The GO Magazine editorial team was lucky enough to get to experience the Spirit of New York’s “Eat, Drink and B. Mary Lunch Cruise” on June 9th. It was a gorgeous day, and spending our lunch hour (or, hours—the cruise is two hours long) was the perfect way to soak up the sun and learn more about New York City.

The cruise kicked off at 12 p.m., and we were lucky enough to be given access to the premium open bar. If you’re considering a cruise, we’d certainly suggest splurging for the same; it makes the cruise that much more fun! The lunch buffet was delicious, with options for everyone, including salad, pasta, turkey, chicken, and more.

Once we felt full enough to venture from the lower deck out onto the roof deck, we were treated to gorgeous views of the city from all angles. We sailed from the Hudson River and around to the East River, which gave us stunning views of iconic NYC landmarks like the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge. My personal favorite sight, though, was the Statue of Liberty. Our Spirit of New York cruise took us unbelievably close to the statue. I was able to get some gorgeous pictures that would have been impossible on a crowded ferry.

I highly recommend the cruise for the views alone, but our captain for the day also delighted us with fun trivia and information about everything we saw. I consider myself knowledgable about New York, but I definitely left with some new tidbits to enchant my friends with in the future.

The best part of all of this? Bateaux NY & Spirit Cruises are celebrating Pride month with some awesome opportunities. You can feel good about where your money is going too; Bateaux NY & Spirit Cruises has a great track record of supporting the LGBTQ community. Representatives from Entertainment Cruises (the parent company) attend monthly National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) events and even previously hosted NGLCC events on the Bateaux New York and Spirit of New York. Entertainment Cruises has also donated over $10,000 worth of cruise vouchers for LGBTQ events in the city. Basically, they are THE gay cruises.

Feel free to check them out below, and, if you know you’ll love it as much as we did, you can get tickets on the Bateaux NY and Spirit Cruises websites.

Pride Month Offerings

• Between June 17-June 30, ALL Spirit of New York and Spirit of New Jersey lunch and dinner cruises will offer guests the option to purchase $5 slices from a PRIDE-themed cake, where all proceeds will go to the It Gets Better Foundation.
• All SONY/SONJ are flying the rainbow flag, NYC Pride pins, and displaying the World Pride event logo on board each vessel
• Promo code “PRIDE19” for 20% off all Bateaux New York and Spirit of New York/Spirit of New Jersey cruises.