What to do in just a short time?
 

My family is cruising out of and into New York and have 4 hours of actual touring time. We have hired a van to pick us up from the pier, take us to the sites and then to the airport w/in 6 hours. Any suggestions on an itinerary? 6 adults and 3 kids. Only I have been to NY and that was 15 years ago.

Frankly I don;t see how you can see much from inside a van.

If you've hired it and it will follow you around and hold you luggage I wold drive though Times Square, drop you ar Rock Center so you could go up Top of the Rock (get times tickets in advance), stop near Central Park so you can see a little of that (perhaps whip into the zoo if the kids are little), then down Fifth Ave to see the shops.

You don;t say which airport - and that will make a difference. Nor do you say what time. If you need a quick meal you can get hot dogs etc near the south end of the Park.

If you have times (it will take about an hour) take the Staten Island ferry roundtrip - to get a view of Lady Liberty and an incredible view of the skyline on the way back.

DO NOT sit in the van the entire time or you will see practically nothing but store windows and pedestrians going about their daily errands.

Are you timing your 6 hours from the time you expect to depart the cruise to the time you need to be at the airport? The reason why I ask is because when I went on a cruise last year (via Miami), the time I was given to depart and the time that I actually got my bags and left the cruise terminal were two different things...I had to wait for my luggage for about an hour before I could depart the terminal.

Just making sure you are conservatively estimating how much touring time you will actually have.

I am taking into account the time it will take to get off of our cruise ship, we have been on several cruises before and know the drill. Of course we are not staying in the van, are you kidding? The van is just to transport us to the sights and store our luggage. We are flying out of JFK.

The van is just to transport us to the sights and store our luggage. We are flying out of JFK.

So you have four hours and want to see what? You probably can see, at best, 2 sites (meaning two museums, or the TOTR and one museum, the Staten Island Ferry and TOTR, etc.) What are you interested in seeing - museums, "neighborhoods", delis, the Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty? It can take a long time to get from place to place "by land" in Manhattan.