Victoria, BC

[KansasScrapper]

We will be there for the day. I have not been able to find much on it and Royal Caribben hasn't listed any excursion yet for it. Anyone have any suggestions?? I think I read something about a castle and winery. Is it close to the port or is it even there??? Any info would be helpful. What is there to do in Victoria????

[Lovharvey]

We were in Victoria several years ago as the last stop on our Alaska cruise and Victoria is a beautiful place. There were light poles on just about every street corner with some very pretty flowers and this was in Sept. Victoria is in a valley and the weather is perfect just about all year long. We were only there for about 5 hours and I wish that it had been longer. For the length of time that we were there, there were only so many things that we could do. We took a tour that stopped at several places to have a local beer and food at one place. I take a lot of pictures also and had almost a 1,000 when we got back from our cruise. You might try Princess cruises to Alaska and click on the places to go in Victoria. Enjoy your cruise.

[Luckysll]

There is a lot to do in Victoria. It all depends on what you like. If you like flowers, then Butchart Gardens is a definite must. It is about a 1/2 hour North of Victoria and taking one of the ship's tours is probably the best way to do it since you don't have a lot of time here.

 

http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

The castle you are likely thinking about is Craigdarroch Castle. It's a short cab ride from the pier. Here's a link:

 

http://www.craigdarrochcastle.com/

 

If you just want to wander around the Inner Harbour, it's about a 20 min walk from the pier or you can take a shuttle bus into town. There's the Empress Hotel, the Royal BC Museum (you could spend your entire visit there easily), lots of restaurants and shops.

 

Wineries are a little way out of town (in the same general vicinity of Butcharts). Here's a link with a map and info on three:

 

http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/SearchResultsListings/BritishColumbia.htm?CATID=227&LOCID=651&KWDS=&NBY=True&FLID=651&FL1ID=4&PN=1&Lev1=4

 

Enjoy your visit here.

[judyf]

Great info. I'm feeling much better about our stop in Victioria now.

 

I would love to visit the Castle but we arrive on the NCL Pearl and our hours are 6-12 midnight and I see the Castle closes early.

 

Sorry I will miss that.

[eh2zed]

High tea in the afternoon at the Fairmont Empress right on the harbour. So civilized.

[juliecat]

High tea in the afternoon at the Fairmont Empress right on the harbour. So civilized.

 

What does it cost in October? The prices seem to be different every month of the year (high season vs low), but October is not on the table. Any ideas?

 

J

[bcscot]

What does it cost in October? The prices seem to be different every month of the year (high season vs low), but October is not on the table. Any ideas?

 

J

 

No, I think that it is always served on a table. ;)

 

Always expensive, but the setting is second to none. We go to Murchie's on Government St. It is buffet style service but very good tea/coffee & scones/cakes in a lovely traditional old tea merchant's shop. Yum!

 

Graham.

[Jeff in Torrance]

If you walk a couple of miles, roundtrip, you can just walk into the main center of Victoria from the dock area. There is a beautiful park and gardens not far from the downtown area, which costs nothing to visit (think of Buchart without working at it very hard). The Parliament building is right there. The Empress Hotel. Plenty of eating places.

[Putterdude]

The shuttle from the Ogden Point cruise terminal runs about $7 pp return and drops you off across the street from the Empress Hotel. From there you can catch a Grayline shuttle out to the Butchart Gardens for $8 each way. Your admission to the gardens is $28.

For free once downtown you can walk on Government and visit all of its unique shops....ok, forget the free thing:) and in the evening during the summer there are lots of buskers to enjoy on the Esplanade of the Inner Harbour in front of the Empress.

There are also a couple of horse drawn carriage excursions...here are the links for those as well as the buskers:

www.victoriacarriage.com/

www.tallyhotours.com/

http://www.causewayartists.ca/welcome.html

[MattStevens]

I was there last may with Princess. We got there late and missed our whale watching tour. It was night time and many stores were not open. I turned back half way to Chinatown because of thelarge number of panhandlers.

 

I would have rather stayed on the ship.

[cruiselove-7]

i am on the star princess and wanted to book a 630pm whale watch tour with princess of whales tours ,how late does the ship get into port?we are supposed to be in port 5-12.are the ships usually late?:D

[Langley Cruisers]

I was there last may with Princess. We got there late and missed our whale watching tour. It was night time and many stores were not open. I turned back half way to Chinatown because of thelarge number of panhandlers.

 

I would have rather stayed on the ship.

 

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. Sadly, Victoria is notorious for the panhandler problem; there is a large population of street people there, but no more than any other metropolitan city.

 

I think due to the late hour and your missing your excursion, Victoria left a sour taste in your mouth. I do hope you have the chance to go back again some day, because it really is a magnificent city.

[Putterdude]

i am on the star princess and wanted to book a 630pm whale watch tour with princess of whales tours ,how late does the ship get into port?we are supposed to be in port 5-12.are the ships usually late?:D

 

5-12 is just a bit too early for an evening whale watching excursion....I would think of one of the other excursions mentioned in the above posts. If you were there 2 or 3 weeks later I would say go for it. No, the ships are not always late...but can be.

