The cruises compared here
This is the first decision most visitors face with boats in New York, and the listings do not make it obvious. Both products have the statue in the title. One never touches land. The other is a ferry service to two islands with museums on them.
They also leave from opposite ends of Manhattan: the cruise from Pier 83 in Midtown, the ferry from Battery Park at the southern tip. Choosing the wrong one is hard to fix on the day.
1What each ticket is
The cruise is a one-hour round trip run by Circle Line. It sails down the Hudson past Hudson Yards and One World Trade Center, circles near the statue, passes Ellis Island and returns to Pier 83. There is an English-speaking guide on board and recorded commentary in other languages through the operator's app.
The ferry is run by Statue City Cruises, which the listing describes as the only company allowed to take passengers to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The ticket covers the crossings, an audio guide in English, the Statue of Liberty Museum and the Immigration Museum. You move around on your own; the listing is explicit that no guide or assistant comes with you.
2How close you get
Circle Line says its one-hour boat pulls within 100 feet of the statue and that it does not dock at Liberty Island. For photographs of the whole figure with the harbour behind it, that distance works well, and you also get the Lower Manhattan skyline on the way down and back.
The ferry puts you on the island itself, at the foot of the monument. What it does not include is the inside. The listing states that access to the pedestal and the crown is not part of this ticket, and the operator sells those as separate options.
3Time is the real price
The cruise takes one hour, plus the 15 minutes the listing asks you to arrive ahead. You can do it before lunch and still have the afternoon.
The ferry is a different scale of commitment. The operator suggests 90 minutes to two hours for photos only, three hours or more for one island and four hours or more for both. On top of that comes security. The listing says the time on your ticket is when you may join the screening line, that ferries leave roughly every 20 to 30 minutes, and that waits can reach several hours in summer, at weekends and on holidays.
For that reason the listing recommends going first thing in the morning. The operator adds that with an entry time of 2 pm or later you will probably manage only one of the two islands.
4Small print on the ferry
Screening is airport-style. The operator does not allow suitcases, carry-on luggage or other large parcels on the ferries or the islands, so this is not something to do with bags on your arrival or departure day.
Battery Park also has a known problem with unofficial ticket sellers. The listing warns that they try to talk visitors out of using a valid voucher in order to sell them another. Official Statue City Cruises staff are found only inside Castle Clinton or managing the ferry lines.
5Who should take which
Take the cruise if this is a short trip, if you are travelling with someone who will not enjoy a long queue, or if the statue is one item on a list and not the reason you came. It is also the one to choose if your hotel is in Midtown and your day is planned around that area.
Take the ferry if Ellis Island means something to your family, if you like museums, or if you simply want to have stood there. Book the earliest slot you can manage. Doing both on one trip makes little sense, since the ferry crossing already gives you the view from the water.