Things to Do Before or After a Los Angeles Cruise
Turn the hours before embarkation or after disembarkation into part of the journey.
Cruise passengers often arrive in San Pedro with several hours available before boarding or after returning to port. Instead of spending that time waiting, make it part of your vacation with a visit to Battleship IOWA.
Located on the LA Waterfront near the Los Angeles World Cruise Center, Battleship IOWA is home to the National Museum of the Surface Navy and its immersive Life of a Sailor experience.
It is an especially fitting stop for cruise travelers: after experiencing life aboard a modern passenger ship, visitors can discover the very different world of a Navy ship at sea.
Conveniently Located Near the Cruise Terminal
Battleship IOWA is docked at Berth 87 on the San Pedro waterfront, immediately adjacent to the Los Angeles cruise-port area.
Its location makes it convenient for passengers who arrive the day before their cruise, have several hours before embarkation, are staying overnight near the port, want to explore after disembarking, or are meeting friends or family before or after a cruise.
Travel times and terminal assignments can vary, so passengers should check their cruise schedule and transportation arrangements before planning their visit.
If you are traveling with luggage, contact the museum before arriving to confirm current options. Do not assume that large bags can be brought aboard the historic ship.
Step Aboard a Different Kind of Ship
Cruise ships are designed around travel, dining, entertainment, and relaxation. Battleship IOWA was designed to carry thousands of sailors and some of the most powerful naval systems ever placed at sea.
Visitors explore seven decks of the authentic battleship, including crew spaces, passageways, command areas, weapon systems, exhibits, and open decks overlooking the harbor.
The contrast helps cruise passengers see ships - and life at sea - from an entirely different perspective.
Experience Life of a Sailor
Life of a Sailor invites visitors to do more than tour the ship.
Guests receive a sailor card containing orders to fulfill during their visit. They hone their skills, discover the many jobs required to operate a Navy ship, and follow the story of a real sailor.
The experience reveals how sailors find their roles, develop technical and maritime skills, live together at sea, communicate, respond to challenges, and support the mission. Families with children can also follow Vicky the Dog on a scavenger hunt throughout the ship.
How Much Time Should You Allow?
Most visitors should plan approximately two to three hours for the general admission experience.
If you have only a short window between transportation and cruise check-in, leave a generous buffer. Port traffic, security procedures, terminal operations, and boarding schedules can change.
Passengers staying overnight in San Pedro will have the greatest flexibility. They can visit the museum without rushing and combine it with dining or other waterfront activities.
Turn Your Travel Day Into a Waterfront Day
A visit to Battleship IOWA can be combined with harbor views, San Pedro restaurants, public art, local businesses, and the bustle of one of the world's busiest port complexes.
Visitors may see container ships, cruise ships, tugboats, fishing vessels, and working waterfront operations - all within the same harbor that is home to Battleship IOWA.
Rather than treating the time before or after your cruise as a layover, make it part of the journey.
Begin or End Your Cruise With a Story Worth Remembering
Your cruise will introduce you to life aboard a passenger ship. Battleship IOWA introduces you to the sailors whose ships protect freedom of the seas.
Before you sail - or after you return - step aboard, receive your orders, and experience Life of a Sailor.
TICKETS
Experience the Life of a Sailor.
Life of a Sailor
Our general admission experience shows how sailors live, work, and serve.
President’s Tour
It’s November 1943, and Battleship IOWA is on a covert mission. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his entire staff are aboard, headed for top-secret meetings with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.
Overview Experience
The overview experience is a 90-minute crew-led tour that brings the ship’s legacy to life through the stories of those who served, and those who preserve her today.
Gun Tour Experience
This exclusive, behind-the-scenes journey puts you inside the systems that made Battleship IOWA one of the most powerful warships ever built.
Engineering Tour Experience
The Engineering Tour takes you below into the hidden heart of Battleship IOWA, where eight boilers and four steam turbines once generated 212,000 shaft horsepower, enough to power 650 Ford F-150 trucks, and drove IOWA to a blistering 35 knots, the fastest of any battleship ever built.
Escape the Fleet Adventure
In 2011, a small team raced against time to pull Battleship IOWA out of the Navy’s reserve “ghost fleet” — or watch her be scrapped forever. Now it’s your turn to live that mission.
Included with Admission
Life of a Sailor
Our general admission experience shows how sailors live, work, and serve.
Great Ships
Explore the ships of America’s Surface Navy.
Ship Cutaway
See inside a Navy ship from bow to stern.
Vicky’s Scavenger Hunt
Find Vicky throughout your shipboard adventure.
Living Blueprint
Immerse yourself in a blueprint of a Navy ship.
Stewards of the Sea
Explore how the Navy protects the seas.
What’s My Rate?
Find the Navy career that fits you.
Every Sailor has a Story
Meet the people who serve.
HUP-2 Retriever Helicopter
Korean War-Era HUP-2 Retriever Helicopter.
Sticks Art Gallery
Discover IOWA’s story through art.
Gunnery Incidents
A dive into Navy gunnery incidents over the years.
Limited time only!
Kids Board Free
In the all-new Life of a Sailor experience, kids become sailor recruits, building their skills, following the story of a famous sailor, and joining Vicky the Dog on a scavenger hunt through Battleship IOWA.
Kids board free with a paid adult.