We are lucky enough to be docked in Victoria for 14 hours next September at the end of our 14 night Alaskan cruise, really excited but got a bit of a wait still. It will be our second visit, first being 25 years ago.
@@TravellingWithTeensloved watching all your Alaska vlog very interesting. It is only our second cruise out first being Disney Magic around the Med in 2011.
@karenblake9759 what a fantastic contrast - Alaska is so different than the Med, we just know you’ll love it. And thanks for watching all of our vlogs!
We also live in Victoria, albeit on the West Shore. We have been here for more than 40 years. It's quite likely I saw your ship arrive as I was walking our dog at one of the many beaches. In response to your surprise that few shops were open on your arrival, the answer lies partially in the unwillingness of store owners to expose their employees to the risks arising from escalating drug, crime and homelessness issues in Victoria's downtown area. Superficially or from a visitor's perspective, Victoria has lots of appeal. On short-stay visits, one can certainly enjoy the traditional tourist attractions like Butchart Gardens and other venues without having to experience the sketchier sides of the city. However, locals and visitors whose travel schedules allow will agree that Victoria's real beauty lies as much in the natural attractions within easy reach of the city, the beaches, trails, forests, trailways all give our home a magnificence that is unequaled elsewhere.
Hello! You live in a beautiful city, in a beautiful part of the world. We WILL be back… we were only disappointed with NCL (and most cruise lines) stopping for such a short time. We did all we could given the little time (and late hours) we were given. Cheers!
Sadly, some cruises only dock in Victoria from 9pm to midnight. This is a missed opportunity for most cruisers, as it is a nice city to explore during the day. Hopefully, more cruises will start to spend a full day in this port....
We live in Victoria. We have heard that the reason that the cruise ships only stay for a few hours is that the Cruise Lines own many of the attractions in Alaska, and so they do not want their passengers spending their money here!
@@TravellingWithTeens Probably not. If anything, it's a way to get two ships to share the same dock - one in the AM, and one in the PM. Yet, given that the US requires a 3 hour foreign port stop before returning to the USA, I could see a possibility of a 3 shop hot dock during a day.
Most of the time the ships come in too late to do much in the way of real sightseeing. The ships that come in before or around 9am, have the whole day to go to Butchart Gardens , Sidney and other major tourist attractions. The Empress Hotel also has our Miniature World, which is quite good. Most of the time the larger ships come on around 9pm when most things are already closed.
Haha. You were not docked in the "Outer Harbor". You were docked at "Ogden Point". Always fun to see your town from some else's perspective. You can make beaver tails at home. Deep fry bread dough and add your own toppings. Come back soon 😊
I don’t think we’d make BeaverTails as good as we had them in Victoria, so we’ll definitely have to come back for more! Thanks for the info on Ogden Point!
I live in Victoria, exactly one mile from Butchart Gardens. It really annoys me how nearly all the cruise ships stop here for a few hours. They have to stop due to the US 'JONES ACT', whereby foreign flagged ships, which all the cruise ships are, are NOT allowed to sail between two US cities, like Seattle and Juneau. They have to stop at a 'foreign port' between the two US ones. Hence the stop in Victoria. That's how it was for Years, the cruise ships were here for quite a few hours. Then something happened. The rumour is that the cruise ships had bought up nearly all the tourist attractions in Alaska, the gift shops , tours etc, and decided that they did not want their passengers spending their money else where! Hence the short stays. One of the exceptions is the Queen Elizabeth ! Good for us! Rule Britannia! (I am British!) She is coming in at 1pm this Sunday! Glad you like it here!
I highly recommend a return visit to Victoria on Royal Caribbean which docks during the day. Everything is open and the scenery is even more spectacular in sunlight. This longer stay will also afford time to visit Butchart Gardens with its huge flower displays.
We wish the stop in Victoria was longer! We waited in the Atrium to disembark and enjoyed the show. The line to get off the ship was crazy. I think things were closed because it was well after 8:00pm in Chinatown. Victoria is beautiful and very walkable. Cool as a Moose was our favorite shop. The next morning came too quickly. Thank you for this series, it really helped us!
Wonderful video! Thanks so much, looking at going on a cruise with a quick so at this port and wanted to see things we could do. Not only was this helpful but then I saw your channels name and had to comment and Subscribe. I travel with my teen son as a single mom and we love to cruise! Looking forward to other videos of yours, happy travels! 😊🏝️⛴️
I lived within walking, and specifically hearing distance, of where the cruise dock. The ‘pier’ mentioned is the Ogden Point breakwater at Dallas Road, a very popular walkway - 244 metres, or 800 feet. Our cherry trees tend to blossom in February, I think they were late this year (2024)They were gifted to Victoria 85 years ago by the local Japanese community and are treasured by locals and cared by the municipalities.
