3 days in NYC - what to do

[2cruisecats]

We will be 2 full and 2 half days in NYC, sadly not pre-cruise, but are wondering what to do. It is a new city for both of us. This trip is a gift to relieve me from family care responsibilities. Any tips would be appreciated. (We are staying near Central Park). We love jazz and theatre. And I know that cruise loving "friends" like to share their best places!.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[Julia Goolia]

Hi there.

 

I'm actually planning my NYC trip as well though I am fortunate enough that it is pre-cruise.

 

If you haven't done so already, I recommend that you check out tripadvisor dot com. Tons of great reviews, trip reports, etc. on there. They have a great travel forum as well that you can read through and get a ton of ideas.

 

You can typically get discounted Broadway and Off Broadway tickets at TKTS booths. Go to TDF dot org for more information about booth locations, when to get in line for tickets, etc.

 

Are you going to visit the 9-11 Memorial? If so, you need to get on line and reserve your tickets in advance. They are free but you have to have the ticket to gain admittance. You can google 9-11 Memorial and the site will come up.

 

You can take a statue of liberty cruise to both the SOL island and Ellis Island. (Google Statue Cruises). You can't go up inside of the SOL right now as she is closed for renovation but you can wander around the island, take photos of her, etc. Or, you can just stay on the ferry and go out to Ellis Island. If you have any ancestors who were immigrants, it can be a very interesting place.

 

Other than that, it really depends on your interests. I don't know much about the jazz options around there but I'm sure you can find some help on the Trip Advisor forums. There is also tons of shopping or you can stroll or bike through Central Park or even get up early one morning and stand outside in the Today show "audience". There are just so many things that your options are really endless.

 

Have fun with your planning and have a wonderful time in NYC!

[Julia Goolia]

Also, I didn't mention any museums but if you are one who enjoys museums, you have many to choose from.

 

Museum of Modern Art

The MET

Museum of Natural History

The Guggenheim

 

and many others.

[trish1c]

There's so much to do in NYC, you have to figure out what you want to do.

Make a list, then figure out where the stuff is in relation to where you are & what your time table is.

We prefer to do stuff you can't do at home when traveling. I always suggest that people pop in to some famous restaurant everybody back home heard of & have a drink or any appy so you can say you went there & every body will be impressed. Then go somewhere that you actually want. :cool:

If you love theater, by all means take in a show. You can get tickets through the various theater box offices in advance provided they aren't sold out. Grab the NY TImes or the New Yorker magazine to get an up-to-date list of what's playing & phone # for the theaters. You can probably google it to but I don't know the site.

The concierge at your hotel may be able to help with a good jazz bar. Also try sidewalk.com

Do either the Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building for the view.

[Andee]

If you don't want to spend precious vacation time standing in the TKTS line, you can often find discount information at http://www.broadwaybox.com.

 

Since you haven't given us any information about the kinds of thigns you like to do during the day (but I may be making a mistake by assuming jazz and theater are for the evening), I'll just suggest a couple of my favorites: Tenement Museum, Frick Collection.

 

I recommend that you take a guidebook out of the library and read it to figure out what most appeals to you.

[2cruisecats]

Thanks all for your suggestions. We like to tour cities, museums, historical sites and take in the local music/theatre scene and are rather fond of jazz. Sometimes we do city tours, other times walking tours. We walked Venice following the places in a fav mystery series and in Hong Kong we followed the tour offices walking tour (and got lost at least twice!). In Madrid we went to the galleries -- too hot to walk. I guess it depends on the weather and what is on and how safe the city is. It is hard to believe we've never made it to New York, so close yet ..... We plan to spend time in Central Park and go to Grand Central and maybe walk the Brooklyn Bridge?? Someone suggested the hop-on hop-off buses. I just never had NYC on "my list" so I'm open to all ideas. I've 2 weeks to get my NYC plan together!

