Cruises From New Jersey

Bayonne, New Jersey is seven miles south of Manhattan, where every cuisine imaginable is on offer. Closer to the cruise port, there are restaurants all along Broadway specializing in everything from Italian to Middle Eastern to fast food. If this is your first visit to the New York Metropolitan Area and you want to try some New York classic cuisine, hot dogs, New York-style pizza, cheesecake, and pastrami on rye are absolute classics. But this area really is a global melting pot, and you’ll be able to find any cuisine you dream of.

Bayonne was originally inhabited by Lenni Lenape Native Americans. The area was claimed by the Dutch but came under British rule in 1664. What’s now known as Bayonne was originally called Bergen Neck. A steamboat service to New York City started in 1846, and the railroad arrived here in the 1860s. Bayonne itself was formed as an independent township in 1861 and thrived as a center of boat building and fishing.

Industrialization and mass immigration saw Bayonne develop quickly, the port area playing an important role as a naval supply center during WWII and becoming a U.S. Army base in 1967 named the Military Ocean Terminal—Bayonne, or MOTBY. This closed in 1999, and since then, the peninsula on which the cruise terminal now stands has been used by the movie industry, with several large sound stages here. The cruise port opened in 2004, with the state-of-the-art terminal opening in 2014.

Since the cruise port sits on a peninsula off the mainland, there are no shopping options in proximity to the port, besides a kiosk with basic essentials in the cruise terminal. About a 20-minute drive from the port, you’ll find TJ Maxx and Walmart for last-minute cruise essentials.

While public transportation is available to bring you to a drop-off point outside the Cape Liberty cruise terminal, the Port Authority prohibits any guests to arrive at the port on foot; you can only arrive in a motor vehicle. So walking from the bus drop-off station is not an option. Therefore, you’re required to hire a taxi or other car service for the remainder of the way to the terminal. Taxis, Uber/Lyft drivers, and private car services all have access to the restricted areas of the port as well.

The official currency in Bayonne is the U.S. dollar (USD). Major credit cards are widely used and accepted, and ATMs are readily available throughout the city and port. Most prices displayed on merchandise and food do not yet include gratuities or taxes. Tipping is not mandatory but is generally considered to be appropriate etiquette for services rendered, in line with the rest of the U.S.