Shearton 5th Ave New York day before Carnival Cruise

[marcyjane]

Have any of you stayed in the Shearton 5th at 51st in New York pre cruise?

If so how far walking distants is it from any hot spots?

Thanks:)

[thereuare]

There is something to do in almost every area of NYC... what type of 'hot spots' are you looking for? (ie- bars, restaurants, clubs, theater, etc)

[Jane110]

MarceyJane,

 

To the best of my knowledge, there is no Sheraton Hotel in 51st St. and 5th Ave.

 

I believe that there is one on 51st and 7th Ave.

 

51st and 7th is not far from the theatre district and Times Square. It's an 8 block walk to Central Park (which starts on 59th St.) and about the same to Carnegie Hall. There's nothing wrong with the area but it's certainly not near anything hot and happening. If you're looking to be in a more trendy and hot part of town, I'd look at hotels in Soho, Tribeca or the meat packing district. There's the Soho Grand and the Tribeca Grand which are large hotels and then there are many small boutique hotels like the The Mercer or The Thom.

 

Jane

[marcyjane]

Your right Jane,

Sorry it is 7th as for meaning of hot spots I guess I should have been more clear.

Like Time Square and other sight to see. Maybe a good place to eat near the hotel for breakfast and evening meal.

We are flying in the moring before our cruise so want have a whole lot of time, but enough maybe to hit the highlights of New York.

Thanks

[thereuare]

That location, as well as many others in mid-town, will suite your needs just fine.

 

Close enough to Empire State building, Times Square, Grand Central, etc. Plent of restaurants to choose from... but if your date is a nite when there are theater performances, plan dinner AFTER 8pm in order to avoid the pre-theater rush.

[Jane110]

Hi MarcyJane,

 

To me, Times Square is a tourist spot, not a hot spot, so I'm glad we have our definitions clear now.

 

If you have time in the morning, take a walk into Central Park, it's just delightful. Bring your bagels & coffee and sit on bench and enjoy a nice breakfast al fresco.

 

Yes, the Sheraton is certainly near many tourist spots. There are many restaurants in the area..... Here's a few recommendations that are within a very short walking distance.

 

If you'd like a real NY Jewish stye deli experience, both the Stage Deli and the Carnegie Deli are right across the street from you hotel. The food at the Carnegie is slightly better, however, they have a table sharing policy that I don't like. But if you don't mind sharing your table with strangers, it's the better choice in terms of food.

 

Another good spot for dining near the hotel is China Grill on 53rd St between 5th and 6th Ave's. This is a fairly trendy and upscale spot for fusion asian cuisine. Great bar crowd too - so you can go for a meal or just for drinks. If you're planning on dinner here, then make a resy. You'll need one, unless you want to eat at the bar, which can be fun too.

 

If you'd like a more formal and really lovely meal, go to Petrossian on 7th Ave and 58th St for caviar and/or french food. If it's not in the budget, you can go and sit at the bar and have a glass of champagne and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

 

Bay Leaf on 56th St. between 5th and 6th Ave is very good for indian food that's not too pricey. Nice calm ambiance.

 

Brasserie 8 & 1/2 is one of my favorites. It's at 9 West 57th St, right between 5th & 6th Ave's. Typical french brasserie fare. Very nice bar area for drinks too.

 

Hudson Cafeteria - located in the very trendy Hudson Hotel on 58th St. between 8th & 9th Ave. Hotel also has a few fabulous bars to have drinks in. Another one of my favorites when I'm in the mood for hot & trendy.

 

Molyvos - 7th Ave. between 55th & 56th St. Upscale Med/Greek food that'll knock your socks off.

 

Trattoria dell'Arte - 7th Ave betw, 56th/57th Streets. Great italian food. Lively bar scene too. Very popular spot.

 

Patsy's - 56th Broadway & 8th. Cheap, delicious pasta & pizza. I think they don't take credit cards.

 

This should keep your tummy's filled before boarding! :-)

 

Jane

[marcyjane]

Thanks so much:) Jane,

 

 

What good choices you have given us. We will most likely not venture to far away from the hotel. The deli's across the street sound good. In fact I believe I have seen them on the food network or the Travel Channel.

 

Never been to New York before we decided that us two old lady baby boomers would fly in a day early and we found a tour company that will pick us up at the airport and then take us on a small tourbefore check in time at the hotel, but not sure as of yet what all we will get to see.

 

So after the tour & check in at the hotel which will be near dusk we will walk down to time square, just to see the lights, excitment etc. How long will it take us to walk from the hotel to time square:confused:

 

Central Park is a good idea for the morning before we are to go to the pier, I think that we might have time to do that and then get to the pier in plenty of time.

 

Thanks so much for all the info. I'm going now to search the web about a tour or buggy ride for the park.