[Alrana Eris]

I grew up in NYC and I still haven't done everything. Good resources to start with

http://www.timeoutny.com

http://www.nyctourist.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com

http://www.nycgo.com

http://www.nyc.com

 

Depending on what your interest are: The must sees: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building,Central Park, maybe if time permits 9/11 memorial museum(get tix in advance) Statue of Liberty(also get tix in advance), Ellis Island. See a Broadway show, try not to eat at the touristy chain restaraunts in times Square go off to side streets to eat real NY chow. Try a street vendor- hot dog, pretzel, kabob, (trust me i trust a street vendors food over some restaurants.)Try taking the NYC subway its not as scary as people think.(grew up taking it to school) Do a ho/ho bus. Pick one of the big museums (MMA, MNH, MOMA etc give yourself at least half a day- same with Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. And of course shopping- on weekends they have street fairs(spring/summer-cheap crap but the street food is amazing, chinatown/Little Italy Greenwich Village. Or walk across Brooklyn Bridge.

You can do walking tours-they take a couple hours and are fun.

http://www.metropolitanwalks.com

http://www.walkingnyctours.com

 

I hope this helps and you will not be bored.

[2cruisecats]

I grew up in NYC and I still haven't done everything.

 

Depending on what your interest are: The must sees: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building,Central Park, maybe if time permits 9/11 memorial museum(get tix in advance) Statue of Liberty(also get tix in advance), Ellis Island. See a Broadway show, try not to eat at the touristy chain restaraunts in times Square go off to side streets to eat real NY chow. Try a street vendor- hot dog, pretzel, kabob, (trust me i trust a street vendors food over some restaurants.)Try taking the NYC subway its not as scary as people think.(grew up taking it to school) Do a ho/ho bus. Pick one of the big museums (MMA, MNH, MOMA etc give yourself at least half a day- same with Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. And of course shopping- on weekends they have street fairs(spring/summer-cheap crap but the street food is amazing, chinatown/Little Italy Greenwich Village. Or walk across Brooklyn Bridge.

You can do walking tours-they take a couple hours and are fun.

http://www.metropolitanwalks.com

http://www.walkingnyctours.com

 

I hope this helps and you will not be bored.

 

Wow! Thanks for the great ideas. I have my eyes on Rockefeller Centre, Grand Central and Central Park. I want to go to MOMA -- DH not so much. He is interested in the jazz clubs as he sings in a jazz group and NY is about jazz. We love eating out and good/great, interesting/different restaurants and nice wine -- not really into eating at the big chains. I'm bringing my comfortable running shoes and am ready for my first glimpse at NYC as I know I will need to visit again (and again). The walk across the bridge is high on our list, weather depending. And that ho/ho bus looks interesting. We will not be bored!! Thanks again.

[Alrana Eris]

2Cruisecats.

You are so welcome. Have fun.

[Abear2]

Alrana Eris, can you tell me a couple of hotels close to Times Square, that is reasonably priced ? I have checked, but don't really know the area, so it's hard to tell which is close to Times Square. Also, any game shows there that I could get tickets for ? :)

[Lou33]

Abear2,

 

When are your travel dates? The Time Square area can be really expensive. And depending on the time of the year, it can be really, really expensive. You should expect to pay $200-350/night. You may not want to look at anything less than a 3* rating, or risk encounters with bed bugs.

 

For our precruise Time Square hotel, I was able to get the Hotel Mela for $199 on lastminutetravel. Very clean, excellent location, but tiny rooms. We will keep this as a backup, then try to get a better deal on priceline about a week before we arrive. You may also find some good deals on travelzoo.

[cgr377]

we stayed at hilton penn station for 2 days after our cruise, and took path system to ny,2:00 bucks each way, we did the hop on hop off bus tours which was great, it takes you to all the attractions ,take the red buses they run longer and have a bigger route

[Alrana Eris]

Hotels in NYC can be pricey in Midtown. That will never change. go on to trip advisor and look for rating. 4 or 5 stars. I can suggest Residence Inn on 6th avenue in garment district(about 38 or 39th ST not sure) has 199.00 a night. Please please DO not stay at following hotels: Hotel Pennsylvania, Roosevelt Hotels (personally stayed in both) never ever again. or the Hotel Carter(this one every year makes worst dirtiest hotel list)

You can stay in garment district and Chelsea areas of NYC the prices aren't as high as Times Square.

