Victoria Stop on Alaska Cruise

[aring75]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

 

 

[Smiling on Open Waters]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

Would you mind sharing what tour company you used ?

Edited June 27, 2015 by Smiling on Open Waters

[Colo Cruiser]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful! :)

[Putterdude]

I always get off the ship in Victoria if only to visit my money that I send to the Provincial Government there.:rolleyes:

 

As, others have said downtown is an easy, level and safe walk. The cruise terminal offers a shuttle for $11 return and Princess contracts with another shuttle service. A taxi fare will run $10 each way so if there is 2 or more of you it will make sense to take a cab. There is also a transit bus stop just outside the Ogden Point terminal and the fare is $2.50 each way, only CAD are accepted and the drivers don't carry change. If going to Butchart Gardens and only are in the port for the evening then you are best to take the ship's tour to be sure of time. Otherwise there are horse drawn carriage rides, a visit to the Empress and the Provincial Legislative buildings which are illuminated at night and very pretty. A walk on Government St. and it unique shops is a must for shoppers. A fun thing are the buskers who preform each summer evening on the causeway across the street from the Empress. The Royal BC Museum is exceptional but not open after 5 pm from Mon thru Thurs but is open until 10 pm on Fri and Sat from late May thru late Sept.

[judynorth]

We are considering going to Abkhazi Gardens by taxi, touring the gardens, and having tea in the tearoom before taking a taxi to the Inner Harbor (is that the right term?). Then we would either walk back to the ship or take a taxi. We are in port from 1 pm until 11 pm. Putterdude, you seem to know quite a bit about taxi fares so do you have any idea of what the cab fare would be to the gardens? It is just over 4km.

[Putterdude]

. Abkhazi Gardens are closer to 6 kms from the Ogden Point cruise terminal. The taxi fares are based on $1.88 per km plus a flag charge of just under $4....so the fare should be in the range of $16 to $20 and about $12 to $15 from AG to say the Empress Hotel. Yes, that area in front of the Empress and surrounds are what is called the Inner Harbour.

[bwaz]

We're there in August from 6 pm to 10 pm, similar to the OP. Frommers Easy Guide to Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call says "Victoria's Inner Harbour is one of the most photogenic sights on the planet. "

So I'm getting off and at least getting to the Inner Harbor, if not the gardens. I figure I have all day on board to pack.

 

Sent from my LG-D801 using Forums mobile app

[judynorth]

. Abkhazi Gardens are closer to 6 kms from the Ogden Point cruise terminal. The taxi fares are based on $1.88 per km plus a flag charge of just under $4....so the fare should be in the range of $16 to $20 and about $12 to $15 from AG to say the Empress Hotel. Yes, that area in front of the Empress and surrounds are what is called the Inner Harbour.

 

Thanks, Putterdude. That's just the information that I was looking for. Doing it this way is still a good bit cheaper than the cruiseline tour and we will get to have tea rather than just a scone.

 

Another question. When we were in Victoria the first time we saw that there were vendors along the water in the Inner Harbor. Will they be there in the evening or do they shut down earlier?

[peety3]

This is the one we are thinking about doing in July. I was nervous because no one ever talks about whale watching in BC. Any other details about this tour? Was there very many people when you went?

We did the evening whale watch last year and will do it again this year, but DW is a whale freak and I sure don't mind the whale watches. The boat was disappointing - 50 people makes it cozy, and the only way 50 people fit on is if some folks are on the open top deck. It's presumably a semi-typical V-hull, so a fair amount of rocking about.

 

The light does get away from you though. We're avid photographers, and between the rocking of the boat, the light going away, and the orcas being (what I consider) relatively unpredictable, photos were tough by my standards. For this year, I'm actually taking two lenses solely to increase our odds (if you're photo-aware, 70-200/2.8 for me instead of a 100-400/4.5-5.6, and a 70-200/4 instead of a 70-300/4-5.6 for DW, and I'm taking the 1.4x TC off my 600/4). See https://www.flickr.com/photos/alibear/albums/72157646305661819/page4 and scroll down to photo BJBF for the start of our set from the Orca trip. Note that near the end, I was getting 1/640th at f/4 and ISO 3200 but the shots were super-noisy and noise reduction was a fine line between noisy and mushy/lack of detail. The shots I got of the cruise ships in port as we were returning are at 1/160th at f/2.8 and ISO 3200, so it was approximately three stops darker just during the boat ride back in.

[judynorth]

Nice pictures, peety3.

[Lois R]

Stay on the ship you will have a much better time than 4 hours in the evening in Victoria.

