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NYC Boat Tours Cruises

Sightsee, Dinner, Night Skyline, Romantic

NYC Boat tours cruises are one of my FAVORITE things to do in NYC. There are no better views of our skyline than from the water, and we have dozens of styles of cruises. Brunch, champagne, general sightseeing, dinner, booze, jazz, sailboat, speedboat, holiday, romantic and more. Boat cruises fall in every price range, for all ages and groups and sail all year-round.



NYC Sightseeing Cruises - NYC Insider Guide Favorites!



Top Picks NYC Boat Tours Cruises

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NYC Dinner Cruises on the Harbor

A dinner harbor cruise is an excellent way to combine a lovely dinner and sightseeing. Most of the cruises depart at 7pm and run about 3 hours.

NYC Dinner Cruises on the Harbor

The price points are all pretty similar ($100-$150 pp) and it’s up to you to choose based on your preferences: family friendly, dress code, menu and music type.

All the dinner cruises are high quality and these are listed from most casual to elegant.

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NYC Sunset Cruises

On nights with the right weather, a sunset over our skyline or the Statue of Liberty are glorious! The main difference between the higher and lower priced cruises are usually an included drink or two and a sailboat vs a motorized yacht. If you’d like, feel free to read more and see photos of my favorite NYC Sunset Cruise – I took my NY friend as a treat and we both LOVED it!


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NYC Brunch Cruises

Toast the Manhattan skyline with your champagne or mimosa on a Sunday morning as you leisurely sightsee like a NYC champ noshing on your bagel with a shmear. (Note: some of these cruises are seasonal, and the Harlem Gospel Tour is a not a cruise, but a fun brunch option).



More NYC Brunch & Lunch Cruises

NYC Brunch Cruise

Who wouldn’t love a champagne brunch cruise aboard the majestic 82-foot schooner Shearwater? You’ll see spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty and other iconic Manhattan sights as you sail through the world-famous New York Harbor. Feast on a plentiful buffet of fine pastries and breads, meats and cheeses and more, as well as all-you-can-drink Prosecco, while taking in New York’s legendary skyline.

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New York City Night Cruises

See our beautiful Skyline from all angles – in any weather!

Sunset Sail aboard the Schooner Adirondack

NYC Insider Pick
Price starting at US$72
View details

NYC Premiere Dinner & Skyline Cruise

Bestseller
Price starting at US$145
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Champagne City Lights Cruise on Yacht Manhattan

Price starting at US$56
View details

Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise

Bestseller
Price starting at US$33
View details

New York City Lights Dinner Cruise

Likely to sell out
Price starting at US$161
View details

Around Manhattan Architecture

Price starting at US$74
View details

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NYC Boat Tours Cruises – Beast Speedboat Ride

May 6 – Sept 24, 2023, 11:00 am–6:00 pm, every hour on the hour,
30 minute ride, closed Mondays

We absolutely LOVED the Beast Speedboat ride. It was our favorite activity on a day that included the Intrepid Museum, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock and more. You can read more about our day at: NYC One Day Boys Itinerary

Beast Speedboat Ride NYC

Tickets Beast Speedboat Ride Tickets

We got on line at 11:30, which was the perfect time for the 12pm cruise. We were third on line, meaning we got to sit at the front of the boat, and about 40 more people lined up within 3 minutes right after us.

The tour was great and we got up close views of the financial district, Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport and more, without ever leaving the water. The guides were lively, funny and kept all us adults and kids laughing the whole time, including some fierce and fast spins in the water.

The guides come around with a surprise for everyone (no..I won’t tell you what it is, but let’s just say, don’t bring anything that can’t get wet!) and they will also take pics with your own device with the Statue of Liberty as a back drop. Don’t forget to tip these guys – they are so worth it!

Tickets: Beast Speedboat Ride Tickets

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Circle Line Cruises Around Manhattan

Circle Line is likely the most popular of all the NYC Cruises Around Manhattan, family-friendly and a great way to sightsee.

Circle Line Landmark Cruise

Circle Line Liberty Cruise – see most of New York City’s major tourist attractions in one comfortable expedition. (1.25 hrs)

NYC Landmark Cruise – sails in a “U” around the island of Manhattan, giving passengers a fantastic view of nearly all that New York City has to offer. (2 hrs)

Best of NYC Cruise – circle all of Manhattan: equal parts leisure activity, fun history lesson, and incredible photo opportunity. (2.5 hrs)

Circle Line Cruises
Pier 83, West 42nd Street (at 12th Avenue)
New York, NY 10036

If traveling during the warmer months, you’ll definitely want to check out Circle Line’s Beast Speedboat Ride!

