Our opening experience was from staff greeting us and wishing my wife a happy birthday, from there onwards every member of staff did the same, this suggested that we were experiencing something a little different, and we were.
We had booked the first class package and were shown to our window seat and introduced to our waitress for the evening. She was extremely helpful and explained what would happen throughout the cruise and what we could have in the way of drinks (excellent selection). The band were professional and provided good background music for the trip. We had ordered vegetarian meals and half expected them to be mediocre but they were very good and well presented, most importantly the courses were not rushed, so we were able to take in the food at a steady pace, savouring each dish.
The trip itself was really good with excellent views of both sides of the Hudson River and then into the the East River, stopping close to the Statue of Liberty for a photo opportunity. Throughout the evening we were treated brilliantly by the staff and they made a special fuss of my wife because of her birthday. The trip lasted around 3 hours and it passed very quick but we never seemed rushed by the staff.
Having read some very negative comments on this site I was worried that it would be a disappointment, it wasn't, in fact it surpassed both mine and my wife's expectations. In terms of value for money, service and quality it was as good as I have experienced in Dubai and Malaysia.
Full marks to everyone involved with the cruise and I suggest that anyone thinking of doing it should push the boat out (sic) and take the first class package.
Visited June 2011
The whole experience was wonderful. I took a family member to New York for their birthday for 6 days and we had a great time in NY but this was their highlight. Staff were great, food good, music brilliant and the cruise was the best. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere was amazing. You can't beat eating dinner with a constantly changing view of the NYC skyline. Plus how often do you see the city from the perspective of the water. The food was not spectacular, we were a little crammed, and the dancing was not very organized and there was no actual place for dancing - so we felt that we were oversold on the dancing. Overall, really enjoyable experience and a great place to celebrate our anniversary.