Maritime Museum of San Diego

A fun thing to do on an afternoon in San Diego. Learned a lot, especially on the Star of India. Some of the boats were under construction but we still got to see three boats.

For $ 16 you’re in for a treat. Seriously, you have access to multiple boats and submarines. The people who worked there were great. Beautiful view of the ocean. Highly recommend. I’ll definitely go back for the boat tours.

After walking by the Martime Museum many times over the years, we finally decided to be tourists in our own city.
The rich history and well-​preserved beauty is well worth a 2 – 3 hour visit.
Highly recommended!

Nye event 2015
Avoid this place for anything related to nye!
Pros: different crowd
Cons: main dj mixing unthemely, most expensive coors light on the continental us.
I would put negative star if existed.

We went with our 4 kids (8 – 12). They really enjoyed the ships and submarine. We have been to Tall Ships and seen our fair share of historical ships so I wasn’t sure they would think it was all that special, but the kids really enjoyed it. The staff were friendly and helpful and the bathrooms were clean.

Great family trip! My kids 5 and 7 loved it! They have a special family price. We took the $ 5 pilot boat tour and that was nice too. Spent about 2 hours. Parking can take awhile but worth it. Bring a sack lunch and take the kids to the awesome park across the street afterwards.

Cute museum with much to see. Russian Sub and pirate ship the left and The Dolphin to the right.
Came here for my husbands holiday party with the Navy. Very lovely and simple set up. Everyone that worked there were very kind and helpful. The dinner was delicious and the space is large. Unfortunately, I got a little sea sick on the very windy night on the boat but still a beautiful night. Amazing views of the lights downtown.

Its worth every penny and I especially appreciate the military discount.

Fun for all ages! My kids had a blast visiting the sail boats, and the submarines. They even got a small price for answering some questions– more of a treasure hunt-​and that kept them motivated to look for the answers and of course get their reward! The staff very friendly, the ships very nice, overall a great time spent at the museum!

The Maritime Museum is impressive if you are a history/​vintage boat fan. They have two submarines that you get to walk front to back in, which is quite awesome compared to the U-​Boat we have in Chicago. That one is restricted since it is quite fragile with old flooring. The subs here are more recent in history and were fitted with catwalks so you can almost explore the entire area in both. In addition to these, other ships dot the dock. It’s a lot of info to explain here, but if you go to the website you can get some histories.
If you do want to go for a particular ship, call ahead because some are being worked on and closed, and others are taken on evening cruises.

I avoided this place while living in SD because I thought museums were boring. However, I decided to include this on my weekend trip last weekend and man, I enjoyed every minute of it! These are «floating museums.» I learned more about San Diego than I ever did while living there. There is so much history, so much I didn’t know about San Diego. We started off with the Berkeley Ferry, then checked out the USS Dolphin submarine, then went out onto the water on the Pilot Boat for a overall tour of the harbor area, Coronado, and the SD skyline. We learned little interesting facts about each area and each boat – and got to see the one that was filmed in Pirates of the Caribbean! How neat is that?! The sun peaked out a little that day, but regardless, it was beautiful. I loved being on the water. We even caught a glimpse of wildlife (California sea lions). Oh, and the National Geographic crew filming! Due to the time crunch we didn’t get to see all the boats, but it’s on my list for next time! Metered parking along the harbor. Oh, if you get seasick easily, take meds. The tour boat can get a bit rocky leaving and coming into the harbor.
Admission: $ 10.00 for adults and $ 7.00 for children 17 and under.
1914 Pilot boat does 45 minute History bay cruises 5 tours a day, 7 days a week.

Updated review with my recent experience of the Festival of Sail 2015 event.
This was my first visit to the Maritime Museum’s annual showcase of Tall Ships. It definitely wont be my last. The event is great because of the reduce cost of admission (half off), and tripling the explorable fleet of ships. Add a row of vendors of food and sweets and you definitely get your money’s worth.
— Pirate reenactors
— Loud Cannon battles in the Bay.
— Soviet B-​39 Sub was originally sold by the Russian government to a Seattle Investment group. Didn’t take to long to figure out that that having a sub was indeed cool, maintaining it was a nightmare. Sold it off to the Museum.
Put this event in you must do list for 2016.

