It was neat to see the bridge with the guns, turrets, mess hall, butcher shop, barbershop, sickbay, bakery, and more. You take your own tour of nine decks. They did a nice job of keeping artifacts in the rooms with old pictures, so you really got a good feel for the place. For instance, the cobbler would have the old tools and other equipment, and then they would have a life-sized poster of a man actually working.

As interesting as it was, it was a lot of walking. You had to go up and down stairs quite frequently. You know those tight staircases with the metal grid stairs you see in the movies? That’s exactly what they were. They were steep and a bit difficult to step on. You’d be in trouble if you wore heels.

I have a disability and problems walking. I also walk with a cane. This tour was definitely not made for me. It was so tough and exhausting. My cane would get stuck everywhere, and it was very easy to lose my footing. I wanted to quit many times, but you had no idea where you were on the ship or how to get out. That was a major flaw. I was lost. Furthermore, there weren’t any people around that could help. I struggled to get myself out of there. It made me wonder, "If there was a fire, what do they do?" I suppose the guys knew the ship back in the day, but what about now? Despite the tour being long, I was happy to see it since I had never seen a ship. But now that I’ve done it, I’m not doing it again.

Once off the ship, there is a small museum that shares the experiences of the crewmembers. There is also a gift shop. The museum is open from 8am to 8pm in the summer and 8am to 5pm the rest of the year. It is located at US 17th and US 42 IN across the river from downtown Wilmington.