New York City Tours

[hjrell]

We are sailing out of Bayonne, NJ next year on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas for the New England/Canada cruise. We are flying in 2 days early so we can tour NYC before sailing. Can anyone recommend a good tour company that we can arraign tours through for NY? We would prefer a bus (not hop on, hop off) that would take us to these major points of interest: Statue of Liberty (going out to the island), Times Square, WTC, Central Park...I keep looking at Royal Caribbean's website to see if they offer anything but it keeps telling me to check back - has said that for months.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We just don't feel like we can find our own way around this big city.

Thanks!

Jodi

[reallyitsmema]

Have a look over on the east coast departures forum. There is lots of information there about NYC. There is one thread about a first timer's trip to NYC that has a ton of information and links in it. Also, I have found lots of helpful information on tripadvisor about NYC. Search on NYC and then click on the attractions tab, there is great information and links there to all of the great attractions. Don't miss Top of the Rock!:)

[Cassandra]

There is the double decker bus that goes around the city, but if you are coming during the winter, that would be chilly.

 

Statue of Liberty you'd take the ferry over & then head inside the statue (if you want) or you can walk around & take pictures.

 

WTC - Nothing but a construction zone now, I use to work down there right after it happened. You'll still see the signs & banners hanging & the the folks selling the nick nacks from it. The impact of what was once there isn't as strong anymore.

 

Central Park - DO NOT go in there after dark if you value your life and your belongings. Even though it is policed, its a big park. Lots of dark areas and woods to hide in. People hide out and rob or attack tourists.

Go during the day, and make sure you are with crowds.

 

Times Square - use to be the armpit of NYC until Rudy cleaned it up. No longer, lots of shops, tons of crowds no matter when and lights up bright during the night. Lots of places to eat as well. Good just to walk around & check out.

 

Best bet to find out? Go to any search engine & type in NYC Tours (or some sort of combo). Should bring up stuff. Also, your hotel would also have that information because that's all the hotels do is cater to the tourists.

[agabbymama]

Try Gray Lines. I'm not sure if they do tours other than the hop on/hop off. Why don't you want that?

 

The top deck is open, but the bottom is enclosed. We had a two day ticket, and it was great. We were ther late September and it did rain, so we rode downstairs. We went to Battery Park then took the boat over to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, then back on the HO HO through Little Italy, Chinatown, Seaport Village, back to Times Square. We got off and walked by Radio City Music Hall, Cathedral, Tiffany's Rockefeller Center, etc. We ended up at Lindy's (famous for their cheesecake) for dinner. The next morning back on the HO HO bus around NYC (saw JFK Jr. apartment, John Lennon's apartment) just to name a few. Got off at Central Park by Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon, walked to Tavern on the Green. We did take a taxi back to the hotel because we were running short on time and couldn't finish the loop of the HO HO bus, but for the $40 for two days, can't be beat.

 

Have a great trip no matter what you decide.

[NancyIL]

We were in NYC last July, and it was the first time I had been there since 1977! We got timed tickets online to tour inside the Statue of Liberty (http://www.statuereservations.com/index1.html). Even with tickets, you will wait a LONG time to go through security and for the boats to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We also bought a combination ticket for the NBC Studio Tour and a bus tour that visited TV and movie sites around that city: http://www.screentours.com/tour.php/manhattan/

 

We're also on Explorer to Canada next Oct. 9th.

[cod]

We just got back from spending 3 days in NYC. We spent one of those on a 5 1/2 hour See-It-All tour and that we did. It was with New York Partyshuttle Tours. We enjoyed it very much. They leave 3 times a days (we chose 10AM) from 7th and 50th Street. We purchased our tickets before we left home but we could have bought them on the spot. It's a mini-bus and very comfortable...there were only 22 people in our group.

 

We had a great guide...Luke Miller. The 'gift of gab' was definitely his and he has found his calling. He put in so much personal info along with the facts. If you do this, see if you can get on his tour. I'm sure others are good too but it is just hard to imagine anyone better.

 

The cost of booking this tour on their site is $60 but if you call instead you can get, like, a senior or military rate for $54. Also, there is a Times Square info center on 7th Ave between 46th and 47th. I picked up a discount coupon book there that I saw one for $5 off their tours.

 

This is not a new thread but if you come back to it and see this I'd like to wish you a good time in NY. It's a one of kind!!