 

I totally disagree. I was in Victoria last month during the evening

and had a marvelous time:).....I have a friend who was working

on the ship and she had a very rare night off so we went and had

dinner at "Irish Times".....it is one of the many fun Pubs located

downtown:D

[LoveByrds]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

 

 

 

aring75 - Gorgeous pictures! I cannot wait to visit!

I too would love more information about your privately booked excursion.

[rpcv77]

We were in Victoria on 6/19, from 7:00-11:00 pm. We took the Princess shuttle, $10.00 round trip, and it dropped us off at the Empress Hotel. We strolled around, checked out shops, the harbor, an outdoor market etc. It was a beautiful evening and we thought the town was charming. Wish we would have had more time there. I always think getting off the ship is worth it, as you never know what you might find. That's one of the great pleasures of travel.

[aring75]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

 

 

Would you mind sharing what tour company you used ?

 

 

 

When we got off the ship, there were several vans, taxis, even limos waiting to offer tours to people getting off the ship. And there was a kiosk set up at the end of the pier. We paid $80-ish (?) dollars each. We drove through the park next to town (can't remember the name, sorry), drove to Cragdarroch Castle (and I'm sure I completely misspelled that, lol), but didn't go inside because there were simply too many tour groups. That was our decision. Made a quick but informative tour through downtown, before ending up at Butchart Gardens. By the time we got there, the ships' tours had all started and were halfway through their tours. We felt like we had the place to ourselves. You can see from our pictures, it was nearly empty. We did, however, only have about 2 to 2-1/2 hours in the gardens. I felt like that was enough time to walk through, but you could easily spend twice that there.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited June 28, 2015 by aring75

[phabric]

We did the evening whale watch last year and will do it again this year, but DW is a whale freak and I sure don't mind the whale watches. The boat was disappointing - 50 people makes it cozy, and the only way 50 people fit on is if some folks are on the open top deck. It's presumably a semi-typical V-hull, so a fair amount of rocking about.

 

The light does get away from you though. We're avid photographers, and between the rocking of the boat, the light going away, and the orcas being (what I consider) relatively unpredictable, photos were tough by my standards. For this year, I'm actually taking two lenses solely to increase our odds (if you're photo-aware, 70-200/2.8 for me instead of a 100-400/4.5-5.6, and a 70-200/4 instead of a 70-300/4-5.6 for DW, and I'm taking the 1.4x TC off my 600/4). See https://www.flickr.com/photos/alibear/albums/72157646305661819/page4 and scroll down to photo BJBF for the start of our set from the Orca trip. Note that near the end, I was getting 1/640th at f/4 and ISO 3200 but the shots were super-noisy and noise reduction was a fine line between noisy and mushy/lack of detail. The shots I got of the cruise ships in port as we were returning are at 1/160th at f/2.8 and ISO 3200, so it was approximately three stops darker just during the boat ride back in.

 

I am thinking of taking the evening whale watching tour.

 

I see that you are going again, so from that I would take it that you would recommend this tour.

 

Did you see whales? Did you do any other whale watching tours in any of the other ports?

Edited June 28, 2015 by phabric

[Putterdude]

I am thinking of taking the evening whale watching tour.

 

I see that you are going again, so from that I would take it that you would recommend this tour.

 

Did you see whales? Did you do any other whale watching tours in any of the other ports?

 

If you click on their picture link you will see that they did see a pod of Orcas. Whale watching out of Victoria, particularly for Orcas is usually pretty good as there are 3 resident pods of Orcas totaling just under 90 whales. However they do move around in search of food so there are no guarantees. You do however watch your time....if your stop is in an evening June thru July the longer daylight hours would make such an excursion worthwhile much earlier or later than that.....no so much.

[peety3]

I am thinking of taking the evening whale watching tour.

 

I see that you are going again, so from that I would take it that you would recommend this tour.

 

Did you see whales? Did you do any other whale watching tours in any of the other ports?

Disclaimer: we've done 3.5 Alaska cruises before (our Sampler in April counts for only half a cruise, at best...I should probably drop it down to .25), and we ALWAYS do whale watches. DW will not have it any other way. :) We've always seen whales on every whale watch, and I'd say either lots of whales (Juneau, every time) or at least lots of sightings of perhaps the same whales (Victoria).

 

I'd recommend this tour with a caveat that the boat isn't up to "our standards", but there's little to no choice on a 7pm-11:59pm stop, so therefore it's "the best choice". I have great photography skills but far less of a photographic memory, so for me the objective is typically "get good pictures". It's tougher to get good pictures on this excursion than one in Juneau, as the Orcas seemed to be less predictable on where they'd pop up (no bubble-net feeding, maybe a family popping up near-together). It's also tougher to get pictures as the light goes down, so if you're shooting with a point&shoot I'd say just put it away and enjoy with your eyes.

