Galaxy or M-Class ship in Bayonne N.J.

[Bozo]

Since RCCL is spending so much money to renovate this port I think it would be a good idea to bring in the Galaxy next summer or an M-Class ship to do the 10/11 day eastern carib. and western carib. that they did out of Baltimore. I would book the 11 day in a heart beat did the 10 day out of Baltimore in 2003.How do you fellow cruisers feel about this? We all should make an attempt to get Celebrity,s attention to make this possible.Thanks for any support.

[superjerryw]

Sounds like a great idea to me. The more ships that sail from New York the better.

 

 

Donuts, is there anything they can't do....

[dougnewmanatsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by superjerryw:

The more ships that sail from New York the better.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's not New York. It's NEW JERSEY!

 

Yes, I feel let down that RCI has moved to New Jersey. I hope they are the first and last, and that eventually they come back to New York. I have nothing against New Jersey of course but I simply do not believe that Bayonne can possibly replace New York as a cruise port. Even Brooklyn seems to me as though it would not be as good as Manhattan, and I live on Long Island and was born in Queens so nobody can call me a snobby Manhattanite even though I wouldn't really mind being one .

 

I would like to remind everyone of the legacy of Fiorello LaGuardia, who when flying from someplace (Chicago I think) to "New York" in the '30s landed at Newark. He demanded that the airplane fly him to Roosevelt Field (I think) in New York, because Newark is in New Jersey and NOT New York! Of course, then, they did it. Now, he'd be in jail for hijacking. But we did get our own airport - the very suitably named LaGuardia Airport - out of it! Of course we have our own cruise terminal too but it's a dump. Nobody can blame RCI for moving to New Jersey - all we can do is hope to get them back, though nobody seems to be actively trying to do that and it seems that they want nothing to do with New York's plan for the future, cruise-wise, which will be mainly supported by Carnival and NCL. But the point is, I have to wonder what Mayor LaGuardia would have done if he saw us losing cruise ships to that state next door.

 

To RCI's credit at least they don't exactly call it New York. Instead it's Cape Liberty Cruise Port, NJ (New York harbor). The whole name is of course a complete fabrication - for one thing the port is NOT on a cape of any sort - but at least they managed to slip "NJ" in there... Better than the (mostly foreign) airlines who call Newark Airport "New York Newark" or - worse - just plain "New York" which is utterly ridiculous and vaguely offensive.

 

When the new New York Cruise Terminal opens it will have only three berths - not five as we currently have. I think this is a mistake and if they want to go ahead they must build at least two or three berths in Brooklyn as well, though I think at least five in Manhattan would be better. The important part though is that QM2 will not be leaving Manhattan for Brooklyn. As I said I can't be accused of being a snob from Manhattan (in fact my entire family is from Brooklyn) but that ship deserves to dock in Manhattan!

 

Oh well, I'm rambling on here but this is an important issue for me as you might imagine!

 

Doug Newman

Cruise Critic Message Boards Host

e-mail: shiploverny AT yahoo DOT com

[superjerryw]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Host Doug:

I have to wonder what Mayor LaGuardia would have done if he saw us losing cruise ships to that state next door.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I'm sure he would not have let the port deteriorate in to its current sad condition. Personally, I don't care if the ship leaves from Bayonne, midtown Manhattan or Brooklyn. I would just like to be able to cruise from the New York area without having to get on a plane.

 

 

Donuts, is there anything they can't do....

[mmp13]

Frankly, I would love to sail out of Bayonne. I sailed out of new york many times about 30 years ago and again last year and as much as i love Manhatten the traffic and the mayhem at the port is just not worth the hassle. I would love to see 10 or 11 day cruises out of Bayonne. Count me in if Celebity makes that move!!!

 

Peg

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2004 Celebrity Galaxy 10/8/04

2003 Carnival Legend 10/4/03

2002 Celebrity Galaxy 9/20/02

1977 Southward/skyward

1976 Song of Norway

1975 Leonardo Davinci

1974 frederico C

1973 Doric

1972 Homeric

1971 Homeric

1970 queen anna maria

[Pammie]

Hubbie & I would give Bayonne, NJ a try. We live in NJ so it would avoid us having to pay tolls to NY and the limo wouldn't be so costly.

