what to do with late docking in Victoria?

[nanheath]

Our ship docks at 7:00 PM in Victoria. Is it worth getting off the ship that late as I understand it is still a distance from downtown?

[Krazy Kruizers]

How long are you in port? Till midnight?

Usually when a ship docks at that hour in Victoria it is called a "convience" port since you have to make a stop in Canada before coming back into the states.

Does the ship offer any tours? If so, that might be your best bet to see that port.

Remember, if you do anything on your own, the ship won't wait for you.

[Cruising Illini]

DO take the horse & wagon tour in Victoria. It's a wonderful overall view of the city and much of it in the daylight. Gives a great tour of older homes, parks, lake, etc. and the horses and driver (small gals) are lots of fun to tour with. We have done this twice and really enjoy -- a little over 1 hour long.
They can be boarded just about 3 minutes from the ship. They also usually provide a shuttle to the downtown walking area and the Empress Hotel which is of course cheaper and nice -- a cab wouldn't be too bad either. A really very nice stop even though not long.

[Thoth]

The Oosterdam stops for only 4 hours in Victoria but i'm game to see the city rated by Conde' Nast magazine as the prettiest in North America. The city tour with high tea and the castle has been booked and payed for. I understand that the high tea provides food becouse I'll miss my second seating time. The Lido should be availbale for a before hand snack.

[Cruiseoften]

There's not a lot of time to do much other than a walk-about. Do stop off at The Empress Hotel even if it's only for a coffee.. A visit to Buchart Gardens might work - well worth the effort. It's too bad HAL can't arrange things better - time was when you had almost a day in Victoria - a very lovely port. Treating Victoria like Ensenada, Mexico is dispicable.

[ore-ee-gun]

We just arrived back at Seattle this morning aboard the Amsterdam, and the dock is 1.5 miles from the downtown waterfront area. There is a shuttle from the terminal into downtown that costs $5. Gray Line runs a nice 2-hour city tour throughout the day, but the last one departs at 8:00 pm. We took this tour when we went to BC 2 years ago, and I'd highly recommend it. If you want to do anything more than just walk around downtown, I'd recommend booking an excursion, versus trying to do anything on your own because the excursion groups have first priority in getting off the ship. Also, unlike the Alaska ports, Victoria does not necessarily cater to the cruise ship tourist - they've got plenty coming by land. We noticed that many of the shops close at 9:00 pm.

I miss my cabin steward!

[cruisecrasy]

Hi Ore-ee-gun - yah I know what u meant when u said u missed your cabin steward. I tried to put ours in our luggage but 'they' made me unpack him...giggle, snort, chuckle - ahhh tempting!!!

[cruzlover56]

You don't say what time of year you will be in port.
If it is summer its generally light until 9:30. There are street entertainers along the Inner Harbour. (Lower waterfront in front of the Empress Hotel) Many people are out walking. The downtown is very safe to walk around, even after dark. Victoria is known for its hanging baskets and floral displays. The horse and buggies are next to the Inner Harbour as well. Buchart Gardens is about an hour away by Bus/Car. The gardens are lit up at night and very beautiful.
If it is a Thursday or Friday night the shops will probably be open until 9:00PM

[float]

in victoria early june 2003 had 4 hours in port try to get a few couples together rent a limo right off the boat negociate price about 25 dollars a person but well worth the tour we received it is a beautiful city enjoy float

[dam1050]

Originally Posted by Cruiseoften

There's not a lot of time to do much other than a walk-about. Do stop off at The Empress Hotel even if it's only for a coffee.. A visit to Buchart Gardens might work - well worth the effort. It's too bad HAL can't arrange things better - time was when you had almost a day in Victoria - a very lovely port. Treating Victoria like Ensenada, Mexico is dispicable.

Yes, you really do need a whole day in Victoria to get even a glimpse of that beautiful city .. shame on HAL for that. Any of you cruisers who miss out on Vancouver and Victoria should make a vacation of just those two cities at some point. (Ok, you can combine the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle in Washington too if you want --- but you won't get that good exchange rate!

Dave