USA (New York)
Your ship docks in Manhattan itself. Times Square is a twenty-minute walk. Plan accordingly.
Photography pending
Which Disney ships call at New York, and when. Pick a ship to narrow it down.
No published dates yet
Dated arrivals load when Disney publishes the next itinerary block.
Times move. Always confirm your arrival and all-aboard in the DCL Navigator app on the morning.
Worth ten minutes before you go. You'll walk past all of this, and it lands differently when you know what happened here.
New York needs no introduction, but it does need triage. Your problem here isn't finding things to do. It's choosing.
The terminal's Hell's Kitchen location means a brilliant pre-cruise day requires no transport at all: Broadway, Central Park, Hudson Yards and one of the city's great eating streets are all within walking distance. The classic mistake is over-scheduling. Pick one icon, one meal and one neighbourhood wander per half-day and New York rewards you.
Try to do six boroughs before boarding and it punishes you. The other secret is how much of the best stuff is free. The Staten Island Ferry sails right past the Statue of Liberty.
The High Line, Central Park and Grand Central cost nothing at all.
The harbour is the whole story. New York exists because this is one of the great natural ports on earth. The Lenape people's Mannahatta became Dutch New Amsterdam in 1624, bought, legend insists, for $24 in trade goods.
The English renamed it in 1664. Washington was inaugurated on Wall Street when this was the young republic's first capital. Then the 19th century made it the world's front door: more than 12 million immigrants passed the Statue of Liberty into Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.
The piers your ship uses belong to the golden age of ocean liners. This was Luxury Liner Row, where the Queen Mary and the Normandie berthed. The Titanic was due at the pier complex just south in April 1912.
Her survivors landed nearby instead. The 20th century stacked the skyline (the Empire State Building went up in 410 days, in the middle of the Depression), gave the world Broadway, jazz, hip-hop and punk, took its deepest wound on September 11, 2001, and rebuilt. Today's West Side is simply the newest layer: Hudson Yards rising over the old rail yards, the High Line blooming on a dead freight viaduct, and a city that has never once finished building itself.
The ninety seconds of admin that saves you money and awkwardness on the day.
New Yorkers are brusque and genuinely helpful, both at once. Ask directions and you'll get them, fast and accurate. Tipping is not optional culture here: 18-20% in restaurants, a dollar or two per drink at bars. Walk with purpose, keep right, and never stop dead at the top of subway stairs. A slice is folded to eat. 'Regular coffee' comes with milk and sugar. And asking for your bagel toasted is legal, but asking for it scooped starts arguments.
Set a number per person and every list below re-orders around it. Nothing disappears unless you ask it to.
Per person, in US dollars, for the thing itself. Getting there is called out on every card.
Pick a number and every list below re-ranks around it.
Everywhere we recommend, colour-coded. The ship marker is where you step off.
The dashed ring is roughly a 15 to 20 minute walk from Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Tap a pin to jump to its card, or tap Show on the map from any card below.
18 of 20 places pinned
Not pinned yet
The geocoder wasn’t confident about these, so we left them off rather than drop a pin in the wrong place. They’re queued for a human check.
Fifteen to twenty minutes on foot. No taxi, no shuttle, no negotiating.
Pier 86, a 5-10 min walk from the cruise terminal
A WWII aircraft carrier, the space shuttle Enterprise, a Concorde and a submarine, all two piers from your ship. The best possible use of a spare pre-boarding morning, especially with kids.
$28 to $38
Pier 83, W 42nd St, a 10-12 min walk from the terminal
The classic harbour cruise: Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the skyline from the water. It leaves from Pier 83, which you can see from your ship. The Landmarks cruise is the sweet spot. Yes, you're taking a boat trip before your boat trip. Do it anyway.
$44 to $80
20-25 min walk east, or C/E subway one stop + walk
Overwhelming, ridiculous, obligatory. See it at night if you can. The real prize is a Broadway show: same-day half-price tickets at the TKTS red steps, or app lotteries from around $40.
Free
25 min walk NE, or C train from 50th St to 59th/Columbus Circle
Bethesda Terrace, the Mall, Bow Bridge, Sheep Meadow. The southern third is the greatest-hits loop and takes about 90 minutes on foot. Free, and unmissable in any season.
Free
2 blocks east of the terminal, running 40s-50s
The cruise terminal's own neighbourhood happens to be one of New York's great eating streets. Pure Thai Cookhouse's hand-made noodles. Empanada Mama, open around the clock. Totto Ramen. Poseidon's Greek pastries, going since 1923. Amy's Bread. Eat here before boarding, not in Times Square.