I have read all of these negative (two or three star) reviews and people need to just calm down. I cannot believe what idiotic things people review and/​or comment about. If you see or overhear a conversation taking place between an employee and a patron or you see an employee acting «badly» you have no idea the context of the situation or why the conversation was taking place. People pass judgement on the most frivolous things! SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE EFFING BOATS! Granted some of them may have been true, who am I to pass judgement? But everyone else on Unilocal does so I might as well jump on the bandwagon!
But I digress. I wasn’t expecting much from the $ 43.00 we paid (two adults two children)(also that price is a family discount deal) but I was pleasantly surprised. I saw several beautifully restored and beautifully preserved boats, submarines, ferry boats, and so much more! Also the price of admission includes a tour of the San Diego Harbor. I am a native and I learned facts about SAn Diegan that I never knew before! Also the guide was HILARIOUS!
I experienced nothing but impeccable customer service and a wealth of new knowledge about everything maritime from the employees and volunteers. This is truly an SD treasure and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Coming to this museum directly after coming ashore from the U.S.S. Midway was a mistake. It was Wednesday, April 29, and the museum was pretty devoid of other visitors, which usually means a great time for me as I can take my time and ask a million and one questions of the staff. Admission is $ 20 but military pays $ 13.
There were few people working on the Star of India, the incredible sailing ship made in the 1800s on the Isle of Mann. One was in historic character, running ropes, raising and lowering sails but never paying any attention to us. There was an employee down below interviewing a schoolteacher about the students she was bringing on board and asking the teacher some very personal questions about the students right in a public area. Privacy issues, anyone? No one else aboard to ask any questions of.
The PCF 816 swift boat was closed to visitors, the Pilot was out to sea as was the San Salvador sailboat and the Californian. The America you can only admire from afar, no setting foot on her as she is really not part of the museum.
The Berkley Steam Ferry was beautiful except for an American flag in a ball, shoved on a table in complete disrespect in the workroom off the stern. I loved the wooden floors polished to a sheen.
The USSR sub, the B-​39 can be a physical challenge and not for those with claustrophobia. You can test your physical limitations before entering as they have an obstacle set up for you to try. I loved the stickers of the Russian pin-​up girls from the era stuck in places throughout. The only shame here is the one end of the sub when viewed from the dock that is rusting out horribly.
The U.S.S. Dolphin sub is not such a physical chore of scooting through a small tube opening like on the B-​39. You can tell this sub is designed for a volunteer navy unlike the Russian sub which was navy by conscription. Both subs decided me that underwater living is best left to the professionals.
The Medea is a beautiful little ship that is a quick enjoyable view. I just would have liked some interaction with the staff.

I love museums, but I am so disappointed in this one.
First, as we were looking to pay for our tickets my wife asked if any of the vessels were closed. At first the guy said just one ship, then the other lady pointed out all the other vessels that were not there or not open. So basically only 4 of the usual 7 vessels were open to board. We decided to do it anyway, as I said, we love museums.
There were no guides available to explain anything on any of the ships. We had a lot of questions that went unanswered. The place was not kept very well at all and the ships were just falling apart. As you walk the floating dock, there is disorganized junk everywhere and items piled up as if they were just in a junk yard.
Finally, I could see in one of their storage areas and noticed a U.S. Flag just rolled up disgracefully on table. That saddens me.
I really can’t see paying for this so called museum.

I have two little boys and we usually get the family membership for $ 75, which I think is great value. I come here about twice a month and my four year old loves to play on the Shaughnessy which is a play ship on the lower deck of the Star of India. Kids can lift cargo crates onboard, ring the bell, raise the flag or swab the deck. Sometimes we will be down there playing for an hour on the ship.
They also have a scavenger hunt that is age appropriate and if they fill out the five questions they can pick out a prize. All the ships are worth a visit, but we spend most of our time on the Star of India. My older son celebrated his 5^th birthday here and we had a great time. It was all planned out so the kids learned about life at sea, raising the sail, lowering the anchor, sword fighting and going on a scavenger hunt. The only thing I needed to bring was the cake and goodie bags.

