A lot of stuff was going on along San Diego’s Embarcadero today, this Saturday in early November!
I enjoyed another fine walk along downtown San Diego’s waterfront. Yes, the day started off gray and overcast, but in the early afternoon the sunshine would break through a bit.
During my walk I observed a whole lot of interesting activity. I’ll post my photos in the order in which they were taken. Read the captions to understand what I was seeing.
The beautiful Colombian tall ship ARC Gloria is docked in downtown San Diego at the Broadway Pier. The public can go aboard and tour it through Sunday, November 9, 2025.Some vessels were alongside the huge cruise ship Norwegian Jade, presumably fueling it.The Cruise Ship Terminal was abuzz with activity. Two ships were in!The Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship docked in San Diego.The usual vendors along the Embarcadero.Here’s world-famous tall ship Star of India of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
I’m a member of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Members get free tickets for a harbor tour on the Pilot boat. That’s what I did!
Hello Kiki, our tour guide! She’s funny, informative and awesome!
Ready for the harbor tour!And away we go. That’s San Salvador, the museum’s seaworthy Spanish galleon replica.Along the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal I spotted two ships of the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions Fleet: the Sea Bird and the Sea Lion. They tour Baja California and Alaska.Rowing along San Diego Bay, with the convention center and a couple of superyachts in the background.The San Diego Food and Wine Festival is going on this weekend at Embarcadero Marina Park North.The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market always attracts a crowd on Saturdays.Looks like the ferry is returning from Coronado.There’s the Colombian tall ship ARC Gloria, seen from the water.As the Pilot boat returned to the museum, Californian, official tall ship of California, was departing for a Saturday sail.
After the harbor tour, I headed south along the Embarcadero’s boardwalk. Here I am approaching the USS Midway Museum…
I see the pedicabs are out today.Always many vendors near the USS Midway Museum.Some characters I spotted as I walked along the Embarcadero.Now I’m on the pier near Tuna Harbor. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is winding down a little after noontime.A kid was helping out on fishing boat Jonny D. Fishing families are always friendly people.Some people enjoy Fish and Chips on the pier.Looking back along the pier toward downtown San Diego.I think these umbrellas at Seaport Village are new.People were given wine glasses when they checked into the Food and Wine Festival.A balloon twister and kids near Seaport Village.
Yes, San Diego is wonderful.
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What promises to be an excellent new exhibit opens this Memorial Day weekend at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I glimpsed a small preview today as I walked through the historic steam ferry Berkeley, hub of the Maritime Museum.
The exhibition is called Steam and Splendor: Treasures from the Ocean Liner and Cruise Ship Ephemera Collection.
The thing that immediately caught my eye was the absolutely amazing work of art you see in the above photograph. I noted that the mural is titled Mermaid with Guitar. The ceramic and teak panel was created by artist Helen Webber in 1985 and decorated the Carnival Cruise Line ship MV Holiday. That ship was demolished in 2022 and the exceptionally beautiful mural was thankfully salvaged.
Some guys were setting up displays for Steam and Splendor and I paused to snap a few quick photos. The exhibit will obviously be extensive, as it will occupy two different Maritime Museum galleries. If you’re looking for something to do this coming Memorial Day weekend, or any time this summer, you might want to check this out!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Some passengers who embark on a cruise aboard the Disney Wonder don’t realize there’s another “Disney ship” that makes San Diego its homeport. And it’s docked just a stone’s throw (or cannon shot) away!
HMS Surprise, of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, was one of the ships used in the filming of Disney’s 2011 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The museum ship portrayed Captain Hector Barbossa’s HMS Providence.
HMS Surprise, a beautiful replica of the 18th century Royal Navy frigate Rose, spent three months off Long Beach during the Pirates of the Caribbean filming.
HMS Surprise is better known for its leading role in another film. The tall ship co-starred with Russell Crowe in 2003’s epic, multiple Academy Award nominated Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Going on a Disney cruise out of San Diego? Are you a fan of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise? Walk a short distance along the Embarcadero and step aboard a cool Disney movie ship!
Learn more about HMS Surprise at the Maritime Museum of San Diego website here.
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Much in San Diego will shut down starting tomorrow. I’ll still be working, but many San Diegans will not.
Schools throughout the city and county will be closed temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic. So too will popular attractions, including the Maritime Museum of San Diego and the USS Midway Museum.
I walked along downtown’s waterfront today, wondering what I might see. A cruise ship was docked at the Broadway Pier, but I saw no passengers. I noticed that the Portside Pier construction is well along. It’s Sunday, so lots of volunteers were busy at the Maritime Museum, but I was one of very few visitors. The usual lines at the USS Midway ticket booth were practically nonexistent.
A few tourists were enjoying a day on the Embarcadero, snapping selfies, but I saw no parked tour buses.
Several people were fishing.
I’m afraid I couldn’t resist buying an ice cream.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
An amazing, gigantic mural by the renowned artist Wyland cruised into San Diego this morning! The mural, titled Cruising with the Whales, is painted on the bow of the positively enormous cruise ship Norwegian Bliss, which was diverted into San Diego due to Hurricane Willa off Mexico.