 

Oh, one other disclaimer: we live in the Seattle area, so Victoria is readily accessible to us on the Clipper ferry. We could go do whatever we wanted whenever (but haven't, yet, in ~3 years of living here).

[Budget Queen]

Disclaimer: we've done 3.5 Alaska cruises before (our Sampler in April counts for only half a cruise, at best...I should probably drop it down to .25), and we ALWAYS do whale watches. DW will not have it any other way. :) We've always seen whales on every whale watch, and I'd say either lots of whales (Juneau, every time) or at least lots of sightings of perhaps the same whales (Victoria).

 

I'd recommend this tour with a caveat that the boat isn't up to "our standards", but there's little to no choice on a 7pm-11:59pm stop, so therefore it's "the best choice". I have great photography skills but far less of a photographic memory, so for me the objective is typically "get good pictures". It's tougher to get good pictures on this excursion than one in Juneau, as the Orcas seemed to be less predictable on where they'd pop up (no bubble-net feeding, maybe a family popping up near-together). It's also tougher to get pictures as the light goes down, so if you're shooting with a point&shoot I'd say just put it away and enjoy with your eyes.

 

Oh, one other disclaimer: we live in the Seattle area, so Victoria is readily accessible to us on the Clipper ferry. We could go do whatever we wanted whenever (but haven't, yet, in ~3 years of living here).

 

Have you done the cruise ship whale watch tour, on all all your times in Victoria- If not, how many times have you done this particular tour?

[Budget Queen]

I am thinking of taking the evening whale watching tour.

 

I see that you are going again, so from that I would take it that you would recommend this tour.

 

Did you see whales? Did you do any other whale watching tours in any of the other ports?

 

Be aware- some of these tours are shorter, than standard tours. Most of the time, you do have to book through the cruiseship because you aren't there early enough for the regular tours. You do not always see orcas. And with a shorter tour- the pods have to be within closer ranger, so overall lower sighting stats. When I what orca whale watches, I invest in multiple days and tours. I also have the benefit- of having used the same vendor- over many years, and I'm told if they are going to see any orcas or not. There is a whole network of spotters, so it is known before you even leave the dock, if you will or will not see orcas.

 

I also have a priority for whale watches in my touring. The entire bottom line- is the more you go out, the more you see, but "usual" sightings- is a lot of "waiting" and searching. :) Those- exceptional reported trips, are not typical and can't be expected. :)

[peety3]

Have you done the cruise ship whale watch tour, on all all your times in Victoria- If not, how many times have you done this particular tour?

We are 3 for 3 on Juneau whale watches and 1 for 1 on Victoria whale watches. That'll be 4 for 4 and 2 for 2 by mid-August.

[phabric]

If you click on their picture link you will see that they did see a pod of Orcas. Whale watching out of Victoria, particularly for Orcas is usually pretty good as there are 3 resident pods of Orcas totaling just under 90 whales. However they do move around in search of food so there are no guarantees. You do however watch your time....if your stop is in an evening June thru July the longer daylight hours would make such an excursion worthwhile much earlier or later than that.....no so much.

 

My cruise is booked for August 7, 2016 out of Seattle on the Ruby Princess with a Victoria stop 7-11:59. The Princess website says it is a 3 hour tour.

Edited June 28, 2015 by phabric

[Putterdude]

My cruise is booked for August 7, 2016 out of Seattle on the Ruby Princess with a Victoria stop 7-11:59. The Princess website says it is a 3 hour tour.

 

Sunset in "tea and crumpets ville" on 8/13 is 8:30 pm however nautical twilight extends to about 9:50 pm. Soooo you may just squeeeeze it in however, remember you may not be off the ship until sometime after 7 pm.

[CoasterSue]

My husband and I did Butchart Gardens in the evening as part of a private tour on a late stop our first cruise to Alaska (round trip Seattle) in September 2013. We paid the same amount as the lantern tour through the ship, but our driver drove us through Victoria and stopped at several places in addition to the gardens. This was probably one of our favorite tours the whole cruise. We are going back this September and plan to do it again during the day. It was so amazing at night, it had an almost magical quality. I hope we aren't disappointed when we see it again during the daylight hours.

 

What private tour company did you use?

[Budget Queen]

We are 3 for 3 on Juneau whale watches and 1 for 1 on Victoria whale watches. That'll be 4 for 4 and 2 for 2 by mid-August.

 

No, I asked about Victoria- which has nothing to do with Juneau. So one trip.

[Budget Queen]

What private tour company did you use?

 

CVS is the only operator, I know of who picks up cruise ship passengers. BUT- in the case of my sister taking this tour, 8-14, they had at least a 20 minute wait before they got going, so a shorter tour, than the cruise ship option.