First off, I live in NYC...in fact just a block or so from the Circle Line pier. We tend to take this cruise when we have guests in town and always see we should do it more often. The 1.5 hour Landmarks tour is perfect length, particularly for folks with kids/smaller children. I'd recommend the longer trip around the island because its just really interesting. That said, the folks who run this tour know what they're doing...when to speed up, when to slow down for better views, when to narrate, when to not. For $37 bucks its actually far more affordable than other city boat tours i've done. Highly recommended for newcomers to the city or for folks who've never had this view before...after all, its an island so the views of the Statue of Liberty, downtown and the bridges are just unmatched.