a state that’s “almost heaven”. 
 

Looking forward to seeing Lady Liberty again, this time from my balcony as we head to the Bahamas. I just hope we don’t have any ferries in the way vying for my attention. 😉

[Got2Cruise]

10 hours ago, JFontaine said:

I am a life long Brooklyn/Manhattan resident, and I've seen the Statute of Liberty tens of thousands of times. Always a humbling and prideful moment for me. 

I never get tired of seeing it either. 

[Got2Cruise]

12 hours ago, JFontaine said:

I am a life long Brooklyn/Manhattan resident, and I've seen the Statute of Liberty tens of thousands of times. Always a humbling and prideful moment for me. 

I never get tired of seeing it either. I found the photo I took with my iPhone on the cruise.  This is leaving from Bayonne but Capt Leo brought us to Lady Liberty  

[takemeaway2008]

I have sailed by the Statue several times while cruising from Bayonne. I want to add that there is a beautiful 9/11 monument at the tip of Cape Liberty. Make sure you get a chance to see that even if it's only from the ship. 

 

[philpcruiser]

On 8/29/2021 at 7:53 AM, PaperSniper4 said:

Thanks very much. I had gotten my distance from the Cape to TSOL using mapquest....duh. That's land miles, dummy.☺️ You're obviously correct that the "sea miles" would be less, so maybe the Summit will divert enough to get a good view. However, my wife would NOT be satisfied with the view as kindly posted in your photo, and I am not willing to take the chance the ship will go nearer the statue. So, we'll plan for a land/ferry tour to see the Lady in the Harbor.

 

Doug

If you are still planning the SOL tour, do so as early as possible in the AM.  Expect heavy crowds in the summer.  Also, I'd lay odds we'll be passing the SOL.  Did it every time We sailed out of CL.  Only things that might change that plan is bad weather, a late departure, or unusual ship traffic in the harbor.