Sailing Under Bridges

[cruiserjt]

For those of you who have experienced sailing out of multiple ports -

 

I have sailed from Tampa several times and will be departing NYC in 12 days. It seems as though most ships sail under a bridge as they depart... I am always so impressed by the seemingly tight clearance. Does anyone know what port provides the least clearance?

It appears that NYC goes under the bridge within the first hour but I remember it taking at least two hours for Tampa Bay. Is there anyway to know how long it takes - we missed the Bridge in Tampa and Baltimore because of dinner.

 

Please share your knowledge and pictures.....

[susie8862]

For those of you who have experienced sailing out of multiple ports -

 

I have sailed from Tampa several times and will be departing NYC in 12 days. It seems as though most ships sail under a bridge as they depart... I am always so impressed by the seemingly tight clearance. Does anyone know what port provides the least clearance?

It appears that NYC goes under the bridge within the first hour but I remember it taking at least two hours for Tampa Bay. Is there anyway to know how long it takes - we missed the Bridge in Tampa and Baltimore because of dinner.

 

Please share your knowledge and pictures.....

If i remember correctly...it was 30 to 40 minutes before going under the Verazano Bridge

 

Have your camera ready...GREAT GREAT PICS

[vanislandcruisers]

These are 3 pictures of the Carnival Splendor going under the Golden Gate Bridge on our Swine Flu Cruise in '09...Originally we were supposed to be in SF at 8:30am but because we had to stop in Long Beach to drop off 700 people who wanted to cut their cruise short we were late getting up and had to sit outside the Bay until the tides changed so we could make it under the bridge......8:30am became 1:30pm

 

 

 

[kr8z]

JAX was tight. I have video I think.

[Tapi]

Jacksonville is pretty tight. Clearance is such that many times the ship's departure or arrival is delayed waiting for the low tide.

 

Good thing about Jacksonville is that you do go under the bridge within a few minutes after sailway since the bridge is right there:

 

 

 

[wrigley80]

When we went under the Sunshine Skyway bridge on the Legend in December it was right at sunset so we got some great pics

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

OP, I don't have an answer for you, but you should watch the Queen Mary sail under the Verrazano bridge in NY! She normally has to go under at low tide. We were driving on the bridge once when she was sailing out, and you could smell and see the smoke on the bridge!

[tracyanns]

NYC is great, you get to sail by the Statue of Liberty and under the Verazano Narrows Bridge, seems like the ship barely clears it when under it but it is actually not that close.

 

I know some have mentioned 30-40 minutes, I seem to remember it being longer than that. I think it is closer to an hour or so...so depends on what time you have dinner and such. If you have early seating and you need to go down and get ready and stuff than you may miss it, but if you are just going to wear on to dinner what you wear onto the ship, than you should have time to see it...Enjoy

[H82seaUgo]

i understand the clearance of the destiny class under the vnb is 15 feet.

 

not sure about the other ships. they certainly don't look that close, although the glory is probably the same.

[susie8862]

NYC is great, you get to sail by the Statue of Liberty and under the Verazano Narrows Bridge, seems like the ship barely clears it when under it but it is actually not that close.

 

I know some have mentioned 30-40 minutes, I seem to remember it being longer than that. I think it is closer to an hour or so...so depends on what time you have dinner and such. If you have early seating and you need to go down and get ready and stuff than you may miss it, but if you are just going to wear on to dinner what you wear onto the ship, than you should have time to see it...Enjoy

Tracy...I am sure you are probably right. I just could not remember how long it took...but OMG what a great experience....right?

I don't care WHAT is going on....make sure you are on deck with your camera's. :)

[Lovefuninthesun]

When we sailed out of Tampa last February, the ship was greatly delayed because of fog -- the incoming ship didn't even dock until 6 or 7 AT NIGHT. So, we couldn't board until 9:30 PM, and the ship didn't sail until after midnight. By the time we got to the bridge I was exhausted and fast asleep in my cabin (waiting for 8 hours in the cruise terminal will do that to you, I guess!)! I was really disappointed -- wanted to experience the Sunshine Skyway from sailing underneath! Oh, well -- remainder of cruise was great!

[Surfwench]

It is exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes from set sail to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge out of Tampa. The clearance on the Legend I'm told is 15 scant feet, (it looks less). The BEST viewing deck is the highest forward deck, the one with the mini golf and basketball court. There not only do you experience it first, but the wind is less than other decks if you keep forward. Awesome experience. :)

[BigDoug]

For Baltimore, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the Key Bridge. It is about two hours to reach the Bay Bridges.

 

 

[Banditswife]

Cool photos all, thanks. Loved the Sunshine Skyway Bridge out of Tampa. We did YTD, so dinner was not an issue. But sail away was the only night we had to wait awhile to get seated, due to everyone wanting to see the bridge.

[Room Service!]

For Baltimore, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the Key Bridge. It is about two hours to reach the Bay Bridges.

 

 

 

I've read that the clearance under the Key Bridge is 10/12 ft.:eek:

[Aplmac]

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=208037

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/showphoto.php?photo=22535

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/showphoto.php?photo=22646

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/showphoto.php?photo=22932

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/showphoto.php?photo=22965

 

These pics show GLORY going under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in NYC.

.

[Cigar Dude]

Here is my video of us sailing under the bridge in Tampa:

 

[loubetti]

Obviously, it depends on the ship, the bridge, and the tide state. Often it looks closer than it is.

 

Out of New York, I have heard that 150,000 ton Queen Mary 2 might clear the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge with as little as 3', but on my times on her it certainly looked like 10' or more. They are very cognizant of this stuff- they ain't gonna hit! :D

[jonbgd]

The closest Ive ever seen is the QM2 under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sorry photos are on another hard drive

[crusinpsychRN]

Great pics! It's always so much fun to watch. I've only gone out of Tampa and it's a sight!

[kr8z]

For Baltimore, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the Key Bridge. It is about two hours to reach the Bay Bridges.

 

 

 

So the Bay Bridge that connect Annapolis to the eastern shore has Pride going user at around 630? I've always wondered. I want to take the kids to Sandy Point to see it cruise on by one day.

[FountainHillsCruiser]

We cruised under the Golden Gate Bridge a couple of years ago. It was really foggy and windy and we were right below the bridge (what seemed like a couple of feet). The US Coast Guard helicopter was escorting us out of the bay. One of the coolest moments we have ever experienced on a cruise!!

[nybumpkin]

My experience with NYC is that it takes 1/2 hour to reach the Statue of Liberty and just about an hour to reach the Verrazano. One recommendation if you're sailing on a ship (such as Glory) that has a 5:00 sail time and want to be on deck to sail under the bridge: book either Your Time Dining or late seating. Often when we've been scheduled to sail at 5:00 the ship has left late, and early seating will conflict with sailing under the bridge.

 

Here's a view of our sailing under Verrazano last year on Glory:

 

 

And here are a couple of shots of the Key Bridge and the Bay Bridge crossing the Chesapeake. These are from Pride in 2010:

 

 

[ddloml]

Here's the Norwegian Dawn going under the V-N bridge on her last New York - Bermuda cruise in 2010. There seemed to be plenty of clearance. It was probably about an hour after we set sail when we reached the bridge.

 

 

 

[Eeyoregon]

I've only gone under the bridge sailing out of Tampa and it was mighty impressive from the very, very top deck! There was even a visibly armed police man standing on the bridge as we passed under it...assuming he is there to prevent stowaway's from jumping on board.

 

Here are some pictures that I took with my cheapo camera.

 

Clearance between Funnel and bridge as we passed under:

 

 

Sunset as we approach the bridge: