Some friends and I did the Landmarks cruise in late April. The weather was a very comfortable 73°F so we decided to book online the day of. Purchasing tickets online was pretty straight forward but the marketing emails I began receiving made me regret using my real email address. We had some first timers to the city and contemplated taking the free State Island Ferry instead. In the end we booked this cruise because seeing the Statue of Liberty up close was a big priority.
There was some debate as to whether to pay for the premium seating or just regular admission. We went with regular and found it was just fine. Despite being in the line 30 minutes before the cruise it appeared there were a ton of people ahead of us and they snatched every last seat up top. I started to freak out but my friend said a staff member suggested sitting down below by the snack bar. The reason: the doors in front open up after the boat sets off and you kinda have your own area. It was far less crowded down below which was great.
There is a concession stand below which had drinks and food like nachos, chips, hot dogs, beer, etc. The price is inflated of course but not by a ridiculous margin. You're on a boat after all. The service, however, was terribly slow. The 2 girls who staffed it showed zero urgency and ultimately received zero tip. I ordered a hot dog which I had to wait 20+ min for because they failed to prepare them for their 12:30 cruise. They began putting them on the grill 10 minutes after we left the dock.
As for the cruise itself we were all quite satisfied with the views and the amount of landmarks you pass. Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, and of course the Statue of Liberty....you won't miss a thing. 2 hours was just the right amount of time. I'd highly recommend this cruise to anyone wanting a panoramic tour of the city. My advise would be to opt out of premium seats unless the weather is poor and sit below. A final reminder though: do NOT use your real email address when booking tickets here or anywhere in NY. I'm STILL getting crazy amounts of spam weeks after my trip.