Today, people around the world will pause to remember what life was like before those planes hit the World Trade Center and changed life as we knew it, forever. Today, people in New York will not only remember but many will visit the site that became known as Ground Zero. Today, passengers on cruise ships will remember days when getting on and off the ship was easier and some of them cruising into or out of New York this week will also visit the memorial and see the Freedom Tower that is replacing what used to be.
Yes, today will always be 9/11.
Prior to our cruise on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas this year, we made our way into Lower Manhattan and spent a sombre couple of hours walking around the perpetualfountains called Reflecting Absence and the miraculous Survivor Tree, taken from the rubble where almost 3,000 human beings perished.
If you're unfamiliar with the tree's story, it was found in the debris that September, eight feet long and with blackened roots and lifeless limbs. It was taken to a nursery in The Bronx and given a second lease on life. Today, it's over 30 feet tall.
The museum was due to be completed by now, and then along came Hurricane Sandy, dumping eight feet of water into the structure and delaying its opening. On our visit, it was still closed, now scheduled to be open by next year.
Admission to the site is free. However, the best way to guarantee access is to register online, which costs $2. Tickets available at the site are first-come, first-served and if it's a busy day — which today is certain to be — a wait is likely.
Had we not been able to attend a press briefing about Quantum of the Seas and then board Explorer of the Seas, we might still be waiting to visit Ground Zero, 12 years after it became that. With the growth of cruise ships based in and around New York, it creates an ideal opportunity for people on cruise ships to take an extra day at one end or the other, to remember 9/11 for more than how it impacted security regulations at airports, train stations and cruise ship terminals.
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
7 nights
October 20, 2013
Fort Lauderdale (return): Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel
Inside: $649
Cost per day: $92
www.royalcaribbean.com