Reviews of United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum & The USS Salem (Museum)

Jose Ruiz Morcillo

This place located in Quincy is one required visit. You can see one of the best destroyer ship used during war world. It’s recomendable visit all rooms and discover how it was those kind of ships time ago. And I really recommend visit it on hallowing.

Mark LeTourneau

A very interesting place to explore with kids. We caught it open on an off day that was not scheduled so we missed a tour but we had a wonderful time none the less. The staff was super fun to chat with and were quite knowledgeable. We will return soon.

Bryan Ramaglia

Good time

Alicia Forte

Great to explore an old decommissioned navy ship.

Clayton Smalley

Fun, history, great volunteers run this

Nadine Bergeron-Nutt

If you have not been here you are missing out on a great piece of history.

franco byaruhanga

Amazing place full of history

Scott Beers

The USS Salem also known as the "Sea Witch" is an awesome piece of History. It is great to be able to have the ship (now a museum) here where it was originally built

James Coburn

A little hard to find, but such a cool spot just a few minutes ride from Boston. The Ship itself is wide open and visitors are allowed to explore nearly the whole ship. Much to the surprise of most visitors, when you start to go down into the depths of the ship, you soon discover a full museum with tons of Naval artifacts and history. Fun place to explore with the family for sure.

Nambians

Great group of veterans, volunteering to preserve amazing history.

Zachary Howey

very hands on tour of the ship

Julion P

Great museum for those interested in naval history. Staff is more than happy to answer any questions.

Justus Rogers

It was a lot of fun with my 7 year old.

Matt Reid

This place was really cool. I've been meaning to take my kids for years but it's only open on weekends in the summer. But well worth the admission. My nine-year-old boy loved it. My four-year-old girl loved it. And I'm 39 and I loved it. Larger than you would think more stuff to see than you would think. budget an hour or an hour and a half if you've got kids. and talk to the guy who runs the place he is a wealth of interesting information and served on the ship back in the day.

Sheena Blood

It was absolutely amazing. Alot of paranormal activity.

Mark Strzegowski

My son and I slept on the USS Salem for a Cub Scout overnight!! It was an awesome experience for both of us. Highly recommended, even if there is a salty sea dog on board.

Tommy Sands

The USS SALEM is the only surviving US heavy cruiser in the country. It has been maintained and restored by the ships former crew, volunteers and donations. Visitors are granted almost full access to the whole ship. Watch where your step, watch your head and bring a flashlight. Some of the ares that you can enter are not lit. Avoid the "no admittance" areas. There is really nothing of interest to see past these warning signs and you could be exposed to asbestos if you continue. Be sure to check out the shops & offices on the 2nd deck and the museums, seal display and archives exhibits on the 3rd deck. This is the best $10 i have ever spent.

Ted Moore

The USS Salem is a vessel that blurs the line between cruiser and battleship. Once on board, you have a bewildering amount of space to explore in a self-guided tour, from the bridge down to the galley. It's amazing to see all of the facilities they had on this ship, including a tiny microbiology lab. Although it's not as clean as the similar-aged USS Cassing Young up north, this ship is maintained by many veterans, including some who served onboard. You're quite likely to run into one of these gentlemen while wandering about. I had a great conversation with a former marine about some of the personal effects he found while cleaning out lockers in the forward sleeping quarters. This is definitely worth a few hours of your time. Be aware that backpacks are not allowed on board.

Bob Wang

I really like this cruiser but it closed-,-

Sean Plunkett

Took two cub scouts for overnights was a great time. Note that the USS Salem's Facebook page says the wharf and ship are open so Google's notation of "permanently closed" appears to be incorrect.

Michael Beaudry

A must for all families.

Laurie Hathaway

I love war museums but this one is only open on the weekends for a few hours each day, and it's deserted, with no one to help you figure out where to go. I went with my 92 year old father because he wanted to remember the ship he was on in WWII. He has a hard time walking but made it ok. We just didn't have a clue where to go for everything. We found one person on the ship that showed us to one exhibit but that was it. I just thought for WWII vets they'd have something more.

Joe Wells

Limited signage but once you see ship easy to get on board. Helpful volunteers. You have to respect efforts to keep this ship in a manner which it really wasn't intended. Great way to spend couple hours on weekends.

Stephen Priest

Friendly staff and I wanted to stay and explore longer! Imagining how sailors worked and lived on such a ship, without getting lost, made the experience more enjoyable. Multiple levels and decks. Not accessible for wheelchairs or walkers. Narrow stairs. Bathroom available onboard. I had fun and I recommend a visit! If you bring kids, watch them! They can get lost easily and you may want to give them instructions ahead of time in case they do. 1 Coke machine on board.

Nancy Wright

Excellent for navy and wwII buffs although this ship never served during the war.

j noble

Get close and personal with a huge naval vessel

Kirsten Kennedy

Fan-tas-tic!

