Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Tour in New York, NY

The icon of NYC. This is the must visit place. You can’t really say that you were in NYC without seeing this one. Cruise is highly recommended. Beware those scams that wondering around batter park trying to sell you boat tours. Do not buy from them, instead walking to the authorized ticket center or buying from authorized online site operated by Statue Citycruises. Pedestral reserve is better than general admission (Crown reserve usually sold out months in advance). They have the same price. Spending at least 2-3 hours especially on a sunny day.

I wrote a scathing review of this company in July 2023 but a year and a half later I was in NY and figured I'd try again to go to Ellis Island. The lines to get onto a boat were no better organized, but because it was off-season, it wasn't as bad. But this time I need to comment on the security screening. Security screenings are never fun, but they can be necessary, so you put up with them and try to maintain a good attitude. TSA teams in various airports around the country vary wildly--some making the experience okay and some making you wish you were anywhere else. So I know that you can handle thousands of people and still be reasonably human...or decide not to bother. The employees that did the security screening for this boat were horrid and it was a terrible experience. They barked at the visitors as if we were animals, or maybe not even animals you cared about. BAGS OFF! NO SCARF! No humanity, no kindness, just felt like you were a pig being pushed to be slaughtered. I'm sure these people are being paid little and have to handle huge pressure because of the crowds, and I can understand how that could lead to this kind of attitude. However, someone should be setting the tone, managing their behavior, encouraging them to do better than herd visitors from all over the country and the world in this inhumane way. The Park Service needs to pay more attention to the companies who have contracts with them.

So many points to rise, both good and bad. The main issue is numbers and the lack of any management concerning those numbers. We went midweek in October and found it a difficult experience - during the summer and peak times, I dread to think what it is like. On the plus side, we were glad we settled for the Pedestal ticket, as that not only gave an initial slight advantage when queuing for the ferry but the access to the pedestal was well worth the effort. Whatever the experience, seeing the Statue of Liberty up close is to be recommended. Whilst warned in advance of the "airport" style security screening, I have never had to take my watch off to go through the scanner and at airports it is usually only the once that it is needed. The security experience was chaotic, unpleasant and people were treated with discourtesy and like cattle. I have no problem with high security but there is a way to do it professionally and that wasn't it. People put up with it because they have no choice but the whole day was a daunting experience. We were actually getting on our ferry a few minutes before our ticket time stating when to start queuing, so we felt we had done well up until that point. I do not know how they judge when to stop cramming more people onto the ferry but it was a very uncomfortable and disconcerting experience. I appreciate they have more people who want to travel to the two islands than can be comfortably accommodated but it was just us two adults - larger groups and families might find the experience even more stressful. On Liberty Island the situation wasn't helped by a lack of staff. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of trained staff to man the tills in the shop but the catering set up is woefully inadequate - of the 4 tills in the catering area, only 2 were manned and even with 4 manned, there would have been long queues - with 2 it was just ridiculous. Also, for those wanting only hot drinks, it was just chaos. People were also trying to come in through the tills, rather than go around to the far side and entrance and already harassed till staff were also trying to control that, causing mayhem; a simple one-way push barrier (as in many UK supermarkets) would easily have solved that particular problem. We then headed back to the jetty to get the ferry to Ellis Island. Being Brits, we joined the queue and happily shuffled forward with hundreds of others but due to poor management of the queue (well, total lack of management), several American families thought it was acceptable to just push us (literally) out of the way but when I stood my ground with a family group of 12 trying to barge in front, I received a mouthful of abuse. I can honestly say they were the only rude Americans we encountered all holiday but it did sour the experience. Simple but effective queuing control would be safer and a better experience but the feeling was that once there, the management didn't care. It was every man or woman for themselves and those prepared to barge through got them on sooner. Once on Ellis Island, we needed a drink and it was yet another horrendous queue. I cannot fault the staff here as they were working hard to serve people hot meals but the whole set up was inadequate for the numbers. They had already closed half the seating area for cleaning and people were meandering around with nowhere to sit to eat their hot meals. The experience on Ellis Island was altogether less frenetic but because of the constant queuing up until that point, we didn't have enough time to fully appreciate the island and museum, which we bitterly regretted. We were also lucky yo just get on a ferry that was heading back to Battery park. We were glad to have seen the Statue of Liberty and would recommend the pedestal ticket - my husband had wanted to go to the crown but there were no tickets even 2 months in advance but that was fine. Ellis Island needed more time than was left, which was disappointing. So much of the experience could have been so much better but I do not think there is a will to do that, as the majority of people are only there once and put up with the poor management, as there is little else they can do. The Statue City Cruises have your money by then and they know there will always be more tourists eager to see the Statue of Liberty, so why have more staff or better, more adequate systems in place when the money keeps rolling in anyway?

The price is right, but this is a very unpleasant way to have to get to the monuments. There is no crowd control or line management on Ellis Island, and people pushing others out of the way and crushing forward 20 minutes before the boat even loaded. We waited about 40 minutes on Ellis Island to get a boat back to Battery park this afternoon. I did not feel it was a safe situation for small people or people with poor balance. Be very careful booking this if you cannot stand for long periods of time.

Took the first tour of the day on a Saturday morning and had no problems at all. Opted to not get off at the Statue of Liberty and went right to Ellis Island since we only had a few hours to explore. It's important to get in the right line to get back to your starting point (in our case New York) when re-boarding at Ellis Island. We almost went to New Jersey!