🛳️ Live (hopefully) from Crown Princess May 12 - 23

[cruzrbachoua]

26 minutes ago, Coral said:

I heard they did. I vaguely remember someone from our roll call saying it was $14 - I never saw anything in print referring to this. This weekend I will look to see if anything was in the Patter.

 

I did not look into it as there was a huge parade and I wanted to avoid it at all costs.

Great thank you so  much.

[nini]

5 hours ago, NitaBcruising said:

Hi Theresa! I wondered if any of us cheerleaders were still cruising! LOL!!! Then I saw your post!

Thanks, it doesn't look like any bad locations are left, and glad they won't be obstructed. Although on some ships,  I hear it's just a solid metal, instead of plexiglass panel on the balcony. For cheap, that would do! 

 

I've done Alaska a few times, but not to 3 of these ports! 11 nights makes it interesting for me. 

5 hours ago, NitaBcruising said:

 

The metal railings are on the bow. They go a few back from the front on the port and starboard sides too.

Edited May 26, 2023 by nini
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[NitaBcruising]

5 minutes ago, nini said:

The metal railings are on the bow. They go a few back from the front on the port and starboard sides too.

Thank you!

We have a BF guarantee, which are at the front.  

I'm sure Princess is still trying to sell some cabins, so doubt we'll know which cabin, maybe not even until we check in! It is what it is!

[Happiest when cruising]

6 hours ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Hi Coral, in Victoria was princess still offering the bus that takes you into the center of things?  In the past it dropped off and picked up in front of the Empress Hotel.  If they did offer it do you recall the price of it?

 

Thank you and I enjoyed your trip reports.

The shuttle bus earlier this month was 15.00 USD, per person return.

We walked to downtown as we had a car rental to pick up and it was a nice morning. 
At the end of the day, we asked the bus driver how much it was for just a bus ride back and it was 10.00 USD per person. So, less if you book it as a  return trip. But….the fee for a taxi would be about 13.00 CAD. There seemed to be plenty of them around downtown, as well. In the end…we walked back. 

[cruzrbachoua]

4 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

The shuttle bus earlier this month was 15.00 USD, per person return.

We walked to downtown as we had a car rental to pick up and it was a nice morning. 
At the end of the day, we asked the bus driver how much it was for just a bus ride back and it was 10.00 USD per person. So, less if you book it as a  return trip. But….the fee for a taxi would be about 13.00 CAD. There seemed to be plenty of them around downtown, as well. In the end…we walked back. 

Thanks we have  a on our own walking foodie tour so were not sure if we could walk there , then do tour and walk back..we were thinking possibly ride there do tour and walk back to ship walking off the lovely food from the tour..but at least I know we have some options..never thought about local taxi so thanks for that info 

[Happiest when cruising]

Just now, cruzrbachoua said:

Thanks we have  a on our own walking foodie tour so were not sure if we could walk there , then do tour and walk back..we were thinking possibly ride there do tour and walk back to ship walking off the lovely food from the tour..but at least I know we have some options..never thought about local taxi so thanks for that info 

Well, we ended up walking over  23000 steps that day, which is a ridiculous amount since we had the car rental, but we went to Butchart Gardens and did a fair bit of wandering around and actually drove into a another little town called Sidney, which also had a beach walk. 
 

Enjoy your day there. I hope the weather is kind to you, too. 

[cruzrbachoua]

1 minute ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Well, we ended up walking over  23000 steps that day, which is a ridiculous amount since we had the car rental, but we went to Butchart Gardens and did a fair bit of wandering around and actually drove into a another little town called Sidney, which also had a beach walk. 
 

Enjoy your day there. I hope the weather is kind to you, too. 

Thanks yeah we don't mind walking but both of us do have some issues that can flare up so we wanted to plan ahead for some options as a backup.  

 

Were the taxi's you saw by the ship or in town by say the Empress hotel?

[miagirl]

43 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Thanks we have  a on our own walking foodie tour

Care to share details re your foodie tour?  thanks!

[cruzrbachoua]

18 minutes ago, miagirl said:

Care to share details re your foodie tour?  thanks!

Sure we have not done it yet but have read great reviews for it.  

 

We were originally thinking the downtown tour but are now doing the chocolate and churches one.   You can do it with the guide during certain seasons or on your own all year..you just download the app/passport and then go along the walk hear the history and then stop at the locations and get the samples. We are doing the on our own so we can stay more or less in certain churches and then weave in some lunch and shopping vs b2b chocolate. Then we are going to walk back to the ship past this park we found last time.. Beacon Hill Park.  It was so lovely some spots seemed like a Thomas Kinkade painting but we didn't have enough time to fully walk around and take it in as we had to get back to the ship.   

 

 

 

https://offtheeatentracktours.ca/downtown-food-city-tour/

Edited May 26, 2023 by cruzrbachoua

[2MellowCruisers]

Thank you, Coral, for so much great information!  Alaska is our favorite cruise destination.  We have taken a few already and have one coming up in July.  You have really opened our eyes to some new possibilities.  We were on the Crown last year to Alaska and loved it.  It was during the time when it was having propulsion issues.  We had the choice to change to the Discovery but we stayed with Crown because of the full Promenade.  So glad we did.  Your post brought back some good memories.