We did this cruise in April 2023 and came away from the Victoria stop feeling completely miffed. I would LOVE to spend at least a day there. In daylight too.
@@marcleblanc22 I hope that Skagway is accessible to cruise ships after the mishap this past winter when the new section they were putting in place was damaged on the way to Skagway. Maybe they'd found a way to dock despite what happened but I hope it won't impact anyone visiting.
Love this series to Alaska on NCL. We’re on the NCL Encore in July with our extended family. Your filming and suggestions have been beautiful and really helpful. So much so, we have rented a car through Turo for our time in Juneau.Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.
It took this cruise to see Orcas in the water, lol! When we took a (June) cruise aboard the MS Volendam through the inside-passage to Alaska we never saw one single whale or anything, either way! One day, I sat on the deck for nearly the entire day, just looking for any wildlife and I was really disappointed when I didn't so I'm thrilled for this family to have seen something so fantastic...and BABY ORCAS?! WOW!🐳🚢😊JUST WOW!
Looks like it’s a lot of work walking on cruise my trip to Giraffe Manor, Kenya & Tanzania was much more relaxed and no crowds - are there any carts to take u to the end of the wharf? I’ll definitely go on a smaller ship
Beth here, and I am OBSESSED with Giraffe Manor on Instagram! We did a Kruger safari ten years ago and it was one of the best things we ever did. If you love wildlife, Alaska is for you!
Thats called the Breakwater. Ppl walk on there all the time. Not to see ships come in. Its called the Parliment Buildings. Its at least 20 min walk to Chinatown from the inner harbour. Beavertails is something new for the tourists. Its an east coast thing. Victoria is known for its fishNchips.
Oh wow, how gorgeous were those Orcas and their babies? Every time we cruise im looking out for whales and never see any but this was awesome. The sail into Victoria is breathtaking and loved all the lit up buildings on your walk. Wondering when you are going to tell us more about the story of Tony and the ferret he took to Canada? intrigued 😂 Great video, Victoria looks as pretty as I imagined it to be.
Thank you so much for subscribing! You will have a wonderful cruise we’re certain… Alaska is amazing no matter how you get there. Best of luck choosing the best line for you
Hello my cruise in July. i will only have 3 hours in Victoria and it’s between 8- midnight I say 3 hours because im not going to want to be back that late. It’s our very last stop so. Also i am planning on us to just take a walk around. No time for anything else
I live near Victoria on the coast and see the ships pass by daily during the season. There is lots to see in Victoria and a full day there would be ideal with Butchart Gardens, the Royal Museum and the pleasant downtown area. I’m sorry cruisers don’t get to enjoy what it has to offer with their very short visit and the walk into town. BTW, I’m taking this same NCL cruise early April 2025. (I’ll stay on the ship in Ketchikan I think.)
Victoria was one of our highlights, despite being our shortest stop! One of the things we love about cruising is that it gives us a taste for places we want to return to. Have a great cruise!
Do you live in the US or the UK as your kids sounded like they have a UK accent? Shame you couldn’t have been there longer but as you say all the more reason to go back xx
@@TravellingWithTeens Many of the stores will take US cash, but I think it's kind of rude as you should see the reaction we get if we try that with Canadian cash in the US! The merchants that do take it will do it at a very high rate or often, at PAR! When paying with a card, NEVER let them process it in US dollars. Do it as Canadian and let your bank do the exchange. It's a lot cheaper!
Taking a carriage ride for roughly an hr.and half sponsored by my line.Acknowlege I only have three hrs.and want to insure I get back to the boat for the final nite.An easy decision as I love horses and can't be nice enough to them.Plus probably will benefit from the driver's knowledge of the city at twilight.
Sadly Victoria gets short shrift by the cruise lines that only stop there to satisfy the American laws. (Jones act?) It is a beautiful city. And a trip to Butchart Gardens is so wonderful but takes time to get there. Cruise lines should reconsider the beauty of this city and give passengers a decent amount of time to enjoy it.
Couldn’t agree more! It’s everything a cruise port should be, easy to get around, perfect size for a city, fantastic views and scenery, and friendly people. Who could ask for more?!
If I were you, I would complain to the cruise line about the short stay in Victoria. Maybe they will think twice and change their itinerary for future cruises.
It's unfortunate that the cruise stop was clearly an obligitory stop and didn't do your visit to Victoria justice. Based on what I saw, your stop was likely during spring and on a weeknight or Sunday. Chinatown normally closes around 7pm, but looks like the restaurants were closed so you were probably there after 9pm.
We are lucky enough to be docked in Victoria for 14 hours next September at the end of our 14 night Alaskan cruise, really excited but got a bit of a wait still. It will be our second visit, first being 25 years ago.
That sounds an IDEAL amount of port time! We hope you have an amazing trip (two
weeks!!!) and thank you so much for watching
@@TravellingWithTeensloved watching all your Alaska vlog very interesting. It is only our second cruise out first being Disney Magic around the Med in 2011.
@karenblake9759 what a fantastic contrast - Alaska is so different than the Med, we just know you’ll love it. And thanks for watching all of our vlogs!
We also live in Victoria, albeit on the West Shore. We have been here for more than 40 years. It's quite likely I saw your ship arrive as I was walking our dog at one of the many beaches. In response to your surprise that few shops were open on your arrival, the answer lies partially in the unwillingness of store owners to expose their employees to the risks arising from escalating drug, crime and homelessness issues in Victoria's downtown area. Superficially or from a visitor's perspective, Victoria has lots of appeal. On short-stay visits, one can certainly enjoy the traditional tourist attractions like Butchart Gardens and other venues without having to experience the sketchier sides of the city. However, locals and visitors whose travel schedules allow will agree that Victoria's real beauty lies as much in the natural attractions within easy reach of the city, the beaches, trails, forests, trailways all give our home a magnificence that is unequaled elsewhere.
Hello! You live in a beautiful city, in a beautiful part of the world. We WILL be back… we were only disappointed with NCL (and most cruise lines) stopping for such a short time. We did all we could given the little time (and late hours) we were given. Cheers!
Sadly, some cruises only dock in Victoria from 9pm to midnight. This is a missed opportunity for most cruisers, as it is a nice city to explore during the day. Hopefully, more cruises will start to spend a full day in this port....
A full day would be amazing, such a great city!
We live in Victoria. We have heard that the reason that the cruise ships only stay for a few hours is that the Cruise Lines own many of the attractions in Alaska, and so they do not want their passengers spending their money here!
I think it’s more to save themselves (the cruise lines) money in port fees!
@@TravellingWithTeens Probably not. If anything, it's a way to get two ships to share the same dock - one in the AM, and one in the PM. Yet, given that the US requires a 3 hour foreign port stop before returning to the USA, I could see a possibility of a 3 shop hot dock during a day.
Thank you Guys🙂 I am so glad you Guys went first before we will. Cheers.
@@JCJ7319 no problem, hope you have a great time!!!
Most of the time the ships come in too late to do much in the way of real sightseeing. The ships that come in before or around 9am, have the whole day to go to Butchart Gardens , Sidney and other major tourist attractions. The Empress Hotel also has our Miniature World, which is quite good. Most of the time the larger ships come on around 9pm when most things are already closed.
We know! We were so disappointed (not with Victoria, but with NCL)! We’ll be back though (not on a ship)
Haha. You were not docked in the "Outer Harbor". You were docked at "Ogden Point". Always fun to see your town from some else's perspective. You can make beaver tails at home. Deep fry bread dough and add your own toppings. Come back soon 😊
I don’t think we’d make BeaverTails as good as we had them in Victoria, so we’ll definitely have to come back for more! Thanks for the info on Ogden Point!
I live in Victoria, exactly one mile from Butchart Gardens. It really annoys me how nearly all the cruise ships stop here for a few hours. They have to stop due to the US 'JONES ACT', whereby foreign flagged ships, which all the cruise ships are, are NOT allowed to sail between two US cities, like Seattle and Juneau. They have to stop at a 'foreign port' between the two US ones. Hence the stop in Victoria. That's how it was for Years, the cruise ships were here for quite a few hours. Then something happened. The rumour is that the cruise ships had bought up nearly all the tourist attractions in Alaska, the gift shops , tours etc, and decided that they did not want their passengers spending their money else where! Hence the short stays. One of the exceptions is the Queen Elizabeth ! Good for us! Rule Britannia! (I am British!) She is coming in at 1pm this Sunday! Glad you like it here!
We loved it! We plan to come back for longer!!! Thanks so much for watching
I highly recommend a return visit to Victoria on Royal Caribbean which docks during the day. Everything is open and the scenery is even more spectacular in sunlight. This longer stay will also afford time to visit Butchart Gardens with its huge flower displays.