Must try. Pure Thai's crab noodles; an Empanada Mama Viagra empanada (it's shrimp, and the name is a joke)
$5 to $30
Slices everywhere; destination pies need a subway ride
The fold-and-walk slice is the city's true street food, from $1.50. B Side and Capizzi are the Hell's Kitchen picks. If you have hours to spend, destination pies like Juliana's under the Brooklyn Bridge reward the trip.
Must try. A plain slice, folded, standing up
$1.50 to $30
Hell's Kitchen and everywhere
A proper bagel with lox is a breakfast pilgrimage. Best Bagel on 35th and Liberty Bagels near the terminal are the local names. After Central Park, detour to Levain on W 74th for a cookie the size of a fist.
Must try. Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, lox; a warm Levain chocolate-chip walnut cookie
$3 to $15
W 39th St and around Ninth Ave
A century-old theatre bookshop, rescued by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the Broadway souvenir with actual soul. Around Ninth Avenue, Fine and Dandy's dapper accessories and Delphinium's gifts beat anything in Times Square.
Must try. A playscript of the show you just saw
$10 to $40
One bus, ferry or short taxi. The exact fare and journey time is on every card.
All within 15-30 min by foot/subway from the terminal
Pick one observation deck, not three. Top of the Rock gives you the view OF the Empire State. SUMMIT gives you the mirrored spectacle. The Empire State gives you the icon itself. Edge gives you the glass floor. All run $43-60, and all are better booked online for timed entry.
$43 to $60
Subway to South Ferry (~30 min); ferry every 30 min, 25 min each way
The best free attraction in America. A full harbour crossing past the Statue of Liberty, no ticket required, every 30 minutes. Ride out, walk off, ride straight back. Stand on the right side going out for Lady Liberty.
Free
15-20 min walk south to the 34th St entrance, or one subway stop
The elevated park on a dead freight viaduct: gardens, art and skyline angles for a mile and a half down to Chelsea Market, where lunch is waiting. Starts beside Hudson Yards and the Vessel.
Free
Subway or 30 min walk
The most beautiful room in New York. The turquoise zodiac ceiling, the whispering gallery outside the Oyster Bar, and a food hall below. Free, fast, essential.
Free
E train from 50th St direct to World Trade Center, ~25 min
The memorial pools are free and profoundly moving. The museum, about $33 with timed entry, is one of the great museums anywhere. Allow two hours or more, and budget the emotion to match.
Free to $33
Lower East Side, ~30 min by subway
Guided tours through preserved immigrant apartments on the Lower East Side. The human-scale history of the city, told brilliantly. Book a specific tour ahead, then walk round the corner to Katz's.
$30 to $35
Lower East Side, ~30 min by subway
The 1888 institution. Pastrami on rye cut in front of you, the When Harry Met Sally table, glorious ticket-system chaos. A $28 sandwich that feeds two people, worth every cent and calorie.
Must try. Pastrami on rye, half-sour pickles, Dr Brown's cream soda
$20 to $35
20-30 min walk or subway
The flagship parade from Rockefeller Center to the Plaza. Window-shopping is the attraction, and the LEGO and Nintendo stores at Rock Center keep kids happy for free.
Varies
Bottom of the High Line walk
A food hall and market in the old Nabisco factory where the Oreo was born. Lobster rolls, tacos, spices, and Artists & Fleas for souvenirs that are actually good.
Must try. Los Tacos No. 1 adobada taco
$10 to $40
Up to about an hour out. These eat most of your day, so pick one and commit.
Subway ~35-40 min; walk the bridge Brooklyn→Manhattan for the skyline ahead of you
Walk the 1883 icon from Brooklyn towards Manhattan so the skyline is ahead of you the whole way. Then the Washington Street photo in DUMBO and a pie at Juliana's. The best free half-day in the city.
Free
7 train / F train, ~30 min
The connoisseur's skyline. The Roosevelt Island aerial tram costs one subway fare and floats you over the East River with the midtown wall glowing beside you. Tourist-free, camera-full.
$2.90 to $5.80
Subway to Battery Park + official ferry; allow 4-5 hrs for both islands
The official ferry, about $25, is the only way to land on Liberty Island. Book weeks ahead for crown access. Short on time? The free Staten Island Ferry drive-by is the honest substitute. Long on time? Ellis Island's immigration museum is the profound one.
$25
Where the picture actually is, and what time of day it works.
