"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. […] Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion." -E.B. White.
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Lady Liberty, as seen from the bow of a Bateaux New York river cruise vessel
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Whether you are native, a commuter or a settler, you have never seen New York City until you have viewed it from a floating vessel on the rivers that surround the Big Apple. The blinking lights of skyscrapers (from the Empire State Building to nameless yet inspiring structures) twinkle along with the night's stars like a grand family of candles. Nature and civilization glimmer in unison as the lapping of the waters against the boat erases stressful memories of crowds and packed concrete. There's a soothing quality to watching people and passenger traffic cross the Brooklyn Bridge above you while puttering along underneath, or following the bustling B train on the Manhattan Bridge hovering up high.
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Pier 17 on the south side of Manhattan |
Combine such sites and sounds taking place outside with fine cuisine, swinging music, and attentive service inside the boat, and you are spending an evening with Bateaux New York. For three hours, the entertainment river cruise supplier whisks you away to a world you may have always seen, but never truly experienced.
When Travel Agent recently attended a Captain's Dinner with Bateaux, the journey began at Chelsea Piers on the West Side before moseying down Hudson River, around the south tip of Manhattan, then up the East River and back. Onboard, couples were celebrating anniversaries and groups of families were dining together for what seemed like the first time in ages. As the vessel made its way back up the Hudson, we made a brief stop by the Statue of Liberty, which is in its most iconic form at night and up close.
Although it wasn't apparently a part of the agenda, we got an up close visit from an NYPD helicopter that hovered and fluttered close like an animated bird asking us to come out and play. It was a night to remember, and you can see for yourself in the footage below: