Victoria, BC

[heatherandjohn]

We are in Victoria, BC from 7:15pm-midnight. What do you recommend doing? It seems like an odd time to be in port.

[Budget Queen]

You can walk about the Inner Harbor, or take a ship tour. Look over a shore excursion list.

[scottbee]

We are in Victoria, BC from 7:15pm-midnight. What do you recommend doing? It seems like an odd time to be in port.

 

 

You're in port because of the requirement in the PVSA to visit a foreign port. That being said, Victoria is an interesting city, with a lot of history compared to anywhere else in the North West. Also, in the summer, it's not dark until 10pm, so there will be plenty of light.

 

What sort of things do you like to do?

[KVR]

Our cruise is in September from 7:30 to midnight. Not much daylight then. There are only 4 ship excursions offered:

 

High Tea at the Empress Hotel

Pub Crawl

Wine and Chocolate tasting

Castel Tour

 

Would you recommend any of those or just walk around the downtown area and find a place to eat?

 

Any other specific suggestions of activites to consider?

[BIG_Steve]

We took a short bus tour, 1 hour. The idea was to take a quick tour, and be back in time for shopping and walking around. The tour was a let down because traffic was heavy, so an hour was even less time then it sounded like. The shopping was a turn off because the shops were stuffed to the gills with tourists who were less then considerate. The street performers were okay, but it was very crowded.

 

Don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer, that's just the way it was. From your list, I would probably opt for the pub crawl.

 

Oops, old thread. Well, this response was for KVR

[KVR]

Thanks for the info. I re-activiated the thread since it didn't get any real responses and I had the same question. Your input was very helpful.

[BIG_Steve]

Hopefully, you'll get some more input. You may want to go to the Canada section and ask there also.

[agabbymama]

Thanks for the info. I re-activiated the thread since it didn't get any real responses and I had the same question. Your input was very helpful.

 

That is an unusual and short time there. If the tour is to Craigdarroch Castle, it is indeed very interesting and well worth a visit. I don't drink alot, so the pub crawl wouldn't excite me.

 

Empress Hotel is a beautiful old hotel and worth a look see, but we didn't pay the exorbitant fee for High Tea.

 

We had a lot longer time there than you, we rented a car and drove to Butchart Gardens, Fort Rood & Fisguard Lighthouse, then up to Craigdarroch Castle on our way back into town to turn in the car, but as I said, we had all day there.

 

The pier is a ways from downtown, but there was a shuttle for $5. Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

[KVR]

I didn't even think of the Canada Board. That was a great idea. I did look over it and the Alaska boards. If we were not comging in so late we would have done the gardens, but not an option this trip. I think we are leaning towards just going to the harbor/downtown area and walking around and getting a bite to eat. I really can't see paying that much for tours. We'll get some good pics of the area, a meal and do some shopping. Thanks again for the info.

[trophy_23]

I didn't even think of the Canada Board. That was a great idea. I did look over it and the Alaska boards. If we were not comging in so late we would have done the gardens, but not an option this trip. I think we are leaning towards just going to the harbor/downtown area and walking around and getting a bite to eat. I really can't see paying that much for tours. We'll get some good pics of the area, a meal and do some shopping. Thanks again for the info.

 

For a short stopover you have the right idea. We are from Vancouver, so Victoria is very accessible and we considered not even getting off the ship on our last trip. We did end up going to town just to wander around, it truly is a beautiful city, especially the Inner Harbour. They will have the flower baskets out etc, horse drawn carriage and the parliament buildings lit up.

[lilacbirman]

We were there from 7 to midnight in July. We too felt that wasn't much time so we decided to take a quick look around the rose garden at the Empress Hotel, then we did some shopping and was back at the ship by around 10:30.

[starlit]

We loved the horse drawn carriage ride. I think it was $50 for a 30 minute ride for 4 people. The driver told us a lot about the city and it was fun to see some of the areas around downtown. There are a lot of good pubs on government street, which is pretty close to the port (maybe a 15 min walk?) It's fun to walk around, the parliament buildings are beautiful to see at night, as is the Empress hotel. I wouldn't do high tea there even if you got there in time, it is extremely expensive. We loved Victoria, it's so beautiful!

[Putterdude]

Victoria has 2 horse drawn carriage tour companies, here are links for your convenience. Another thought is that if it is a nice evening there are a number of buskers who perform on the causeway of the Inner Harbour across the street from the Empress Hotel.

 

www.victoriacarriage.com/

 

http://www.tallyhotours.com/

 

http://www.causewayartists.ca/