Campbell River

This is to anyone who was onboard the Mariner for the stop at Campbell River last week. I'm just curious how well-received the port was and if it was a good selection.

Michael

I also am interested, since our 7/11/07 SB cruise stops there, and we have signed up for the Wildlife viewing cruise excursion, but it is expensive, and might be more worthwhile to do something else.

This is to anyone who was onboard the Mariner for the stop at Campbell River last week. I'm just curious how well-received the port was and if it was a good selection.

 

 

Michael

We were on the first visit to Campbell river. What a good choice on Regent's part! The locals were, by far, the most hospitable hosts that I have ever experienced on a port of call. We did not do any of the excursions (we overdid it on the previous stops like usual), but poked around town and enjoyed it very much. The town provided free bus service while the ship was in port.

It will be Ketchikan on the Northbound cruises and Campbell River on the Southbound.

We were on the first cruise ship to stop at Campbell River and were greeted as royalty. A big fire on the beach, Wei Wai Kum traditional dancers and city, province and Canadian government officials were there to welcome us. They had buses with guides to shuttle us around town.

One cruiser commented that the town was celebrating "the disembarkation of the dancing wallets!"

Merchants all over town stayed open late and all exhibited greeting signs to welcome us.

Many cruisers opted to do the various excursions, particularly the 5 hour trip to Quadra Island. I'm sure such along excursion kept many people from touring around Campbell River and definitely the merchants did not realize much benefit from such!

I did not hear reviews on the any of the excursions, unfortunately, and can only report on our venture, which was certainly unique.

We opted to ride a shuttle for the length of town, ending at the Museum of Campbell River. My wife wanted to tour the museum, but after having done similar at a previous port of call, we opted to walk along the river for a short distance to Discovery Pier. A resident then suggested that we stop at the Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre adjacent to the pier.

We found a few other cruisers and their families there.

This museum features the BCP 45 seiner ship that was once featured on back of the Canadian $5 bill. The volunteers there, many of whom worked on the return of the ship to Campbell River and its restoration, conducted a fun tour that definitely showed their pride. The children present seemed to enjoy walking around the boat, climbing down into the engine and crew quarters, etc. There was also a large exhibit of the various engine components, tools and other equipment related to the boat and the industry.

http://www.bcp45.org/

These volunteers were a fun bunch and very helpful with information about things to see and do in Campbell River. If was their enthusiasm and friendliness that made this stop worthwhile, as I am not really "into" ships and such. For someone who is, this would be a treat.

I did tell them that we wanted to find a local off-the-beaten path,

dirt-and-rock type of place for drinks and food was directed to a place called the Quinsam Hotel. We then walked along by other storefronts, talked with a few merchants and told them that we were working our way to the Quinsam. They definitely seemed amused by our goal! Several said that they had been to "Quinny's" the night before, so evidently we were hitting paydirt.

When we embarked on a passing shuttle and told them of our quest, both the bus driver and visitor bureau greeter laughed, no doubt surprised that we would be looking for the place. Quinny's was not on the bus route but the driver took us there anyway.

The Quinsam is one building that consists of a home cooking type of diner and a large bar featuring live music, pool tables and steel darts. Can't recall if the hotel was functioning or not. Some people would call the Quinsam "a dump" and it met our expectations (but it was clean)! We walked into the diner (smelled like good home cooking) but were told they were closing, so we opted for the bar. The bartender Ida (or Ila) was nice, as were the two patrons at the bar, one a dive shop owner who said that the music played there was "redneck" music (country of course). This place is a popular hometown classic, no doubt, judging from the large size of the room. We stayed for a few cold beers and ciders (a large selection) and then caught a taxi back into town for dinner at Riptides which proved to be very good. We told our waitress about our venture to Quinny's and she too laughed and said that she had been there the night before. She couldn't believe we found the place, let alone sought it out. After dinner, it was a short walk from Riptides to the cruise ship.

As we walked the gangway back onto the ship, we ran into suited Campbell River and other officials and told them as well that we had been to Quinnies. They too were amazed and amused, high-fived us and gave us some souvenirs.

I am sure that we were the first and only cruisers who ventured there that night. It would definitely not be to the taste of most of Regent's clientele and was simply a lark for us. But if someone does happen to like such places, and also likes live country music (sometimes pop is played), then this place is evidently a find.

Info for the Quinny on the net is a bit obscure but here is some info from a blog at http://blog.myspace.com/144143164

NIGHT LIFE:

Unfortunately Campbell River doesn't offer a wide variety of things to do at night. There many great pubs, but only a couple of "bars". By far the best recommendation that we have is the "Quinny" or Quinsam Hotel.

