Don't fancy flying to New York - sail instead
Once on-board Queen Mary 2, we found a bottle of sparkling wine in our room which was a lovely compliment from Cunard. Our cabin, considering there were four of us in there, was spacious and our great cabin steward always appeared to put the upper berths out of the way like magic whenever we left in the morning.
There were no stops at all on our seven-day sail, so the ship had plenty of activities to keep everyone amused. There was a cinema - the same size as one on dry land. This turned into a Planetarium and there were shows on most days. There was also a theatre which during the day hosted talks and we were lucky enough to listen to the racing driver Jacky Stewart. As well as activities such as fencing lessons, ballroom dancing on the largest dance floor at sea, quizzes and bingo, and the children and teenagers were well looked after with their own clubs. We couldn't believe that they had kennels onboard too, every day you could see people walking their dogs in their private area. Little known fact, dogs don't get sea-sick, but cats do!
The food was amazing. We ate in the speciality restaurants for a cover charge of 15USD per person eating Italian one night and South American on the other. They were worth the extra money. The buffet which also did midnight snacks and afternoon tea had everything you could think of and there was so much choice. The food in the main Britannia restaurant was also of a very high standard.
We were up at 4.45am on our last day to watch Queen Mary2 sail into New York and past the Statue of Liberty. We sailed under the Brooklyn Bridge which was lit up and already teeming with traffic. It's a sight I don't think I'll ever forget.
On arrival, we got a taxi to our hotel. We stayed at the fantastic Park South hotel - a small boutique style hotel around 10 minutes’ walk from the Empire State Building. The room was large by New York standards with two double beds and a large bathroom.
On our first day, we picked up our New York Explorer pass tickets and then headed towards Central Park, walked down past Trump Tower and the famous St Patrick's cathedral dwarfed by the skyscrapers. We ate lunch in the Rockefeller Plaza which was jam-packed with tiny family-run eateries of all kinds. Then we walked up to the bustling Times Square - full of people, lights everywhere and skyscrapers. We ended our day at a cute little pavement café looking up at the amazing Flatiron building.
The following day we went up the Empire State building. Make sure you leave plenty of time to visit this as the queues are long and slow. At the top we could see the whole of New York, it was such an impressive sight. Macy's department store was a great experience too. Even the most seasoned shopper would find something there! We then did the Night Bus tour. This was a highlight of my trip and made even better by the commentator who was hilarious with her anecdotes and stories.
On the third day, we decided to do the Top of the Rock trip in the evening as it was nearly 100 degrees, the evening would be cooler, and we'd see the city lit up. We ate breakfast in our favourite breakfast and brunch haunt called Spoon before heading to Midtown. We attempted the Hop on Hop off bus tour, but it was too hot to sit more than three stops, so we decided to walk. We did some gift shopping at Macy's and then walked back to the Flatiron building and ate in a well-known Italian deli for lunch, which serves the most amazing sandwiches and Gelatos. In the evening we went up to The Top of the Rock, the view was astounding with planes from La Guardia airport skimming over the top of us and the Empire state building lit up in front of us. It was very well organized and a lot quicker to get to the top than The Empire State building. I can see why it's been voted the best sight in New York. Our last pit stop that evening was to Central Station to see the Grand Hall which was beautiful.
On our last full day, we decided to head to Downtown by taxi. We decided to do the boat trip which sailed past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on the first sailing at 10am before it got too hot. We saw the entire bay during the cruise and got some great photos. It took around an hour and was well worth doing. We then walked down through the Financial quarter and stopped at the 9/11 memorial to see the impressive fountains to mark where the Twin Towers had stood. Every persons' name who had been lost that day was etched into the metal-work and it was a very poignant sight. We walked onwards to Battery Park and ate lunch in a pub overlooking the bay before heading back to get ready for dinner. We ate in Little Italy on our last night and wandered around China Town too. I really liked the Little Italy area as it had a nice vibe to it. We finished at the famous Cannoli King with their famous Cannoli’s filled with cream cheese.
My top tips would be to go to the Top of the Rock at dusk. Must dos include the night bus tour and the boat trip around the bay (do it early). For food make sure you visit Spoon and if you're in Little Italy go to the Cannoli King.