Personal guided Tour of a lifetime - We boarded the Iowa a little after it opened, and when they asked, "Is this the first time you've been aboard with us?", my husband responded, "It's the first time since December of 1989." the staff member welcomed us with such delight, that several other staff came over to welcome us. They pulled out a special guest book for him to sign, and then the best tour I've ever been on ensued. Our guide was Rich A, a captain from another ship who was unbelievably knowledgeable and ever so personable, and his "shadow" William, who was training to be a tour guide. With the "private guided tour" we got to see so many parts of the ship that are not part of the general access ticket. Rich had so many stories to tell, and I loved how Rich and my husband could discuss things about the naval experience that I never dreamed of. I was especially interested to see the huge wall map that shows the tours of the USS Iowa throughout her 3 commissions. I would have liked to spend more time on the special exhibits of Dr. Robert Ballard, and the other additions. It was my husband's hope to be able to see the berth where he slept for 4 1/2 years, and the control room where he managed the guns that shot down incoming missiles. Although the control room was locked, Rich knew who to contact, and we got to see the room and hear his stories of service. Before we knew it, the ship was closed for the day, and I realized that we had spent 6 hours onboard! Time flew, and I felt that we had gained a friend. I am hopeful that we will be able to return to the USS Iowa on April 19th, 2029 and be able to attend the memorial service for the men of Turret 2.

The battleship looks... - The battleship looks amazing & highly recommended to visit. Brilliant to see the rooms and museum full of history!

Fascinating insider look into history and life at sea - This was mindbliwing! I learned so much about the history of WWII and the cold War- about life at sea and the role of a battleship and how it is built. A fascinating exposition of the real artifact - a MUST SEE !

The Big Guns Are Here - What a great and interesting self-tour of BB-61 with family members. I'm a Navy brat and WWII buff and this was a dream come to life to be able to wander around see a historic battle-wagon in person. We visited on a Sunday and got to spend only five hours on this first of her class museum before they closed. It was very cool/neat to walk thru, over and under the superstructure, turrets, passageways and compartments. My family kept losing me as I would stop to read dang near every data plate on equipment, trace wires & conduits as well as push-pull or turn every knob or switch I ran across. I caused multiple backups and crowd-ins due to tight quarters but I didn't care as I was having a great time! I'll have to come back again to see all the stuff I missed or want to see again. I'm a little sad at her overall condition but do realize she's over 80 years old and doesn't get the daily care she deserves as if she was on the active list. Be prepared to climb a lot and watch your step on this highly recommended tour of U.S. history.

Eye Opening, Awesome - An amazing experience, If you are into history. Even if you have done time in the military, I suggest you pay a visit. If you have heard about battleships, and never seen one, this is one you will need to check out. Seeing old videos about a US battleship and seeing one up close, you can only imagine them at work. Great tour in my opinion.

An excellent tour for the whole family! - What an amazing tour! Our family did the guided tour and that was well-worth the extra fee. We were very luck to have Jeff as our tour guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We learned so much from him about the Iowa and its history. He patiently answered all our questions and spent extra time with us. Even our normally impatient 14-year-old was asking questions and (remarkably) was thoroughly engaged throughout the tour. The Iowa Battleship tour was a great way to spend a half day on our trip to L.A. Thank you again Jeff!

Engineering and gun tours were well worth it. - Great tour, wish I had more time on the main self guided tour was my only regret. If you do both the engineering and gun tour, be aware that this will leave you only scraps of time from 10 to 10:30, maybe 12:30 to 1:30 (if you don't eat) and 4:15 to 5 to do the self guided tour. Regardless, it was fantastic, excellent guides, got to go in 5" and 16" turrets, it was phenomenal!

Excellent Adventure! A Must See! - Tully an amazing adventure ! A must see ! We took a ship's tour with a group of friends and it was excellent. The docents Della Rose and Allison made the tour interesting and informative. It was one of of best Saturday events to date. They had all the answers and made the day go by so very quickly! A++++ Thank You, PLH

Interesting - The Battleship USS Iowa Museum is located in the harbor area of Los Angeles. This is an old disused warship that was in operation from 1940 - 1990. They have created a tour on the ship that you can do yourself. First you are guided through the officers' cabins and the officers' mess. They had a cozy corner with a TV and a small kitchen. Then it goes over various bridges and gun stations down to the crew quarters. Fortunately, it doesn't go all the way to the top of the tower. From the “2nd floor” I felt slightly uneasy because of my fear of heights. The team had triple bunk beds, locker walls, a shower and toilet area and two huge kitchens in several rooms. During the main meal period (which was only one hour long), up to 2,600 sailors were fed here. There was only a sparsely furnished lounge with tables for four that could accommodate perhaps 150 people. In a documentary video, sailors said that most of them preferred to sleep outside rather than in their cabins. Because when the doors are closed, there was no fresh air. It was smelly and hot in there. All the stairs were so steep that if you stood on them, you would essentially hit the next steps with your nose in front. It was definitely interesting to see everything and really feel what it felt like to walk on a ship like that and how cramped everything was. Even though she was in the harbor, you still had the feeling that it was swaying a bit, and that wasn't even a swell. A toilet truck is in front of the ship, usable and clean.

Impressive - Unique opportunity to see what it was like to be a crew member on board a battlecruiser. In addition, the ship has an enormous history that is told on board through an exhibition. Kudos to the many volunteers who contribute to keeping this monument accessible