We (4 mid-twenty aged adults) visited the Constitution in Dec 07.

We took the T to the Community College stop and did a 15 minute walk to the ship. You must pas through an airport style security screening to enter the ship. The line was short and it only took about 3 minutes to complete. You enter the ship on the outside upper deck where you will be greeted by a Navy enlisted deck hand. He (or she) advised us when the next tour would begin and to walk freely around the uppper deck area. The deck hand was very friendly and offered to answer our questions I would like to note his happy attitude despite the bitter December cold! After about 15 minutes of walking around the upper deck, a guide appeared from below and asked the gathering crowd to follow her below. There were about 20 persons in our group. The climb to the lower deck where the tour began could be very difficult for someone who is not able to use a normal ladder. Please consider this if that describes you or someone in your party. The guide was happy and offered to answer any questions. She really engaged the crowd. She took us through the inside of the ship and gave us a briefing on it's history and how the crew worked and lived while at sea. She also covered the ships battle history.

This is a must ivisit attraction if you are in Boston! One tip- the Bunker Hill Monument is a 10 minute walk from the ship. I suggest combining the two on the same visit before leaving this area of Boston. Have fun!

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.