Alaska on Crown Princess June 2, 2023

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, AZjohn said:

That would have been really disappointing to us (not sailing back through the inside passage). Going north starts the magnificent beginning of the cruise and then coming back south is the perfect finale to a wonderful exploration IMHO.
 

Wonder why they made the change a couple of cruises ago? I understand the reason Princess did not want to tell anyone, especially to those new that wouldn’t understand what they were missing 😤. 
 

It’s honestly been my favorite part of any cruise we have taken☹️

 

Yes it was very disappointing and then to add that Princess didn't tell us was even more disappointing.

 

No- one could tell me why the decision had been made. Maybe it's cheaper or easier to sail at sea rather than slowly in the Inside Passage or do they have to have a local pilot and there aren't enough available for the southbound sailings. Who knows but whatever the reason, Princess should tell their passengers when such a major permanent change is made to an itinerary. They probably didn't tell their passengers so that they wouldn't get complaints and probably hoped that many wouldn't notice.

[PurpleTraveller]

Monday June 12 - Victoria

 

Weather Forecast - Clouds, High 67°F/19°C, Low 58°F/13°C

 

We woke to a glorious sunny day and after breakfast we sat on the Sun Deck as we approached Victoria. We docked at 9.00am and were soon allowed to disembark.

 

A short walk from the dock is Fisherman's Wharf where there are restaurants along with a cute collection of house boats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked further along the waterfront and past the beautiful Gatsby Mansion to the city centre.

 

 

We made our way to the Legislative Assembly Building of British Columbia which is an impressive and beautiful building.

 

 

 

After passing through security we were able to walk around the building on a self guided tour seeing the beautiful stained glass windows, central dome and legislative chamber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Monday June 12 - Victoria Part 2

 

We then walked towards the waterfront passing one of the horse drawn carriages that do tours around the city.

 

 

Crossing the road we then made our way along the waterfront.

 

 

 

Continuing along Government Street to the shopping area we stopped in at Roger's Chocolates which is in a quaint shop established in 1903.

 

 

 

Walking along we diverted to Bastion Square to enjoy the lovely buildings and gorgeous flowers and baskets.

 

 

 

 

 

A short walk away was China Town with its gate and narrow Fan Tan Alley.

 

 

 

Retracing our footsteps along Government Street we passed a plant whale statue next to the Empress Hotel.

 

 

 

Heading towards Beacon Park we then passed the Totem Pole display at Thunderbird Park.

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Monday June 12 - Victoria Part 3

 

We then made our way to Beacon Hill Park where we enjoyed the serene surrounds and a picnic lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world's tallest Totem Pole which stands 127 feet and 7 inches tall, is in the park.

 

 

We then walked along the waterfront to the Mile Zero Monument which marks the start of the 8,000km long Trans-Canada Highway that travels the length of Canada.

 

 

It was very warm walking along the waterfront towards the ship and we stopped for a while to watch the world go by and to chat to some ship friends. 

 

 

 

We walked out along the breakwater and saw a sea otter swimming in the water and catching fish. The sea otter came onto land where it rolled around in a log and was so cute.

 

 

 

 

We returned to the ship at 3.15pm after a lovely day.

 

 

Dinner was at the Michaelangelo Dining Room again and after dinner we watched Carnival Spirit arrive into Victoria. We left Victoria at 10.00pm.

 

[sunviking90]

17 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Yes it was very disappointing and then to add that Princess didn't tell us was even more disappointing.

 

No- one could tell me why the decision had been made. Maybe it's cheaper or easier to sail at sea rather than slowly in the Inside Passage or do they have to have a local pilot and there aren't enough available for the southbound sailings. Who knows but whatever the reason, Princess should tell their passengers when such a major permanent change is made to an itinerary. They probably didn't tell their passengers so that they wouldn't get complaints and probably hoped that many wouldn't notice.

To the best of my knowledge, they do need a pilot on board to go inside. Seymour Narrows in particular is tricky and the cruise ships can only go through at certain times. 

[sunviking90]

Your pictures are great and really show people how much can be seen in the ports independently just walking around.

[PurpleTraveller]

Victoria On Land Tour

 

Following the cruise we spent two weeks on a land tour of Canada including another two days in Victoria and visited the Butchart Gardens and Government House Garden.

 

We spent hours at Butchart Gardens and once again enjoyed a beautiful day. We visited at 3.00pm and it wasn't very busy at all and I managed to get photos without people in them. I have wanted to visit the gardens ever since I saw my mother's photos from when she visited more than thirty years ago. I even have a jigsaw puzzle of the gardens and I couldn't believe that I was finally here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Victoria On Land Part 2

 

That evening we walked to the Legislative Assembly Building to see it and the city lit up.

 

 

 

 

Even the horse carriages were lit up.

 

 

The following day we walked to the Christ Church Cathedral where we were lucky enough to hear the organist practicing.

