The American Victory Ship, originally launched May 24, 1945, from California. It’s a 109-foot ship with 9 decks. Currently docked in Tampa, Florida, it is one of only four fully operational World War II ships.
Here’s the thing: If I knew a damn thing about ships, walking around and comparing it to other ships I’d undoubtedly seen in my lifetime would’ve been fun. But I know exactly zero about ships and thought a guided tour would’ve been great. Imagine the dazzling stories I’d hear about the ship’s service during WWII and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
As instructed, I called the number on the website to request the guided tour. No one returned my call. OK, I figured maybe it would still be interesting just to walk around and see the cavernous insides of this beast. When I told the ticket taker how no one had returned my call about the guided tour, his monotone reply was, “We have a lot going on. They’re busy.” Wow, good start.
Topside, I wandered past all sorts of interesting looking things for which I had, and would get, no explanation. That said, the view was fantastic.
Since I’d picked a very hot, humid day and was already beginning to get nice and toasty, I decided it was time to explore the interior. But the interior was dank and had narrow passages that seemed to collect and hold all that humidity from outside. If I’d bottled my perspiration, I’d have been able to water my garden.
I wondered if they ever had Marx Brothers moments on ships this size where an alarm sounded and hundreds of men were crashing into each other trying to navigate the narrow spaces. Not to mention the steep stairs. And the kitchen? How the hell do you cook for that many men in that cramped space?
Looking down from the interior gridwork was interesting. Can’t you just imagine the HGTV home designers in there? “It needs a pop of color.”
I wandered all over the ship, up and down, and saw lots of spaces that I imagine might’ve been great with an explanation of how they worked or what they were for. But for someone like me, the tour was a bit of a dud.
Back at the entrance, I took in a few model ships and some memorabilia merely because of an I-paid-for-this-so-I-might-as-well-check-it-out sensibility and then headed for my car’s air conditioning.
Would you get anything out of a self-guided tour? Probably not unless you had someone accompanying you who could tell you something, anything, about what you were looking at. Would I recommend it? Based on my experience – no.
- 705 Channelside Dr., Tampa, Florida
- 813-228-8766
- americanvictory.org
- Hours: Monday 12 noon – 5:00 PM / Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Seniors $12 (but my credit card bill said $13.80. Who knew I was taxable?)
Lisa Browder 
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