 

Pammie & Hubbie

[CoasterBill]

I so wish the Galaxy or one of Celebrity's other ships would come back to sail out of Balto. We took Galaxy the first year and wanted to do it again this summer and we are very sad to be having to head up to NJ to take the Voyager this summer. I hope to see Celebrity back in balto with summer sailings. I would do a December one out of Balto each year if they had that as well.

 

Seaward 11/97, Monarck of the Sea 11/98, Sea Princess 11/99, Century 12/00, Norway 2/02, Galaxy 7/02, Constellation 12/02, Summit 8/03, Norwegian Dawn 12/03, Voyager of the Seas 7/2/04.

[Joanandjoe]

We think you'll get agreement from all Northeasterners that moving the Galaxy from Baltimore to Galveston is a bummer. We would gladly take a cruise from anywhere between Boston and Baltimore (Newport News, VA is a bit of a push) if someone would have the right ship (Celebrity, HAL or a luxury liner such as Radisson or Silversea) and the right itinerary. We've already done New England and Canada twice, and do not consider the current alternatives (Bermuda at times when we can't go, and cruises on NCL or Carnival to Florida and the Bahamas) worth considering.

 

Bayonne, Brooklyn, NYC or Philly would be great; but good cruises from these ports are hard to find. Celebrity, where are you?

[cruisegeek2004]

I really have to say that I'm thriled that New Jersey finally has a cruise terminal ... For years we were forced to deal with the congestion, stress, and chaos in New York ...Kudos to Royal Caribbean for taking their business to New Jersey and making it mush easier for people in this area to cruise! After sailing on the May 8th Cruise from Bayonne it was such a great thing to be 3 minutes from the NJ Turnpike and actually be sitting in my couch just 30 minutes later. Frankly, it's a bit silly for the so called "New Yorkers" to whine about the ship moving to NJ. Give us a break! You have broadway, the Yankees and all the great restaurants and museums! Can New Jersey people ever get a break! Let us enjoy the ships now and maybe you should give New Jersey a chance, it's really much nicer then you think! (ps. Don't take this post to heart, it's a bit tongue and cheek)

 

Email me Questions:

 

jakeryan85@yahoo.com

[cruisegeek2004]

PS.

 

Celebrity will most likely bring the Constellation to Bayonne in Sept/Oct 2004 for it's long Canada cruises!!

 

Email me Questions:

 

jakeryan85@yahoo.com

[richsea]

New Jersey would be great if us Long Islanders didn't have to go through New York City to get there!!

Seriously, even though the terminal on the west side is the absolute pits; & is hellish to get out of on disembarkation day, there is nothing like sailing past the NY skyline & past the Statue of Liberty.

 

Meridian Bermuda 1996

Century E Caribbean 1997

Century W Caribbean 1998

Zenith Bermuda 1999

Galaxy So Caribbean 2000

Galaxy So Caribbean 2001

Zenith Bermuda 2002

Mercury W Caribbean 2002

Constellation S Caribbean 2003

Infinity Hawaii 2004

[CRUISEinTIME]

You have to admit that the NYC ports are really runned down and a real mess for traffic. RCCL was smart and I hope Celebrity follows.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

 

Zenith 09-07-02

Millennium 02-22-04

 

 

[MaryJean56]

Having Celebrity leave out of the Bayonne terminal would be an answer to my prayers. I really hate to fly, but love to cruise, especially with Celebrity. Any port from Boston to Baltimore is great, but as others have said, NYC is a traffic nightmare. I have high hopes for Bayonne!

[Guest THE EDS]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cruisegeek2004:

PS.

 

Celebrity will most likely bring the Constellation to Bayonne in Sept/Oct 2004 for it's long Canada cruises!!