The Quinny:

The only place north of Nanaimo that has live music 6 days a week. On Sundays they also offer Karaoke! This is a great place to check out the locals of Campbell River, and you'll probably run into Cody's brother Darcy there. If not him, then definately someone that knows him!

Address : 1500 Island Highway, Campbell River, BC V9W 2E5

Telephone : 250-286-9811

Rip Tide Pub: While Cody was still living in Campbell River, he used to frequent this place. It's got an interesting atmosphere, and is right on the water. It's actually located in the Discovery Mall complex. It is located in a group of other restuarants: Moxies and Joeys Only. It's a great place to go for a drink, maybe a game of pool, and then a nice walk along the pathways or Marina.

Address : 1-2231 South Island Highway, Campbell River, BC V9W 1C4

Telephone : 250-923-1782

We were on the first cruise ship to ever stop at Campbell River and were greeted as royalty. A big fire on the beach, Wei Wai Kum traditional dancers and city, province and Canadian government officials were there to welcome us. They had buses with guides to shuttle us around town.

One cruiser commented that the town was celebrating "the disembarkation of the dancing wallets!"

Merchants all over town stayed open late and all exhibited greeting signs to welcome us.

Many cruisers opted to do the various excursions, particularly the 5 hour trip to Quadra Island. I'm sure such along excursion kept many people from touring around Campbell River and definitely the merchants did not realize much benefit from such!

I did not hear reviews on the any of the excursions, unfortunately, and can only report on our venture, which was certainly unique.

We opted to ride a shuttle for the length of town, ending at the Museum of Campbell River. My wife wanted to tour the museum, but after having done similar at a previous port of call, we opted to walk along the river for a short distance to Discovery Pier. A resident then suggested that we stop at the Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre adjacent to the pier.

We found a few other cruisers and their families there.

This museum features the BCP 45 seiner ship that was once featured on back of the Canadian $5 bill. The volunteers there, many of whom worked on the return of the ship to Campbell River and its restoration, conducted a fun tour that definitely showed their pride. The children present seemed to enjoy walking around the boat, climbing down into the engine and crew quarters, etc. There was also a large exhibit of the various engine components, tools and other equipment related to the boat and the industry.

http://www.bcp45.org/

These volunteers were a fun bunch and very helpful with information about things to see and do in Campbell River. If was their enthusiasm and friendliness that made this stop worthwhile, as I am not really "into" ships and such. For someone who is, this would be a treat.

I did tell them that we wanted to find a local off-the-beaten path,

dirt-and-rock type of place for drinks and food was directed to a place called the Quinsam Hotel. We then walked along by other storefronts, talked with a few merchants and told them that we were working our way to the Quinsam. They definitely seemed amused by our goal! Several said that they had been to "Quinny's" the night before, so evidently we were hitting paydirt.

When we embarked on a passing shuttle and told them of our quest, both the bus driver and visitor bureau greeter laughed, no doubt surprised that we would be looking for the place. Quinny's was not on the bus route but the driver took us there anyway.

The Quinsam is one building that consists of a home cooking type of diner and a large bar featuring live music, pool tables and steel darts. Can't recall if the hotel was functioning or not. Some people would call the Quinsam "a dump" and it met our expectations (but it was clean)! We walked into the diner (smelled like good home cooking) but were told they were closing, so we opted for the bar. The bartender Ida (or Ila) was nice, as were the two patrons at the bar, one a dive shop owner who said that the music played there was "redneck" music (country of course). This place is a popular hometown classic, no doubt, judging from the large size of the room. We stayed for a few cold beers and ciders (a large selection) and then caught a taxi back into town for dinner at Riptides which proved to be very good. We told our waitress about our venture to Quinny's and she too laughed and said that she had been there the night before. She couldn't believe we found the place, let alone sought it out. After dinner, it was a short walk from Riptides to the cruise ship.

As we walked the gangway back onto the ship, we ran into suited Campbell River and other officials and told them as well that we had been to Quinnies. They too were amazed and amused, high-fived us and gave us some souvenirs.

I am sure that we were the first and only cruisers who ventured there that night. It would definitely not be to the taste of most of Regent's clientele and was simply a lark for us. But if someone does happen to like such places, and also likes live country music (sometimes pop is played), then this place is evidently a find.

Info for the Quinny on the net is a bit obscure but here is some info from a blog at http://blog.myspace.com/144143164

NIGHT LIFE:

Unfortunately Campbell River doesn't offer a wide variety of things to do at night. There many great pubs, but only a couple of "bars". By far the best recommendation that we have is the "Quinny" or Quinsam Hotel.

