Short (?) stop in Victoria for upcoming Alaska cruises

[triple7tahoe]

I had not noticed it until we rebooked a canceled Alaska cruise from June this year for a similar cruise in 2022-- The stop in Victoria for both the canceled cruise and the replacement cruise seems short -7Pm-11:59PM-  Yet there are excursions shown for things like whale watching, which I would think would happen earlier in the day. On our past cruises I remember a full day there and we walked into the City. Any of you that might have experienced these short days?? Your comments would be highly welcome.

[Shmoo here]

9 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

I had not noticed it until we rebooked a canceled Alaska cruise from June this year for a similar cruise in 2022-- The stop in Victoria for both the canceled cruise and the replacement cruise seems short -7Pm-11:59PM-  Yet there are excursions shown for things like whale watching, which I would think would happen earlier in the day. On our past cruises I remember a full day there and we walked into the City. Any of you that might have experienced these short days?? Your comments would be highly welcome.

A 5 hour port stop in Alaska in June is not unusual.  Also, at that time of year, it's basically "daylight" very late into the evening (close to 11:00 pm).

 

 

[cruzsnooze]

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

A 5 hour port stop in Alaska in June is not unusual.  Also, at that time of year, it's basically "daylight" very late into the evening (close to 11:00 pm).

 

 

The stop was in Victoria NOT Alaska so your answer doesn't address the OP's question.

 If I were to assume which is always risky I would say they want to satisfy the foreign port requirement without causing Canada any extra issue with a flood of tourism into their port. 

[middlehaitch]

I live in Victoria and over the years I have seen plenty of occasions where that, or similar, was the time frame for cruise ship visits. 

Unfortunately it is often treated like fulfilling a requirement rather than a port of call. 

Sunset is around 9:15pm in June so time for a stroll around the Inner Harbour with a stop for coffee or a beer (some good local breweries if you are interested).

 

Cheers, h.

[Tucker in Texas]

It is primarily a stop to fulfill the PSA requirements requiring a visit to a "distant" foreign port if the ship is going from USA back to USA.  5 hours is really not long enough for any tours other than to go into town and walk around which is well worth while.  I've been to Victoria several times on land tours and love the town.  

[Cruise Wonderland]

22 minutes ago, Tucker in Texas said:

It is primarily a stop to fulfill the PSA requirements requiring a visit to a "distant" foreign port if the ship is going from USA back to USA.

 

Just a small correction. US roundtrip itineraries (departure & return at the same port) only requires any foreign port, but not necessary to be a "distant" foreign port. Hence Canada port (not distant from US) is acceptable.

 

Only reposition cruise (begin from US Port A, end at US Port B) requires a distant foreign port.

[capriccio]

Our port stop in Victoria in 2018 was at that time.  DH and I had visited before so our two kids and their spouses went on the Princess excursion (while we babysat our 3 year old granddaughter) to Butchart Gardens which we had seen during the day on an earlier cruise and recommended highly.  As others have said it was light out at the beginning of the visit and as dusk fell the gardens were illuminated with beautiful lighting.  All four greatly enjoyed it.  The buses were late returning to the ship but since it was a Princess excursion (and the sailing time to Seattle was short) there was no problem holding the ship in port. 

[nini]

The short stop in Victoria is pretty common. We took a basic city your in a horseradish carriage. We have been there many times.

[dickinson]

One of our cruises stopped there too during that time frame.  We took a Princess tour to Butchert Gardens (it also included driving around the city a little bit on the way back to the ship).  It was beautiful!  As an above poster said, after it got dark the gardens were lit up.  

[Lady Arwen]

6 hours ago, nini said:

The short stop in Victoria is pretty common. We took a basic city your in a horseradish carriage. We have been there many times.

“horseradish carriage”  I would love to see a pic of that!  Just kidding, of course, but it made me laugh.  Don’t you just love autocorrect!  

[nini]

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

“horseradish carriage”  I would love to see a pic of that!  Just kidding, of course, but it made me laugh.  Don’t you just love autocorrect!  

OMG!!! I did not catch that... pretty funny but not intended. And I pride myself on spelling and grammar...  obviously this one got away from me.

This was funny because I immediately had a vision in my mind of what a "horeseradish carriage" would look like.

[Cruiserkenn]

Whale watching, on a summer evening, in Victoria, is a joy!  I have done it several times on Princess whale watching tours.  There is daylight very late, in June and July.  It is light out on the water, even later.

 

Go for it!  What a trip!

[voljeep]

what is the minimum number of hours a ship has to dock at a 'foreign' port to satisfy that requirement?

 

also can Victoria be "walled off" to only allow cruisers limited access without any excursions ?

 

I fully realize Canada must agree to this and that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon for the benefit of the USA

[neverbeenhere]

1 hour ago, nini said:

OMG!!! I did not catch that... pretty funny but not intended. And I pride myself on spelling and grammar...  obviously this one got away from me.

