I’ve been lucky enough to spend my Thanksgiving aboard the best Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC offers – a truly unique and actually fun way to spend this holiday. Drawn-out, messy, and potentially disastrous to your mental health traditional dinners are out; yachts are in!
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is always the best way to start the day and, for dinner, you can’t go wrong with a Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC-style.
Thanksgiving dinner cruise with City Experiences
My awesome Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC experience was all thanks to City Experiences—the fabulous yacht company the provides all kinds of cruises for all kinds of events. Like:
- Brunch cruises (bottomless mimosas absolutely constitutes an event)
- Weddings
- Holiday parties
- Sightseeing
- Mother’s Day brunches
- New years eve celebrations
- And more
Note: City Experiences used to be called Hornblower so you may still see some references to that.
City Experiences operates cruises in New York City, up and down the California coast, and even some Niagara Falls tours. They also operate Statue Cruises—the company ferrying you to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
This Thanksgiving dinner cruise in New York City was actually my second City Experiences cruise—my first being their Jazz Brunch Cruise. My friend and I had so much fun on that one that I couldn’t wait to take another.
Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC options
City Experiences offers a few different NYC Thanksgiving cruises. They update their information and offerings closer to the holidays, so check back often for updates. But here are a few they typically offer:
What you’ll see on your NYC Thanksgiving dinner cruise
The route for each NYC Thanksgiving dinner cruise begins at Pier 61 on the Hudson River. From here, you’ll head down and around lower Manhattan, up the East River past Brooklyn, then down towards the Statue of Liberty and back to shore. Here are some of the sights you’ll see on your cruise:
- Downtown Manhattan skyline including One World Trade Center
- You’ll sail under the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge
- Views of Midtown Manhattan including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building
- You’ll get a closeup of the Statue of Liberty
In fact, you’ll get closer to the Statue of Liberty than you’d ever expect. It pauses here for a few minutes for a much-appreciated champagne toast, some Sinatra, and for all the photo ops your fingertips can handle before they freeze right off. If your fingers can make it here, they can make it anywhere!
Honestly, you just got a free sightseeing cruise. Or, think of it as a sightseeing cruise with a free incredible dinner spread and booze. Whichever way you wanna slice it, give thanks.
Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC food
Though the experience may not be ultra-traditional, these NYC Thanksgiving dinner cruises do serve traditional Thanksgiving food. Only, way better than anything I could make and without the hassle of trying.
The food on City Experiences cruises always wows me. It’s not “good for a boat” good, but actually really, really good. Their Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC meals are nothing short of impressive, so, after my first cruise experience, I did not hesitate booking another to celebrate a holiday that 100% revolves around food.
The food was served buffet style—the best style, in my opinion—and the menu included:
- Assorted bread, corn bread, and biscuits
- Mixed greens salad with cranberries, candied pecans, goat cheese, roasted shallots, and Dijon vinaigrette
- Penne Bolognese
- Maple glazed turkey breast
- Stuffing
- Some kind of amazing yams whose description I didn’t catch but nom nom nom
- Mashed potatoes + gravy
- Candy crusted pecan sweet potatoes
- Brussels sprouts with pancetta
- Seared salmon for those, like myself, who don’t actually like turkey on Thanksgiving
- A pork loin carving station
…And for desert: pumpkin cheesecake and apple caramel bread pudding for everyone else; Baileys on the rocks for me.
What it’s like aboard an NYC Thanksgiving cruise
The City Experiences yacht I took for my NYC Thanksgiving cruise was the Sensation, a beautiful tri-level watercraft which I will henceforth refer to as “my yacht” because this is my blog and I can do what I want.
The first and second levels were the indoor dining levels with the top level being completely outside with a variety of seating options.
There’s music and dancing on every floor and the whole boat turns into one big party. A party crazy enough that you don’t regret ditching your family for the holidays, but not so crazy that Miss Judy can’t celebrate her 93rd birthday.
