I recently returned from a 5 day trip to New York city with my sister. We had purchased 3 day New York passes (amaszing value by the way) and wanted to do as much as we could!

One of the must do's on our list was the 2 hour evening cruise along the Hudson river going around Manhattan. I had already been on this cruise about 6 years previous and knew it was fantastic.

Basically with the New York pass, all you need to do is turn up at pier 83 on west 42nd street / 12th avenue; go to the booth and get a ticket and hop on the circle line cruise boat; You dont need to make advance reservations whether you have the New York pass or not. So without the pass, you can just turn up and purchase a ticket. However, if you do decide to do the cruise this way, its best to arrive about 30 minutes before departure time.

Basically this 'Harbor lights' cruise will take you to see the New York skyline, amazingly lit up at night; you will be able to see many impressive buildings such as Empire state building/ chrysler building . You will get close up to the Statue of liberty, Ellis Island, passing Battery park and going under the Brooklyn Bridge. You will also see the magnificant USS Intrepid pier (which has concorde parked on it!) and many more wonderful sights.

Times of saiing vary depending on the time of year; in spring and summer cruises depart at 7pm (every day) ; in October departure is at 6pm (every day). During November this cruise only operates on weekends at 7pm.

The evening cruise is not cheap, if purchased separately; its about $34 per adult ; but whether you have the New York pass or not, i highly recommend this cruise!

Circle line cruises have other schedules including a 3 hour day cruise and a speedboat ride!

The cruise boat itself has plenty of seats on it; there is an upper open deck (the best viewing) and an enclosed lower deck. There is also a bar selling soft and alcoholic drinks and snacks.

For smokers, you are allowed to smoke on the upper open deck which was relief for me!

Unfortunately, the weather wasnt very good when we went! it got windy and rainy, but still, its an amazing trip.

Highly recommend; worthy of 5 Dooyoo stars in my view