 

I see your from New York area:) I can't image living there, with so much to do and see. We are from a small (very) in Tennessee. So this will be probably a once in a life time trip to New York for the both of us, that's way we decided a few weeks ago to go ahead and fly in a day early just to be able to see a little of your city. I can't wait it all looks so cool!!!;)

 

 

Thanks:)

[trish1c]

MarcyJane --

 

Having lived in Tenn & NYC myself, I can tell you, you are going to be overwhelmed (in a good/fun way) by how big & busy NYC is. It doesn't compare to Chattanoga, Nashville, Knoxville or even Atlanta.

 

What you should do is make a list of all the things in NYC you have ever heard of & think you might like to see. It is impossible to do all of them in one day but you will be able to do a few if you plan carefully.

 

You'd probably enjoy the double decker red tour bus for an overview. Since you'll be cruising, I'd skip the Circle Lines & other water based tours.

 

Some things to think about doing:

 

1. Walking up & down 5th Ave. You'll see the Plaza Hotel, Tiffany's, Trump Tower, Rockafeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral & the Library. I love the lions out front. Have hot dog from one of the street vendors b/c everyone should eat a "dirty water dog" (the name is a local joke -- don't worry about the sanitation) at least once in their lives.

 

2. Having lunch, drinks or dinner at the Boathouse or Tavern on the Green in Central Park. All of the places Jane110 mentioned are wonderful but when you get home few people will have heard of them.

 

3. The Empire State Building.

 

4. Will you have time to see a broadway show? The conceigere at the Sheraton can probably help you get tickets.

 

5. Depending on the time of year you will be sailing, you may want to go to a museum. I certainly wouldn't want to be walking around Central Park in February.

 

6. Do you want to go to ground zero? If you haven't been the emotional impact of the area may take a lot out of you. Be prepared for it. I was crying yesterday at the memorial on the Intrepid.

 

7. I forgot where it is, but Jekell & Hyde is a hoot. You can also try Mars 2112, The Hard Rock Cafe. The view from the lounge atop the Madarin hotel in Columbus circle is fabulous, especially at night.

 

NYC has lots of on-line info if you care to look. Two of my favorite sites are http://www.tripadvisor.com and http://www.sidewalk.com.

 

Enjoy!

[marcyjane]

Thanks Trish,

All sounds so good. I go to Nashville a lot and live there a while when I was younger of course it has grown even over the last few years.

Yes I would like to see ground zero, just because we are going to be in New York and I feel so bad for all the people who lost their lives and for the familys still in sorrow. I can't image how touching that will be I just know I'll cry as I will as we sail by the Lady Liberty.

We are sailing the last week of September. We have booked with a private tour company that is going to pick us up at the airport and then take us on a tour for about 4 hours.

Some of the places we will see are:

Time Square, Little Italy, Soho, Diamond District,Empire state Bldg,NBC Studio, Rockfeller Ctr, and serval more things the guy mention.

The tour will be over around 4pm or so, that's why I was trying to find out what would be close to the hotel for us to do without paying a lot more to see more sites. The broadway show is a good idea, but I bet the conceigere at the hotel has a fee as well as the cost of the tickets + taxi etc. So we'll just have to wait and see how tired we are after leaving home at 4am and the flight and tour and then get settled in the hotel.

It's just all like you said, going to be overwhelming.

Thanks:)

[zrmolly]

Take a taxi to Carmine's for a late dinner. In the theater district, it is fab...You never know who you will see there. The food is great! :D

[zrmolly]

Also, check ebay for theater tickets! :D

[marcyjane]

Cool, Thanks never thought of checking ebay for tickets and I buy and sell on ebay Dah!!!

 

Thanks:)

[trish1c]

MarcyJane --

The 1st 12 hours you have described -- getting to AP, flying to NYC, 4 hour tour etc sound exhausting. I think you will at least "see" everything on your tour.

At that point, you should probably take a rest & book a great relaxing dinner for yourselves. If you truly want to go someplace "famous" you should consider making a reservation now. Unlike lots of other towns, in NYC you can't always just decide that day to go somewhere.

Enjoy.

[Jane110]

MarcyJane,

 

You can walk from your hotel to Times Square, it's only about 10 blocks.

 

After your flight and your 4 hour tour, you may not be up for a big night, so whomever suggested not running to a Broadway show is probably right. However, should you have the energy, just walk to the theatres which are a short stroll from yout hotel and buy your tickets from the box office. Or, on your tour with the guide, have him stop at the box office while you walk in and buy tickets. There's almost never a line, should take only a minute. You won't need a taxi nor to pay the concierge a handling fee. Often the theatres have last minute cancellations of their best seats (called House seats) which are reserved for industry people and then released the day of the show when they know they're not being used.

