A slice of the Big Apple

One of the advantages of boarding a Caribbean cruise in New York is that you can fly out early or delay your return so giving you the chance to spend some time in the Big Apple, and this was one of the highlights of our 10-day family trip, which included three days in Manhattan and seven at sea.

Even though we had just a couple of days in New York before our cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway (www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk) departed, we managed to tick off some of its major sites and attractions.

On day one, still jet-lagged, we kicked off with pancakes and bacon drowned in maple syrup at the kitsch 1950s-themed Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway Midtown West, where the staff (all musical wannabes) sing as they serve. Yes it’s cheesy and only for tourists, but we loved it.

At 10.15 we were booked on a tour of the NBC Studios (www.nbcstudiotour.com) at Rockefeller Plaza. I was concerned the children might be bored, but, as a huge fan of the Newsroom I found it fascinating and even the kids enjoyed watching a live rehearsal of Saturday Night Live, one of America’s longest running TV shows.

Armed with a New York CityPASS (www.nycgo.com), which gives access to six out of eight listed attractions, we romped up the Empire State Building that afternoon for awesome views of the city.

One of the advantages of the CityPASS ($106 for adults; $79 for 6-17yrs) is that it allows you to skip ticket queues, which I’d heard can be immense at the Empire State Building. However, on that Saturday afternoon there weren’t many visitors – we waited no more than 30 minutes in a steadily moving queue for a lift up to the outdoor Observation Deck.

CityPASS holders also get a free audio commentary at the Empire State Building, which is really excellent in pointing out landmarks and giving a snapshot of the history of New York.

We paid an extra $17 each to go 16 floors higher to the enclosed viewing platform on the top deck, but I don’t think it’s worth the additional fee unless it’s such a cold day you want to see the view from the inside.

Our hotel, the Beacon on Broadway, Upper West Side (opposite the well-known department store Barneys), was just a short walk from the American Museum of Natural History, where the children enjoyed spotting the exhibits which came to life in the kids’ movie Night at the Museum.

That evening, almost too tired to stand, we still managed to make it up to the Top of the Rocks to see New York all lit up at night before we headed off on our cruise the following afternoon.

As CityPASSES are valid for nine days, we were able to continue our sightseeing when we returned, when we still had half a day to kill before heading back to the airport.

Still not sick of sailing, we took a short boat trip out to the Statue of Liberty (but were disappointed to be told you need to reserve tickets online to hike up to the crown), and stopped off at Ellis Island on the way back to visit the museum which tells the story of how millions of immigrants from all over the world ended up in the States.

The subway, just two blocks from the Beacon (where we’d dumped our suitcases for the afternoon), took us Downtown to the 9/11 Memorial (free, but they ask for a donation of $5 to $10 per person), which consists of two enormous pools set in the footprints of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.   

Finally, we couldn’t leave NY without visiting the Shake Shack for burgers and fries – along with seemingly everyone who had just completed the New York marathon!

Read a review of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise from New York to Florida and the Bahamas on TravelMole from tomorrow.