BC Ferry to Victoria

We are booked on the 9.15am pick up with BC Ferries from Canada Place for the ferry to Victoria. How easy is it to get from the cruise ship to this point. Assuming some kind of bus depot at Canada Place.

We are on NCL Jewel due to dock at 8am. with one other ship in port that day.

Thinking we will need to get off the ship as soon as we can to collect luggage go through customs etc.

Thank you for any help you can give.

We are also staying in Vancouver 3 days before the cruise so can double check our route then to make sure we know where we are going on the day! (11th June 2018)

It's extremely easy. Even if the BCFerry Connector bus doesn't actually go under the pier (cruise shuttles, cruiseline tours etc. do that, so if your pickup is actually Canada Place rather than say the Pan Pacific Hotel it might be under there too) you only have to walk outside and you'll see a bus pull-in immediately to the right of the hotel entrance. Various tour companies run from this point - and every BCFC coach I've seen has the logo and wording painted on the side, not just a sign.

The only thing I'd suggest is that if you're doing a self-disembark, you should actually be among the first off - so if you're paying the extra for the local pickup you'd almost certainly have time to go and ride FlyOverCanada at the pier. Since it's weather-independent you could safely leave it until this last possible time.

NB: the Canada Place or downtown hotel pickup options for BCFC are poor value for more than one person; cab fare to the main bus station runs about $12 and BCFC add $10 per person + tax to the base ticket price so 2+ people are better just sharing a cab to the bus station.

Martincath, thank you for your help. We (3 of us) are actually travelling as part of a package type trip. Starting in Toronto, then on to Banff with the Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver, then the Alaska cruise and ending up with 3 days in Victoria. So the travel agent has already booked us on the bus with the pick up point at Canada Place.

Checking on the BC Ferries web site I see the 9.15 departure from there states it's for cruise only passengers.

The FlyOverCanada looks amazing, we should do that on one of our days in Vancouver before the cruise.

We are all really looking forward to our Canadian adventure. I have been to Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria before as well as an Alaskan cruise but for my 2 friends is all new and I'm looking forward to showing them all the lovely places I remember.

If it says it's for cruisers, then I'd expect the bus to be inside the terminal. You could swing by Canada Place on one of your precruise mornings when another ship is in port and walk down the ramp (just watch where all the cabs are lined up and the person directing traffic is standing - there's a sign on the railings that points pedestrians down to the cruise level) to make sure you can see the bus. If it's not obvious, then give them a call (1-888-788-8840 - should be free when calling from inside Canada).

Sounds like quite the package! A suggestion for some off-the-beaten-track Toronto stuff that most tourists have never heard of, but are among some of the best things in the city: the Cloud Gardens Conservatory is a very odd little tropical garden hidden away in the financial core, and was totally renovated a couple of years ago; also in the heart of downtown is TD Bank's Inuit art collection - they may no longer be open 24/7 (I always used to visit after a night on the town!) but it remains free-to-view every day of the week; and the single best piece of advice I can give if you're in the city at least 2 days is to sign up with TAP into T.O., the free Greeter program. Go get in touch right away because it's hard to schedule without at least a couple of months notice, but if available you will basically have your very own Torontonian showing just your group around for a few hours - totally free.

Thank you again. Will check all those out. We are there for 3 days but the first is tied up with a trip to Niagara, but that still leaves us two. Our personal guide would be great. It's so easy to walk for miles and still miss half the stuff.

Will also take your advice about looking for the bus, less panic on the day once we know where to go.

Cheers!