[genealogyfan]

go to foodsofny.com - I've taken almost every tour - you get to know neighborhoods and places you may not have found on your own. History of the area and great food. They book fast but totally worth it.

 

They have all been good.

 

If you have never been to NYC I recommend one of the Grayline Bus Tours - to get an overview of the whole city - they have a lower loop, upper loop, night time, Brooklyn. The upper and lower loops tours you can get off/on too. The Circle Line boat tours that go around Manhattan are also interesting.

 

In regards to hotels - try travel-ticker.com - always find good deals through that site. Some nice ones I have stayed at are: Radisson Martinque is a couple blocks from Penn Station but you can walk to Times Square. Radisson Lexington is about 5 blocks East of Rockefeller Center and a couple blocks from Grand Central. Also have gotten good rates at the Salisbury Hotel - near Carnegie Hall.

[westview1]

If you want to take in a Jazz show try Birdland http://www.birdlandjazz.com/, really good food and a great show.

[shonandsuzie]

Someone suggested the hop-on hop-off buses. I just never had NYC on "my list" so I'm open to all ideas. I've 2 weeks to get my NYC plan together!

 

If you have never been to NYC I recommend one of the Grayline Bus Tours - to get an overview of the whole city - they have a lower loop, upper loop, night time, Brooklyn. The upper and lower loops tours you can get off/on too. The Circle Line boat tours that go around Manhattan are also interesting..

We were doing similar research last year at this time as we prepared for our Miracle cruise out of NYC. We too were in the city for 3 days precruise.

Many people here on CC advised us to do the hop off, hop on bus, too. That was excellent advise! We did it and we are soooooo glad that we did. It was a great way to see "everything". Without doing that, there would be no way we could have experienced everything that we wanted to see there. We got the 2 day pass and did day and night tours. You can do it at your own pace and stay places as long as you want.

This is what it was like:

[Lou33]

If you want to take in a Jazz show try Birdland http://www.birdlandjazz.com/, really good food and a great show.

 

Great info. We will be staying right on 44th street, so we will try to stop in. If you buy dinner do they wave the music charge? What can you expect to pay for a dinner show? And do you need to have tickets in advance, and arrive only at the showtime?

 

Do you know of any Jazz clubs that are a little more casual in that area? A place where we might just drop in at any time for a drink after a broadway show?

[Tweedy]

We were doing similar research last year at this time as we prepared for our Miracle cruise out of NYC. We too were in the city for 3 days precruise.

Many people here on CC advised us to do the hop off, hop on bus, too. That was excellent advise! We did it and we are soooooo glad that we did. It was a great way to see "everything". Without doing that, there would be no way we could have experienced everything that we wanted to see there. We got the 2 day pass and did day and night tours. You can do it at your own pace and stay places as long as you want.

This is what it was like:

 

Any other tips you care to share? We'll be staying 3 days post cruise and do plan on doing the HOHO bus. I have found on Grayline's website that you can get a 72 hour pass for the price of a 48 hour pass.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We were doing similar research last year at this time as we prepared for our Miracle cruise out of NYC. We too were in the city for 3 days precruise.

Many people here on CC advised us to do the hop off, hop on bus, too. That was excellent advise! We did it and we are soooooo glad that we did. It was a great way to see "everything". Without doing that, there would be no way we could have experienced everything that we wanted to see there. We got the 2 day pass and did day and night tours. You can do it at your own pace and stay places as long as you want.

This is what it was like:

 

I loved your Miracle review!!!

You mentioned you were doing a separate review on your time in New York & had a lot of pics. Did you ever do one?

And I think you mentioned staying at the Warwick. How was it?

Thanks.

[westview1]

Great info. We will be staying right on 44th street, so we will try to stop in. If you buy dinner do they wave the music charge? What can you expect to pay for a dinner show? And do you need to have tickets in advance, and arrive only at the showtime?

 

Do you know of any Jazz clubs that are a little more casual in that area? A place where we might just drop in at any time for a drink after a broadway show?