 

 

 

 

We then walked to Craigdarroch Castle which was built between 1887 and 1890 by Robert Dunsmuir. Unfortunately the castle was closed but we were able to walk around the castle.

 

 

 

Just down the road is Government House which also has lovely gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our return to the city centre we sat on the waterfront enjoying the sunshine with a view of the Empress Hotel.

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

19 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

To the best of my knowledge, they do need a pilot on board to go inside. Seymour Narrows in particular is tricky and the cruise ships can only go through at certain times. 

 

We did wonder if the reason for changing the itinerary was something to do with the need for a pilot. I guess we'll never know.

 

17 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Your pictures are great and really show people how much can be seen in the ports independently just walking around.

 

Thank you! We much prefer to DIY and explore a port on foot if possible as we love to walk. We only do excursions if we want to go further afield to see something in particular such as going to the Yukon.

[Coral]

Lovely pictures! 🙂 

[sunviking90]

23 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Thank you! We much prefer to DIY and explore a port on foot if possible as we love to walk. We only do excursions if we want to go further afield to see something in particular such as going to the Yukon.

We are the same way. If we find a nice hike, or get ourselves somewhere on foot we’re doing it!

[joeflow80]

What a great review. Your pictures are outstanding. We were on the Crown for the July 4-14 trip and it sometimes looks like I was in different places. Helps that you got into some of the towns before the crowds. We definitely took our time getting off the ship in ports. And some places I didn't see on this trip that I now want to go back and see. You may have convinced me to finally make the trek to Yukon if I make it back to Skagway for my 4th time. I finally saw the Lower Reid Falls on this trip and that ended up as one of our overall highlights.

 

We also decided to wander through more of the Ketchikan neighborhoods than try the Deer Mtn. trail. Seeing your report mostly makes me glad we made that decision, but that is still a killer view.

 

On our trip, we did still go through the Inside Passage coming home. I watched the pilot come aboard for one of the sections. We didn't have Victoria on our itinerary, so I don't know if that was a factor. Still disappointing that they wouldn't inform you beforehand though.

 

As to the mattress discussion, ours was pretty soft, but was bearable. We were on deck 10 (Caribe).

Edited July 20, 2023 by joeflow80

[PurpleTraveller]

56 minutes ago, joeflow80 said:

What a great review. Your pictures are outstanding. We were on the Crown for the July 4-14 trip and it sometimes looks like I was in different places. Helps that you got into some of the towns before the crowds. We definitely took our time getting off the ship in ports. And some places I didn't see on this trip that I now want to go back and see. You may have convinced me to finally make the trek to Yukon if I make it back to Skagway for my 4th time. I finally saw the Lower Reid Falls on this trip and that ended up as one of our overall highlights.

 

We also decided to wander through more of the Ketchikan neighborhoods than try the Deer Mtn. trail. Seeing your report mostly makes me glad we made that decision, but that is still a killer view.

 

On our trip, we did still go through the Inside Passage coming home. I watched the pilot come aboard for one of the sections. We didn't have Victoria on our itinerary, so I don't know if that was a factor. Still disappointing that they wouldn't inform you beforehand though.

 

As to the mattress discussion, ours was pretty soft, but was bearable. We were on deck 10 (Caribe).

 

Thank you!

 

It is amazing how different a place can be depending on how busy it is. We always try to get off the ship early if we are going to DIY. We were going to go to the Lower Reid Falls when we were in Skagway but decided to do the excursion to the Yukon. We are really glad that we did because it was a great excursion and we had a wonderful day. If we get back to Skagway I'll plan to go to the Falls.

 

The view was fantastic from Deer Mountain but we probably wouldn't have done the hike if we had known the state of the trail. We laugh now but I don't think we'd do it again.

 

Very interesting that you went through the Inside Passage southbound. Maybe we didn't because we were heading to Victoria but I'm really pleased that you got to experience it on the way back.

 

Good to hear that your mattress was bearable. It sounds like it is random mattresses that are bad but then again none should be bad.

 

Thanks for reading the review.

[gottagoacruzn]

Did you have tea at the Empress?

[latebuyer]

Thanks purple traveller. I've gone to victoria plenty of times but i don't recall going into the parliament buildings. I'm going in september and that would be a nice thing to do. I'm surprised you didn't show ferry pictures unless i missed it.

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Did you have tea at the Empress?

 

No I didn't. Would be good on an overcast or wet day but we wanted to enjoy the sunshine.

[PurpleTraveller]

10 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks purple traveller. I've gone to victoria plenty of times but i don't recall going into the parliament buildings. I'm going in september and that would be a nice thing to do. I'm surprised you didn't show ferry pictures unless i missed it.

 

The legislative building was lovely inside and it didn't take long to do a self guided tour. We were given a booklet with information to do the self guided tour and they also have guided tours that you can take.