There were, my guess would be, somewhere between 150-200 people on my yacht. (That’s a rough estimate I made in between the forkfuls of goat cheese I was shoveling into my mouth.) On board were cuddling couples of varying ages, whole families including those with young children, people celebrating birthdays, singular guests, and one blogger taking close-up pictures of the buffet while everyone ignored her completely.
Thanksgiving cruise NYC staff
City Experiences Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC staff are consistently some of the nicest people in Manhattan. Our server Anthon was so great, as were those in the check-in office, the guys who help you get on the boat without falling over, the greeters and seaters, the bartenders, the pork loin carver, and even the woman I met in the restroom.
Everyone is so nice and friendly and helpful and an absolute pleasure to spend your holiday with.
Should you take a New York City Thanksgiving cruise?
If you’re wondering whether or not a Thanksgiving cruise in NYC is for you, the answer is yes. As I mentioned before, I saw couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. I saw families with young(ish) children. I saw Miss Judy celebrate her 93rd birthday. And I saw single guests—well, singular guests. Their relationship statuses were not as much of a concern to me as were the yams.
A Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC-style is perfect for anyone, like me, who hates the kitchen with an unrelenting passion. It’s for families looking for a new Thanksgiving tradition or anyone else looking for a fun, unique way to spend the holiday.
Let’s redefine the holidays
Who says you have to spend Thanksgiving with family members you’d otherwise never hang out with, fight over politics, and count down until you get to leave? Who says you have to pretend to care about football while your cousin complains about his job? And who says you can’t have salmon for dinner and Irish cream for dessert?
This experience is for anyone who wants to break from the cooking and cleaning for a change; for birthday-havers and anniversary-celebraters; for those of you who maybe can’t travel to visit family in the first place.
Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC tips
In addition to wearing your stretchy pants and not eating too much for lunch, here are some Thanksgiving dinner cruise NYC tips:
Bundle up
The boat is plenty warm but the best views are from the top level where it’s colder than my attitude towards cooking casseroles. Seriously though, wear a hat, gloves, scarf, thermal leggings under your leather pants, all of it. Because it’s November and it’s windy on a boat.
Book early
Book your NYC Thanksgiving dinner cruise as early as possible as they tend to sell out. There was still room when I booked my spots on October 1st but availability was already limited.
Come hungry
How much you can eat on this NYC dinner cruise is limited only by what your belly and your waistband can handle. It’s time to get your money’s worth.
Don’t forget to check in
Boarding for the cruises starts 30 minutes before the official start of the cruise. But first, you need to check in at the City Experiences office to the left of the yachts. Bring your email confirmation or printed tickets to exchange for actual boat tickets.
Mingle
These cruises offer family-style seating at large tables. Chat with your table-mates and make some new friends. Everyone is on a Thanksgiving dinner cruise for a different reason and it’s fun to hear the stories.
Start a new tradition
It’s time to convince everyone else you know that traditional Thanksgiving is boringggg. Make this the year you start a new holiday tradition!
As I’ve said tons of times before, City Experiences Cruises continue to wow me. It’s always so great (and rare) to come across a company that does everything right. I sincerely can’t wait for my next cruise. Another big thanks to City Experiences New York for hosting me!
More info for your Thanksgiving in NYC
- Hotels: Head to Booking.com for your best options. (But Expedia and Hotels.com usually have good deals too.) Or head to VRBO for the best apartment rentals.
- Rental cars: Check out the best rental car deals here.
- Save some money: Pick up either a New York GoCity Pass or a New York CityPASS to save nearly half on visiting the city’s top attractions.
- Travel Planning: Pick up a New York City guidebook and this USA customs and culture guide if you’re coming from abroad.
- Local tours & activities: See all there is to do in NYC here on Viator and Get Your Guide.
- Want more? Check out all my New York City posts.
Like this post? Have questions about the NYC Thanksgiving dinner cruise? Let me know in the comments below. Enjoy New York City!
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