Day 2 in NYC - Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

We had a long, but very good day today.  After breakfast we took the ferry to Manhattan,  then walked nearly a mile to Battery Park to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  It was neat to visit this place and we were both a bit amazed we had not done this on earlier NYC visits.  We watched an interesting video about how the Statue came about and the challenges of making it. The people of France paid for the statue while Americans designed, built, and paid for the pedestal that it sits on.  They assembled the 73,000 copper plates in Paris before taking it apart, crating it, and shipping all 179,000 pounds of copper to the USA. I found the underlaying engineering for the sculpting and framing to be quite fascinating - and all done with pencil and ink drawings.

We then took a ferry to Ellis Island and saw the main building where the immigrants were received and processed. The picture on the right is the main floor with samples of luggage. The picture on the left is Registration Hall. It was fascinating to learn that each immigrant had to be screened for significant diseases by a doctor.  Experienced doctors only took roughly 6 seconds each to identify who needed further medical screening. 

After Ellis Island we took a ferry back to Battery Park, walked back to pier 11, then took our 5th ferry ride of the day back to the ship.   After 13,000 steps, we had had enough. Since lunch consisted of a hot dog on the ferry to Ellis Island,  we headed to the buffet for a light snack. Mary was thrilled to see peeled shrimp in the salad bar area.  That perked her up!! 

We had an enjoyable dinner again this evening, before retiring to our cabin for the night. But as we got back to the room, we noticed the sun setting behind the Statue of Liberty, so we could not resist a round of subset pictures. 

Tomorrow is sail away to Bermuda at 8 am. 

Day 1 in Port

Today was our first full day docked in Brooklyn. It seems quite unnatural to not have the ship moving at all, but sure beats rocking around in very heavy seas! Princess mostly followed a Sea Day schedule, but with many exceptions.  Lots of onboard activities, but with the gangway open and shuttles available to Manhattan.  The main shuttle was a free round trip to Times Square, but since we were there for 3 days, we had no interest in that. The second option was a free ferry ride across the East River to the foot of Wall Street. More on that later.  Of course you could just walk off the ship and arrange your own transportation to wherever you wanted to go. 

Mary and I did walk off to check out the ferry ride.  After checking that out, we took a short walk to the entrance of the cruise port, but did not go any further in the light rain.  I found that we could take that ferry, walk about 1/4 mile to a bus stop and catch a free bus ride to Battery park where we could take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.    Since that is one place neither of us has visited, we are considering doing that tomorrow, weather permitting.

Mary caught this cool sunset picture last night so I thought I would share it with you,  We are so very happy to have our cabin on the river side of the ship and not the dock side.  So much to watch passing by.

Speaking of activities, I did both Lawn Bowling and 10 pin bowling today.  I won Lawn bowling and came in 3rd in the 10 pin game. 

Dinner tonight was uneventful.  Mary had chicken breast and I had chicken alfredo.  The dining room manager was making a  shrimp dish sautéed in garlic and butter.  We both had that and enjoyed it very much.  He seems to be cooking a special appetizer every night for the reserved collection diners. 

So that's it for today!  Another port day tomorrow before we head to Bermuda Friday afternoon. 

On the Island Princess

After a quiet morning, our Lyft driver came at 10:00 and took us to the ship.  It was our first ride in a Tesla. We were surprised that the roof was glass, so we could look up at all the tall buildings.  I took a picture as we went past the World Trade Center but it did not turn out very well due to the hazed glass  He then took us across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was also a first for us.  

We got to the ship by 11:00 and, since we had all our documents on file and our medallions, we got to use the shorter lines for xray scanning and security. After that, we walked right on the ship.  Our cabin was not ready yet, but we were able to stash our carry-ons in it and headed to the buffet for lunch. Love that bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce!

We have great views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan from our balcony.  We also have Reserved Collection dining which is a special dining room area, and were very surprised to see the same hostess, Arita, that we had last year.  She recognized us even before seeing our names on her iPad.  Another benefit of Reserved Class Dining is a glass of champagne on sail-away day!  Note the Manhattan skyline in the background.

SURPRISE!  Due to the hurricane, the captain just announced a major schedule change.  No Caribbean ports, but staying in Manhattan for 3 days and doing an extra day in Bermuda.   While in New York, we get a free ferry or shuttle to Manhattan during the day.  So we can remain on the ship or do a couple of days of NYC sightseeing.  

On a positive note, we get 50% of our cruise fare refunded as a future cruise credit and still get to visit Bermuda, which is why we booked this cruise in the first place.   So, in the end, all is well!  

We enjoyed dinner tonight, (salmon for Mary, and pot roast for me) with very good desserts.  Mary's was had mascarpone pie with blueberry sauce while I went for the hazelnut souffle. 

We are debating NYC activities for the next 2 days, but we may stay on the ship tomorrow as rain is predicted from 11am on for the rest of the day. Hopefully Thursday works out better. 

Day 2 in NYC - Carrier Intrepid Museum

 

We only had 1 activity planned for today, visiting the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. The Intrepid was a WWII Essex class carrier that was commissioned in 1944.  It saw some action in the late WWII battles, but most of it's war experience was in supporting the air war against North Korea and in Vietnam.  It was finally decommissioned in 1974.  

It also support the Mercury and Gemini programs by being the main recovery ship for two space flights in the early 60's.  

The range of airplanes on this ship was very wide, from WWII planes (like the Hellcat on the left) up through the jets that flew in Vietnam, pictured on the right.  Feel free to click to enlarge any picture. t was all pretty neat to see.    

There were many exhibits about the role the Intrepid played over its years of service. We walked through the Vietnam one, among others.