 

Do you mean ferry to and from Vancouver to Vancouver Island? We went on that ferry on our land tour and the scenery of the islands we passed through was lovely. I didn't include any photos but here are a few.

 

 

 

 

[latebuyer]

Thanks for info on the tour. I love the ferry ride!

[PurpleTraveller]

33 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for info on the tour. I love the ferry ride!

 

You are very welcome. I should have mentioned that it was free to go into the legislative building and do the self guided tour. I think it was also free to do a guided tour but you could check. You should also check when the building is open as I think it is only certain times of the year. The ferry ride was great!

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Tuesday June 13 - Disembarkation Vancouver

 

This was the sad day we had to leave Crown Princess.

 

After breakfast at the Horizon Buffet we collected our belongings and vacated our cabin at 8.00am. There were very long lines of passengers wanting to disembark crowding the area around the Piazza on deck 7. As we weren't in a hurry we waited in the Crown Grill which was the Platinum and Elite waiting lounge until 9.30am when the lines were short. It only took a few minutes to self disembark with our luggage. We walked back to the Days Inn Hotel where we were able to check in and get access to our room immediately.

 

We had a lazy day going for a walk, doing some shopping and having lunch. At 4.00pm we went to the waterfront and watched Crown Princess sail away at 4.45pm.

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Wednesday June 14 - Vancouver

 

It was a cool and overcast day but we decided we would go for a walk around the city.

 

We walked to Chinatown and saw the gate but found the area rather grubby and rundown.

 

 

We then walked to Science World and along the waterfront to the BC Place Stadium.

 

 

 

Our next stop was the Engine 374 Pavilion which houses the engine that pulled the first transcontinental passenger train which arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1887. The engine was retired in 1945 and has been beautifully restored. It is kept in a custom built glass pavilion next to the old train turntable and train sheds which have been restored.

 

 

 

 

 

After admiring the train and chatting to the volunteers about the restoration of the train we continued walking around the shoreline and past Granville Island.

 

 

 

We then walked to English Bay Beach and then made our way back to our hotel. 

 

 

[gottagoacruzn]

Did you get the blues when you watch the Crown sail away without you?

[CruzeQueen2]

@PurpleTraveller I love seeing my city through your eyes. You not only covered a lot of ground to see the best sights, you walked all over the place. Good job on getting to so many wonderful sights in this province. I will be on the Crown very soon, following the same itinerary as you did. 

Thank you for telling us about missing the inside passage. That is really one of my favourite parts of the coast to cruise through...but sadly, now I know that I will be missing that section this time. As lovely as Victoria is as a port stop, the inside passage is really spectacular.

Oh well, next time, I will be sure to find an itinerary that does not head home via sailing on the western side of the island on the way to Victoria.

I appreciate all the time that you have taken to share your trip with us. Loved your photos and your adventures.

[PurpleTraveller]

Thursday June 15 - Vancouver

 

It was a much nicer day so we walked to Canada Place and got the free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The shuttle left at 9.30am and we arrived at 9.50am. The entry cost CAD69.95 plus tax for each adult. 

 

We started with walking across the Suspension Bridge. The bridge moves a lot when walking across it and we were high above the river. It wasn't very busy as we were early but later in the day it was jam packed with people.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we walked through the Treetops Adventure which I loved. To be so high in the trees was wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to see the raptors and spoke to their carers about the birds.

 

 

 

We went for a walk under the Treetops Adventure and along the side of the gorge amongst the very tall trees.

 

 

 

 

We then walked along the Cliff Walk which hangs off the cliff and gives good views of the Suspension Bridge.

 

 

 

 

It was interesting to see plants and even trees growing on and clinging onto the side of the cliff.

 

 

We got a shuttle at 1.15pm and got back to Canada Place at 1.35pm. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching sea planes take off and land and strolling along the waterfront.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday June 16 - Vancouver

 

It was an overcast day with a little rain and we were moving from our hotel to another to start our land tour of Canada. We did very little other than taxi from one hotel to another, explore our new neighbourhood and do our laundry.

 

Saturday June 17 - Vancouver

 

We made another visit to Stanley Park making a quick stop at the Totem Poles and then to Prospect Point to see the Lions Gate Bridge.

 

 

 

 

We then went to Granville Island to enjoy the markets. There were all types of delicious looking fruit and vegetables and different types of food along with flowers and art and crafts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got some lunch from one of the shops and went outside to eat it. While outside we saw a lady with a falcon which is trained to chase away seagulls.

 

 

We walked around the market buildings which included a train caboose and went into many of the great shops.

 

 

We were also able to see the other side of the painted storage silos, that we had previously seen on our walk on Wednesday, at the operating cement works next to the markets.

 

 

We then caught one of the little ferries across the water and walked back to our hotel.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by PurpleTraveller