My wife & I plan to take the boat cruise down the Potomac from Washington DC to visit Mt Vernon. Is a day or two notice adequate to receive a reservation for the cruise?

We plan on visiting DC for 5 days. Would like to have an idea concerning weather for the day trip & long range forecasts don't do the job.

After we depart DC we start a road trip and plan to catch the Cape May-Lewes ferry departing Lewes, NJ on Sept 15. Again do I need to make reservations now in order to obtain a reservation or can I make them from DC?

Plan on visiting New York City for 5 days. Same question - tickets in advance for the Statue of Liberty or obtain them now?

Thank you.

DC isnt mobbed with tourists tourists that time of year, so I would think you should be fine. I've only done the Lewes - Cape May ferry on Fridays in the Spring and didn't need reservations in advance.

I have been taking the Cape May ferry for years. I never made ferry reservations until the past two years. The ferry has become more popular and many are full. If you want a particular ferry, make a reservation. They aren't charging for the reservations anymore and its not a big deal if you miss the ferry that you reserved. They'll put you on the next one. Reserving from DC will be fine.

Thank you for the responses. It helps to make my decision.

And for others interested in riding the CMLF, keep in mind that holiday weekends are very busy. I called for a ferry reservation a few days before a Labor Day weekend Saturday trip. There wasn't any availability until the afternoon ferries. All the morning ferries were full.