Nauticus is the home of the National Maritime Center, The Hampton Roads Navel Museum and the Battleship Wisconsin. It is located right downtown Norfolk VA and as we were to discover, is a port for ships of many kinds. One of the mega cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's Triumph of the Seas was loading passengers while we were there. The presence of the cruise ship offered an interesting perspective for the Battleship Wisconsin, which is permanently docked alongside Nauticus. The battleship looked almost as long as the cruise ship, but was build for speed and efficiency. The cruise ship was taller and bulkier and obviously was for more leisurely activities.
There are quite a few things to do at Nauticus and many of them are geared for children. There are interactive displays throughout the building. In one you can pretend to be a gunner on a battleship. In another, you can touch a shark. Kids seemed to be having a great time . . . and there were A LOT OF KIDS THERE! It was obvious to us that this is a popular site for school trips. One of our main interests was taking a boat tour of the Naval Shipyard. You can purchase tickets for this in the Nauticus. We choose the 2 hour cruise aboard the Victory Rover (phone #: 757-627-7405; website: www.navalbasecruises.com). The boat is a double-decker with an air-conditioned windowed cabin on the first floor and an open deck with chairs upstairs. Actually the day we were there (mid-Oct.) was chilly so the people up top kept coming inside to get warm! The tour departs from a pier about 500 yards. from Nauticus, so it is very handy. We saw several huge cargo container ships and many different types of naval vessels, however, the aircraft carrier had just left a couple days before. We did see several nuclear submarines and different types of battle ships. I bought a card that is supposed to help you identify what you're seeing, but frankly it was easier listening to the narrative that came over the loudspeakers. As a result, I don't know the ship types for any of the pictures I've enclosed. Those of you with military knowledge can fill in the blanks.