Excursions in Brooklyn New York

[magandy]

We are going on the Ruby 8th Sept Transatlantic from Southampton. We are staying on in New York to do Canada & New England. When we arrive in New York we would like to perhaps go to the Statue of Liberty, but there are no excursions showing for either leg of the trip for New York.

However, if you go into the Princess site under 'Learn about cruising - Ports & Excursions' it shows a lot of excursions but it will not allow you to book one.

Has anyone had a similar problem or can you book these excursions only on the ship?

Or has anyone got ideas how we can do it on our own?

[skynight]

We are going on the Ruby 8th Sept Transatlantic from Southampton. We are staying on in New York to do Canada & New England. When we arrive in New York we would like to perhaps go to the Statue of Liberty, but there are no excursions showing for either leg of the trip for New York.

However, if you go into the Princess site under 'Learn about cruising - Ports & Excursions' it shows a lot of excursions but it will not allow you to book one.

Has anyone had a similar problem or can you book these excursions only on the ship?

Or has anyone got ideas how we can do it on our own?

 

The Princess turn around day tours will most likely be available once on board. I see that you arrive 7:15am and depart 7pm. If you are able to walk, and are game to do it on your own, some suggestions would be taking a taxi from the pier to lower Manhattan to 9/11 ground zero. You can look around ground zero, there is a memorial now open. From there you can probably catch a hop on hop off tour bus that will take you around Manhattan. If you want to look around on your own take the subway from the World Trade Center to 42nd street and walk over to Times Square. A short way north of there between 47th and 50th is Rockefeller Center. You can then make your way back to Greenwich Village area at W. 4th street between Ave of the Americas and Broadway. At some point you will have to get back to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal which is over the Brooklyn Bridge. Don't wait for rush hour at 5pm. You can get there by subway, which stops about 4 long blocks away. But I'm not sure about the safety of walking in that area. You will have to check. Also, check with your Roll Call, there may be some that already have a tour planned. There are so many sites to see in Manhattan it's impossible to even scratch the surface. Just decide on a few. While the Statue of Liberty is nice there will be lots of people and it will probably be the only thing you would be able to do that day. You will have to have US$, and don't forget the tipping practice in the U.S. for taxis, and served meals. The normal tip for meals is 15 to 20% of the bill. Taxis maybe $5

[magandy]

The Princess turn around day tours will most likely be available once on board. I see that you arrive 7:15am and depart 7pm. If you are able to walk, and are game to do it on your own, some suggestions would be taking a taxi from the pier to lower Manhattan to 9/11 ground zero. You can look around ground zero, there is a memorial now open. From there you can probably catch a hop on hop off tour bus that will take you around Manhattan. If you want to look around on your own take the subway from the World Trade Center to 42nd street and walk over to Times Square. A short way north of there between 47th and 50th is Rockefeller Center. You can then make your way back to Greenwich Village area at W. 4th street between Ave of the Americas and Broadway. At some point you will have to get back to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal which is over the Brooklyn Bridge. Don't wait for rush hour at 5pm. You can get there by subway, which stops about 4 long blocks away. But I'm not sure about the safety of walking in that area. You will have to check. Also, check with your Roll Call, there may be some that already have a tour planned. There are so many sites to see in Manhattan it's impossible to even scratch the surface. Just decide on a few. While the Statue of Liberty is nice there will be lots of people and it will probably be the only thing you would be able to do that day. You will have to have US$, and don't forget the tipping practice in the U.S. for taxis, and served meals. The normal tip for meals is 15 to 20% of the bill. Taxis maybe $5

 

Thanks for this info sknight, it gives us a better idea of what to plan and what to do.

I have looked at the Roll call, but it looks like most people are getting off in Brooklyn, but I will keep an eye on it. Once again thank you.

[Colo Cruiser]

We are going on the Ruby 8th Sept Transatlantic from Southampton. We are staying on in New York to do Canada & New England. When we arrive in New York we would like to perhaps go to the Statue of Liberty, but there are no excursions showing for either leg of the trip for New York.

However, if you go into the Princess site under 'Learn about cruising - Ports & Excursions' it shows a lot of excursions but it will not allow you to book one.

Has anyone had a similar problem or can you book these excursions only on the ship?

Or has anyone got ideas how we can do it on our own?

 

 

Why not look into some private options, there are hundreds. ;)

[Stevesan]

The Princess turn around day tours will most likely be available once on board. I see that you arrive 7:15am and depart 7pm. If you are able to walk, and are game to do it on your own, some suggestions would be taking a taxi from the pier to lower Manhattan to 9/11 ground zero. You can look around ground zero, there is a memorial now open. From there you can probably catch a hop on hop off tour bus that will take you around Manhattan. If you want to look around on your own take the subway from the World Trade Center to 42nd street and walk over to Times Square. A short way north of there between 47th and 50th is Rockefeller Center. You can then make your way back to Greenwich Village area at W. 4th street between Ave of the Americas and Broadway. At some point you will have to get back to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal which is over the Brooklyn Bridge. Don't wait for rush hour at 5pm. You can get there by subway, which stops about 4 long blocks away. But I'm not sure about the safety of walking in that area. You will have to check. Also, check with your Roll Call, there may be some that already have a tour planned. There are so many sites to see in Manhattan it's impossible to even scratch the surface. Just decide on a few. While the Statue of Liberty is nice there will be lots of people and it will probably be the only thing you would be able to do that day. You will have to have US$, and don't forget the tipping practice in the U.S. for taxis, and served meals. The normal tip for meals is 15 to 20% of the bill. Taxis maybe $5

 

Why do I get the feeling you're a New Yorker?:p

Edited August 17, 2014 by Stevesan

[caribill]

For a very unusual NYC experience, do the Federal Reserve Tour (free) of the underground gold storage (more gold than Fort Knox). The gold is mainly owned by foreign governments and banks.

 

See http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting.html for details.

[evandbob]

Why do I get the feeling you're a New Yorker?:p

 

sknight's posted location is pa.

 

Another nice excursion is going on a Circline cruise around Manhattan Island, and you can do this from 12th Ave along the Hudson River @ 42nd St; Pier 8 This tour will float by the Statue of Liberty as it navigates down the Hudson, across the harbor and up the East River.

 

Adjacent to the Circline Ticket Booth is the Intrepid Museum which can take about 2 hrs to go through. This site houses the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier, a submarine, and a space shuttle, all along the Hudson.

Edited August 18, 2014 by evandbob

[tml1230]

first off you will love the ruby and the itinerary…we have done it before and had a great time….the 2 times we had a day in Brooklyn were 2 of our best days cruising….the city is not to be missed and for us, doing it on our own was the way to go…first time we walked out to the cab area and were in Manhatten very quickly…the cab driver gave us his cell number and said to call him when we were ready to return and we did..he got a great tip! as others have said, return to the ship before rush hour. on our second visit there we prearranged with "dial 7" limo service….we were concerned about cab availability and didn't want to waste one minute of our time there…for the few extra bucks it was a good idea as cabs were few around the dock area…we prearranged drop off at macy's…took subway from there and…returned to ship from another area at 3PM….all arranged on line…Have a great time.