 

Birdland can be pretty pricey for dinner. I haven't been there in a couple of years but I would say for 2 people probably figure around $150 - $200 for dinner. You can just see a show. For other clubs here is a link to some good info: http://www.ny.com/clubs/jazz/

[shonandsuzie]

I loved your Miracle review!!!

You mentioned you were doing a separate review on your time in New York & had a lot of pics. Did you ever do one?

And I think you mentioned staying at the Warwick. How was it?

Thanks.

You are so right and no, I never did that New York review. I really planned to, too. I may venture over there and post somethign now that I think of it. We did 2 cruises since that one so I have been doing reviews and/or researching cruises nonstop! Nothing else planned until September so I have time to burn.... Lol

 

But anyway, we really enjoyed the Warwick. The furniture and color of the carpet was a little outdated but it was in nice shape. The lobby was nice, they had a business center with computers/internet and they were next to a Starbucks! We were extremely nervous bc we had never heard of it but it was in an awesome location. One block from NBC--where we went on the Today Show and the Dr. Oz Show btw. :) If we stay there again we will stay at the Hilton Timesquare. Our friends stayed there and the bus tour tickets are right next door. The rooms were spacious and modern, too.

 

--sorry for the highjack OP but maybe this info is helpful to you also.:o

[shonandsuzie]

Any other tips you care to share? We'll be staying 3 days post cruise and do plan on doing the HOHO bus. I have found on Grayline's website that you can get a 72 hour pass for the price of a 48 hour pass.

That is the best tip we have! There is so much to do and see that there is NO WAY to do everything you want. Make a list (like the one poster said) so you dont leave out anything that you REALLY wanted to see/do. We kept finding new things to do everyday to add to our list! We were dog tired when we finished our 3 days but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

You are so right and no, I never did that New York review. I really planned to, too. I may venture over there and post somethign now that I think of it. We did 2 cruises since that one so I have been doing reviews and/or researching cruises nonstop! Nothing else planned until September so I have time to burn.... Lol

 

But anyway, we really enjoyed the Warwick. The furniture and color of the carpet was a little outdated but it was in nice shape. The lobby was nice, they had a business center with computers/internet and they were next to a Starbucks! We were extremely nervous bc we had never heard of it but it was in an awesome location. One block from NBC--where we went on the Today Show and the Dr. Oz Show btw. :) If we stay there again we will stay at the Hilton Timesquare. Our friends stayed there and the bus tour tickets are right next door. The rooms were spacious and modern, too.

 

--sorry for the highjack OP but maybe this info is helpful to you also.:o

 

Thanks. I definitely understand. We are constantly researching our next cruise as soon as we get off the last one. :D

 

We must have the same taste in cruises. Our last three October cruises have been on the Spirit, the Victory & the Miracle.

 

PLEASE do the New York review. We are in the beginning stages of planning another trip on the Miracle this time out of New York & have no idea where to stay, etc. We already have the ports planned though! :D

[marco]

There is a LOT to do in NYC and the options are as varied as one's interest. Not knowing exactly what your interests are, I think it would be unfair to ask for "suggestions". Get a NYC guide book, Fedors, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet or similar. Any of them will have plenty of information on sites, hotels, restaurants, options, etc etc. You can easily spend over $200 pp for dinner, but you can just as easily spend under $20 pp for dinner. There are many, many really good, inexpensive restaurants in NYC. As far as hotels, there is no place that is near everything. I'd choose a few that offers a decent price, and then check out reviews on them. Subways and buses are easy to use and inexpensive. You don't always have to rely on a taxi. By doing a little bit of homework I'm sure you'll have a great time and not break the budget, either! Good luck and enjoy the city!

[referee]

We just got back from a long weekend(actually 4 days) in NYC. We grew up in the city and did all the tourist things. I'm not sure if anybody mentioned it, but, you MUST see the world trade center site. It's free, but, you must make reservations online. They do check your tickets a number of times. The area is quite beautiful and touching. It's an easy subway ride from anywhere.