Should we get off the boat in Victoria?

August the 4th will be our first cruise to Alaska. Should we even get off the boat the last night in Victoria? I really can't find a good reason to, but wanted to know if there is anything great we should do?

August the 4th will be our first cruise to Alaska. Should we even get off the boat the last night in Victoria? I really can't find a good reason to, but wanted to know if there is anything great we should do?

Think I'll follow this. We are not sailing until next August but I was wondering what we should do as well.

It is a beautiful city. It has been many years since I was there, but I think it is one of Canada's best cities. Google it, or check out tripadvisor's top 30 things to do there. Also, visit the ports of call section here on CC for some ideas.

I would certainly recommend a visit. Victoria has a beautiful Inner Harbor area and there are plenty of shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. It's worth it just to walk through the interior of the historic Fairmont Empress hotel, and the Butchart Gardens are world-renowned.

If you want one last adventure, then disemark. If nothing else you can stroll through downtown, have a drink, and enjoy the ambience.

But if you're sated and tired, or have yet to pack, or want one last quiet night on the ship, then stay on. (Unfortunately, they're going to make you disembark in Seattle - which is such a reality jolt.)

Some trips we venture into town, others we stand aboard and chill.

Frommers Easy Guide to Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call sez "Victoria's Inner Harbor is one of the most photogenic sights in the world " . We'll be there in a month and I'm getting off. You can walk to the Inner Harbor in about 20 minutes. I figure I can pack at leisure during the day

Sent from my LG-D801 using Forums mobile app

August the 4th will be our first cruise to Alaska. Should we even get off the boat the last night in Victoria? I really can't find a good reason to...

I'm sorry you feel this way. Have you heard bad things about Victoria? Why do you say this? I called Victoria home for 35 years. :) It is a phenomenal place to raise a family, and to go back and visit like we did on our Alaska cruise in May. I'm not going to talk you into it... but there are so many reasons why you should get off the ship, even just to stretch your legs and go for a walk along the waterfront.

The Canada board has lots of threads dedicated to Victoria; just put "Victoria" in the search this forum box there, and you'll pull up all kinds of threads.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39 <--Canada board, west coast

Victoria is a great destination all on its own. The issue may be that the ship usually docks in the evening so it's not a lot of time to visit the world class Butchart Gardens or the outstanding Provincial Museum (closed), have tea at the Empress, take a carriage ride around the city, etc. On our last AK cruise, we docked in the evening, took the shuttle to downtown, shopped and then walked along the inner harbor and had a great dinner at one of the restaurants, then back again. Def worth getting off the ship for.

I am one who can't imagine staying on the cruise ship even for a brief stop in Victoria. If nothing else, just go to the Bard and Banker (a pub) for a quick meal.

I would love to get off the ship in Victoria when i go next year.

My understanding is though i may run into issues due to a DUI i got back in 2010.

Lesson Learned

August the 4th will be our first cruise to Alaska. Should we even get off the boat the last night in Victoria? I really can't find a good reason to, but wanted to know if there is anything great we should do?

Even with a short port time you can shuttle or walk a bit and see some of the lovely city. We were so smitten by Victoria on our stop that I'm planning a week's vacation there. (We were there for 10 hours, but much of what we saw/did could have been accomplished in 3 hours.) We walked to Fisherman's Wharf and took a water taxi to downtown, then walked and did some sightseeing. It was a nice low-key few hours.

We wished that we had more time in Victoria. We had not planned an excursion there and ended up taking a shuttle to downtown, where we walked around, took pictures and shopped. We also tried a place off the main road called 'Beavertails". They had pastries in the shape of beaver tails and delicious smoothies. The shuttle will meet you at the cruise ship and it was $10 round trip.

Yes, the shuttle prices can vary by cruise line (Celebrity was $11.00 per person, RT), but I wanted to mention that one can easily walk into town. It's all flat and a lovely walk, about 20 minutes or so. At the very least, you could walk one way and cab it the other way and you are still coming out ahead with a better price than the shuttle. I think some people take the shuttle because they may not know how close and easy it is to walk (if you have no medical issues and are reasonably fit).

