Victoria Question

[hpeabody]

I will be sailing on the Westerdam rt Seattle and we have the obligatory stop in Victoria. I love Victoria, btw. It is the night stop 6pm to midnight. I did this once many years ago on the Zaandam and that Victoria port stop at night was a nightmare. It took almost 2 hours to get off the ship after standing in the stairwells gridlocked with people and unable to move up or down or even sideways, it was horrific. I regretfully had booked the Butchart Gardens ship excursion, which I nearly missed. That ship excursion was the worst I have ever experienced, it was truly awful. Rant over...

 

This time I will NOT do a ship excursion. It is my understanding that the cruise lines with the exception of Princess have discontinued the shuttle service from the port to the inner harbor area, the Empress Hotel area. (More signs of cruise line cutbacks?) This causes me a dilema as I would have opted for that. I understand there is public transportation. I suspect though, it does not run late enough to be back at the ship at 11 pm ish. I am traveling solo and I am not a taxi person as it is too expensive. I have no issues normally with public transportation. It may even be walkable, but I could never do it at night alone.

 

I would like to hear from recent returning passengers from the night stop who just wanted to enjoy the inner harbor area on their own, what did you do and what was the cost ????

[Hlitner]

When we were recently in Victoria (on the Westerdam) there was a paid shuttle service operating from the port. I do not recall the exact cost, but it was more then $10. These short port stops, that has become too common on HA, are somewhat frustrating. Rather then increase the speed of the ship, HA has decided to slow down, save fuel and money, and decrease some port times. I should mention that when we docked in Victoria last month it took nearly an hour before the ship was cleared and passengers could begin to disembark.

 

Hank

[singingintherain]

This is a link to the shuttle service from the cruise ship terminal to the inner harbour. It does stop at Fisherman's Wharf where you can grab a bite to eat or purchase fresh fish to feed the seals. Hope this helps and at least gives you a starting point. The shuttle is $10 return per adult. http://victoriacruise.ca/page/shuttle

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks Singingintherain for that link and information.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[kjw869]

We've been to Victoria multiple times, but last month, we took a taxi to the Empress Hotel. I believe it was about $8. We were on the Zuiderdam doing a partial repo cruise, so we had a full day in Victoria.

 

We always walk back at night as we enjoy the scenery. In the many time we have been to Victoria, we have never found the shuttle service. Either we take the 10-15 minute walk downtown or take a taxi.

[Markanddonna]

Victoria seems to be a problematic port for those ships that arrive in the evening. First, it was scheduled as 6- 11:30 on the itinerary. Then, some postings indicated 7PM around the ship. The captain announced about 4PM that we would "safely be in port by 7:45 PM". It ended up that we were allowed to leave the ship around 7:15. This seems to be the REAL time of getting off the ship according to recent CCs.

 

That timing makes Butchart Gardens problematic and CC's usually give the advice that it is too hurried and dark.

 

The shuttle to town is very efficient and clearly labeled. It is $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors- Roundtrip. Personally, I might either take a taxi or the shuttle and then walk back the harbor route. It didn't seem too far and seemed like a lovely walk. There isn't much to do in Victoria except the usual shopping and walking around the Empress.

 

I think a full day in Victoria would be so much better!

[garydm]

It is a very pleasant walk through some pretty neighborhoods. You can also take a cab (up to 4 people) for $9 each way. They will operate well into the evening.

 

Gary