First of all, the visit to the Statue of Loberty and Ellis Island in itself was good. We would definitively advise other travellers to do the trip.
However, the ferry operated by Statue Citycruisers by Hornblower is something else. Getting on the boat to the first stop and visiting the Statue of Liberty) went well. Then we had to wait quite some time to get on the ferry to Ellis Island, but okay it's a popular place t visit, thus very crowded. Not much you can do about it.
Dealbreaker was getting off Ellis Island, though.
We had been waiting for the ferry at temperatures north of 30 Ā°C, without any shade. Finally, a ferry arrives (coming from teh Statue of Liberty) and by then we were at the front of the waiting line. But in stead of taking on people, they start disembarking all guests. Apparently a technical issue with the boat. Can happen.
Then the problems started. They do not really seem to have a contingency plan for such events. The crew on the quay had no experience in controlling the crowd, which resulted in chaos (and a lot of angry people). They called in the help from the Park Police, but apart from standing together and chatting (in the shade) and looking to the crowd, they did not do anything.
After more than 3 hours standing in the blazing sun without getting help or water, suffering from sunstroke, at last an empty boat arrived and we were able to return to Battery Park.
The way they handled this, I fear for what might happen when something more serious would happen...