 

Whatever you do, don't come to NY and eat in a chain restaurant that you can eat in at your local mall. Puleeze.......skip places like the Hard Rock or MacDonalds. We've got the best food in the world here at all prices, don't eat food court grub.

 

Should you decide to go to the theatre and want to eat in the theatre district, I'd recommend Chez Josephine, Cafe Un Deux Trois, Pigalle, Trattoria Dopo Teatro, Coco Pazzo, Firebird, Le Madeleine. You conciege can tell you where all these are. Skip Carmine's - it's best when there are at least 6 people.

 

As someone else pointed out, you'll need to make resy's at almost all places.

[marcyjane]

Thanks Jane,

 

From searching the web it looks like the broadway shop Hair Spray is just around the corner from us in walking distant.

There is so much to do, and I want to see it all but, know we want be able to.

We'll see Time Square that day, but would like to see all the lights etc., but the Broadway play would be more restful after a long day.

I'm trying to find a carriage ride thru Central Park either early that morning before we leave for the port or that evening between 4pm & 6pm but, not sure what time dusk/dark will come in New York the last of September.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Sherry

[trish1c]

You don't have to find a carriage ride. Just walk over to the park & there will be lots of handsome cabs lined up to take you for a ride.

[marco]

Grey Line offers a lot of "around the city" tours if you don't want to venture out on your own. South Seaport is a nice way to spend part of the day. If you do that, I would suggest subway or bus, a cab will take a lot longer and be more expensive. A short walk from there is the Battery, where you could take the boat out to the Statute of Liberty/Ellis Island. The circle line offers a nice cruise around Manhattan, and itis a couple of blocks south of the cruise ship terminal. Next to that is the S/S Intrepid aircraft carrier which is now a musuem with a "Concorde" on the deck. Of course, all of these could not be done in one day, but they are some options. Don't forget the Metropolitan Museum or Guegenheim, too up near/on Central Park. Actually, I could go on and on, but you'd need a week in the city!

[marcyjane]

Thank you all for all you advice and info.;)

 

One question I just thought about. Does anyone know how far of a walk it is to the Plaza Hotel were the carriages are ?

I tried to look it up from the Shearton's web site and it says 5 blocks, but how far and long is the 5 blocks to walk? 10 minutes, 30?:confused:

[Jane110]

MarcyJane,

 

In NYC, one AVE block is equal to 3 STREET blocks....meaning, that from 51st to 54th Streets is just about the same as 5th to 6th Ave's. Look at a map of NYC and you'll see that the blocks are rectangularly shaped with the long side being 3 times as long as the short side.

 

Your hotel is on 51st Street and 7th Ave. The Plaza hotel is on 5th Ave and 59th Street. So from 51st to 59th, are 8 blocks, not very long ones. Then from 7th Ave to 5th Ave, are two long ones - so that equals 6 street blocks. Hence your hotel is about 14 blocks from the Plaza Hotel. Depending on how fast you walk, it's about a 15 minute walk.

 

If you take a hansom cab ride, just have them drop you off at your hotel when you're finished if that's where you want to end up. You can have them finish your ride anywhere, you're not obligated to end up where you started.

 

Jane

[trish1c]

The carriages are across the street from the plaza. Actually they are everywhere near the park. Jane's idea is a good one. Have them drop you back @ your hotel. Enjoy!

[marcyjane]

Ok, folks so your saying if we walk to where the carriages are line up and take the tour. Then the drive will bring us back to our hotel. That's a great idea. Thanks;)

 

I read somewhere on these boards that the horse & carriages were only allowed in/on certain streets etc.

 

Thanks

[Jane110]

MarcyJane,

 

It might be true that the hansome cabs are only allowed on certain streets, but they can get you close enough to your hotel - certainly within a couple of blocks.

 

Also, if you go to the theatre, if you don't want to walk back to your hotel, you'll see some enterprising men and women with "pedicabs". These are bicycles with a little double seat in the back and for a flat fee, they will take you anywhere you want to go. Many of them are lined up after the plays end. It's fun.

 

Jane

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

In Times Square, which is very close to most Broadway Theaters,there is a booth that sells discount tickets the day of the performance. The discounts are usually at least 25% off with some even 50% off. They go on sale about 3 or 4 hours prior to the shows and there is usually quite a few shows available. If you go don't let the long line worry you. Once the booth opens the line does move. We have even gone with less than an hour left to showtime and gotten some very good shows with a very short wait. If you think you might be interested in seeing a show this way, you should do a little research of what shows will be playing during your stay. As long as you don't have your heart set on any given show you will probably find availability to something that will please you.

[marcyjane]

Thanks, you all just keep the good advice coming.:)

 

I forgot about those little pedicabs, I've seen them on TV, but haven't looked on the web about them and where all they are located.

Thanks everyone;)