New York City to Cape Liberty: driving, PATH and light rail, and taxis to Bayonne

Royal Caribbean sells its Bayonne sailings as cruises "from Cape Liberty (New York)", so a lot of people planning a cruise from New York end up at a port in New Jersey. The trip from Manhattan is short, but it crosses the Hudson and the last few miles need a car, a taxi or a ride app. These are the routes, fares and tolls from the operators' own pages.

• Where you are going. 4 Port Terminal Boulevard, Bayonne, NJ 07002. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both put Bayonne seven miles south of Manhattan.
• By car. Holland or Lincoln Tunnel, the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14A, Route 440 South, then Port Terminal Boulevard.
• By train. PATH to Exchange Place, Newport or Hoboken, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 34th Street in Bayonne, then a taxi. On 4 November 2026 PATH cost $3.25 and the light rail $2.65.
• By taxi. A New York City yellow cab fare to New Jersey is agreed with the driver before the trip.

This site is independent. It is not the port, a cruise line or a transport operator.

Is Cape Liberty Cruise Port in New York?

No. Cape Liberty Cruise Port is in Bayonne, New Jersey, at 4 Port Terminal Boulevard. Royal Caribbean titles its sailings "from Cape Liberty (New York)" and its New York cruise guide says most of them leave from Bayonne, which is why a search for cruises from New York so often leads to New Jersey.

Celebrity sells the same port as its cruises from New Jersey and puts Bayonne seven miles south of Manhattan. Royal Caribbean's Cape Liberty guide gives the same distance.

New York City has two cruise terminals of its own, which the city's Economic Development Corporation describes on its Cruise NYC pages. Parking for the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is entered at 55th Street and 12th Avenue by the West Side Highway, and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal's parking is at Brooklyn Pier 12. If your cruise documents name either one, you are not sailing from Bayonne and this guide does not apply.

Every sailing on our schedule leaves from Cape Liberty in Bayonne. The port guide covers the terminal itself.

How far is Cape Liberty from Manhattan?

By road, Cape Liberty is about 11 miles from the World Trade Center, about 12.5 miles from Penn Station and about 13.6 miles from Times Square, by OpenStreetMap routing on 4 November 2026. From Jersey City and Hoboken it is 8 to 9 miles.

From	Road distance to the terminal	Crossing the router picks
World Trade Center	about 11.3 miles	Holland Tunnel
Penn Station, Manhattan	about 12.5 miles	Holland Tunnel
Times Square	about 13.6 miles	Lincoln Tunnel
Brooklyn Borough Hall	about 13.1 miles	Across Lower Manhattan to the Holland Tunnel
Exchange Place, Jersey City	about 8.3 miles	None
Journal Square, Jersey City	about 8.6 miles	None
Hoboken Terminal	about 9.3 miles	None

We leave out drive times. The router assumes empty roads, and the tunnels and their approaches are often anything but.

How do you drive from Manhattan to Cape Liberty?

Go through the Holland Tunnel or the Lincoln Tunnel and take the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14A (Bayonne). From there, Royal Caribbean's directions follow Route 440 South and turn left at the traffic light onto Port Terminal Boulevard, then past the guard gate to the terminal.

Royal Caribbean's two Manhattan routes:

• Lincoln Tunnel. Through the tunnel to New Jersey, I-495 West to the Turnpike, then south to Exit 14A.
• Holland Tunnel. Through the tunnel to New Jersey, then the Turnpike west to Exit 14A.

From Exit 14A, Royal Caribbean says to pay the toll at the exit and carry straight on onto Route 440. Neither tunnel charges a Port Authority toll on the way to New Jersey. If you plan to leave the car at the port, the parking guide has the garage rates.

How much are the tolls between New York City and Cape Liberty?

Nothing at the Port Authority's tunnels and bridges on the way to Bayonne, because the Port Authority collects tolls only from drivers entering New York. You pay on the way home. On 4 November 2026 a car paid $14.79 off-peak or $16.79 at peak hours with E-ZPass, and $23.30 by Tolls by Mail.

How you pay	Car toll entering New York
E-ZPass, off-peak	$14.79
E-ZPass, peak	$16.79
E-ZPass tag not read properly (mid-tier rate)	$19.55
Tolls by Mail	$23.30

The same rates apply at the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, the George Washington, Bayonne and Goethals bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing. Peak hours are 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 8 pm on weekdays, and 11 am to 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. All Port Authority crossings are cashless, and the E-ZPass discounts apply only to New York and New Jersey E-ZPass accounts.

Two tolls come on top. The New Jersey Turnpike charges its own toll, which Royal Caribbean's directions mention at Exit 14A. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, on the Staten Island route, is not a Port Authority crossing and has its own toll.

How do you get to Cape Liberty from Brooklyn?

There are two driving routes. The shortest by road, about 13 miles from Borough Hall, crosses Lower Manhattan and takes the Holland Tunnel. Royal Caribbean's route from Brooklyn and Long Island avoids Manhattan and goes over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island and the Bayonne Bridge into New Jersey.

Royal Caribbean's Staten Island route:

1. Cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island.
2. Take I-278 West.
3. Take Route 440 North over the Bayonne Bridge.
4. Stay on Route 440 North for about 3 miles, then turn right into the port.
5. Go through the guard gate and follow the signs to the cruise terminal.

