Last Friday before the Village Halloween Parade, my parents & I went on a 3-hour Circle Line sightseeing cruise around Manhattan Island. It was pretty good. There is a tour guide on board who talks about points of interest for almost the entire trip. I would recommend it to anyone who has out-of-town guests visiting or who wants to get a unique view of not only Manhattan, but all of the boroughs and some islands that you didn’t even know existed.
Circle Line
The cruise leaves from Pier 83 on West 42nd Street. It’s right next to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. This is the USS Intrepid, an enormous aircraft carrier that is part of the museum.
Before we left the port one of the New York Water Taxis pulled in to unload/load people.
Throughout the cruise we moved around from outside to inside, lower deck to upper deck, to get the best views and to optimize hearing the tour guide. When we started out on the lower deck I noticed all of these life preservers. The first thing I thought of was the press interviews of the Staten Island Ferry accident victims and witnesses who said that when the boat crashed everyone grabbed for and started putting on the life preservers. I secretly hoped we wouldn’t be needing to use any of these on this trip.
One of the first things we passed was the Lightship Frying Pan docked at Pier 63 at 23rd Street. Built in 1929, the Frying Pan is listed on both the New York State and Federal Registers of Historic Places, as it is one of 13 lightships remaining from more than 100 built.
This is Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex, a 30-acre waterfront sports village located between 17th and 23rd Streets along Manhattan’s Hudson River. This is their Golf Driving Range. The Empire State Building is off to the left.
A door in the lower deck of the boat.
Lower Manhattan.
“During its peak years-1892 to 1924 Ellis Island received thousands of immigrants a day. Each was scrutinized for disease or disability as the long line of hopeful new arrivals made their way up the steep stairs to the great, echoing Registry Room. Over 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry in the United States to a man, woman, or child whose name passed from a steamship manifest sheet to an inspector’s record book in the great Registry Room at Ellis Island.” From the Ellis Island Immigration Museum Website
Another view of Ellis Island as we pass.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy.
We were treated to amazing views of the statue from the boat.
Mom & Dad in the front of the boat. Lower Manhattan is in the background.
I loved the simple stencil signage around the interior of the boat.
South Street Seaport is located in eastern Lower Manhattan. It is made up of about 100 shops, cafes and restaurants and a maritime museum. The Seaport is a popular tourist destination.
The lighthouse at the northern tip of Roosevelt Island.
The Triborough Bridge (in the front) and the Hell Gate Bridge (in the back).
The Padded Wagon moving & storage in the Bronx.
I think that Mugler Shoring is a contractor in the Bronx.
Dad taking a photo of the High Bridge (in the front) and Washington (Heights) Bridge (in the background).
Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
The History Channel advertising in the Bronx.
The Wards Island Pedestrian Bridge is closed for the season. This is why it’s in the “up position”.
An alarm inside the boat.
Inwood Hill Park, the northernmost point of Manhattan Island.
The George Washington Bridge is the most travelled bridge in the United States. At the bottom you can see the tiny Little Red Lighthouse.
After the cruise we went to Katz’s Deli and pigged out on pastrami, knishes, egg creams, bread pudding and an apple dessert.
On the way back home we stopped in to a deli on the Lower East Side and got some dried fruit for a snack.
