Cruises from New York? Is that possible? Indeed it is, as there are numerous cruises from New York every year, which are offered by at least six different cruise lines: Carnival, Norwegian, Disney, Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean. In March alone, there were 13 cruises from New York, and there are even more leaving in the month of April. Cruises from New York travel to several different destinations, from the Caribbean to Canada, from the Bahamas to Europe. Since not many people associate New York with cruise ships (or really anything about the cruise industry), we figured it was high time for an article explaining the important details about cruises that depart from New York. (We’ll start with this one: by “cruises from New York,” we mean “cruises from New York City.” One port is in Manhattan, and there is another port for particularly large ships in Brooklyn. There is also a port in New Jersey called the Cape Liberty Cruise Port.)
Generally, people tend to think of Florida as the exclusive state for cruising. To an extent, this makes sense – a large percentage of the cruise vacations that people tend to think about, like trips to the Caribbean, begin at one of the many ports in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, etc.). Moreover, the world’s most popular cruise line, Carnival, is based in Florida (Doral, specifically), so there is definitely a deep connection between the cruise industry and Florida. But even a moment’s reflection immediately makes it clear that not all cruises can possibly leave from Florida. Consider cruises to Alaska: obviously, there is not much sense in departing from Orlando when your goal is to see the Alaskan wilderness (unless you are interested in taking an extremely roundabout way to get there). This is one reason why there are several cruises from New York: for certain types of cruise vacations (to, say, England), it makes sense to begin your journey from a place like New York.
However, this isn’t the only reason why there are cruises that depart from New York. After all, there are cruises from New York that go to the Caribbean, even though Florida is clearly more conveniently located – in terms of the distance between the destination and the port of departure – for this type of trip. (This brings up an important side point: cruise vacations vary widely in length, so it’s not like all cruise itineraries are planned to minimize the amount of miles that must be sailed. So, a cruise that leaves from New York might be better suited for a Caribbean voyage if this voyage is supposed to be relatively lengthy. However, this reasoning can only be taken so far, and that’s why cruises to Alaska do not start in Florida.) So, another major reason cruises begin in New York is that this location is easier to get to for many cruise vacationers. If everyone had to buy a plane ticket to get to Florida to take a cruise, fewer people would probably take cruises. However, with cruises from New York, anyone who lives in this part of the country can more easily get to their port of departure. Moreover, New York has a particularity large population, so it makes sense that cruise lines want to tap into this pool of potential customers by scheduling cruises to depart from New York.
Yet another reason why many cruises leave from New York is that New York is a great place to visit in the course of your cruise vacation. Many people who take cruises have to buy plane tickets to get to a port of departure, and if you have to spend a bunch of money on a plane ticket, it’s worth checking out the city in which your port is located. New York is obviously an extraordinarily important city with tourist appeal, so it is a natural place for cruise vacations to begin. Many people who take cruises from New York will plan to spend a few days before or after their trip in the city.
Basically, cruises from New York make sense for both passengers and the cruise lines, and that’s why they exist.