Steve Burgess

Needs some serious volunteers

Paul Lamson-LaPlume

The history is great and the ship is well worth visiting as it has been kept up well for being 70 years old. Alas, the overnight experience has seen better days. There were many thank-you notes from Scout groups dated 2002 and 2003 but nothing more recent. That's in part because the overnight experience is not well organized. The military veteran volunteers are clearly passionate about what they do and if it were not for them then there wouldn't be a USS Salem experience. The younger volunteers are not well coordinated or experienced in working with groups or younger children. I was with a medium size group of Scouts in March 2018 and based on that experience I would not recommend this "adventure" for Scouts younger than 3rd grade.

Ballz Deep

I'm Ben I love the ship and all the men who work there!!

Mark Alcarez

Beware of tour guides who go on about politics and conspiracy theories. That said, the ship is a wonderful experience.

Mike Forte

Excellent piece of military history. Well maintained despite only funds coming from donations and admissions.

Bala Jegathesh

This ship is No more there. It's is moved to a different place, not sure to where it is.

patrick ventola

Awesome tour

Matthew Singleton

The last heavy cruiser in existence, awesome ship! Her berth could do with a little fixing up and a permanent souvenir shop would also be good.

David Quill

I went there with my Boy Scout troop and I hade a blast, but the captain was very strict.

Shirley Condon

The USS Salem was such a different experience, and the staff was awesome. We were able to access compartments that are usually not available on other ships. Would definitively recommend!

M.J. Robinson

Very nice and the people volunteering and working are very knowledgeable and helpful. We learned a lot.

amitesh kumar

Great to learn so much about a war ship I never thought a ship would have these many different things. Proper hospital, surgery room, dentist, post office, medical ship, entertainment area, tailor shop etc. cafeteria and kitchen sections were very bit. There are still plenty of plates, most likely the originals ones from ancient days. It’s a considerably big ship( ~700ft). You have scope of getting lost in it. But don’t worry, all areas are well marked; there are exit markings everywhere on the floor. So unless you be over experimental in wandering the areas marked as restricted, you should be safe

Kit Guy

Awesome!!!!!!! Yes it's tucked in the back of an industrial area, just go on south street and look for the sign on the east side of the road just south of Kilroy Car Wash. The ship was awesome to explore and is in close to original condition. Lots of areas are open including No. 3 engine room, CiC and 2 out of 3 gun houses. Some areas have been well restored, lots of the outside needs work. I'm sure the volunteers work as hard as they can fighting the elements. I really liked the engine room as you can get access to pretty much all of it, even the back side of the boiler and the inlet valve for the condenser. Some of the stuff that is really hard to see on other museum ships. I spoke with John, the former marine crew member who mans the museum. What an awesome guy and thanks so much for talking to me for an hour and telling your stories and showing us around. I donated a few bucks more than admission. I really hope this ship gets the funding it needs, there were only maybe half a dozen groups who visited on a beautiful Saturday. Hopefully more people visit so the ship can get the funding needed to keep it afloat.

Brian Thomas

What a great experience. I was luck enough to enjoy the ship with my boys, and we had the ship all to ourselves. No one else was on board but us. Very very cool.

John Raymond

Had a great time although father time has not been kind to the USS Salem. Kids enjoyed themselves and learned a ton.

Dimitri Efstathopoulos

it was awesome

Chen Yang

The ship is magnificent. The last heavy cruiser preserved today!

Matthew Stebulis

Great sleepover program for the Boy Scouts. Educational and fun.

Clifford Sukeforth

Saw the Full speed ahead show here. What a awesome spot for a HC/Oi show. And a amazing piece of history.

Tommy Martin

Cool old ship

Jeffrey Gilman

Have been associated with this outfit for 15 years they try hard and the ship is unique in that it is virtually complete.

Alex W

Small naval Museam, great for local history

William Foshey

Awesome experience, amazing tour guides. Such an underappreciated entity of the south shore. Come with your family and it's an amazing experience to see how the veterans served this country and where they did it. Go heavy cruisers!

Thomas KBKLO

(Translated by Google) To have. But beware it's an unguided tour and the ship is in its original era. Shoes and sneakers recommended for the visit (avoid flip flops and sandals). (Original) A voir. Mais attention c'est une visite non guidée et le navire est dans son jus d'époque. Chaussures et baskets conseillés pour la visite (éviter les tongues et sandales).

Kevin Murphy

Unique piece of history. Volunteer staff are great. The kids love staying overnight with the Cub scout troop. The only problem we had were the acoustics. Too many kids in a tight space trying to listen to a few individuals without a microphone. This led to the younger kids losing interest and becoming noisy.

James Ayers

Awesome

Brian Bulkowski

This place is just getting started. They have a good start, with a great ship and site, so if you go now you can crawl all around, but there aren't even yet signs to find the place. Great if you are a naval buff!

scott ramos

The greatest experience of my life!

Brooke Cheney

Not everyday you get tip walk through a piece of History.

