One of the best ways to take in the Manhattan skyline is via a harbor cruise and what better time than sunset to watch the colors light up the statue of liberty and the iconic skyscrapers. Circle Line cruises offers a sunset cruise around lower Manhattan and my kids and I give the experience a rousing thumbs up. Located off of the 42st. Street pier near Hell's Kitchen, we found this a great way to cap off a day of exploring Downtown and the Lower East Side and highly recommend it if it fits in your schedule.
While the boats are pretty big you definitely want to line up early enough to score awesome top deck seats on the edges for your best photographic options. Before you board you'll have to take the requisite pic for purchase. Make it a good one, you might be tempted to end up with an awesome souvenir. You know me, I'm a sucker for these things. The kids insisted we have fun with it, and of course that just led to more excitement to check it out on our return. I'll keep you in suspense till the end of this post to show it to you.
We loaded up and then set sail and enjoyed the magnificent weather. Our captain gave us some great commentary pointing out the most famous landmarks and giving cool stories and interesting factoids. We made our way to the Statue of Liberty and she stood magnificently in the sunset, that photo op alone is worth the price of admission. The cruise then continued on around the island of Manhattan passing all 3 bridges that head to Brooklyn. Lots of amazing history and great photo ops around and under the bridges-just watch out for the crush of your fellow boat mates as they whip out their selfie sticks.
The new Freedom Tower amidst the magnificent skyline
Whatever side you sit on you'll get to see it all but your in the best spot if you grab seats like we did on the left side facing the front. That way you'll see Manhattan going out and New Jersey coming back following the narration. There are snacks, water and a bathroom on board, so do like we did, sit back, relax and enjoy a few moments taking in the NY skyline without the hustle and bustle of the city, while gliding along the gentle rolling waves.
The Manhattan Bridge
And now without further adieu-the photo we picked up on our return to the dock.....how could I resist buying this? Adding it to our other wacky photos which you can view by clicking here.-Bon Voyage!
