Hudson River Cruise with Big City Tourism: Everything you Need to Know!
If you are headed to New York City, you are going to want to see the Manhattan cityscape from outside of Manhattan. A great way to do this is by taking a Hudson River cruise! We toured with Big City Tourism and recommend the trip! So, here is everything you need to know about taking the cruise with them!
- About Big City Tourism
- Where to Meet for the Hudson River Cruise
- Route of the Hudson River Cruise
- What Side of the Boat Should you Pick?!
- Sunset or Daytime Hudson RIver Cruise?
- Free Shuttle Services
- Is it Too Cold To Cruise the Hudson River in December?
- What About the Bad Reviews?
- Alternatives to Taking a Hudson River Cruise Tour
- Hudson River Cruise Recap
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About Big City Tourism
City City Tourism is a locally owned company with the crew all being from the big city themselves. You can feel their love of the city as the introduce you to the tour and provide you with a bit of history and stories along the route. Though it is one of the newer Hudson River cruise companies and definitely has less boats than some of the other companies, such as Circle Line, it adds to the local feel of the company.
Big City Tourism offers cruises during the day and for sunset (which can vary in time depending on the time of year).
About the Tours
Price: ~$44 per person
Length: 1 Hour and 15 minutes
Times: 11:15, 12:30, 1:45, 3:00, 5:00 and 6:30 pm
(Times may vary depending on season)
Where to Meet for the Hudson River Cruise
Big City Tourism is located at Pier 78 on the west side of Manhattan, just north of Chelsea. They do offer shuttle services, which is actually how we found out about them. If you are down around the Statin Island Ferry terminal, you may come across workers there trying to sell tickets for the tour.
- However, the shuttle service from Statin Island to the pier is a long process. We hopped on a small shuttle bus at the ferry terminal which took us to a larger tour bus, which took us to the pier.
- Honestly, I don’t recommend this. Just take yourself to the Pier via subway and walking, bus or water taxi!
Address: 455 12th Ave, New York, NY 10018, USA
Route of the Hudson River Cruise
The tour will begin at Pier 78 on the west side of Manhattan, head south along the coastline to the Manhattan Bridge then turn around and cruise closer to the Statue of Liberty, back to Pier 78. With this route, you get to see LOADS of epic NYC landmarks!
What to Expect to See on the Hudson River Cruise
A perk of cruising down the Hudson River is that you can see SO MANY of New York’s famous landmarks and highlights all in one trip! On the tour, you will pass by:
- The Edge at Hudson Yards
- The Highline in Chelsea
- Chelsea Market
- Lower Manhattan
- The Business District
- The One World Trade Center
- Ellis Island
- Statue of Liberty
- Governor’s Island
- Brooklyn and Brooklyn Bridge
- The Manhattan Bridge
- DUMBO
- New Jersey and Jersey City
What Side of the Boat Should you Pick?!
This is always what I want to know when I hop on a bus, train, boat, plane, etc. Though it is hard to really get a bad view as you sail down the Hudson River, the left side of the boat technically stays closer to the coastline and offers a little bit better views.
- However, the boat does a great job of getting everyone a good view of the Statue of Liberty and you are free to walk and move around on the top of the boat.
Sunset or Daytime Hudson RIver Cruise?
Though the New York City skyline is incredible any time of day, I do recommend taking the sunset cruise! With this cruise, you will start your journey in the daylight, seeing the cityscape with daylight on the ride up the river and then as you near the end of your tour, the lights of the city will start to brighten and you will get the nighttime cityscape view of NYC. It is incredible to be able to see both on the same cruise!
However, if you DO take the sunset cruise recognize that you will be getting off the boat in the dark of night. We opted to walk to the nearest subway station to continue exploring the city afterward. However, they DO offer free shuttles after the cruise to many places around the city.
Free Shuttle Services
The free shuttle buses after the cruise stop in many different places including Hudson Yards, Empire state Building, Times Square, 42nd street, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Lower Manhattan, Battery Park, etc.
It is good to know, however, that after the cruise it is a bit hectic with everyone trying to jump on the free shuttle buses, especially if you are trying to do it in the dark.
Click here for a link to a live-view of the current bus locations.
Is it Too Cold To Cruise the Hudson River in December?
So you are headed to NYC for Christmas and wondering if you should take the Hudson River cruise? I’m not gong to lie; it’s probably going to be chilly. However, dress appropriately and it will BE WORTH IT. December is not cold enough to be miserable, but the wind from cruising down the Hudson will be nippy.
The bus does have indoor seating downstairs if the weather is bad. However, the views from the top are better! So, if its not raining, I recommend dressing appropriately and hanging out on top!
- If you do, be sure to bring a beanie, gloves, scarf, etc on your tour. Especially if you go for the sunset cruise. The temperatures will only get colder!
- If you are headed to NYC for Christmas, here is a great 48 hour itinerary for first-time visitors!
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What About the Bad Reviews?
The reviews on Viator, Get Your Guide and TripAdvisor are actually quite good. However, if you start creeping toward Yelp where everyone goes to gripe, then you will see more negative reviews. And, honestly, I can see where some of them are coming from.
- As I mentioned, we were down at the Statin Island Ferry terminal near the Business District trying to get a view of the Statue of Liberty. It was pretty obvious the view wasn’t going to be that great from there and while we were there we were also approached by a worker from BCT trying to convince people to take their tour.
- Shuttle Process: We opted to, indeed, take the tour (obviously), but that meant that we were going to be shuttled from the Statin Island Ferry district to Pier 78. THIS process is what is a bit hectic and time-consuming.
- As we sat on the the bus, waiting for it to fill up so we could take the quite-lengthy shuttle bus ride to the pier, I was questioning our decision to take the tour. It was a LONG process trying to wait for the shuttle bus to fill up and to get to the pier.
- I also felt the person that talked us into the tour at the ferry terminal didn’t warn us well enough about the time it would actually take to get to the pier and do the tour. We would have been. in a pickle if we were on more of a time crunch.
- Noise: If the process of being recruited for the tour and shuttle from the ferry terminal was not the main reason for the bad reviews (which most were), then it was due to the loudness. They did play music, especially on our way back UP the Hudson River.
- However, I felt the music added to the tour, especially. as they played the typical NYC tourist songs such as “Welcome to New York.”
HOWEVER, once the actual tour started, we really enjoyed it! It was upbeat, the views were amazing and I would absolutely recommend it. I just recommend making your way to Pier 78 ON YOUR OWN to save some time and waiting around.
Alternatives to Taking a Hudson River Cruise Tour
If you don’t want to pay the $42 for a guided tour, or have been scared off by the reviews regarding the shuttle service and noise, you can take yourself down the Hudson River ferry.
- These are about $4.50 per person for a one-way ticket, so obviously a cheaper option. And, I get it, everything in NYC cost money and often times it isn’t a small price.
- You can take the ferry from Lower Manhattan to Statin Island
- Or you can choose to just take a ferry route from one part of Manhattan to another such as Midtown West. to Battery Park, which will be
- Click here for a full ferry map and schedule
Hudson River Cruise Recap
Overall, I DO recommend this tour! Despite the initial chaos and doubt, this tour ended up being one of our favorite activities we did in New York! I would prepare at least 2 to 2.5 hours for the tour with transportation factored in and just don’t be surprised if your tour doesn’t start exactly on time.
Enjoy your cruise down the Hudson!
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