Henry8 ship seems to be a big success if the crowds today are to be believed. The shipyards site opens at 10:00 am. At 10:30 there was a line 100 yards long waiting to get in. There is a security check of bags in the ticket selling building. To get in more quickly, people with tickets already and no bags were allowed to skip the line. At 3:30 pm I walked in and waited only 10 minutes to buy my ticket. The Mary Rose museum is very complete and well done. I didn't care for the low lighting, but seems to be good for the ship. I was there about an hour and was feeling a little claustrophobic so I left. They recommend 2 hours to see everything in the museum. My tour was fairly speedy. There is so much there I think a person with a keen interest could visit a dozen times without becoming bored. I paid 17£ (concessions) for just the Mary Rose. There is an all-inclusive ticket, too, for a few ££ more. There are numerous cafes throughout the shipyards plus a food truck selling ice cream and snacks. And, of course, a "gift shop."
Posted by
TX, USA
529 posts
Thanks for the information on the Mary Rose. It is always nice to learn how to avoid long wait times. I so wanted to see it. But sadly, when I was there late May, it was not reopened.
Posted by
OP
Napa, CA
3580 posts
The website is fairly useful. It showed crowds largest at midday, but today people must have been lined up when it opened at 10:00. The 3:30 time worked for me, but since they start closing up around 5, anybody wanting to see everything or spend longer in the Mary Rose museum would need to go earlier. There is a lot to see on site besides Mary Rose. It would take a few days to appreciate all the ships and other nautical things there.
I'm staying at The George, hotel and pub, just up the road on Queen St. It's a very old pub, well maintained and popular. Rooms are ensuite and reasonably priced, but there are stairs.
Posted by
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
504 posts
When we visited in 2013, we spent a whole day in the historic shipyard. We got there when it opened, and there wasn't any line to speak of at Mary Rose. We spent at least a couple hours there, plus the same at Victory and Warrior. There are some other little gems, such as the monitor from the Gallipoli campaign. We did not take the boat ride that was part of the comprehensive ticket, as we didn't want to use up our time waiting in the line.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8056 posts
My experience was much the same as "Dav". Went in, bought the full ticket at the visitor center (it is good for the year, but for tourists, it does allow you to enter multiple times during the day, or over the next days while in Portsmouth. If one attraction is busy, wander around ot to the other ones, or stop back later. However, be warned, you can easily spend the whole day there without waiting in a line.
If that is not enough, then you could add the Royal Marines Museum, a D-Day museum, and a Submarine museum (all separate from the Dockyards) that if you are a Naval/Military buff, you need to plan several days.