The cruise to check first
Manhattan is long, and its piers are numbered in a way that helps nobody. Pier 83 is in Midtown, Pier 61 is about 1.8 km further south in Chelsea, and Battery Park is at the bottom of the island. Going to the wrong one usually means missing the boat.
Arrival times also differ a lot between products, from 15 minutes to 45, and the ferry adds a security line that can take longer than the crossing.
1Pier 83: all four Circle Line cruises
The one-hour statue cruise, the 90-minute cruise, the full island cruise and the night cruise all board at Pier 83, the Circle Line terminal where West 42nd and 43rd Streets meet 12th Avenue. The operator gives the address as 83 North River Piers and suggests subway lines A, C or E to 42nd Street-Port Authority, followed by a walk west to the river.
Show your voucher at the Circle Line ticket window to validate it. Standard wheelchairs can reach the first level of the boats at Pier 83, and the operator says the gangways are wide enough for electric wheelchairs and scooters.
Two warnings. The one-hour listing mentions Pier 33 in its description; ignore that, the voucher says Pier 83. And Circle Line runs some other cruises from Pier 16 downtown, which are not the ones compared here.
2Pier 61 at Chelsea Piers: the buffet cruise
Lunch and dinner cruises leave from Pier 61, part of the Chelsea Piers complex on the Hudson. City Cruises, which runs the buffet cruises from this pier, places its ticket booth at West 23rd Street and 12th Avenue.
You need a valid ID or passport to board. Check your clothes before you leave the hotel: the listing does not allow shorts, tank tops or flip-flops on either sailing and asks for formal dress at dinner.
3Battery Park and Castle Clinton: the ferry
The ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island leaves from Battery Park, next to the Castle Clinton monument. Signs there direct you to the security checkpoint, where you show your ticket before boarding. If you chose the New Jersey option, the terminal is in the CRRNJ Terminal Building at 1 Audrey Zapp Drive in Liberty State Park, Jersey City.
The listing warns about fraudulent ticket sellers in Battery Park who try to steer visitors away from using their vouchers. Official Statue City Cruises staff are only inside Castle Clinton or managing the ferry lines. Walk past anyone else.
4How early to arrive
At Pier 83 the listings ask for 15 minutes on the one-hour cruise, 15 to 30 on the full island cruise and 45 on the night cruise. For the 90-minute cruise the voucher says 45 and the description 30. Seats are not reserved, so the early figure buys you a better place on deck. The operator adds that boarding begins early and that city traffic is unpredictable.
At Pier 61, arrive at least 45 minutes before departure.
At Battery Park the time on your ticket is the time you may join the security line. The operator advises being there at least 30 minutes before. Ferries then leave about every 20 to 30 minutes.
5Bags, security and what goes wrong
Circle Line does not allow large luggage or suitcases on board, nor outside food and drinks. Statue City Cruises applies airport-style screening and refuses suitcases, carry-on luggage and large parcels on the ferries and both islands. Neither is workable with bags on a travel day.
On the ferry, the listing says waits can reach several hours in peak season, on weekends and on holidays. Go first thing in the morning, as it recommends.
On the Circle Line cruises, download the Circle Line Sightseeing app before you get to the pier and bring headphones, or you will have only the live English narration. The full island cruise may be cut short by high tide, according to its listing.
Boarding points at a glance
| Cruise | Pier |
|---|---|
| Statue of Liberty cruise (1 hour, no landing) | Circle Line, Pier 83 · Open pier on the map |
| Manhattan sightseeing cruise (90 minutes) | Circle Line, Pier 83 · Open pier on the map |
| Full Manhattan island cruise (2.5 hours) | Circle Line, Pier 83 · Open pier on the map |
| Manhattan and Statue of Liberty night cruise | Circle Line, Pier 83 · Open pier on the map |
| Lunch or dinner buffet cruise from Chelsea Piers | Pier 61, Chelsea Piers · Open pier on the map |
| Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry | Castle Clinton, Battery Park |