 

Email me Questions:

 

jakeryan85@yahoo.com<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Are you sure about 2004 I am booked on the Constellation Oct 1 as far as I know we are still sailing out of the port of N Y I would love to sail from Bayonne

 

The Eds

[Guest]

Eds:

 

As of now Celebrity has not made any plans to sail the ships from Bayonne. All of their sailing are still scheduled for NYC. Next year may be a different story however.

 

Don

[RodPat]

I personally am thrilled that New Jersey has a cruise port. I am tired of being New York's stepchild. For people coming from Long Island, come across Staten Island and use the Bayonne Bridge to NJ. It is about 2 minutes to the pier. Pat

[cruisegeek2004]

JUST AN FYI, YOU REALLY DON'T LOSE THE "NEW YORK" EXPERIENCE WHEN SAILING FROM BAYONNE .. YOU STILL SAIL RIGHT BY THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, (IT'S ACTUALLY CLOSER TO BAYONNE) AND IT'S ONLY 6 MILES AWAY FROM THE NEW YORK HARBOR!!

 

Email me Questions:

 

jakeryan85@yahoo.com

[crazy4cruzin]

Sorry to disagree with a lot of you, but I just sailed out of Bayonne this weekend on the inaugural overnighter on Empress of the Sea and the experience is no where near sailing out of New York City. I will gladly put up with the confusion, the traffic and hassle at the port in order to leave out of Manhattan. As for the port it is in an ugly, ugly area. They have a lot of work ahead of them still. Yes the port in Manhattan is run down and yes NYC has come to some agreement with Carnival to get the port back into good shape. Leaving Manhattan on the Dawn last August, was an experience in itself. You pass by the area where the World Trade Center used to be, while patriotic music is playing, you pass right close by to the Statue of Liberty, again patriotic music playing, you go under the Verrazano bridge. It's just a great experience.

Now leaving from Bayonne, you are down stream from the Statue of Liberty and in fact someone had to point it out to me as you really need a pair of binoculars to really get a good look and then you do go under the bridge, but the experience is nowhere close to the other. I will say it was easier to get in and out of the port, parking is cheaper, but you need to take a shuttle bus (2 minute ride) from the terminal to the ship and then we had to climb 6 short flights of steps (maybe 60 steps) up to the entrance to the ship. If you are elderly or out of shape this is not an easy thing to do carrying some carry-on bags. There is a ramp for the wheelchairs and disabled people to use but they would not allow anyone else to use it.

 

I agree with everyone about the convenience of this port in Bayonne but I still prefer NYC even with all its craziness. Just my opinion!!

[cruisegeek2004]

HI! It's America, so this is why we can have different opinions...So this is all in fun! I would like to point out that the Bayonne Pier is really in it's first stages of what it will eventually become...Royal Caribbean only had 5 months to put this project together and I think they have done an incredible job thus far...The cruiseline has signed a 30-year deal with Bayonne to re-construct the pier to be a better fit for cruise passengers; remember it was a Military terminal for the past 60 years! Eventually, the ships will dock right in front of the Statue of Liberty and across from the NYC skyline. Currently, you do have to take a 2 min shuttle from the terminal to the ship, but this is only for the short term. As a New Jersey resident, I'm proud of all the new jobs and commerece this new port has brought to New Jersey! Lets keep an open mind and take into consideration that this is LONG TERM committment and as times goes by things will be running much smoother!

 

Email me Questions:

 

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[carmendmun]

Kudos to you cruisegeek!!! I actually lived in Bayonne NJ for a while.

Though I do not live tehre now I ma glad to see that the old MIlitary Ocean terminal nis being put to use. Particularly since it is going to help the community there. That said, if Celebrity sailed fom Bayonne I would jump at the chance.

[dougnewmanatsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cruisegeek2004:

As a New Jersey resident<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Shouldn't your location be listed as "New Jersey" then ?

 

Doug Newman

Cruise Critic Message Boards Host

e-mail: shiploverny AT yahoo DOT com