After a two-year hiatus, Fleet Week New York is back! So to mark the day that units arrive in New York for the celebration, we will be looking at some of the participating ships, among them three large Navy ships, four training vessels, two Coast Guard cutters, and a Royal Navy icebreaker, and the opportunities to visit them in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. We will also look at the history of Fleet Week and other naval reviews in New York, from the return of the victorious fleet after the Spanish-American War, the vast flotilla assembled after World War II, and our present-day Fleet Week tradition dating back to 1988. We will share images and stories of some of the special visits of military vessels to our harbor and to the Brooklyn waterfront.
>> Continue readingFleet Week New York, Past and Present | Episode 71
For just the second time in 33 years, Fleet Week New York has been cancelled this year, so instead, we will look back at Fleet Weeks and naval reviews held over the past century in New York Harbor. From the return of the victorious fleet after World War II to OpSails to ships of the contemporary Navy, we will share images and stories of some of the special visits of military vessels to our harbor and to the Brooklyn waterfront. We normally host our Fleet Week tours with our friends at Classic Harbor Line, so they will be joining us to share about their own beautiful fleet of wooden sailboats and motor yachts that take visitors around the harbor.
- Virtual Fleet Week New York 2020 / Facebook • Twitter • Instagram
- Navy League New York Council
- Scarano Boat Building
- Helicopter crash from HMCS Fredericton
Joining the Fleet Week Parade of Ships
Since Fleet Week returned to New York City after a sequestration-imposed hiatus in 2013, I have watched the annual parade of ships from underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which gives you a good vantage point on the Navy and Coast Guard vessels as they pass through the channel into the Upper Bay. This year, however, I got the opportunity to actually be in the parade thanks to the New York Council of the Navy League.>> Continue reading
Dutch, Canadian NATO Allies Make NYC Port Calls
Visits by naval vessels to New York aren’t what they once were, but they do still happen, and we try to spot them whenever we can. On April 14, we stopped by Manhattan’s Pier 88 to check out a pair of foreign naval vessels that had docked for port calls.>> Continue reading
Guide to Fleet Week New York 2019 Ships
New York City used to be a Navy town. Sailors were a regular sight at the city’s shipyards and bases, and ships made regular port calls. Now the Navy’s footprint is nearly gone, so we really have only Fleet Week New York to look forward to for sailor visits. Below is our annual guide to some of the units that will be in town – be sure to check out the full schedule of events on the official Fleet Week NYC website.
If you can’t make out to all of these spots during the week, join us on Memorial Day for our Fleet Week Harbor Tour with our friends at Classic Harbor Line, where we will cruise past all four docking locations, get a waterside view of the ships aboard a beautiful motor yacht, and discuss the rich naval history of the harbor.
Aircraft Carrier Visits Now a Rare Sight in NYC
Last week, New York City was visited by the flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth. This 65,000-ton carrier has spent several weeks in the US while undergoing flight testing with the F-35B fighter, which will be the primary component of its air wing. The seven-day stopover in New York was mostly for crew R-and-R, though the ship also hosted the Atlantic Future Forum on cybersecurity.
New York City is home to the Intrepid, permanently docked on the Hudson River and home to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, and the city still hosts Fleet Week every year around Memorial Day (with some exceptions), but aircraft carriers have not been part of the festivities for over a decade. Let’s take a look back at some of the floating airfields that have visited the city.>> Continue reading
Guide to Fleet Week New York 2018 Ships
As Memorial Day approaches, that can only mean one thing – it’s Fleet Week in NYC! Here’s our annual guide to some of the units that will be in town – be sure to check out the full schedule of events on the official Fleet Week NYC website. If you can’t make out to all of these spots this week, join us on Memorial Day for our Fleet Week Harbor Tour with our friends at Classic Harbor Line, where we will cruise past all four docking locations and get a waterside view of the ships aboard a beautiful motor yacht.
Manhattan Pier 90
- Ships open for visitors May 24–28, 8am–5pm
Metro: The 8 essential things to do during Fleet Week in New York

Metro New York, May 21, 2018
by Eva Kis
Tour Military History: For Memorial Day, classic Harbor Line and Turnstile Tours have created a special Military History Tour ($68) about the city’s past from the Revolutionary War through World War II. Sail past New York’s harbor forts, see the Brooklyn Army Terminal, wave to the Statue of Liberty and go all the way down to Staten Island’s Homeport during a 2.5-hour tour aboard a 1920s-inspired yacht.
Guide to Fleet Week New York 2017 Ships
This year during Fleet Week New York, we will be visited by more than a dozen ships and units from the US Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command, and Royal Canadian Navy that will be berthed at locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Here’s a brief guide to some of the units that will be in town, and be sure to check out the full schedule of events on the official Fleet Week NYC website.
Manhattan Pier 88
- USS Kearsarge open for visitors May 25, 26, 27, and 29, 8am–5pm