I was impressed with how close we got to Lady Liberty last night TopView Sightseeing’s Skyline Dinner Cruise that is offered several nights per week at 7 PM from Pier 40! It’s “photo op central” when the boat (called The Manhattan) gets close to the Statue Of Liberty and circles around it for about ten minutes. The nighttime views of the world famous statue as well as of the Manhattan and Jersey City skylines are incredible. Both buffet and sit down options are available for this amazing three hour evening of dancing, dining and canoodling with good friends, family or that special someone! On my cruise, I noticed a lot of families celebrating graduations and birthdays!
The boat used for this fun cruise (which also has brunch cruises, BTW) is The Manhattan and it seems to accommodate 100 to 175 people comfortably. You can specifically request a window view table when booking your tickets and most people prefer to be by the windows for obvious reasons but you get great views from the center tables. Between courses, you can stand outdoors on the top level and that is just what my friends and I did between entrees and desserts. That is also the time that the boat gets close up to the Statue said Liberty and spends about ten minutes circling it.
The food styles are international and my guests and I enjoyed about ten different entrees including the homemade pasta with pesto, grilled salmon and chicken in creamy mushroom sauce shown here. There are about ten entrees, a salad, rolls and two desserts (we had both the cheesecake with a caramel sauce and chocolate cake squares). The compliment may drinks are water, orange and cranberry juice, tea and coffee. Alcohol can be purchased from the drinks menu and specialty cocktails with top shelf liquor are about $18.
The boat has pretty flower arrangements and pink flowers randomly placed on each level, which adds to the festive mood of the each cruise. Pictured above is the first station of the buffet which includes the menu. Everything is very organized and the three level boat is easy to get around on. Tables are spacious and in all sorts of configurations. You can have as many as six guests at a table and the buffet line goes quickly.
Pictured above are my two favorite sites from the Skyline Dinner cruise other than the Statue Of Liberty–the midtown skyline view which includes the Empire State Building and the downtown view of the Brooklyn Bridge. You get very “up close and personal” with NYC’s most legendary sites and that alone makes the price of admission (which is about $100 to $200) well worth the money!
You can use my 5 per cent discount code which is ANNERASO5 when booking your Skyline Dinner. Both traditionally served and buffet dinners are available. It’s advisable to get to Pier 40 in Hudson River Park at 6:30 PM as the cruise starts at 7. You will love the helpful staff who will come over and help you with anything that you need from ice cubes to an extra chair. You can also talk to them about the dinner and other cruises that TopView offers. There is a deejay and dance floor on the main level. Right now there are some 33 per cent off specials on the booking site, so be sure to check them out here: Skyline Dinner Cruise. I do not have to tell you that summer time is the perfect time to take advantage of a dinner cruise because it makes going to the outside of the ship so pleasant! You will love to feel the breeze through your hair as you are taking in the best sites that NYC has to offer!
