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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Beast Speedboat Ride

May 9 – Sept 30, 2019
10:00 am–6:00 pm, every hour on the hour

We absolutely LOVED the Beast Speedboat ride (seasonal May to September). 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

Tickets Beast Speedboat or 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

Downtown Speedboat – If you find yourself near the Financial District, Wall Steet, 9-11 Memorial or Brooklyn Bridge, then you’ll want to take their Shark Speedboat Ride, which leaves from the South Street Seaport. The cruises are nearly identical, just in different locations.

May 2 – May 31: Saturdays and Sundays only, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, hourly
June 1 – September 1: Daily, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, hourly

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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.

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.

• Spirit of New York Dinner Cruise – family-friendly with the wait staff singing popular tunes and an after dinner DJ
• Manhattan Hornblower Dinner Cruise – three course meal, DJ and dance floor, dressy casual attire
• Bateaux New York Dinner Cruise – all glass boat, live music from a vocalist backed by an acoustic trio, jackets for men, cocktail attire for women

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Circle Line Cruises

Circle Line is likely the most popular of all the boat cruises around NYC, is family-friendly and a great way to sightsee.

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

Circle Line 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)

Circle Line Premier Cruise – this "Best of NYC Cruise" circles all of Manhattan: equal parts leisure activity, fun history lesson, and incredible photo opportunity. (3 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 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!

Some holiday cruises include:

• Valentine’s Day
• Mother's Day Dining Cruise
• July 4th
• Thanksgiving Dinner
• NYC Holiday Dining Cruise
• Christmas Eve
• New Years Eve

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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.

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Champagne Brunch or Wine Tasting Sail

• Around Manhattan Brunch Cruise (Sat/Sun @ 10:00am, March to Oct)
• Shearwater Wine Tasting Sail (Saturdays @ 4:30pm)

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NYC Discount Boat Tours Cruises

The New York City discount 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.

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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.

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