This 3-Hour River Cruise Around Manhattan Shows the Big Apple at Its Best

A modest breeze whipped against my face, the sun beaming in the west, as I climbed aboard a 38-foot charter yacht on a recent Sunday. The weather had been hovering in the pristine 70s all day, and the evening showed little signs of an about face. The water is the calmest it’s been in weeks, our host explained, stating how lucky my friend and I were to hop on today.

But I wasn’t anchoring near some beautiful reef in the Caribbean or roaming the Med. Instead, I was heading toward Lady Liberty with a friend on a water jaunt around Manhattan via Boatsetter.

The company, which has been offering on-water experiences since 2012, is a combination of Uber Lux and Airbnb for the high seas. Click onto Boatsetter.com and you’ll discover hundreds of boats available for rent. The brand connects you, the renter, with qualified boat owners and captains. It’s an insured peer-to-peer service that’s easy to navigate with fingertip access to multiple types of water adventures, from chartering a sailing vessel for a week in Greece or the British Virgin Islands to an evening cocktail cruise to see Manhattan from the water.

Before a boat can be listed on the site, Boatsetter has a set of requirements that owners must meet, including ensuring the vessel has the proper insurance and agreeing to carry the legal number of passengers. Like Airbnb, many boaters list their vessels to offset the costs of ownership.

As for our ride, the plan was to cruise up and down the West Side, exploring the scenery from Manhattan’s tip up to 74th Street, or so. To be honest, I arrived at Chelsea Piers with moderate expectations. Being a New Yorker, I was familiar with the West Side and wasn’t sure how a water view would change that.

“When people are on the water, they rediscover the magic of New York,” said Amal Salameh, owner of Big Apple Charters, NYC’s only female-run charter company. Salameh, our host and skipper for the evening, apparently could count mind-reading with her boathandling skills.

The magic started filtering in as soon as we motored from Chelsea Piers into the Hudson. Our three-hour tour (comparisons with “Gilligan’s Island” immediately came to mind) came courtesy of a Cruisers Yachts 38 GLS, christened Hudson Star. It’s a good boat to cruise the Hudson—large enough for a small crowd and serious waves, but not too large to navigate into tight spaces.

The evening trip was relaxing above all else. Manhattan’s skyscrapers were a beautiful gold in the waning sunlight, while the gentle motion of the 38-footer lulled us into the relaxation you only get on boats—the same feeling was awakened from many summers floating in Long Island’s Great South Bay. It was the first time in a while that I had a pleasant—usually confined to rom coms—”Wow, I actually live here” moment about the good ol’ Big Apple.

This trip, my first charter, was far different from the boats of childhood. A cheese board sat in a neat display near the stern, along with wine and water bottles. (You can also bring your own food and drinks aboard, of course, though keep their spill potential in mind.) Salameh catered to every whim—as most good concierges do—dropping factoids about Manhattan’s landmarks and history during the leisurely cruise up the West Side. With two boats in the fleet, she has become an expert on local waters and a pro at crafting an entertaining ride.

After spending a few hours heading north and then south again, we cruised slowly past Liberty Island, inching as close as we could to the Statue of Liberty “without flagging the Coast Guard,” Salameh said with a laugh. We managed to get close enough to make out the contours of Lady Liberty’s face. After a lap around the island, lower Manhattan opened up before us, giving us a fresh view of the dramatic Financial District skyscape. It’s a lot more pleasant to see, detached on the water, than walking Wall Street’s narrow crowded streets.

Our captain navigated the waves, slightly choppy but manageable, as my friend and I lounged on the bow. Soon enough, we took a turn at the wheel, marveling at how many fish lurked below us on Hudson Star’s fish finder.

As mentioned, Boatsetter’s cruises aren’t limited to just Manhattan: The website lists more than 50,000 boats of all sizes and classes in over 700 locations around the world. The brand estimates 10 percent of its business is “Boatsetter LUX,” a high-end experience booked through its concierge team. More often than not, those upscale adventures are multi-day charters.

The Uberization of boats extends beyond Boatsetter to other companies like Clickandboat.com and Getmyboat.com, but Boatsetter seems to have the lion’s share of listings in the US. With Memorial Day officially marking the beginning of the boating season, expect these sites to get busier.

The booking process—and all communication—is handled via your Boatsetter account. For our vessel, once our date was approved by the owner, we signed a waiver and a charter agreement, as well as registering how many people would be aboard. After that, it was a matter of showing up at the marina.

The cost of your ride varies by time of year, vessel and the trip’s duration. Note: For a group of 6 or less on this vessel, the captain’s fee is included in your overall price, but for a bigger party, you’ll incur an extra fee of $70 an hour, as you need to hire the captain yourself (a process that Big Apple Charter would assist with, but is still an extra hassle). For us, the $2,084 sticker price was worth the quality of the cruise.

As dark storm clouds rolled in over New Jersey, our captain got us back to the marina before the rain dampened the day. I felt disappointed as we neared shore. “People get on, and they really don’t want to get off,” said Salameh, reading my mind again.

But for three splendid hours, that old New York magic had found its way back into my jaded heart. I was happy to let it soak in until my next voyage.