The Quinny:

The only place north of Nanaimo that has live music 6 days a week. On Sundays they also offer Karaoke! This is a great place to check out the locals of Campbell River, and you'll probably run into Cody's brother Darcy there. If not him, then definately someone that knows him!

Address : 1500 Island Highway, Campbell River, BC V9W 2E5

Telephone : 250-286-9811

Rip Tide Pub: While Cody was still living in Campbell River, he used to frequent this place. It's got an interesting atmosphere, and is right on the water. It's actually located in the Discovery Mall complex. It is located in a group of other restuarants: Moxies and Joeys Only. It's a great place to go for a drink, maybe a game of pool, and then a nice walk along the pathways or Marina.

Address : 1-2231 South Island Highway, Campbell River, BC V9W 1C4

Telephone : 250-923-1782

Sorry about the long double-post.

And I concur with Mtndriver. The Campbell River hospitality was wonderful. I don't know how it went over business-wise for them, but hopefully it was a success. When other larger ships do eventually call on them, they will definitely reap the benefit.

It's been a town dream for many years. Several locals told me they grew up with the talk of someday hosting cruise ships and were so happy to see this day. And we were certainly honored to help them celebrate!

I would suggest giving yourself time to enjoy Campbell River exclusively or in conjunction with an excursion shorter than 5 hours.

Check this out for an adventure in Campbell River - snorkeling with the salmon

and evidently you end near the Quinsam!

http://www.connected.bc.ca/~baquatics/snorkel.html

While we were having dinner in the Compass Rose, we noticed a table full of "officials". They were representatives of the town and of the trible council and a large part of the welcoming party at the bottom of the gangway.

We spoke at length to a woman who was the lead person on the project and was the granddaughter of the chief who first proposed the cruise ship dock MANY years ago. Her uncle, and father where subsequent chiefs who took up the task and she was obviously proud as a peacock to be witnessing it coming to fruition.

We finally let return to her dinner companions (our desert had arrived after all), but we will never forget the wonderful people of Campbell River.

Here is a link from the local paper: http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=6&cat=23&id=999644&more=0

What a good, interesting post. Thanks.

I am so glad to hear the nice comments about Campbell River. So happy to hear you enjoyed yourselves and found the people friendly and helpfull. (We live close to Miracle Beach - half hour south of Campbell River) I have to join in on chuckling about your visit to the Quinsam, we have lived here for over 30 years and never been there ourselves. Good for you jc4uk!There`s a place called the Roal Coachman (a Tudor Style Pub) that has pretty good food. If you like fish & chips, there`s a place called Dick`s Fish & Chips which is on the water at Coast Marina. It`s easy to find and the locals can guide you in the right direction.

Here`s a website that might give you a bit more information http://www.campbellriverbc.net/

I'm going to be on the July 25th southbound sailing from Seward on Mariner and the website still shows Ketchikan as the stop. For the previous cruises, did they change at the last minute or am I destined to go to Ketchikan?

I'm going to be on the July 25th southbound sailing from Seward on Mariner and the website still shows Ketchikan as the stop. For the previous cruises, did they change at the last minute or am I destined to go to Ketchikan?

The web site (Regent's) changed somewhat late, but we were notified by our travel agent many weeks ahead of time. AND, we were on the the FIRST visit so by now they should have corrected the site for more recent sailings.

We were told that due to currents and other navigational issues, that the northbounds would be Ketchikan and the southbounds would be Campbell river. I suppose this could change due to other scheduling issues, but we did get our information on a private bridge tour, so I think it is reliable.

It seems that all the cruises after yours show Ketchikan as well. I would suspect that the website is behind the times, but who knows?

According to the good folks at the RSSC 800 number, the last three southbound cruises of 2007 (7/25, 8/8, and 8/22) will stop in Ketchikan. In 2009, all southbound cruises will stop in Campbell River. Its a shame, I was looking forward to checking out a town that just opened to cruise traffic.

Of course the odds of getting the wrong answer from a random person on the 800 number are pretty decent, I'd think.

We happened to be in Campbell River (fishing) on the day the Mariner arrived. The folks there were pretty excited about the visit, and everyone was talking about it ... mostly pro, but some con.

It's just hearsay, but some we spoke to said they were expecting a total of less than 6 visits by cruise ships the entire season ... more in following years.

We were just there on the Mariner last week. The hospitality and enthusiasm of the people of Campbell River was very nice to experience. We did the First Nation Dance excursion, which was still a bit rusty in terms of the performances, but was fun and seemed truly "local" rather than something just produced for tourism dollars. The ship did not dock until around 3:30 pm so we did not stay in town for too long (we were with my kids who don't stay up too late) but overall thought it was an enjoyable port stop.