Michael Prell

Excellent place

kayla the galaxy wolf

Children's birthday party at the USS Salem in Quincy. Kids all had a great time. There is a tour and a party room. Really what more do you need. Typically about two hour party.

Stephen Schuler

Great venue for a private event

DB Alward Gaming

Spent the night here aboard the USS Salem with my son and his cub scout troop. What a great experience!! We all greatly enjoyed our stay aboard and learning the history of the Salem, and definitely look forward to our return again. Thank you for such a great experience.

Connor Morrissey

Having been to Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA many times we decided to go see a ship we hadn't seen before. The first thing we went to see was the aft main battery. I was actually surprised that they let you inside the turret and have a partial hands on experience with some of the instruments used to aim the guns. We then took a walk around the deck of the ship. Sadly we quickly found that the ship was covered in rust. I even walked up to a container on the wall that had the paint chipping off and took a small piece off that had already been stripped almost completely off the container. While examining the chip of paint I realized that the container had a couple of layers of rust and paint alternating. This piece of a previously metal container was completely rusted and brittle. However, once below deck the rusting was obviously much better. The museum on the ship was amazing, and a good surprise to see. On the other decks there were a few spots that broke the immersion of being on a WWII navy ship. The local Boy Scouts apparently visit the ship fairly often and in some areas of the ship there are signs and messages for the scouts that stopped the flow of walking around and figuring out what area of the ship you're in. I really wish the great veterans and crew, who try so hard to keep the ship in the best shape they can with what little funds they have good luck and hope they get more help to do this ship justice. I hope they can gather more money to really restore this ship to the condition it deserves to be in. With just a few grants or generous donations, maybe it can be sent to dry dock in Boston to get the restoration it needs.

Howard King

A cool place very cool place but also very cold make sure to pack your jacket

Regala King

Had a great time checking out this horror attraction! The entire exploration of the ship took 1 hour. The performers were wearing very realistic costumes and the make up was very well done. The animatronics were great, too. At the entrance to the ship, there is a 5-minute virtual reality game (This is not included in the ticket price). Nearby is a food truck selling snacks such as popcorn, fried oreos & French fries. The only drawback was figuring out which way to walk to the entrance after parking. Signage is vague. We asked the parking assistant for directions. He was friendly and very helpful. Purchasing t-shirts and/or souvenirs help with funding a local charity and keeping the ship in good shape. All staff were very accommodating. Taking photos inside the ship during this adventure is not allowed.

John Gosselin

The USS Salem, the only surviving WW II-era US heavy cruiser, she's now part of the American "Museum Fleet". The Salem was built right here, at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, back in 1945.

Jeremy Girouard

Amazing spooky place

Kevin Sweeney

Been a volunteer here for two years. And have met so many people. It most definitely changed my life.

MIKE Vickery

Kids loved it

Michael Woods

We had the run of the ship and the 6 1/2- and 19-year-old loved it. Take a flashlight and a snack. The vessel takes a few hours to see and feels like a Dungeons and Dragons adventure.

Cheryl Lenardis

Remarkable piece of History!

joshua matthews

Went for the ghost ship and had an awesome time. A little pricey but the bar after was cool with decent music and fun games to play.

Joseph Vaccariello

Great museum at new location. Open seasonally (February/March to November/December) check website for latest. Many compartments open and exhibits about. Saw main battery and learned about it's rapid fire automatic 8" guns. Most impressive. Last surviving all-gun heavy cruiser in U.S. Navy fleet. A must see ship if you're an enthusiast.

Dario Svenson

Something you just must experience. Family friendly and the guieds makes it so much more interesting. One of the places I can tell not to miss.

Alexander Herlihy

Okay

Andy Christoffersen

Visited this ship on a trip to Boston. We researched the days and times before going. When we got there they told us that the website hours were wrong and that we had 20 minutes to tour the ship. If you count on visitors coming your infomation needs to be correct. This is a great ship. Unfortunately, she needs lots of work. I don't blame the people there it looks like an immense job. Just sad to see it sit there and rust. I would visit again.

Dan D

Great spot to visit for cheap money. You get to walk through a good majority of the ship.

joshua chancey

A gorgeous piece of history, and home to the last Heavy Cruiser, the USS Salem. Dedicated staff that keep the ship looking nice and provide educational tours. Definitely a must-see in the Quincy area, and it's pretty hard to miss if you're driving down Route 3A over the Fore River Bridge.

Frances Kasturas

My husband, Perry, says, “This brought back many memories of my years on the USS Salem. It was my home from 1955 to 1957. We were home ported in Villa Franche, near Nice and Monte Carlo. My rating was 2nd Class Petty Officer/ Storekeeper, in the Supply Division, and played baseball and basketball for the USS Salem. The Salem, at that time, was the first completely air conditioned ship in the Navy. Also, the Admiral of the 6th Fleet, was housed aboard the USS Salem. Looking thru the photos was wonderful!”

Dan Cai

This is an attraction for any fan of naval history. Unfortunately, the USS Salem is closed for the winter.