The guided tour was worth the extra 10-15 minute wait. If you take the self-guided tour, you only get to see the top deck. By taking the guided tour, you get to see the lower decks and hear/see how the ship was built and the battles it fought. A great FREE attraction, although watch where you park! The signage isn't very good. We followed a public parking sign and ended up in a valet park residential building that was $7 per 2 hrs! There is a parking lot closer to the ship that they have contracted with and will validate your ticket. One of our tour guides said the raising of the flag at it's opening each morning is quite nice. The museum is very nice, also.

The tour was great! Very informative. I happen to go on a beautiful spring day, so there was a little bit of a wait but not much.
My only concern would be for the elderly and disabled. On the guided tour you go down under the ship a few decks and the stairs, if you can call them that, are quite steep, with rope railing.
But overall I loved it, and the best part is it's free!

Being interested in maritime history this is what I wanted to see most on the Freedom Trail, so went here first thing in the morning. We went on a Tuesday, because the website said the ship was closed on Mondays. There is a vistor center for the Freedom Trail near the ship, as well at the one in Boston Common. The tours start at 10am, we were there at about 10:15am & was able to get on the 10:30am tour. The tour is free. & at this time of day it was not a long wait to go thru the security line. You do not have to take the tour, but then you have to stay on the top deck. With the tour you also get to go to the gun deck & the berth deck. Although a bit dissappointed that did not get to see the captain's cabin or ward room. Later in the day, when we went past the ship, the wait & line was much longer.

What more is there to say? The oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy -- and one of a set of the first warships ever commissioned by our new government! It doesn't get much more historical than this in the U.S.!