We definitely plan to return… thanks for the tip about Royal!
I'm glad you enjoyed your quick stop in Canada! You must come back and discover much more! 🇨🇦❤
Absolutely! We were blown away with how friendly you all are, so we’ll be back for sure!!!
Sorry you didn’t have more time in our beautiful city of Victoria - you’ll have to come back for a longer stay sometime. Thanks for sharing!
We totally will! Thank YOU for watching!
We wish the stop in Victoria was longer! We waited in the Atrium to disembark and enjoyed the show. The line to get off the ship was crazy. I think things were closed because it was well after 8:00pm in Chinatown. Victoria is beautiful and very walkable. Cool as a Moose was our favorite shop. The next morning came too quickly. Thank you for this series, it really helped us!
Wonderful video! Thanks so much, looking at going on a cruise with a quick so at this port and wanted to see things we could do. Not only was this helpful but then I saw your channels name and had to comment and Subscribe. I travel with my teen son as a single mom and we love to cruise! Looking forward to other videos of yours, happy travels! 😊🏝️⛴️
Thank you so much! We look forward to checking out your channel. Have a great trip!!!
I lived within walking, and specifically hearing distance, of where the cruise dock. The ‘pier’ mentioned is the Ogden Point breakwater at Dallas Road, a very popular walkway - 244 metres, or 800 feet. Our cherry trees tend to blossom in February, I think they were late this year (2024)They were gifted to Victoria 85 years ago by the local Japanese community and are treasured by locals and cared by the municipalities.
That’s lovely to hear about the trees! They really were beautiful!
Thank you! I'm biased; however LOVE Inner Harbour and especially the Parliament Building lighted up.
They were both STUNNING
We did this cruise in April 2023 and came away from the Victoria stop feeling completely miffed. I would LOVE to spend at least a day there. In daylight too.
Couldn’t agree more!
I really enjoyed this series. My daughter and I are going in September.
Thank you so much! Hope you have a wonderful time
By the way, I love the nail polish you are wearing. Can you tell me what it is?
@sheilamccarn416 yes! It is Chanel #117 Passé Muralle - glad you like it, I do too!
Great video. I’ll be cruising there in August.
What beautiful weather you’ll (probably) have! Thanks for watching and Bon voyage!!!!
getting excited just booked! 8/10 sailing...
@marcleblanc22 have a lovely time!
@@marcleblanc22 I hope that Skagway is accessible to cruise ships after the mishap this past winter when the new section they were putting in place was damaged on the way to Skagway. Maybe they'd found a way to dock despite what happened but I hope it won't impact anyone visiting.
Love this series to Alaska on NCL. We’re on the NCL Encore in July with our extended family. Your filming and suggestions have been beautiful and really helpful. So much so, we have rented a car through Turo for our time in Juneau.Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.
That’s brilliant! You’ll have a great time. Thanks for watching!
It took this cruise to see Orcas in the water, lol! When we took a (June) cruise aboard the MS Volendam through the inside-passage to Alaska we never saw one single whale or anything, either way!
One day, I sat on the deck for nearly the entire day, just looking for any wildlife and I was really disappointed when I didn't so I'm thrilled for this family to have seen something so fantastic...and BABY ORCAS?! WOW!🐳🚢😊JUST WOW!
@isabellind1292 we were so lucky! Like you, we sit watching all the time. You’ll have to book another cruise to keep looking!
@@TravellingWithTeens How nice! I really enjoyed watching your adventure! So happy to sub. Thank you TravellingWithTeens.🌎👨👩👦👦🌎
Looks like it’s a lot of work walking on cruise my trip to Giraffe Manor, Kenya & Tanzania was much more relaxed and no crowds - are there any carts to take u to the end of the wharf? I’ll definitely go on a smaller ship
Beth here, and I am OBSESSED with Giraffe Manor on Instagram! We did a Kruger safari ten years ago and it was one of the best things we ever did. If you love wildlife, Alaska is for you!
If you can see my picture I’m at Giraffe Manor Christmas morning and the giraffe is Betty
@deniselanglois6193 yes we can see it and it is an AMAZING photo. What a memory!
Thats called the Breakwater. Ppl walk on there all the time. Not to see ships come in.
Its called the Parliment Buildings.
Its at least 20 min walk to Chinatown from the inner harbour.
Beavertails is something new for the tourists. Its an east coast thing. Victoria is known for its fishNchips.
