Roaming the World (1871): Caribbean 10-Country Cruise Part 2 – Sailing Past the Statue of Liberty

From late December 2024 to early January 2025, I joined a 21-day Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's "Norwegian Breakaway," organized by a travel agency in Shanghai, visiting 10 countries. On the first day in New York, we took a boat tour to see the Statue of Liberty. The photo was taken near the boat dock.

New York consists of five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. The boat dock is located on Manhattan Island. Manhattan Island sits at the mouth of the Hudson River, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The photo was taken near the boat dock.

There were many pigeons on the yacht mooring lines.

Manhattan Island is filled with towering skyscrapers, and a fellow traveler was taking photos.

While waiting for the boat, we viewed the Brooklyn Bridge from a distance. Originally named the "New York and Brooklyn Bridge," it is a suspension bridge spanning the East River, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. Completed on May 24, 1883, in New York City, it is hailed as one of the seven great engineering marvels of the Industrial Revolution and became a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1964.

New Yorkers love to raise dogs.

At the Hudson River dock, a long line of passengers had formed to board the cruise boat, and we slowly moved with the crowd onto the vessel.

You can also take a helicopter to view the Statue of Liberty. Against the twilight, helicopters occasionally roared low over the water.

The cruise boat was packed with tourists from all over the world, all eager to see the symbol of the United States—the Statue of Liberty.

The cruise boat sailed downstream along the Hudson River, allowing passengers to view Manhattan's skyscrapers from the water.

The Statue of Liberty came into view. It was a gift from France to the United States in 1876, commemorating the 100th anniversary of American independence.

Its full name is the "Statue of Liberty National Monument," and its official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World." It stands near the mouth of the Hudson River on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

The Statue of Liberty is 46 meters tall (93 meters including the pedestal) and weighs over 200 tons. It is made of metal and stands on a concrete base.

The statue is dressed in ancient Greek-style robes, wearing a radiant crown with seven spikes representing the seven continents. Her right hand holds a torch symbolizing freedom, and her left hand holds a tablet inscribed with "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776, the date of the Declaration of Independence).

The entire copper statue is supported by a steel framework of 120 tons, clad in 80 tons of copper sheets, fastened with 300,000 rivets, for a total weight of 225 tons. In 1984, the Statue of Liberty National Monument was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The photo shows a souvenir shot I took on the cruise boat.

This is another souvenir photo taken as the cruise boat passed under the Brooklyn Bridge.