The Maritime Museum is one of the best due to its extensive collections and different ships.
The Star of India is the centerpiece, a three masted iron hall bark which was built in 1864. There are collections of model ships and other items aboard. You can see the Captain’s Cabin, the Saloon, the Sail Storage, the Galley, Workshops etc.
There is also the Steam Ferry Berkeley, which also has a large collection of model ships and many interesting Maritime items. The museum shop has some interesting books. Members of the museum can also use the library one if the best of its kind for maritime books.
The HMS Surprise is a replica 18^th Century ship and was used for the film «Master and Commander». It has an exhibit on pirates and 18^th Century ships aboard.
In addition to this there is the Soviet Submarine B-​39 to tour. Built in the 1970’s, you can go through all the compartments from bow to aft. There is also the the Californian a replica tow masted topsail schooner, the steam yacht Medea, the USS Dolphin submarine and a Vietnam era Swift Boat.
For an extra $ 5 to the reasonably priced $ 16 admission you can take harbor tour on the pilot boat. If you are a San Diego resident you should join the museum, you get unlimited admission for $ 50 for a single membership or $ 75 for a family. Totally worth it and you are supporting a great museum. I can highly recommend visiting!

I love this stuff. I could spend all day here. This is the coolest thing on a ship since Isaac the bartender on the Love Boat served up drinks and relationship advice. I wonder if they’d notice if I was a stow away on one of the ships.
There’s steam ships, sail ships, and submarines. The displays tell the tale of the people who were transported and who worked on these ships. It’s interesting to learn about the parts and workings of a ship, but it’s all the more interesting to see how the lives of actual people were impacted by these ships.
Dive! Dive! Dive into the sea on one of the submarines. They’re really cool and interesting to see how people lived and worked on these subs. The space is tight, but you’ll manage so long as you can jump through one of the round portals.

I think it is only fitting that with our impending nuptials that I write a review of one of the places Mr. Snarky and I visited on our first date. Yes, we went to a museum, but not any museum. For as long as I have visited/​lived in San Diego, I have always seen the Star of India sitting on the bay as we drive by, but have never gone in. On our first date, I thought we should head downtown to the bay and have a casual day.
I think originally we walked toward the museum considering a boat trip, but decided that admission to the museum was so cheap (less than $ 20) for as many boats as you get to see that it would be ridiculous to pass up. I found some boats more interesting than others… like the Star of India, HMS Surprise, or the Russian Submarine. And FYI, if you decide to do the museum, do not wear a skirt. Yes, I wore a skirt and getting through the submarine without flashing everyone was an interesting challenge. The nice thing is that they do provide a sample of the passageways before you enter the submarine so you can test out if you can manage or not.
We spent the entire afternoon exploring the ships. They provided us with another map to another exhibit further along the bay, however, by the time we finished exploring all of the ships, the museum was closing. I have to say that I think it is a great day out for the family and not very hard on the wallet. Not to mention the views of the bay from the ships is wonderful!

Where else can you spend $ 16 and tour TEN ships (and for $ 5 extra, take a cruise of San Diego Bay on a pilot boat)? The Maritime Museum of San Diego, that’s where!
We had some time to kill after our brunch date at Prepkitchen Little Italy, and seeing how Kathy had wanted to see the Star of India the last time we were in the area, we decided to come here. While each ship is an exhibit in of itself, the majority of the main exhibits (as well as the gift shop) are located inside the ferryboat Berkeley. When we visited, her upper deck was being prepped for a private reception that was taking place later in the day, so we didn’t spend too much time topside… but the views from there were amazing. The exhibits were very detailed; while Kathy isn’t a history nut like I am, she found herself enjoying them as much as I was.
The Berkeley serves as a gateway to several of the other vessels on display: the Medea; the HMS Surprise; the submarines USS Dolphin and the Soviet B-​39; and the floating dock where the state of California’s official tall ship Californian and America’s Cup boats Stars & Stripes, America, and Abracadabra are moored. In fact, I had gotten a great pic of one of the sailboats crossing the horizon… and when it turned around, it was the Stars & Stripes. While we didn’t get a chance to see the other ships — we only had enough time to visit one other, which was the Star of India and will be in a separate review — you could easily spend the whole day visiting one or two ships here at the Maritime Museum.
Great place to take out of town visitors, the naval history buffs, and staycationers in San Diego! Definitely a must-​see!