Norwegian Crown
(Photograph Tim Martin)

The best location is either just north or just south of the NY Waterway/New York Water Taxi ferry terminal (boats sail the World Financial Center and and from West 39th Street). The wooden recreation pier at Exchange Place is good for taking the ships against the Lower Manhattan skyline but not for three-quarters bow angles of the ship coming downriver because of an obstructing, adjacent new pier to the north. That pier is now completely rebuilt and is occupied by a Hyatt Hotel with a glorious big-window bar and restaurant at the river end. Walk to the pier's far end for one of the best new locations on the New Jersey waterfront with superb views upriver and across and down. Exchange Place is accessible from Lower Manhattan and Midtown by NY Waterway Ferry and New York Water Taxi ferries and from the World Trade Center site PATH station to Exchange Place PATH Station. In addition, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line operates on the surface from North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, Lincoln Harbor, Hoboken and Pavonia/Newport to Exchange Place and onto Bayonne.

Norwegian Dawn
(Photograph Theodore W. Scull)

Photography is somewhat restricted from the Hoboken Terminal. It can be reached via the PATH from 33rd Street & 6th Avenue and stops south to Christopher Street and from the World Trade Center site station. On weekdays NY Waterway Ferry from the World Financial Center and Pier 11/Wall Street serves Hoboken Terminal. On weekends, a ferry from West 39th Street runs to Hoboken 14th Street only.

Hoboken's best location is the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology, about a 15-minute walk north from the Hoboken Terminal or ten minutes south of the 14th Street Ferry landing. Stevens provides elevated locations at Castle Point with the West Village as a backdrop. North of the Stevens Tower on the grassy slope near the President's colonial brick house, there is a clear view upriver.

The campus can also reached by the frequent No. 126 New Jersey Transit bus or Academy bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal along Washington Street to 8th , then three blocks east to the river. That bus route continues along Washington Street to the Hoboken Terminal.

The north end of Hoboken is also accessed from 39th Street via the NY Waterway Fe rry to 14th Street, Hoboken, the former site of the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard and now the site for "The Shipyard", a new residential complex located between the marina/ferry landing and the former Maxwell House Coffee plant. The Hoboken Historical Museum (with exhibits on the city and its waterfront) is also located here in a former Bethlehem Steel Shipyard machine shop. www.hobokenmuseum.org

A superb spot for photographing ships is from the long pier jutting out from Hoboken's north end at 14th Street, a portion of which the NY Waterway Ferry uses to and from West 39th Street Manhattan. The railing may be used as a quasi-tripod for telephoto and low light shots. The pier gives an unobstructed view north to the Passenger Ship Terminal, allowing for broadside then three-quarters bow shots as the ships reverse into the river and make their turn. The ships may then be photographed against the Midtown skyline and specifically the Empire State Building directly opposite.

Saga Ruby at the Manhattan Passenger Ship Terminal
(Photograph Theodore W. Scull)

Arrival Locations:The Passenger Ship Terminal's top decks - Piers 88, 90, and 92 - are closed to sightseers, with guards patroling at arrival and departure times. Motorists, however, have access to parks cars. Any changes to these policies will be posted here.

To the south of the PST, the following piers are open to the public - Pier 84, the NY Waterway ferry piers at West 39th & 38th Streets; Chelsea Piers, and especially the river end of Pier 59 used by the golf driving range. A new recreation pier (location of Pier 45) is now open as part of the Hudson River Park at the foot of West 10th Street. There is a complete walkway along the outside perimeter of Pier 40, and benches at the outer end paralleling the river provide a quiet spot to wait for ships to pass. The southside of the pier that leads out to the Holland Tunnel ventilation shaft has now reopened . The entire promenade at Battery Park City is open to the public. N.B. When the sun is low on the horizon some midtown and downtown skyscrapers will cast long shadows over portions of the river.

Departure Locations: For afternoon departures, for the time being, the Passenger Ship Terminal is no longer available except from street level, although at irregular times, security guards may say no. The other locations mentioned above are good vantage points, but the ships will usually be backlighted, except in the summer months when the sun sets in the southwest.

Queen Mary 2
(Photograph Theodore W. Scull)

Ships berthed at Pier 12, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal can be photographed from inside the terminal but not without the pier shed blocking some of the hull. If using public transit, you can enter the terminal grounds through a pedestrian gate at the end of Pioneer Street, two blocks off Van Brunt. Outside the perimeter, a vantage point is from the south side, through or over the surrounding fence. However there is likely to be some vehicular clutter in the foreground. The Valentino recreation pier at the foot of Coffey Street, a few blocks south of the cruise terminal, is ideal for arriving ships as they turn 180 degrees off the southern tip of Governors Island and reverse into Buttermilk Channel. Depending on the season, and arrival time, there may or may not be sufficient light. As it is not possible to see the ships berthed at the cruise terminal from the Valentino Pier because of a building blocking the view, station yourself further south along the promenade running to the west side of the Beard Street Warehouse Pier. You can see the upper decks of ships berthed at Pier 12 and once it sails, there is a clear view with a backdrop of Governors Island and a distant Statue of Liberty. There are also more distant telephoto views of ships sailing through Upper New York Bay to and from Manhattan’s West Side Cruise Terminal.