I did climb into the ship's island and got this picture of the navigation station.  I also sat in a quad 40mm gun mount.  very cool!

But the main reason I wanted to visit the Intrepid was to see the Space Shuttle Enterprise. This one never made it to orbit, but paved the way for the others. . It was in a special environmentally controlled building on the deck.  Now I can say I've seen all 4 surviving shuttles. 

They also have one of the last Concorde. supersonic passenger jets on display. It was neat to see.  

So it was quite a day of sightseeing.  Tomorrow we head to the Island Princess to begin our cruise.  We still don't know if there will be any itinerary changes due to the hurricane. If not, I expect some rough seas on Wednesday evening as we head south along the eastern cost .

Day 1 in NYC

 

We had a nice, relaxing morning today.  After watching church, we headed out on a Times Square shopping trip.  Our main stops were the M&Ms store and the Hershey Store.  

This picture on the right is barely 1/3rd of the  "M&M wall".   You can take a plastic bag and hold it under the bottom of a color and add as much as you want.  At the counter, you pay by the pound. 

Lunch was at Shake Shake, then we headed to our hotel to get ready for the play.

We had tickets for the matinee performance of the Book of Morman.  It was nearly a mile to walk to it, and it was a bit warm.  We found the play very hilarious!  But we can see how someone who is very serious about religion could be offended.   

After that we headed to The Perfect Pint, an Irish pub recommended by friend Gail.   I enjoyed Shepherd's Pie while Mary had a pair of cheeseburger sliders.

Tomorrow we head to the US Intrepid air and space museum.  

Heading to NYC

 

Today was our travel day to New York City.  We're here for 3 days, then we board the Island Princess for a 10 day cruise to the eastern Caribbean and Bermuda.  We've cruised out of New York several times and like to stay at the Fairfield Inn Time Square since it's not only close to Times Square, but a lot of the Broadway theaters.  We got a room on the 29th floor this time, but with all he tall buildings, there's not much of a view.  

Since we've stayed here a few times, we have a favorite close-by restaurant, Schnippers. After dinner we walked around a bit and got a selfie at Times Square.  

Not much else to write about today.  Our travels were pretty much on time, no issues with the flight and we got a very nice Lyft driver to take us to our hotel, where our room was ready when we arrived. 

Tomorrow we plan some morning shopping and lunch at a local deli before we see The Book of Mormon. 

First day on the Caribbean Princess

Our day got off to a good start when we decided to go and see where Good Morning America is broadcast.  We joined the small crowd outside but got some very good pictures of the stars.  Robin Roberts even waved to us as we stood outside!

We had an uneventful ride to the ship, and after meeting up with Andy and Melissa (our son and his wife) we enjoyed our lunch in the buffet.  I had a small lunch but definitely enjoyed dessert, as you can see... rice pudding with vanilla sauce, blueberry roulade, and more. 

As fellow cruisers know, there there is a mandatory safety drill for all passengers before the ship can leave port.  Here's Andy and I after donning our life jackets.  

We had a great view from our room and enjoyed sitting on our balcony this afternoon, with a view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan.  

We always like the Pina Colada chilled soup which was served this evening along with a fine entree.  We headed out on deck to watch the ship leave New York, sailing under the Verrazano Narrows bridge, and ended our first day at the Welcome Aboard show in the theater.

A New York City Day

What a great day we had today!  It started with a walk toTimes Square for some shopping followed by a hot corned beef lunch at a New York deli. Here's a picture of where they drop the ball each New Year's Eve. We even got to see New York's Finest in action as there was a bomb scare at 42nd at Broadway. After lunch we headed for the subway and on to the World Trade Center.

Since we had extra time before our scheduled visit to the World Trade Center Observatory, we headed to the Memorial Pools.  One photo cannot capture the immensity of these pools so here is a short video panning the North pool.  These are are same size as the footprint of the fallen buildings, and the names of those lost in the attack are enscribed around the pools..

After that we headed up to the top of the World Trade Center.  The trip up is quite intriguing since they show what the surrounding area looked like starting in 1624 to the present, as you rise over 1000' to the 102nd floor. It is quite a view from up there!

The memorial museum was very somber. This is a photo of one of the crushed fire trucks from a company that was climbing the North Tower when it collapsed.  After we left the building, some NY Fire Department bagpipers came out and started playing. It was nice ending to our visit.

We came back to our hotel to rest our feet (my Android tells me I walked over 11,000 steps so far today!) and will soon head out for supper then to see the musical Aladdin.  Here's Mary at the theater when we bought tickets this morning.
Quite the New York City Day...

Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera is one of our favorite musicals, and it's quite amazing to see even a familiar show on Broadway, even if you've seen it on stage in other cities.  The quality of the performers this evening really stood out, and Mary and I were both enthralled with the performance.  It was fun to see the city so alive and active fairly late in the evening (at least for us midwesterners!)

After the show we headed back to our hotel, but not without a stop for cannoli at Carlo's (of Cake Boss fame) Times Square store.   The cannoli was good, but we've been spoiled by the excellent ones we get from the Dearborn Italian Bakery. 

Arrived in New York City

Our vacation has started!

Our travel went quite smooth, but we were surprised at how we exited our plane at Laguardia! The only other time I recall walking across the tarmac for a plane was in Rome several years ago.
This evening we are heading out for dinner, and then on to the Majestic Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera (we had hoped to see Beautiful but it was sold out).  Phantom is one of our favorite musicals and it will be special to see it on Broadway.
Tomorrow we have free time in the morning, and then we're visiting the 911 memorial  and museum, and the new World Trade Center Observation deck.