Intrepid Museum
Pier 86, a 5-10 min walk from the cruise terminal
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
Pier 83, W 42nd St, a 10-12 min walk from the terminal
Times Square & Broadway
20-25 min walk east, or C/E subway one stop + walk
Central Park (southern loop)
25 min walk NE, or C train from 50th St to 59th/Columbus Circle
Top of the Rock / SUMMIT One Vanderbilt / Empire State / Edge
All within 15-30 min by foot/subway from the terminal
Staten Island Ferry
Subway to South Ferry (~30 min); ferry every 30 min, 25 min each way
The High Line & Hudson Yards
15-20 min walk south to the 34th St entrance, or one subway stop
Grand Central Terminal
Subway or 30 min walk
Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO
Subway ~35-40 min; walk the bridge Brooklyn→Manhattan for the skyline ahead of you
Gantry Plaza / Roosevelt Island tram
7 train / F train, ~30 min
The big-ticket things. Our price is what you pay booking it yourself.
Pier 86, a 5-10 min walk from the cruise terminal
A WWII aircraft carrier, the space shuttle Enterprise, a Concorde and a submarine, all two piers from your ship. The best possible use of a spare pre-boarding morning, especially with kids.
$28 to $38
Pier 83, W 42nd St, a 10-12 min walk from the terminal
The classic harbour cruise: Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the skyline from the water. It leaves from Pier 83, which you can see from your ship. The Landmarks cruise is the sweet spot. Yes, you're taking a boat trip before your boat trip. Do it anyway.
$44 to $80
All within 15-30 min by foot/subway from the terminal
Pick one observation deck, not three. Top of the Rock gives you the view OF the Empire State. SUMMIT gives you the mirrored spectacle. The Empire State gives you the icon itself. Edge gives you the glass floor. All run $43-60, and all are better booked online for timed entry.
$43 to $60
Subway to South Ferry (~30 min); ferry every 30 min, 25 min each way
The best free attraction in America. A full harbour crossing past the Statue of Liberty, no ticket required, every 30 minutes. Ride out, walk off, ride straight back. Stand on the right side going out for Lady Liberty.
Free
E train from 50th St direct to World Trade Center, ~25 min
The memorial pools are free and profoundly moving. The museum, about $33 with timed entry, is one of the great museums anywhere. Allow two hours or more, and budget the emotion to match.
Free to $33
Lower East Side, ~30 min by subway
Guided tours through preserved immigrant apartments on the Lower East Side. The human-scale history of the city, told brilliantly. Book a specific tour ahead, then walk round the corner to Katz's.
$30 to $35
Subway to Battery Park + official ferry; allow 4-5 hrs for both islands
The official ferry, about $25, is the only way to land on Liberty Island. Book weeks ahead for crown access. Short on time? The free Staten Island Ferry drive-by is the honest substitute. Long on time? Ellis Island's immigration museum is the profound one.
$25
Order this, not that. Local places first, tourist traps not at all.
2 blocks east of the terminal, running 40s-50s
The cruise terminal's own neighbourhood happens to be one of New York's great eating streets. Pure Thai Cookhouse's hand-made noodles. Empanada Mama, open around the clock. Totto Ramen. Poseidon's Greek pastries, going since 1923. Amy's Bread. Eat here before boarding, not in Times Square.
Must try. Pure Thai's crab noodles; an Empanada Mama Viagra empanada (it's shrimp, and the name is a joke)
$5 to $30
Lower East Side, ~30 min by subway
The 1888 institution. Pastrami on rye cut in front of you, the When Harry Met Sally table, glorious ticket-system chaos. A $28 sandwich that feeds two people, worth every cent and calorie.
Must try. Pastrami on rye, half-sour pickles, Dr Brown's cream soda
$20 to $35
Slices everywhere; destination pies need a subway ride
The fold-and-walk slice is the city's true street food, from $1.50. B Side and Capizzi are the Hell's Kitchen picks. If you have hours to spend, destination pies like Juliana's under the Brooklyn Bridge reward the trip.
Must try. A plain slice, folded, standing up
$1.50 to $30
Hell's Kitchen and everywhere
A proper bagel with lox is a breakfast pilgrimage. Best Bagel on 35th and Liberty Bagels near the terminal are the local names. After Central Park, detour to Levain on W 74th for a cookie the size of a fist.
Must try. Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, lox; a warm Levain chocolate-chip walnut cookie
$3 to $15
What's actually made here, and roughly what it should cost.
20-30 min walk or subway
The flagship parade from Rockefeller Center to the Plaza. Window-shopping is the attraction, and the LEGO and Nintendo stores at Rock Center keep kids happy for free.
Varies
W 39th St and around Ninth Ave
A century-old theatre bookshop, rescued by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the Broadway souvenir with actual soul. Around Ninth Avenue, Fine and Dandy's dapper accessories and Delphinium's gifts beat anything in Times Square.
Must try. A playscript of the show you just saw
$10 to $40
Bottom of the High Line walk
A food hall and market in the old Nabisco factory where the Oreo was born. Lobster rolls, tacos, spices, and Artists & Fleas for souvenirs that are actually good.
Must try. Los Tacos No. 1 adobada taco
$10 to $40
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