[judyf]

5-12 is just a bit too early for an evening whale watching excursion....I would think of one of the other excursions mentioned in the above posts. If you were there 2 or 3 weeks later I would say go for it. No, the ships are not always late...but can be.

 

What about late May? We're in Victoria on May 30th.

 

Our ship time is in the evening also on the NCL Pearl. I guess the ship tours are the only way to go with this time in port.

[Putterdude]

Sunset is shortly after 9:00 pm with twilight about 30 or so mins longer towards the end of May. With the tight time in port I agree...use a ship's excursion if you are going to do much other than shuttle into town and walk around the downtown area.

[Hope to Cruise]

We did a whale watching ship's excursion in early May this year. Left about 6:00 pm, several hours of light still and lots of whales. Would recommend it highly.

[cruiselove-7]

did you do the whale watching tour with the ship,?or with a tour company>did they pick you up at the dock?was it the zodic boat and you saw lots of whales?and you said it was still day light,thanks:)

[mlmagic]

We will be there for the day. I have not been able to find much on it and Royal Caribben hasn't listed any excursion yet for it. Anyone have any suggestions?? I think I read something about a castle and winery. Is it close to the port or is it even there??? Any info would be helpful. What is there to do in Victoria????

 

 

There are several of these wine tour/castle visits with each cruiseline...If you have the chance and RCCL offers the wine tour with Craigdarroch castle...GO, it is so lovely and what a beautiful peaceful way to spend the day! Highly recommended! Depending on you cruise date, they will have their shore excursions listed that they offer, usually several months/weeks out. You can always call them too and inquire when to book. These things do fill up the longer you wait! Have fun!! WE will be there again in August on X...

[rome2009]

Just to clarify: Craigdarroch castle is not really a castle, but a very old house. Here is what most people who visit Victoria do (even locals). Go down to the main area where the Parliament building is and stroll around that area. The road that fronts the Empress leads to many quaint shops and eateries. The Royal BC Museum, which is right there, is worth seeing, even for wee ones. Locals and tourists stroll the waterfront, taking in the ambiance, street vendors and performers and eat ice-cream. Butcharts Gardens is very beautiful if you're into gardens. If not, I would skip it. As for whale watching, it is a fun thing to do if you do have time. I would skip booking with the ship and simply go on line, find a company that does it, book with them, and then when you get into port, simply walk or take a taxi into town. Most of the whale watching companies run right off the area that is next to the Parliament buildings.

[Putterdude]

Just a few comments on the above post:

The Royal BC Museum is a wonderful venue but does close at 5 pm.

The Parliament bulidings are located in Ottawa some 4,677 kms east of Victoria what are in Victoria are our Provincial Legislature Buildings.

The Butchart Gardens are a world class attraction and people come from all over the world to see them...it would be a shame to be this close to them and not see them. They are open any evening that a cruise ship is in Victoria and are illuminated in the evening.

While a some whale watching excrursions depart from the causeway in front of the Empress Hotel and the Legislature Bldgs, by no means do all.

The one fact that the poster is correct about is that Craigdarroch castle is not really not a castle but a large mansion. That said "while not my cup of tea" a lot of tourists do enjoy it or it wouldn't have been in business for many years.

[Langley Cruisers]

The Parliament bulidings are located in Ottawa some 4,677 kms east of Victoria what are in Victoria are our Provincial Legislature Buildings.

 

 

Errr... lighten up a bit? :p I lived in Victoria for over 35 years and even I called them "The Parliament Buildings". We all did, locals and media alike. It's not really that big of a deal, especially to correct someone who is from California. ;)

[rome2009]

If you like gardens and the such then BG is a place to visit, but if it not your cup of tea, then the ride all the way out and back is not worth it. That being said, the gardens are beautiful... if that is your cup of mojo!

[Skirt Boy]

You had posted an inquiry on another site about the NCL Pearl and cabins with the obstructed balcony 8542, 8544 etc. Did you go on the NCL Pearl or do you have any more information on those obstructed cabins?

[scottbee]

The Parliament bulidings are located in Ottawa some 4,677 kms east of Victoria what are in Victoria are our Provincial Legislature Buildings.

 

While the federal government has a set of Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, the BC Provincial government has Parliament Buildings located at the corner of Belleville and Government Street in Victoria. If you believe that the BC Government is incorrect it what they call the buildings in which they inact laws, you can probably find some contact info here to correct them

http://www.leg.bc.ca/info/2-2.htm

[scottbee]

Errr... lighten up a bit? :p I lived in Victoria for over 35 years and even I called them "The Parliament Buildings". We all did, locals and media alike. It's not really that big of a deal, especially to correct someone who is from California. ;)

 

It's OK, you're right, they're the [bC] Parliament Buildings.