A Weekend in New York City

To continue being the best Travel Advisor for all of you, every year I attend a travel conference. The location changes yearly and this time it was held on the brand-new Norwegian Prima cruise ship. We sailed out of the Manhattan cruise terminal, so why not get to New York City (NYC) early and do some extra exploring.

For our weekend in NYC, chose to stay at the Hilton Martinique on Broadway. It’s part of Hilton’s Curio Collection and I wanted to see what is different compared to their other brands. The best part about this hotel, besides the rich history, is the location. It’s within walking distance to many popular places – Times Square, Grand Central Station, etc.

My husband loves NYC for its architecture. Since the cruise was for me, I told him he could plan our NYC activities, so he could get to do what he enjoys about the city. This post will be perfect for those who have done the major city attractions and might be looking for other things to try.

We arrived early evening and didn’t waste any time getting out and taking in the city. He’s been wanting to check out Bar Fifty Four (B54). It’s one of the highest “roof top” bars in NYC. Reservations are required and they fill up weeks in advance. Insider’s tip – check their online reservation system day of. That’s what we did, and we had no trouble getting in.

One of the structures my husband wanted to see is called The Vessel (not within walking distance of the hotel). Even though it’s no longer open to the public, it’s still amazing to look at. There’s no fee to enter either, which was a nice surprise. If you’re looking to do some shopping while visiting the city, there’s a large shopping mall behind it.

There are so many fantastic restaurants to indulge in that I’m not going to list them all; however, I will mention one that can turn into a fun, romantic evening. If you’re willing to take a ride to Brooklyn, there you will find the oldest pizzeria called Grimaldi’s.

Grimaldi’s doesn’t take reservations, so be prepared to wait outside. We lucked out because as soon as we arrived, they opened up their bar for seating and we eagerly jumped at the chance. This was again my husband’s idea, so I let him choose the pizza and he wanted to try “The Don” (basically a meat lovers pizza). My favorite part about this meal was the cheese. It tasted so fresh like it had been made that day.

After dinner you’re just a couple of blocks away from the pedestrian entrance to the Brooklyn bridge. If you want to walk off your tummy and take in the beautiful city sites (especially if you go at sunset), I’d suggest walking back to the city.

If you want to extend your walk even further, you’re not too far from the 911 Memorial & Museum. The architecture here too is captivating. We didn’t arrive in time to visit the museum but enjoyed walking around and taking in the Memorial.

I saved the best for last - the Summit One Vanderbilt Experience. This tourist attraction is thoughtfully laid out from the very beginning. You will need to purchase advance timed tickets. They do not take walk ups. It’s a family friendly, fun-for-all ages experience. Each room and floor offer a different perspective of the city views. Get your cameras ready for all your fun social media pictures.

Elevator ride to the top of One Vanderbilt Summit Experience

The elevator ride to the beginning sets the tone. It’s a light and sound show, which can be triggering for those who are sensitive to fast moving lights. Once you exit, you enter a room with floor to ceiling windows. The floor and ceiling are mirrors, so you have fabulous city views & you can see yourself from many different angles. Hard to explain but trust me it’s a fun time. You can spend as much time as you like in each room, but once you move forward, they don’t let you go back in.

Other types of rooms include a room with silver beach balls that cover the ceiling, and they have fans to push them down, so it’s fun to be a kid again hitting balls into the air. Another room has extensions from the wall made of clear glass, so you get closer to a 360 view, and you can see how far up you really are. I think you get an idea of what awaits you on this experience.

This concludes our mini-NYC tour. I hope you found a new idea or two to try on your next visit. Would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email of your favorite things to do in NYC.

To see more pictures, from this trip, click here.

Bianca Ramos - Travel Advisor

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P.S. The next post will be a continuation of this one with my experiences of the new Norwegian Prima & the island of Bermuda.