New York

Tuesday 6^th September 2016

The fury of Tropical Storm Hermine continued into the early hours of the morning, but eased as we approached New York.  We were up sat 5 am, and the wind had dropped considerably and it was quite warm. By now we were on approach to New York and passed under the Verrazano -Narrows Bridge at around 5. 20am.

We could see Manhattan in the distance on the starboard side and The Statue of Liberty was slowly coming into view on the port side.  It was still dark when we passed the Statue of Liberty and a lot of people we on deck despite the early hour.

As we were approaching our berth, the light improved and Manhattan views were clearer.

Two tugs were on hand to help us get into our berth, as the current in the river was very strong.

Whilst we were up on deck we were able to see the damage caused by Hermine. All of the deck chairs had been roped down and outside lamps covered in protective plastic after one of them lost its top early in the storm.

One of the canvas canopies was shredded.

And down below decks, they were still trying to dry carpets that got soaked from all of the water coming in under the doors on the promenade deck, on the windward side, despite having towels stuffed under them to try to seal them.

It has turned out to be a lovely day in New York, a little overcast, but warm at 22 C and the odd light rain shower. I am not sure that bypassing Halifax and heading right into the storm was the best course of action in retrospect.

This morning the whole ship has to clear US Immigration, personally, and our deck is one of the first called to go ashore and undertake the clearance, so we were through immigration by around 8.30am, and ready to explore.

I must say the cruise terminal here is the least welcoming of any that we have stayed at on this voyage, with no facilities and no tourist information or wifi.

So we wandered off aimlessly in the direction of the tall buildings and about 20 minutes later found ourselves on Broadway, sitting in McDonalds having a cup of coffee and using their free wifi.

Along the way we bought a 3 day ticket from one of the hop on hop off bus companies that cover all of the places to visit, including a boat trip out around the Statue of Liberty.  That should keep us busy in the coming days. Today we just want to get oriented and have a bit of a look around our immediate area.

We walked down Broadway to Central Park and had a short walk around there, before backtracking to Times Square.

Carnegie Hall

Columbus Circle

Central Park

The famous ball that descends on New Years Eve

The Picture clarity on these large HD Screens is amazing

And of course the NYPD are there 

It was now time for lunch and we needed to get off our feet as we have walked a long way this morning. Eventually we found a craft brewery to have lunch at and try a Reuben Sandwich and the local brew (both not bad).

Heading back to the ship we walked past a huge Hershey’s Chocolate shop, and M&M World. They certainly have a sweet tooth over here.

Eventually we got back to the ship for a bit of a rest and to pack our luggage, as we will be disembarking in the morning and luggage must be ready for pickup by midnight tonight.