I am one who can't imagine staying on the cruise ship even for a brief stop in Victoria. If nothing else, just go to the Bard and Banker (a pub) for a quick meal.

I second this recommendation, but don't get the potato chip encrusted cod... do the other fish and chips batter option. Their whisky selection was really good.

On my next stop in Victoria, though, I'm going to get an Orca cruise. I chose not to have an excursion planned at this port, and I really wish I had gone ahead and done an independent Orca cruise. :( I saw humpbacks, eagles, a black bear, seals galore... but no wolves of the seas. Oh well, guess I just have to go back!

Like others have mentioned, Victoria is a wonderful place to visit. The flowers are spectacular. Have fun and enjoy.

We got off the ship on our trip in May. We hired a private towncar on the pier fora quick 2 hr city tour, and it was great. Our uniformed driver was a local guy that had lived there all his life and he was probably about 60. He was a retired Ambulance medic. He took us a lot of places that most tours don't go. He dropped us off at the Barb's Fish & Chips restaurant in Fisherman's wharf, and we walked back to the ship after dining.

He charged $60 an hour with a 2 hour minimum. It was just 2 of us, but his car would easily hold 4 passengers.

Regent Limousine, Driver was Dave

100% get off the boat in Victoria. Downtown is an easy walk (level) or a short/cheap cab ride. It is beautiful to see the flowers and legislative buildings, empress hotel etc. There are plenty of great spots to grab a bite to eat or drink. I wouldn't miss it, we are from Vancouver and never miss getting off in Victoria even though we really can go over whenever we want.

Victoria was a beautiful city not to be missed. We walked along the inner harbor to the Empress hotel, about a half hour walk. Also saw Fisherman's Wharf and it was cool seeing the houseboats and how the owners decorated them. Too bad we only had about 4 hours to explore. Would have liked to have more time there.

Just want to add that August 4th has the sun going down at 8:48pm.... budget twilight until 9pm....

http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/canada/vancouver?month=8&year=2015

The downtown harbor area is gorgeous and well worth a visit, even a quick one. Just walk around a bit and maybe find a nice spot for a drink and/or snack. I'd kick myself if I stopped somewhere and didn't take the time for even a short look around.

Go to Rogers Chocolates on Government Street and buy yourself a Victoria Cream! Or *ahem* a whole box of them.... yeah... :D:D:D

A few photos from last week when we were over for a couple nights.

To the OP

Have you ever been to Victoria before? If not, why would you even think of not getting off the ship to see some of it. You don't have to do a tour, or even spend much money. Just get off and see what all the fuss is about, experience it for yourself, even for a few hours.

Ourselves, we didn't really have enough time to classify this port as wonderful, but it was well worth seeing and what wee did do there, we enjoyed.

here are a few of my pixs of this lovely city

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain631.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain634.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain650.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain678.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain692.jpg

Cheers

Len

This was our favorite port of our whole Alaskan cruise. All of Alaskan ports were replicas of one another. Same shops, same souvenirs. Victoria is gorgeous and felt very European. Highly recommend even just to walk around.

Years ago on RCCL, we found out 4 days before sailing that our Mexican Riviera cruise was being changed to San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria, BC thanks to the Swine Flu! RCCL even offered a full refund if we wanted to cancel but we had airfare and hotels that were already paid for so we went ahead anyway. San Fran - Loved it, Seattle - bored out of my mind and Victoria, it was rainy and foggy but still very beautiful. A group of us found a local pub and grabbed some lunch. Then, we found a bar and watched the Stanley Cup playoffs (it was neat to watch a hockey game in a Candian pub) and then we did some shopping downtown and took some pictures.

If it's your first time, I think you should go...you'll never know what you're missing if you don't go. And if you do go, and don't like it, than you'll know for next time....like I now know about Seattle. :)