Sumeet Dogra

Review of Statue Cruises

An absolutely amazing experience. Went for the Sta...

An absolutely amazing experience. Went for the Statue of Liberty, stayed much longer because of Ellis Island.

My biggest suggestion is to allocate at a very minimum 1 hour to spend on Liberty Island and 2 hours on Ellis Island. The experience was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anybody regardless of age or background.

Full review:
Took the subway from Brooklyn to Bowling Green station near Battery Park. As soon as I got out and on to the street level a guide was there to point us in the right direction. Having to cross the street, there was another guide right there as well guiding others too. I purchased my tickets online so went straight to the security line. Saw the line for ticket purchasing, and it didn't look like it would take too long had I needed to buy them there (If you want to go up to the pedestal or crown be sure to book your tickets at least a month in advance). I might've gotten lucky the day I was there as the security line was very short and as soon as that was done I walked right on to the ferry.

First stop was Statue of Liberty. The ferry takes you in front of the statue and slows down to offer a prime photo location. Once on the island, be sure to pick up your audio tour that is free. I had pedestal tickets and went right to the entrance for that. Through another quick security check, I was inside the pedestal. Be sure to visit the museum inside before going up. To ascend, you can either take the stairs or wait for the elevator. Once outside on the pedestal, beautiful 360-degree views are available. Can get chilly up there, so be sure to bring a jacket. Spent a bit of time up there and on the way down were able to stop at an area that was much less crowded than the main island, which allowed us to take pictures again in every direction. Walked around the island a bit and then boarded on the ferry to Ellis Island.

Second stop was Ellis Island. This is definitely the most underrated part of the whole tour. The setup of the island is wonderful. They have it broken into three parts: Early migration (prior to Ellis Island), the Ellis Island era, and immigration post Ellis Island. Again, be sure to pick-up the audio tour that is free and take your time especially in the upstairs section. It is unbelievable to think about what was going on in these people s minds while they were here and trying to make it. Very emotional to put yourself in their shoes. Could've easily spent half the day in this section.

We had other plans to get to in the evening, so we didn't get to spend anywhere close to the amount of time we would've like to here. Couldn't have asked for a better experience.