MANHATTAN — Landlubbers beware — a new state-of-the-art, 4,000-passenger cruise ship is coming to Hell's Kitchen
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan, announced Thursday that the company's new ship, the Norwegian Breakaway, will make the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, near 50th Street on the Hudson River, its home port.
The boat will replace the Norwegian Pearl starting in May 2013, and will be the largest ever to call New York home.
"By making New York City home to its newest and largest ship, Norwegian Cruise Line is further confirming our standing as a top cruise destination and a place that tourists from around the world want to visit," the Bloomberg said.
The boat is still under construction in Germany, and is expected to be seaworthy by 2013.
Norwegian Cruise Line said the ship will embark on at least 88 trips between 2013 and 2015, bringing roughly 140,000 passengers to Manhattan. The city also estimates the ship will bring in about $35 million in new revenue from tourists.
According to the city, approximately 583,000 cruise passengers boarded a boat in New York in 2010. That number is expected to go up when 2011 figures are calculated.
The Norwegian Breakaway will sail between New York and Bermuda — a favorite vacation spot of the mayor's — starting in May 2013. Tickets for those cruises go on sale Oct. 17.
