New York pass- which one?

It might not be enough for your needs but we recently used C3 passes, which I think is a watered down version of a CityPass.

I only came across them when booking the 9/11 Museum, you get to choose three attractions from quite a good list. We weren't going to do the usual tourist sites but hadn't visited the 9/11 Museum before and the Empire State Building is something we do every visit and that was on the list so it seemed worthwhile getting a pass as there would be something else on the list that we could see or do for the third use.

The Staten Island ferry is free so you don't need a pass for that, you just queue up and walk on.

Yes, you choose three. For us it worked well in saving us some money, we've been a number of times before and done the usual sights so a more comprehensive pass would've been a waste. It came in at around £59 each, (or $79 and tickets to the Empire State Building alone were $39 when we were there).

www.citypass.com/new-york-c3

No, we just showed the print out when we went in. No need to prebook. In fact, for the various towers it's best not to because the views are weather dependent.

Have a look on groupon, they normally have a deals.