If coming by car, there is usually ample on-street parking near the waterfront. For transit riders, take any subway to Downtown Brooklyn in the vicinity of Borough Hall, then board the B61 bus, marked Van Brunt Street, from Smith Street, just south of Fulton Street, to the end of the route. Photo locations are all within a couple of blocks. An alternate approach is the B77 bus from the elevated Smith/9th Street F Train station to the end of the route at Coffey/Van Brunt Streets. Bus frequencies are between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the time of day. Walking from the F Train is not recommended because of the difficulties of safely crossing the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the approaches to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. To walk to Red Hook photo locations from Downtown Brooklyn (about 40 minutes) take Henry or Clinton Street through leafy Cobble Hill, then a switch a couple of blocks to the west over BQE to Columbia Street passing the Red Hook Container Terminal, and one block west again along parallel Van Brunt Street for Red Hook’s main street. The photo locations are accessed either via a right on Pioneer Street into the terminal or via a right on Coffey Street or straight ahead to the Beard Street Pier.

New York Water Taxi operates a weekday rush hour-only route route with two departures in each direction between Pier 11, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Bay Ridge via Buttermilk Channel. Boats pass close to ships berthed at Pier 12 in Red Hook. On weekday afternoons and throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, a free Water Taxi operates between Pier 11/Wall Street via Buttermilk Channel to the Ikea Superstore pier in the Erie Basin Red Hook. Hop-On Hop-Off services run along Manhattan’s Hudson River West Side and along the East River to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens points. For this and other commuter and sightseeing operation, go to www.nywatertaxi.com for exact schedules and routes.

During the late spring, summer and early fall months, Governors Island is another possible location for photographing ships at both the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and the Red Hook Container Terminal and vessels of all kinds passing through Upper New York Bay. www.govisland.com

Queen Mary 2 taken from the Staten Island Ferry
(Photograph Theodore W. Scull)

Photography from the ferry is chancy due to the normal half-hourly schedule but if the timing works, the settings, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan backdrops, can be dramatic. A relatively new waterside and elevated promenade is located to the left of the St. George Ferry terminal when facing the harbor. Ships leaving Cape Liberty Cruise Port can be captured broadside and as well as bow shots of ships coming south through the Upper Bay. An excellent location is from Fort Wadsworth, which is now open to the public. Fort Wadsworth sits on an elevated site just north of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Explorer of The Seas
(Photograph Theodore W. Scull)

The setting is the Narrows with the backdrops, the distant skyline to the left, Bay Ridge across the way and the dramatic V-Z Bridge span to the right. The site is best reached by S51 bus along Bay Street, connecting to and from the ferry at St. George. Some buses continue into Fort Wadsworth but if not, then get off at the last stop on Bay Street and walk (15 minutes) ahead through the gate into the grounds. Make a left past attractive residential housing then right up the slope to the vantage point just south of the V-Z Bridge. You will be glad you made the effort. The water level lawn at the Alice Austen house (a museum) located at the harbor end of Hyland Boulevard is an alternative location. It’s closer to the ferry terminal and can be reached by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Line to Clifton then a ten-minute walk or by the S51 Bay Street bus to Hylan Blvd.

 

Noordam and Norwegian Spirit
(Photograph by Howard Paulman)

Weehawken, NJ has two superb sites, reachable by New York Waterway Ferry from West 39th Street, Manhattan. As tickets are for sale at the ferry terminal, simply step aboard the NY Waterway buses at any city bus stop. The company's red, white and blue buses make stops along 57th, 49th, 42nd, and 34th streets. The ferry departures are every 20 minutes (every 10 minutes during rush hours only) and the crossing takes just 7 minutes. Phone 1-800-53-FERRY www.nywaterway.com.

Landing at Weehawken, there are waterside photo locations to the north and south of the ferry terminal. For a top-of-the-Palisades location, walk across the road to the light rail station then up a new set of stairs to Pershing Road up to Boulevard East then turn left and walk south to the park. There are benches, popular with the locals. On some weekends, a wedding party may be having the happy occasion recorded with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. Hamilton Park is where on July 11, 1804 Aaron Burr challenged Alexander Hamilton to a duel and mortally wounded him. The walk between Hamilton Park and the ferry terminal takes 15 minutes.

Hamilton Park is also a wonderful after-dark location. For a few seconds, the ship will be dead in the water, having reversed into the stream, and poised to head down river. The tens of thousands of lighted Manhattan office windows and the distinctive lighted tops of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings will create an unforgettable portrait of the ship. Ships at sunset make a great shot. If they depart on a clear evening and on time, there will be an enhancing blue glow to the sky above the metropolis.