[miagirl]

13 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Sure we have not done it yet but have read great reviews for it.  

 

We were originally thinking the downtown tour but are now doing the chocolate and churches one.   You can do it with the guide during certain seasons or on your own all year..you just download the app/passport and then go along the walk hear the history and then stop at the locations and get the samples. We are doing the on our own so we can stay more or less in certain churches and then weave in some lunch and shopping vs b2b chocolate. Then we are going to walk back to the ship past this park we found last time.. Beacon Hill Park.  It was so lovely some spots seemed like a Thomas Kinkade painting but we didn't have enough time to fully walk around and take it in as we had to get back to the ship.   

 

 

 

https://offtheeatentracktours.ca/downtown-food-city-tour/

Wow!  looks great!  thank you so very much for sharing!  And, I agree Beason Hill Park is lovely.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Happiest when cruising said:

The shuttle bus earlier this month was 15.00 USD, per person return.

We walked to downtown as we had a car rental to pick up and it was a nice morning. 
At the end of the day, we asked the bus driver how much it was for just a bus ride back and it was 10.00 USD per person. So, less if you book it as a  return trip. But….the fee for a taxi would be about 13.00 CAD. There seemed to be plenty of them around downtown, as well. In the end…we walked back. 

The person who told me what I remember was $14 return (it could have been $15). They didn't take it in the morning. They also said it was cheaper to use a taxi also.

 

In the past - the cost was the same one way vs RT. 

 

Hopefully someone who used it RT can answer.

 

Sorry I don't have the info on this. 

[cruzrbachoua]

That is ok..do you remember if there were taxis at the dock? 

[Happiest when cruising]

1 hour ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Thanks yeah we don't mind walking but both of us do have some issues that can flare up so we wanted to plan ahead for some options as a backup.  

 

Were the taxi's you saw by the ship or in town by say the Empress hotel?

Yes, there were taxis at the port as well as right across the street from the busses that go back to the ships. 
 

Right now, there are no ride share options in Victoria. 

[cruzrbachoua]

23 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Yes, there were taxis at the port as well as right across the street from the busses that go back to the ships. 
 

Right now, there are no ride share options in Victoria. 

Sweet thanks we for sure now have our plan a and plan b set depending on how we feel that morning. 

[DUTRAVEL]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

The person who told me what I remember was $14 return (it could have been $15). They didn't take it in the morning. They also said it was cheaper to use a taxi also.

 

In the past - the cost was the same one way vs RT. 

 

Hopefully someone who used it RT can answer.

 

Sorry I don't have the info on this. 

There's also the option of the public bus from the cruise terminal to the Empress Hotel. Takes longer than the shuttle, but only costs 2.50CAD each way. The bus stops right in front of the cruise terminal.

[Happiest when cruising]

18 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

There's also the option of the public bus from the cruise terminal to the Empress Hotel. Takes longer than the shuttle, but only costs 2.50CAD each way. The bus stops right in front of the cruise terminal.

There was also the public bus down by the Empress Hotel for the 2ay back. You’d likely need a bus schedule or something as it was hard to tell the difference between it and the shuttle bus. When we were there, the cruise shuttles outnumbered the busses, that’s for sure. 

[Italy52]

@Coral, I just made reservations for the Butchart Gardens using the link that you provided.  We are really looking forward to the experience.  We have been to Victoria a few times but, as you know, not many cruises offer a long port stop for this place.  Finally, we get to go to the gardens.  Thanks again for the suggestion.

[fisherguy]

On 5/22/2023 at 3:37 PM, Coral said:

I try to go to the gardens every time I am in Victoria. Yes - I did the ship's excursion, only because it was a holiday. Otherwise, I think there is a tour bus that picks up at the Empress hotel and goes every hour. I wanted to stay away from downtown Victoria (parade) so I avoided that. 

 

No - 2 hours is not enough at the gardens IMO. I always seem to come in May. I would love to come in the fall or over Christmas. 

Christmas time is nice too.  The whole garden is lit up. 

[shackpacker]

Thank you so much for all the information and your stunning pictures.  Can't wait for our trip in September.

[Coral]

58 minutes ago, fisherguy said:

Christmas time is nice too.  The whole garden is lit up. 

Envious 🙂 I would be happy to see it at night or with fireworks. Would love to see fall and Christmas. Our bus driver said he loved Christmas time out there.

[nini]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

Envious 🙂 I would be happy to see it at night or with fireworks. Would love to see fall and Christmas. Our bus driver said he loved Christmas time out there.

We visited at Christmas one year with our daughters. We lived in Oregon and took the ferry. It is the low season and hotels are not expensive.

[CaribbeanIsland]

Thanks for great "live" report. When is your next trip?

[Coral]

@thesmiths took this gorgeous picture of the Crown Princess in Juneau on May 18th and shared it with our roll call. They were on the Miracle! Excellent photo.

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Coral

[SeaCBear]

On 5/13/2023 at 7:21 PM, wolfie11 said:

Sitka - pick up some of the locally-made Theobroma chocolate bars!

 

 

I think Theobroma chocolate is actually Canadian, made in Quebec.