Robert Wyland, who is based in Laguna Beach and Hawaii, has several works of marine art on display around San Diego. I’ve photographed a few of them, which can be spotted here, here and here.
The complex masts, yards and rigging of a fantastic tall ship.
Stad Amsterdam is perhaps the most beautiful ship I’ve ever seen. It’s now docked in San Diego not far from the Star of India. The incredible Dutch clipper ship, which is operating as a cruise ship, will be visiting our city for a week or so.
I posted some evening photos of Stad Amsterdam taken on Friday here. I also shared a couple of fascinating facts about the ship.
This morning I walked down to the Embarcadero again to see the beautiful tall ship in its full glory. Here are my photos…
A wave from a crew member working high up on a yard of the beautiful three-masted Dutch clipper ship Stad Amsterdam.
This is perhaps the most beautiful ship I’ve ever seen.
Volunteers and sail crews from the Maritime Museum of San Diego got a special tour aboard the Stad Amsterdam.
A friendly gentleman on deck spoke to me for a minute and other curious people who were passing by.
I walked along the length of the Dutch tall ship to experience its full majesty.
Close photo of the stern of Stad Amsterdam.
Another crew member near one of the elegant wood cabins on deck.
Members of the Stad Amsterdam crew work together as a team to manipulate a sail.
Hauling a rope that is attached to a canvas sail high above.
Walking along the Embarcadero, looking at the extraordinarily beautiful tall ship.
The profile, size and color scheme of Stad Amsterdam makes it appear a little bit like San Diego’s own historic Star of India.
I asked about the figurehead of the Stad Amsterdam and was told it doesn’t represent any particular person. The female holds a globe and points gracefully forward into the future.
Crewmembers take to the ship’s rigging to do some work.
Out on a yard unfurling a heavy sail.
The fantastic tall ship has masts that touch the sky.
Crew members work with a sail.
The three-masted clipper ship Stad Amsterdam docked near the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
Figurehead of the beautiful Dutch tall ship Stad Amsterdam.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Evening photo of the beautiful tall ship Stad Amsterdam docked on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
An incredibly beautiful tall ship is now visiting San Diego. The Stad Amsterdam, an enormous three-masted clipper ship modelled after the 19th century frigate Amsterdam, is docked at the Embarcadero just north of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
Talking briefly to a crew member, I learned the Stad Amsterdam is operating as a luxury Dutch cruise ship. It recently cruised north along the coast of Mexico after passing through the Panama Canal.
The Stad Amsterdam arrived in San Diego yesterday and will be visiting our fair city for the next eight days.
I stumbled upon the amazing tall ship this evening as I walked across Harbor Drive from Waterfront Park. Fortunately there was still enough light to take a few photos. I’ll probably swing by again this weekend to enjoy another look at the ship in broad daylight!
One interesting thing I discovered while doing a bit of research. In 2009 the Stad Amsterdam was used to reenact the second voyage of HMS Beagle, made famous by Charles Darwin. The survey expedition to South America was aired on Dutch television.
Photo of stern of Stad Amsterdam as the sun is setting behind a bank of clouds. The sails of Star of India, pride of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, can be seen in the distance.
A sailboat turns on gleaming San Diego Bay past the figurehead of Stad Amsterdam.
The last rays of sunlight illuminate the furled sails of the amazing tall ship Stad Amsterdam.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A sailboat glides between beautiful yacht America docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego and the shining downtown skyline.
Ships are like small islands of human activity. So it’s interesting when different ships, each serving a unique function, converge and dock in one place.
Yesterday evening many fascinating ships were huddled together on the Embarcadero. There were the usual museum ships and harbor tour ships that call San Diego their home. I also saw: the enormous Disney Wonder cruise ship; The World, which is the largest residential yacht on the planet, containing 165 apartments; the Coast Guard cutter Stratton, which recently offloaded around 50,000 pounds of cocaine and heroin intercepted at sea; and the Maersk Launcher, which assisted in the drug operation.
I walked to the end of Navy Pier and watched different vessels come and go, as the sun set.
The sails of Star of India rise beyond one cathead of HMS Surprise.
Late sun through the colored glass at Carnitas’ Snack Shack on the very busy Embarcadero.
The World and the Disney Wonder at dock in San Diego.
The illegal drug intercepting Coast Guard cutter Stratton is docked at the Broadway Pier next to the San Diego Festival of Beer.
A bustle of activity seen from Navy Pier. The Spirit of San Diego harbor tour ship and a bus converge near parked cars.
The Maersk Launcher at anchor in San Diego Bay.
A photo of The World and Disney Wonder beyond the Port Pavilion as sunset approaches in San Diego.
Late sunlight on shining downtown buildings.
The Disney Wonder backs away from the B Street Pier as it departs on another cruise. Many ships and boats cross paths on San Diego Bay.
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to share and enjoy!
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