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History & Facts
MANHATTAN CRUISE TERMINAL
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History
The Manhattan Cruise Terminal had its start as the New York City Passenger
Ship Terminal in the 1930s, when Mayor LaGuardia built long, modern finger
piers out into the Hudson along Manhattan’s west side. For much of the early
twentieth century, a half dozen of the world’s greatest passenger ships
docked side by side from Piers 84 to 94—a stretch that became known as
Luxury Liner Row—starting with the Normandie in 1935, followed by the
Queen Mary the following year and the Queen Elizabeth after the outbreak
of World War II. During the war, thousands of GI’s embarked on the latter
two ships for the European theater of war—16,683 at once when the Queen Mary
departed from Pier 90 in July 1943.
Kings, queens and Hollywood royalty enjoyed luxurious post-war cruises,
departing from the Terminal in great numbers. Despite the advent of
affordable air travel in the 1950s, cruising enjoyed a resurgence of
popularity in the 1960s, with Bermuda as a popular destination. Following
renovation of the piers in 1970, the Terminal has served the expanding cruise
travel business, and continued its historical role of providing embarkation
for all transatlantic crossings.
The Terminal was closed after the terror attack on September 11, and served
for more than three months as an emergency management command center for
city, state and federal agencies. In January 2002, the Queen Elizabeth 2
was the first cruise ship to return to the terminal, embarking from
New York City on a 108-day world cruise.
Facts
- The Manhattan Cruise Terminal, originally called the Passenger Ship
Terminal, is now the fourth busiest cruise terminal in the United States.
- In 2004, there were 845,778 passenger movements at the terminal.
- The cruise industry in New York provides $600 million in economic
activity and 3,300 jobs for the City.
- Passenger embarkations grew by more than 30 percent annually in both 2002
and 2003. This growth was spurred by new itineraries in the Canadian Maritimes
and new offerings serving the Caribbean directly from New York City.
- As of 2003, ships are once again sailing year-round from New York City.
- The Manhattan Cruise Terminal remains the primary home port for trans-Atlantic crossings
from Europe. Other itineraries include Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean.
- Major cruise lines served in Manhattan include Carnival Cruise Line,
Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruise Line, Cunard, Holland America Line,
Crystal Cruises, Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea and Seaborn.
- In 2004, to secure its position as a first-class passenger terminal,
the City of New York began a program of $200 million in capital investment
at the New York Cruise Terminal. The new terminals will include modern
adjustable gangways and expanded pier aprons to load and unload passengers
and supplies with greater speed, comfort and efficiency. The redeveloped
terminals will also segregate embarking and disembarking passengers onto
separate levels, allowing for more efficient use of passenger space and
reducing congestion Future Improvements.
- Manhattan Cruise Terminal is owned by the City of New York and managed on behalf of the
City by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
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