Cadgirl

Will be in NYC for 1 1/2 days mid-November. I have purchased tickets for DH and myself on Statue Cruises. Our check in is 10 am. We will not disembark at the Statue of Liberty. How much time can we plan to spend at Ellis Island, if we want to also be able to visit the 9/11 Museum later that day?

I should mention that my husband is one of those darlings who likes to read EVERYTHING at museums.

I ask because we need to be at Penn Station at 4 pm to catch our train back to Philly (plus we'll have to pick up our luggage at the Roosevelt).

Finally, it looks like I don't absolutely have to pre-purchase tickets to the 9/11 Museum? You can still buy tickets today for tomorrow, so perhaps demand is not so great right now?

Thanks in advance!

ellenem

Based on your time constraints, I don't think you have time for both.

One way to save time at the end of your day would be to take luggage to Penn Station BEFORE you head to the statue ferry in the morning. There is a luggage checkroom at Penn Station for Amtrak ticket holders only. This will save 30-45 minutes (or more, depending on connections and travel delays) of additional travel time out of you way to the Roosevelt Hotel later in the day.

Even so, to make a 4:00pm train at Penn Station (and allow time to retrieve luggage) I would want to catch a subway from the downtown area later than 3:15pm.

Here's the boat schedule:
http://www.statuecruises.com/schedule.aspx

If you have a check-in time of 10:00AM, I'm not sure what boat that puts you on, but let's assume 10:20AM, which arrives at Ellis Island at about 10:50AM, so about 11:00AM. (Again, I'm not sure which boat a 10:00AM check-in time really allows for.)

So at best you have 11:00AM–3:00PM (4 hours) to visit the Ellis Island museum, ride the ferry for 10 minutes back to Battery Park, make you way to the 9/11 Museum (10-20 minutes depending on your skill navigating the city), and visit the 9/11 Museum before finding the subway to return to Penn Station.

(If you don't move your luggage to Penn Station at the beginning of the day, you would have slightly more than three hours to do all you hope to do.)

ellenem

Important WORD missing: Even so, to make a 4:00pm train at Penn Station (and allow time to retrieve luggage) I would want to catch a subway from the downtown area NO later than 3:15pm.

doug_stallings

Since many exhibits at Ellis Island are still closed, I see no reason why you can't get in and out of there in two hours. But even if you get back to Lower Manhattan by 1:30 or 2, you don't have time for the 9/11 Museum. Depending on your interests, you may wish to bag Ellis Island and do the 9/11 Museum instead. Or instead go to the Statue of Liberty Museum, which is actually quite interesting.

Tabernash2

Maybe you can't do both in detail.

But, you could drop your bags first at Penn Station. Then spend 2.5 hours at Ellis. I think you could go to the 9/11 site itself. If there's time, you could go to the museum.

But seeing the site memorial itself is quite impressive and inspiring.

ellenem

From the OP's description, it sounds like her husband likes to take his time reading didactic panels.

The whole plan depends upon the time of the actual boat they get to Ellis Island.

Cadgirl

The tickets for Statue Cruises are purchased, so we are locked in. I guess we'll just try to get the 9/11 Museum in on the first day.

NYC Itinerary thus far:

Day 1: Arrive Penn Station (10 am)
9/11 Museum (?)
Tenement Museum (tix purchased for 3:30 pm)
Dinner at Peter Luger's/Brooklyn(reservations 5:45 pm)

Day 2: Statue Cruise/Ellis Island (tix purchased for 10 am)
Depart Penn Station via Amtrak(4 pm)

There's a bit of extra time in there for me to flesh out. Husband wants to have lunch at Katz's Deli, which I'm guessing should be Day 2 because I don't think we can eat both there and Peter Luger's in one day and still be able to move around.

Can I fit a walk around Central Park someplace? A visit to Rockefeller Plaza?

Thanks again for your comments. Any suggestions to flesh out the rest of our trip would be greatly appreciated!

HappyTrvlr

Is it possible to cancel your Tenement Museum tickets? Rhen, replace that time slot with 9/11 , a more important site?

DebitNM

I don't see why you couldn't do 9 11 museum day one, and still make it to Tenement Museum for 3:30 tickets, which appear to already have been bought. eat at Katz' on day 2.

Cadgirl

Tenement tickets are not cancellable.

doug_stallings

Don't worry ... I think you'll find that the Tenement Museum is actually a much more interesting museum than the 9/11 Museum (and arguably tells you much more about NYC), and since you live in Philadelphia it's not as if you can't hop on the train and do the 9/11 Museum as a day-trip some Saturday or Sunday. It's just a shame you can't eat at Katz's on the same day because it's just around the corner. But I agree that you don't want to do that and then head to Peter Luger on the same day.

maxima

I would do 9/11 and tenement museum on day 1. go as soon as you can in the am, maybe get tix in advance, then lunch and tenement museum. the tenement museum is guided so you wont be spending as much time reading exhibits. you could share a sandwich in Katz's without being stuffed to the gills it wont spoil your dinner.

or lunch in Katz's on day 2 after ellis island, or even take out sandwiches with you and eat on the train.

Cadgirl

Thank you. We are actually Chicagoans who will be visiting family in Philly

nytraveler

Well your hotel isn;t far from Rock Center - so you could stroll through it after dinner on your first night.

Not sure about Central Park which you need daylight for - unless you get up very early Sunday and get into the Park at 8 am for a brief stroll before heading down to South Ferry.