Roaming the World (1873) Caribbean 10-Country Cruise Part 4: 9/11 Memorial & Museum

From late December 2024 to early January 2025, I participated in a 21-day Caribbean cruise covering 10 countries organized by a Shanghai travel agency on the Norwegian 'Pride of America'. On the second day after arriving in New York, we visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum with heavy hearts. The photo shows my commemorative picture taken at the 9/11 Memorial.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked commercial airliners crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The iconic Twin Towers, originally about 415 meters tall, collapsed, killing nearly 3,000 people. This was the shocking 9/11 event. Photo taken at the 9/11 Memorial.

To commemorate the 9/11 attacks, New York built the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The footprints of the fallen North and South Towers are now two massive sunken waterfall memorial pools. The 9/11 Museum is in the middle, the Oculus transit hub (like a dove) is to the northeast, and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is to the southwest. The new One World Trade Center stands north of the memorial, across from the World Financial Center. Photo taken at the 9/11 Memorial.

The two enormous sunken pools have water cascading endlessly into the dark, bottomless voids. From top to bottom, three tiers and two waterfalls descend from the sunny world above to the dark abyss. The low walls of the pools are made of black marble, inscribed with the names of 2,983 victims (including those from New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing). Photo taken at the 9/11 Memorial.

Some names have white roses inserted, likely left by family members mourning.

Visiting the 9/11 Museum requires an admission fee, but every day many people queue. The museum houses some personal belongings of the victims, as well as the uniforms and equipment of the brave firefighters who sacrificed their lives.

One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower) stands 1,776 feet (541 meters) tall, with 1,776 representing the year of American independence. The new One WTC is a new landmark in Manhattan, the tallest building in New York and the United States. It is also the tallest in the Western Hemisphere and the third tallest in the world.

This photo of Manhattan taken from the cruise shows the tallest building is the new One WTC.

The Oculus transit hub at the World Trade Center site resembles a bird spreading its wings, ready to explore the sky, like a dove of peace or angel wings descending to Earth.

The station cost $4 billion to build.