New York

What a fitting finish to a wonderful cruise. We arrived at the entrance to the New York harbor area right at sunrise, and then sailed up the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty. It gives a whole different meaning to welcome home, and really makes you thankful for what you have. It was a beautiful day with temperatures reaching into the 70’s with clear skies, which made for a superb day in the Big Apple.

Given the size of Manhattan, we knew that there was no way that we would be able to do the city justice in our 7-8 hours available, so Sharon and I decided that because we docked right at the foot of 50th St., we would concentrate on Midtown. Leaving the ship shortly after 9am we were off, walking down 50th St. toward Rockefeller Plaza. The docks are off of 12th Ave., and the Plaza was at the corner of 50th and 5th Ave. Oh, by the way, the blocks going in that direction? They are really LONG! It actually is a little over a mile walk.

But we made it, and once there decided to take the tour to the “Top of the Rock”, which is the top of the Rockefeller Building. From the top you have an excellent view of the city. After coming down from there, we walked around the underground there and had lunch at a Subway. After that we saw the plaza where the ice skating rink is during the winter.

Then it was off to Central Park, a mere 7 blocks away, but they were short blocks so the walk only took us about 15 minutes. Once there we decided to rest our feet and take a horse drawn carriage ride through the park. We saw most of the park during the tour and felt the money spent was well worth it. Given the size of the park, it’s one of the better ways to see it.

By now the time was approaching 1:30 and we both were getting pretty tired, so we decided to start back toward the ship. About half way there we popped into a TGIFridays and rested a bit over a couple of beers. Then it was off again arriving back at the ship around 2:45.

It really was a fantastic day in the city and an excellent end to a wonderful cruise. We left shortly after 5pm and will arrive in Ft. Lauderdale Thursday morning around 7am. Once we get off the ship it’s over to the Amtrak station and headed home. I hope that all who have been reading this blog have enjoyed traveling along with us and reading about the many ports that we visited. Next up is a 63 day round trip cruise out of Los Angeles, going down through the French Polynesian Islands to Australia and New Zealand, and on the way back making a three island stop in Hawaii.

Until then, CHEERS!