Back to back TE October 2019

Our first ever cruise and wow what a cruise QM2 TE to New York and back to Southampton.

I know we don't have long when we dock at Brooklyn and clear immigration. However, are there trips arranged to see some of the sights of NY or would it be reasonable to jump in a taxi.

It would be a huge shame to miss out, my wife is extremely keen on visiting the 9/11 memorial

I have done a round trip. The best advice I can give you is go to bed very early the night before and get up early. You'll want to to watch going under the bridge and passing the Statue of Liberty anyway. We got up at 3.45!

We aimed to be one of the first off the ship at around 7am and took the shuttle into Manhattan, it dropped us outside Macey's. We walked and walked and walked, but passed Ground Zero on the journey in, saw Times Square, Grand Central Station, had coffee at the Waldorf Astoia, went to the Top of the Rock - book ahead - did a little shopping and caught the 3.30 shuttle back.

You could book a trip - there are some available - or diy. Whatever, get up early, wear REALLY comfy shoes and have a fantastic time.

We did a a TA roundtrip from Southampton in 2014. We were only given the New York Highlights excursion in our Pre-Voyage Documentation brochure. We booked this on board.

The choices for New York at the time were:

New York Highlights, 7.45am-11.45am. $72

Manhattan Transfer (to Macey's) 7.30am-4pm (pick up 3pm). $50

New York Highlights:-

We had three stops - the first at the 9/11 memorial fountains which was around 20 minutes. The second at the Rockefeller Centre for around 35 minutes and the last at St Paul's Chapel for around 10 minutes.

Just to add to previous information. It's easy to get a taxi from Red Hook into Manhattan, not so easy to get back. We've done it twice and both times found it hard to get anyone to want to go out there and, when they did, both got badly lost. We've heard the same from others too. You can DIY both ways using bus and subway, but not worth it for the time loss with just one day there. Much as we dislike taking ship's transfers, in this instance I'd recommend the transfer to Macey's, then the subway or walk to anywhere else you want to go to. Most of the main tourist spots are in easy walking distance of Macey's, though you'll need the subway for the 9/11 museum or the Statue of Liberty. There can be quite a queue at times for the museum so factor that into your plans too.

Personally, unless you have a specific interest in the museum, I'd give it a miss on the first trip to New York. So much else to do that doesn't need the queuing or subway and you will only, realistically, have about 5 or 6 hours there is you use the transfer.