The Bayonne Bridge charges no Port Authority toll in that direction, because it is entering New Jersey. On the way home it does, at the rates above.

How do you get from Manhattan to Cape Liberty by train?

Take PATH to Exchange Place, Newport or Hoboken, change to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail south toward 8th Street, get off at 34th Street in Bayonne and take a taxi to the port. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both give this route, and both say the last stretch has to be by taxi.

1. PATH to New Jersey. On 4 November 2026 a one-way PATH ride cost $3.25. You pay at the turnstile with a TAPP card or a contactless bank card, phone or watch, or buy a SingleRide ticket from a station machine, valid for two hours. PATH stopped accepting SmartLink cards and MetroCards on 1 September 2026.
2. Change to the light rail. PATH's station pages list Hudson-Bergen Light Rail connections at Exchange Place, Newport and Hoboken. NJ Transit's timetable shows the light rail running south from Hoboken Terminal through Newport and Exchange Place to the Bayonne stations and 8th Street.
3. Light rail to 34th Street. On 4 November 2026 NJ Transit's fare table gave $2.65 for an adult one-way ride and $1.25 for seniors, children and riders with disabilities.
4. Taxi to the terminal. About 2.7 miles by road. Celebrity says the Port Authority does not let guests arrive at the port on foot, and that taxis, Uber and Lyft can drive into the restricted area.

Buy the light rail ticket before you board. NJ Transit sells them from machines at every station and in its mobile app. A paper ticket must be time-stamped in a validator machine before you board, and an app ticket becomes valid three minutes after you activate it and lasts 60 minutes. The system runs on proof of payment, and NJ Transit says riding without a valid ticket can bring a fine of up to $100.

For one adult the two train fares came to $5.90 on 4 November 2026, plus the taxi from 34th Street. With heavy cruise luggage, weigh that against a car from your door.

Which light rail station is closest to Cape Liberty?

34th Street is the station Royal Caribbean and Celebrity tell you to use, and it is about 2.7 miles from the terminal by road. 45th Street, one stop north, is about the same distance. Neither is close enough to walk, and the port does not admit people on foot anyway, so plan on a taxi from either.

Road distances from Bayonne's light rail stations to the terminal, by OpenStreetMap routing:

Station	Road distance to the terminal
45th Street	about 2.6 miles
34th Street	about 2.7 miles
22nd Street	about 3.4 miles
8th Street	about 4.8 miles

Royal Caribbean describes the port as about two miles east of 34th Street station, which is closer to the straight-line distance than to the road route. Celebrity says Bayonne has three taxi companies to call for the ride. A ride app works too.

Is there a bus from Manhattan to Cape Liberty?

Yes, part of the way. NJ Transit's route 119 runs between the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan and Bayonne, and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both say to ride to 33rd Street and Kennedy Boulevard and take a taxi about three miles east to the port.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity also list a regional motorcoach program run by Entertainment Tours, reached on (800) 310-9900, which sets its own rates and pickup points. We have not found a page from the company itself, so ask it directly what it charges and where it stops.

How much is a taxi from Manhattan to Cape Liberty?

There is no set fare. New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission says that for trips outside the city, other than to Westchester, Nassau or Newark Airport, the driver may choose whether to go and the fare must be agreed before the trip begins. Settle the price, and whether it includes tolls, before you load the bags.

Two New York charges apply to a yellow taxi starting in Manhattan, according to the commission on 4 November 2026:

• New York State congestion surcharge. $2.50 on yellow taxi trips that begin, end or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street.
• MTA congestion pricing toll. 75 cents on yellow and green taxi trips in the zone at and south of 60th Street.

Ride apps price the trip in the app. Celebrity says Uber and Lyft drivers have access to the restricted area of the port, so they can drop you at the terminal.

How do you get from Jersey City or Hoboken to Cape Liberty?

Take the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail south to 34th Street and a taxi from there, or drive about 8 to 9 miles. There is no tunnel to cross, so there is no Port Authority toll either way.

• Light rail. NJ Transit's timetable runs the line south from Hoboken Terminal through Newport, Exchange Place and Liberty State Park to the Bayonne stations. The adult fare on 4 November 2026 was $2.65.
• Driving. About 8.3 miles from Exchange Place, 8.6 miles from Journal Square and 9.3 miles from Hoboken Terminal by road. Royal Caribbean's route uses the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14A.
• Bus. NJ Transit's route 119 runs through Jersey City to Bayonne on its way from Manhattan.

If you plan to stay in Jersey City or Hoboken the night before, the hotels guide compares the options.

How do you get back to New York after a Cape Liberty cruise?

By the same routes in reverse, except that the Port Authority's tunnels and bridges now charge a toll, because you are entering New York. The ships on our schedule are due back at 6 am or 7 am, and Celebrity says disembarkation usually runs from about 8 am to 10 am.

• By car. On a Saturday or Sunday, peak toll hours start at 11 am. A car that is through the tunnel before then pays the off-peak E-ZPass rate, $14.79 on 4 November 2026.
• By train. Take a taxi or ride app from the terminal to 34th Street, the light rail north, then PATH into Manhattan.
• By taxi or ride app. Ask for the fare to your Manhattan address before you set off.

For flights home, the Newark airport guide covers EWR, JFK and LaGuardia. To pick a sailing, start with every departure from Bayonne, or browse the Bermuda, Bahamas and Canada and New England cruises.