Alexis B.
Yelp
Statue City Cruises is the only authorized official provider of tickets to the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island. If you're taking a ferry boat to Liberty Island or Ellis Island, you're on one of their boats. I've been out to Ellis Island several times, but I've never gotten off the ferry at the Statue of Liberty before. So last weekend, when I was visiting New York, I decided to head out to Liberty Island on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was a pretty bad experience. The beginning was fine. I showed up on time for my security check in (you should arrive a half hour before your boarding/ticket time to get through security). And after waiting in line for the next ferry boat, I was off to the Statue of Liberty. Leaving the Statue of Liberty, I got on the first or second boat I waited for, so things were still okay.
Where things went south was when I was trying to leave Ellis Island. So, the first thing to know is that I think it's only one boat (maybe two) that all day long goes from Battery Park to Liberty Island to Ellis Island. So you do have to wait for the ferry to get back to you to make it to your next stop. Unfortunately, Ellis Island was a disaster. Unlike at Battery Park and Liberty Island, the there isn't a great structure for queueing. So rather than there being a line, there was more of a crowd, which means people who had just gotten on line could push their way onto the ferry. Secondly, not everyone gets off at Ellis Island (huge mistake; I think it might be the better stop on the ferry), so not that many people can get on at Ellis Island (the boat stays near capacity and can only take on a few passengers). So what happened? I got on the fourth ferry to arrive at Ellis Island. The fourth. It was a really hot day; there is no shade at Ellis Island waiting for the ferry. So the crowd started to get really unhappy, boos when we didn't get onto another ferry, cheering when ferries arrived (trying to say: "it's fun here, get off..." so more passengers would get off at Ellis Island, loud groans... We were in the sun for over an hour. It was hot and it was miserable.
If I had the power to make suggestions to Statue City Cruises, I'd suggest they make a queue with metal barricades to ensure that people are getting on in the order in which they queued. I'd also suggest they create some cover for shade, so that when people are waiting for an hour in the summer, no one gets heat stroke.
Aside from the suggestions above, I have some advice for those of you that want to go to Ellis Island. GO EARLY. Seriously, be on the first boat of the day. (I couldn't do this because my train didn't get into New York until 9 am and then I had some things to do that morning; I got on the noon ferry). I didn't notice until after my bad experience but their website says: "The wait time can be several hours, particularly during peak season including summer, weekends, and holidays." Maybe they should do something about this? It really ruined the experience. I'm sure it won't stop me from doing this again in a few years when the experience has drifted into a less vivid memory, but I hope I remember TO GET ON THE FIRST FERRY OF THE DAY.