New York #5: Circle Line Cruise

The Circle Line Cruise was definitely on my list of things to do in New York after hearing that the Liberty and Ellis Island tour was temporarily suspended due to the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. I'd heard positive reviews from other people who had gone on the Circle Line Cruise, and everyone said it was a great way to experience parts of the city you wouldn't necessarily see otherwise.

The boat left at 12pm, and we got there just in time after a mad dash from the Rockefeller Center. The weather was lovely when we set off, but it did cloud over towards the end. The cruise lasted two hours and the guide was very informative, which always helps! We saw the amazing skyline from lots of different perspectives, as well as seeing famous landmarks like the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and the new 'Freedom Tower' in the context of their surroundings. This is a totally different and more picturesque view than seeing them up close, and I would highly recommend the Circle Line Cruise to anyone who visits New York. We saw four of New York's five boroughs during the duration of the cruise (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island), and also went underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Financial District was one of the more interesting sights on the cruise, especially as we didn't experience that area of the city on foot during our trip. I felt quite overwhelmed when I saw the new 'Freedom Tower' as it brought back poignant memories of what stood in that location before 9/11. The new tower will be exactly the same height as the Twin Towers destroyed on 9/11, and they're also building six other World Trade Center buildings on the site. If we do visit New York again, I'm very keen to visit the Financial District and Ground Zero in particular, as the memorial museum should be completed by the end of this year.

It's impossible to describe everything we saw on the cruise in one blog post, but hopefully this has given you a flavour of what to expect. I've posted some of my favourite photos from the cruise:

Just after setting off. Look at that skyline!

Another great view of the Manhattan skyline

The Financial District - the tall building on the right is the new 'Freedom Tower', 

located on the World Trade Center site

The Statue of Liberty! As you can see on the right, they're busy 

repairing parts of the island after the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy

I forget what this bridge is called, but it's my favourite

Empire State Building on the right!

As you can see from the photos, it did get more cloudy as the cruise went on. And a lot colder! I took about 80 photos altogether as there was so much to see, but you'll be pleased to hear that I refrained from posting them all on here. Has anyone else been on the Circle Line Cruise? What was your favourite part?