Broadway Pier, at the Port Pavilion
Run by Port of San Diego
The port describes its own Broadway Pier as four things at once: a cruise ship terminal, an event venue, a public gathering space and "a scenic viewpoint of San Diego Bay". Its invitation is unusually direct for a port authority — "just sit back, relax and watch the ships roll in and out against the backdrop of the setting San Diego sun". The pier runs 1,000 feet into the bay along the Embarcadero, so the view is down the water rather than across a car park.
When no cruise ship is in port, the pier forecourt between the Port Pavilion and North Harbor Drive is open 24 hours a day. The view court on the bay side of the Pavilion is open sunrise to sunset.
This is a working berth, not only a viewing platform. The Port Pavilion takes a ship when the nearby B Street Cruise Ship Terminal is already holding two, and the forecourt's 24-hour access is what the port publishes for the days no ship is in port.
Provenance: Port of San Diego — Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier (read Sat, Sep 5)