Have you been to the shipboard tours for Seafair?

[zephyr]

I am wondering what it’s like to take some of those Seafair shipboard tours.

1) Parking: is it free and plentiful? Do you have to drive to different ships?

2) Any special rules or restrictions? I don’t see any mention on the website? http://www.seafair.com/AnEvent.aspx?ID=9&SecID=896

3) Is it free-flowing or do you go in special groups at certain times?

4) Any special times/days better than others?

5) Can you take photos or video?

You get the idea. I am wanting to hear what your experiences have been in the recent years. Did you have a good time and would you go back again? I can well imagine that basic rules would include being able to walk some distance or climb ladders; wear sensible shoes; no smoking or pets; bring your ID; follow instructions and the like.

Looking forward to hearing what you have experienced or would recommend. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. ~z

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[Kevin]

Hi zephyr,

As for parking, expect to pay the going rate for public parking on the street. $3 or 4 bucks an hour these days? As for photography – don’t even get me started :) Probably limited to “snapshots” what ever that means? :)

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[ClawGirl]

We toured one of the ships near Terminal 25 (closest to the WS Bridge) 2 years ago. I’m not positive, but I don’t remember paying for parking at that location. And I think there was a shuttle available to take you to the other locations? This year, we plan to arrive before opening. Last time we had a huge wait arriving on a weekend morning 1 hour after opening. The line seemed to get longer as the morning progressed. I would suspect a weekday may be a better time to go if you can make it then. I have no idea how busy afternoons would be, but before closing may also be a good time.

Our tour was self-guided. We could go at our own pace, and take as long as we wanted. It was also very interactive; we were able to sit inside helicopters & jeeps, try on helmets and gear, hold machine guns, etc.

As for photos/videos, we were welcome to take photos anywhere we had access, including the bridge of the ship. Sailors were even offering to take family photos for us.

We did have to climb stairs to get on the ship, and once inside, we had to climb “ladders” to get to the bridge. But I believe there was disabled access to at least some of the ships.

The tour was very interesting, and definitely gave us a small peek into the life of a sailor on board. We plan to do it again this year. If you need any more information, see the bottom of this link for an e-mail and phone number:

http://www.seafair.com/caldetl.aspx?ID=172&dt=8/5/2011&v=d&EvDateID=172

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[digidoll]

I went last year for the Terminal 25 ships (a US Navy amphibious assault ship, a USCG ship, and several Royal Canadian Navy ships) just north of the W. Seattle Bridge. There was plenty of free parking and the ships are all docked together. It’s a free-form self-guided tour with docents/ship crew available to answer questions, and photos/video are certainly allowed. They do not give you the “run of the ships” so there’s nothing sensitive that could be photographed. But, I did get a photo with one of the sailors :)

They allow you to climb into the helicopters on deck, sit in the tanks and other vehicles below decks, handle stinger missile launchers… pretty hands-on. I mostly hung back and listened to the crew answer other people’s questions.

Don’t go right before closing, as they stop letting people in before that – basically, the closing time is when they want the public off the ships. The lines were long in the afternoon, but once we got into the secure area, it was pretty wide open with very little crowding. I’d probably go first thing when they open if I were to do it again. Overall, I’d say we spent 3 hours, touring the one BIG Naval AA vessel (I think it was the USS Green Bay), including the time spent in line. There were other ships, but we were “shipped out” at that point (tired, hungry, BTDT, etc).

Don’t bring weapons of any sort, including pocket knives. DO bring gov’t issued identification. You are right about all the other common sense stuff. Don’t wear a skirt :) (Climbing ladders with strangers below you, metal grate decking with strangers below you…)

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[zephyr]

Thanks, Kevin. Nice to hear from you.

Digidoll, that was exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to relate your experience and answer my questions. I appreciate it! ~z

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[Kevin]

Well, I will have to retract my earlier assumptions about touring the naval vessels visiting for Seafair.

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There was abundant free parking in the big parking lot next to the intersection of the Spokane St viaduct and 99. I got there early, as suggested and did not have a long wait.

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The vessels at the south end of the east waterway consisted of the USS Bonhomme, and two much smaller Canadian vessels – the Nanaimo, and the Whitehorse. Both are good sized “patrol” boats.

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Tour of the Bonhomme:

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The tour starts much like a trip to the airport. Bags, purses, etc. all go though the X-Ray machine, and keys, coins, etc. in the little plastic dish. Then a quick walk through the metal detector, and then you are ready to start your tour. Digidoll is right – leave your pocket knife in your car.

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There were plenty of Navy folks leading small tour groups of 20 – 25 people per group. There was always one group ahead of your group and one group behind your group. Each group was led by two sailors – one leading the way, and one picking up the rear. Both more than happy to field all questions.

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On the upper deck there were probably FIVE different helicopters to see, and even sit in. Just one rule – no touching any of the controls. A couple of the helicopters had big loading ramps in the rear and had enough room to haul a couple of jeeps, supplies, or passengers.

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The tour consisted of several HUGE decks, all connected with steep ramps big enough to drive a car. Kind of reminds one of being in a huge “parking garage.”

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After the visit to the upper deck, then it is back down to the main hangar deck, and down yet another steep ramp to one of several garage decks where the Hum Vees, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles are stored.

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They even had this one truck that had a water purification system capable of making safe drinking water out of almost any liquid. If fact, one of the Marines told me that… They could even purify the contents of an out house and be able to produce drinkable water, but mentioned that probably never happens. He WAS quick to add that troops are never told where their water comes from :)

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Back near the stern of the lower deck, is where they have a HUGE door (as wide as the ship is) that folds down to off load TWO giant hover crafts, each as wide as the ship. Once deployed, the hovercrafts are used to ferry various vehicles to the beach.

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Now by far the BEST part of the visit for ME, was in contrast to the Washington State Ferry system which seems to frown on photography, here I’am on an active US Naval vessel and am being told repeatedly that visitors are allowed to take pictures of ANYTHING they can see. At one point, I saw some cool looking valves with colored lights and thought perhaps that might be an exception. “Oh no” said the tour guide – “shoot away.” Pictures of the controls of the various aircraft – no problem. It was “photography heaven :)”

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The Canadian vessels had the same photo policy! I could have stayed all day – but it was a lot of walking and I was starting to get tired.

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Summary:

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I HIGHLY recommend going if you have any interest at all in naval vessels. If you have kids, you will immediately win a “parent of the month” club award from your child. The tour guides were delightful, and even some of the higher ranking officers were available to talk to and happy to pose for pictures. Plan to budget two hours to take it all in!

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[zephyr]

Kevin,

Thanks for the update. I am hoping to go tomorrow noon. Sounds like a really good time. ~z

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