Carnival Splendor has become Carnival Cruise Lines' ship in New York harbor, taking over from Carnival Miracle as the ship based in the Big Apple year-round. She sails from the Passenger Ship Terminal (a.k.a. the Manhattan Cruise Terminal) on the West Side of Manhattan. In this essay, we see Carnival Splendor at Pier 90 and then sailing down the Hudson (more properly the "North River" at this point).
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Left: Carnival Splendor berthed at Pier 90, which was once the home of such great ocean liners as the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth 2. Onboard Splendor pays tribute to the great ocean liners of the past with models of the Queen Mary and the Normandie on her Lido deck (below).
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Passenger ships have been using Pier 90 and the other piers at the Passenger Ship Terminal since the 1930s. However, exiting those piers is not an easy maneuver for mariners. The ship has to back out of the pier into the strong current of the river, which is pushing against the side of the ship. Thus, even a modern ship like Splendor sometimes will have a tugboat standing by.
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Once out into the river, the ship must execute a 90 degree turn to starboard. Splendor's powerful bow and stern thrusters allow her to make this turn essentially within her own length.
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Having made the turn, Splendor proceeds down the river past the landmark Manhattan skyscrapers, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty and out to sea.
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Cruise ship photo essay - - Carnival Cruise Lines - - Carnival Splendor - - Carnival Splendor in New York