The USS Intrepid was towed to its home at Pier 86 in Manhattan from Staten Island this morning – after being moved to undergo more than $115 million worth of repairs and improvements.

The five-mile voyage took about two hours.

Some 400 guests and former crew members were on hand as the World War II-era aircraft carrier made its way through New York Harbor with a single tugboat, passing the World Trade Center site and the Statue of Liberty along the way.

The Intrepid's home port was dredged ahead of its return, to avoid any repeat of what happened in 2006 when tugboats were initially unable to move the ship because it got stuck in the mud.

"What has come of this $115 million is this beautiful new pier, it's open to the public," said President Bill White of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. "It's public access, so you don't have to pay to come down to come onto this pier. And that's really cool. And if you want to, you go onto the Intrepid, where you learn about service and sacrifice."

The aircraft carrier was saved from destruction and became a unique tourists' destination.

"Twenty-six years ago almost today, we brought it over from the shipyard as it was ready to be scrapped and we brought it here and we saved it. And this is the second homecoming," said James Ean, president emeritus of the Intrepid Foundation.

"It's been here 24 years and it was one of the earliest things that came to the waterfront as an attraction. It was a destination for people to get here," said Roland Lewis of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. "It made people in New York realize we have a waterfront."

Former crew members of the Intrepid were proud to see its return and were flooded with memories returning to their old warship.

"When they first started talking about it, the idea of coming aboard after 64 years and feeling the deck moving under my feet one more time, I was afraid I'd wet my pants coming up the gangway," said World War II veteran Jack Gamble.

"It feels like I'm home after all these years," said another veteran, "1944 to 1946 I served aboard this fightingest ship the world has ever seen, the USS Intrepid."

Before the renovation, the Intrepid had roughly 700,000 visitors a year. Now, the refurbished facility can accommodate more than a million visitors.

The floating museum is scheduled to reopen on November 8th.