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Holiday NYC Boat Tours Cruises

There are special cruises for almost every holiday in NYC, and they are the first holiday activity to sell out every year and always NYC Insider favorites!

Holiday NYC Boat Cruises

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Classic Harbor Line Boat Cruises

Sail Manhattan on one of three classic yachts — the Schooner Adirondack and the Schooner America 2.0 (sailboats), and the Luxury Yacht Manhattan or Manhattan II (motorized yacht) on an amazing variety of cruises.

Classic Harbor Line Boat Cruises

Leaving from Chelsea Piers, all year round, Classic Harbor Line offers holiday and regular cruises: Family-Friendly, July 4th, NYE, Sunday Brunch, Jazz, Sushi, Valentine’s Day, Pride, Architecture and dozens more.

Check their wide selection of cruises: Classic Harbor Cruises and read our reviews: Classic Harbor Line

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NYC Booze Party Cruises

There are NYC Booze Party Cruises most nights of the year. Some of the most popular the nights before and after holidays (Thanksgiving Wednesday, New Years Day, July 3rd, etc). Basically, our partiers start a day early and finish a day late:)

Two of the more popular NYC Booze Party Cruises are "Alive After Five" (happy hour cruise) and "Rocks Off" (concert on a boat) and tons. In the summer, the Lobster and Beer Sail is fantastic! There is always a great selection of booze cruises @ Groupon.

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NYC Discount Boat Tours Cruises

The New York City Attractions Passes all include some of the boat tours and cruises.NYC Insider Guide has done much of the analysis for you so you can determine the right pass for you, based on which Boat Tours and Cruises are on your list of things to do and see.

NY Explorer Pass
Choose Your Tours

  • Hop-on/off Sightseeing Ferry
  • Beast Speedboat Cruise
  • Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry
  • Clipper City Tall Ship Sail
  • Shearwater Schooner Sails

New York Pass
Includes over 20 NYC Tours

  • Hop-on, Hop-off Sightseeing Ferry
  • New York Water Taxi
  • Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
  • Clipper City Tall Ship Sail
  • Shearwater Schooner Sails

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More New York City Cruises

With so many sailing, jazz, champagne, romantic, family-friendly and other cruises, browse the full selection of 60+ NYC cruises.

New York City Cruises

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How are You going to Tour New York City?

New York City Tours


Best NYC Attractions Pass for Tours

Sightseeing Pass

New York Pass

Go New York

CityPASS

  NYC Sightseeing Pass New York City Pass Discounts New York City Explorer Pass New York CityPASS
HOHO Bus ✔ Unlimited ✔ 1 Day
✔ The RIDE
✔ 1 Day
✔ Night Tour
✔ The RIDE
 
Cruises ✔ Circle Line
✔ 5+ Cruises
✔ Circle Line
✔ Clipper City
✔ Circle Line
✔ 5+ Cruises
✔ Circle Line or Statue of Liberty
Food Tours ✔ 10+ Food on Foot ✔ 10+ Food on Foot ✔ 10+ Food on Foot  
Movie & TV ✔ 3+ On Location ✔ East Village, Central Park
✔ Marvel & DC Superheroes
✔ Seinfeld
✔ Marvel & DC Superheroes
✔ When Harry Met Seinfeld
 
Walking Tours ✔ 20+ Choices ✔ 10+ Choices ✔ 10+ Choices  
Shopping Tours ✔ Fashion Windows
✔ Macy's Historical
✔ Woodbury Common Outlets Bus
✔ Fashion Windows
✔ Holiday Markets & Lights
✔ Woodbury Common Outlets Bus
✔ Fashion Windows
✔ Woodbury Common Outlets Bus
 





NYC Insider Guide
NYC Insider Guidehttps://www.nycinsiderguide.com
Welcome! I'm Melissa, a fourth generation New Yorker, who has been lucky enough to live in New York for over 30 years. I love just about everything in New York City, the very reason I started this web site, and I look forward to sharing it all with you. Please explore the New York City Insider Guide at your own pace. I hope it helps you plan your New York City Vacation, so you not only go home as a NYC Insider, but plan to visit us again soon.

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