Cape Liberty cruise port: A guide to cruising from New Jersey

24.08.2024 - 15:15 / thepointsguy.com / Spirit Airlines / John F.Kennedy / Royal Caribbean / Hudson River / United Airlines

The first thing you'll notice about the Cape Liberty cruise port is the views: Situated on the Hudson River in New Jersey across from New York City, the port has spectacular skyline panoramas of Manhattan and unimpeded views of the Statue of Liberty. In fact, sailing out of Cape Liberty will bring you face-to-face (OK, face-to-toes) with Lady Liberty when you sail through the harbor.

Cape Liberty is a hub for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. From here, ships from those two lines sail to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean, Canada and New England and beyond.

Note that although Cape Liberty is often referred to as "New York" on some cruise-selling websites, it is squarely on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, in Bayonne. (It's a quirk of the region that many popular things in New Jersey are labeled as "New York" — for example, both the New York Jets and the New York Giants play their home games at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey.)

Although Cape Liberty is the ideal place to set sail from if you're already based in the nearby Tri-State region (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut), Pennsylvania or other East Coast locations, the port is also easy to get to from Newark International Airport (EWR) just 10 miles away. Fly in early and you'll find plenty of points hotels for a pre- or postcruise stay nearby, too.

Plus, you'll be just across the Hudson River from New York City, making it easy to add a visit to the Big Apple to your cruise itinerary.

Address: 4 Port Terminal Blvd., Bayonne, NJ 07002

Number of terminals: One
While Cape Liberty is wheelchair accessible, contact your cruise line at least 30 days prior to your cruise to arrange assistance for boarding from the terminal to the ship.

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is the closest airport to the Cape Liberty cruise port. It's 10 miles away and about a 20-minute drive, depending on traffic.

While LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is 22 miles away and John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is 32 miles from Bayonne, the ride to Cape Liberty cruise port will take a minimum of one hour, and possibly up to two hours, from either airport depending on traffic, since you'll need to either traverse or circumnavigate Manhattan.

There is no direct public transportation from any of the three area airports to the cruise port.

EWR is a United Airlines hub and offers a plethora of flights from around the country on the carrier into Newark daily. Other domestic carriers that fly into EWR are Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Sun Country and Spirit Airlines.

If you want to fly with Southwest, you will have to choose LGA, since the carrier consolidated all of its New York City gates