New York Sightseeing

[spakman]

We are booked on Norwegian Jewel out of NY on Oct 15. We arrive on Oct 10 and we're looking for the must see attractions of NYC. We've never been to mainland USA (have visited Hawaii twice) and we will visit friends we met last cruise, they are in Albany, for a couple of days. Recommendations on hotels would also be welcome - we don't need fancy, just clean.

[5Cats2Dogs]

You're best bet for a NYC hotel is to go on Priceline. Friends just book 4 star for $180.00 per night. You're not going to find anything "just clean" in NYC. Albany is way out of the way from the City. Absolutely definitely buy a NYC street map available on Amazon. See the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island; dinner in Little Italy; get theater tickets for a Broadway show; Times Square; Rockefeller Center; Central Park; there are so many, many things to see. Shopping on Canal Street will find lots of knock off purses and things sold in "back rooms" - very crowded. China Town. The list goes on and on. Have a Black & White Cookie from one of the bakeries.

[RHefley228]

Amtrak can get you to Albany in 2 1/2 hours. Sit on the left side for a great view of the Hudson river. Among the points of interest on the trip are West Point and Bannerman's Castle (om an island in the river).

[travelbig]

To get a good overview of the city, this HOHO has a 48 hr. ticket, with different routes and seems to go everywhere. We loved it.

 

http://www.newyorksightseeing.com/

[cdnmr]

When we went last September we stayed across the river in Jersey City. We had a very nice room for $129/night (mind you parking was $20 per night). To get to Manhattan it was a 3 minute walk to the subway (The Metro-which goes beneath the river) or a ferry which obviously goes across the water.

 

Getting from Jersey City to Manhattan was around a 15 minute trip by subway or ferry (think it was around $5 for the ferry and $2 for the subway). The good thing about The Metro is you can take it to anywhere in NYC and it's 24hrs I believe.

 

My DW is there right now and staying in Jersey City again. The 15 minute Metro trip is well worth saving $200+ per night and the ferry ride is quite nice. Just be sure to get a hotel close to the Metro/ferry stop. Some nice restaurants along the shore in jersey as well.

 

Good luck, have fun...NYC can be an exciting place.

[cdnmr]

oops, forgot to mention.

There are also Statue of Liberty cruises leaving from the Jersey side. The Statue cruises will drop you off back in Jersey or on the Manhattan side when you're done visiting the statue/Ellis Island.

[dmdicato]

We did a pre-cruise in New York City prior to our cruise to the Bahams 3 years ago. We ended up staying at a bed & breakfast on Staten Island. We took the ferry (free) into Lower Manhattan every day (parking is $7 for the day). We spent the first day doing the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (purchased tickets online ahead of time). We spent a second day taking the subway to the far end of Central Park and then walking back. The third day was started off with Empire State Building (again, purchased ahead of time online) and walking everywhere...Rockefeller Center, Times Square, etc.

Hope this helps!