This was funny because I immediately had a vision in my mind of what a "horeseradish carriage" would look like.

 

Pretty much this.

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

what is the minimum number of hours a ship has to dock at a 'foreign' port to satisfy that requirement?

 

also can Victoria be "walled off" to only allow cruisers limited access without any excursions ?

 

I fully realize Canada must agree to this and that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon for the benefit of the USA

Hopefully, things will be different in 2022 for the op’s cruise.  Not going to happen in 2021, of course.  If the port is open to cruiseships, then there would be no need to contain passengers in one area.  If Canada is still closed, the ships cannot stop at any port. I don’t think there is a specified minimum amount of time spent in port to fulfill the regulations.  Time will tell, but fingers crossed normalcy will return sooner than later.

[Kamloops50]

20 hours ago, triple7tahoe said:

I had not noticed it until we rebooked a canceled Alaska cruise from June this year for a similar cruise in 2022-- The stop in Victoria for both the canceled cruise and the replacement cruise seems short -7Pm-11:59PM-  Yet there are excursions shown for things like whale watching, which I would think would happen earlier in the day. On our past cruises I remember a full day there and we walked into the City. Any of you that might have experienced these short days?? Your comments would be highly welcome.

Alaska cruises normally only have a short stop in Victoria .

[Shmoo here]

20 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

The stop was in Victoria NOT Alaska so your answer doesn't address the OP's question.

 If I were to assume which is always risky I would say they want to satisfy the foreign port requirement without causing Canada any extra issue with a flood of tourism into their port. 

OK, a 5 hour port stop on an Alaskan cruise isn't unusual.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Shmoo here

[middlehaitch]

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

what is the minimum number of hours a ship has to dock at a 'foreign' port to satisfy that requirement?

 

also can Victoria be "walled off" to only allow cruisers limited access without any excursions ?

 

I fully realize Canada must agree to this and that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon for the benefit of the USA

 

Victoria can't be walled off, it is on an Island though so cut off from the rest of Canada and only accessible by ferry. (this has kept our Covid numbers under 1000 so far, though we are having a  bit of a surge, relatively speaking)

 

However, there is a huge parking lot at the terminal with gates so we could send in a few souvenir market stalls, food trucks, mobile bars, and a movie screen showing a  tour of Buchart Gardens, and lock the gates for 5 or so hours 🤭☺️.

 

In reality, Canada has to put its peoples safety first so no cruises for now 😞

 

It is lovely to hear that people enjoy visiting our little city.

 

Cheers, h. 

 

[Lady Arwen]

38 minutes ago, middlehaitch said:

 

Victoria can't be walled off, it is on an Island though so cut off from the rest of Canada and only accessible by ferry. (this has kept our Covid numbers under 1000 so far, though we are having a  bit of a surge, relatively speaking)

 

However, there is a huge parking lot at the terminal with gates so we could send in a few souvenir market stalls, food trucks, mobile bars, and a movie screen showing a  tour of Buchart Gardens, and lock the gates for 5 or so hours 🤭☺️.

 

In reality, Canada has to put its peoples safety first so no cruises for now 😞

 

It is lovely to hear that people enjoy visiting our little city.

 

Cheers, h. 

 

Thanks, you gave me today’s giggle.  I can just see it now.....the parking lot filled with cheap souvenir stalls and a chip wagon selling Beaver Tails and Poutine!  Do not forget a Tim’s Coffee bar!  Still giggling!

[Steelers36]

Been to Victoria many times - mostly business trips.  Long time ago.  But one word always comes to my mind - Pagliacci's on Broad.  I'd have a dinner res and skip the ship.

 

[Tapi]

Even though the evening stop in Victoria is truly to fulfill PVSA requirements, I still consider it a highlight of an Alaska cruise.

 

We were there from 6:00pm to midnight on a Holland America cruise, and as others have said, it’s daylight until pretty late. We took a taxi cab to the inner harbor and were dropped off near the parliament. We walked along the water towards the Fairmont and then up one of the streets filled with shops. We then chose a restaurant where we enjoyed a great dinner before working our way back to the harbor to catch a taxi back to the ship. 
 

Yes, it was a very short stop, but we throughly enjoyed it, just as much if not more than other ports in our itinerary. Definitely a gem of a port. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by Tapi

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

On 3/31/2021 at 4:15 PM, triple7tahoe said:

I had not noticed it until we rebooked a canceled Alaska cruise from June this year for a similar cruise in 2022-- The stop in Victoria for both the canceled cruise and the replacement cruise seems short -7Pm-11:59PM-  Yet there are excursions shown for things like whale watching, which I would think would happen earlier in the day. On our past cruises I remember a full day there and we walked into the City. Any of you that might have experienced these short days?? Your comments would be highly welcome.

as of now the canadian goverment has banned all cruise ships from stopping in canada sounds like till 2022 sometime maybe that is why