Give us your tired, your poor, your disgruntled celebrity tourist. Although he's a native Long Islander, Alec Baldwin revealed Monday he'd been taken by what he calls a Big Apple "scam," NBC New York reports. Baldwin posted to Instagram a picture of a ticket he and his wife, Hilaria, "two sharp, savvy NYers," bought at the city's South Ferry for themselves and their four kids to take a boat tour around the Statue of Liberty. Instead, "we are escorted to a shuttle bus," he writes, noting next their unexpected destination: "To New Jersey! I kid you not. We paid. Then we read the tickets. NO ON (sic) EVER MENTIONED NEW F***ING JERSEY!!!" "This is a scam," he wrote of Tours R Us, which comes up with poor reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp.
Per complaints on the BBB site, others who've been similarly taken say after waiting for the "free shuttle," then taking an hourlong ride to Jersey, where they then waited for a boat to show, a vessel did indeed pull up—but most complainants said it was in bad condition and even seemed unsafe. Per the New York Daily News, the "Queen of Hearts" boat is owned by Freedom Cruises, which has already been kicked out of NYC launching points for its unsavory practices. Fox News notes the NYPD has long tried to halt tour scammers in the area. One person who got a kick out of the whole thing: Kimmy Schmidt actress Ellie Kemper, who commented on Baldwin's post: "Ahahahahahhahahahahaaaahaa well listen, a shuttle bus can be fun too!!" Hilaria Baldwin, meanwhile, later showed their family on the free Staten Island Ferry, which Alec called "the best ride in NY." (More Alec Baldwin stories.)
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