Thanks for all the detail! We can’t wait to go back!!!
Not the Parliament buildings, those are the Legislative Buildings. The Parliament buildings are in Ottawa.
@@shannonchadwick8534 google it. Parliament Building, where the legislation is held...I live there.
@@shannonchadwick8534 in Victoria it is called the Parliament Building
Actually they are the legislative buildings. Parliament Buildings are in Ottawa.
Oh wow, how gorgeous were those Orcas and their babies? Every time we cruise im looking out for whales and never see any but this was awesome. The sail into Victoria is breathtaking and loved all the lit up buildings on your walk. Wondering when you are going to tell us more about the story of Tony and the ferret he took to Canada? intrigued 😂 Great video, Victoria looks as pretty as I imagined it to be.
Hopefully we’ll bump into you on a cruise and we can tell you the ferret story in person. Thanks for watching as always, we appreciate your support!!!
@@TravellingWithTeens That would be great. Have a great week 😍
@cruisefraterpoultons you too!
When / where did you see the orcas please?
We were sailing towards Victoria, BC when they appeared so closer to Victoria/Seattle than Alaska.
@ thanks so much!! We’re going in May (Encore)
Have a great time!
Am hoping to go on a cruise to Alaska but definitely not on Bliss I’ve subscribed to get more hints what to look for - I’m 76 and going solo
Thank you so much for subscribing! You will have a wonderful cruise we’re certain… Alaska is amazing no matter how you get there. Best of luck choosing the best line for you
Hello my cruise in July. i will only have 3 hours in Victoria and it’s between 8- midnight I say 3 hours because im not going to want to be back that late. It’s our very last stop so. Also i am planning on us to just take a walk around. No time for anything else
It’s such a pretty place to walk around, you’ll have a great time! It’s a shame it’s such a short stop as it’s such a great city!
I live near Victoria on the coast and see the ships pass by daily during the season. There is lots to see in Victoria and a full day there would be ideal with Butchart Gardens, the Royal Museum and the pleasant downtown area. I’m sorry cruisers don’t get to enjoy what it has to offer with their very short visit and the walk into town. BTW, I’m taking this same NCL cruise early April 2025. (I’ll stay on the ship in Ketchikan I think.)
Victoria was one of our highlights, despite being our shortest stop! One of the things we love about cruising is that it gives us a taste for places we want to return to. Have a great cruise!
Thank you, we'll be there in September. 🤞🏽 hope the Orca are hanging around.
We hope so too! The baby was so sweet!!! Have a great cruise
Do you live in the US or the UK as your kids sounded like they have a UK accent? Shame you couldn’t have been there longer but as you say all the more reason to go back xx
We live in the UK, and we will go back to BC for sure!
Did you pay with US dollars while in Victoria BC?
We paid by card, but I think they only take Canadian cash
@@TravellingWithTeens Many of the stores will take US cash, but I think it's kind of rude as you should see the reaction we get if we try that with Canadian cash in the US! The merchants that do take it will do it at a very high rate or often, at PAR! When paying with a card, NEVER let them process it in US dollars. Do it as Canadian and let your bank do the exchange. It's a lot cheaper!
Thanks for the tip!
Thank you, Travelling With Teens.💓🚢👨👩👦👦💓
You’re very welcome! Thank YOU for watching!
What would YOU do with only three hours in Canada? Let us know 👇
Have a Canadian beer, but NOT a light beer.
Haha!
Taking a carriage ride for roughly an hr.and half sponsored by my line.Acknowlege I only have three hrs.and want to insure I get back to the boat for the final nite.An easy decision as I love horses and can't be nice enough to them.Plus probably will benefit from the driver's knowledge of the city at twilight.
@lawrencelyke8454 we saw those coaches! It looked a really beautiful way to see the city. Have a great time!!!
Sadly Victoria gets short shrift by the cruise lines that only stop there to satisfy the American laws. (Jones act?) It is a beautiful city. And a trip to Butchart Gardens is so wonderful but takes time to get there. Cruise lines should reconsider the beauty of this city and give passengers a decent amount of time to enjoy it.
Couldn’t agree more! It’s everything a cruise port should be, easy to get around, perfect size for a city, fantastic views and scenery, and friendly people. Who could ask for more?!
If I were you, I would complain to the cruise line about the short stay in Victoria. Maybe they will think twice and change their itinerary for future cruises.
We would have loved to have stayed longer, Victoria was beautiful! Thanks for watching!
It's unfortunate that the cruise stop was clearly an obligitory stop and didn't do your visit to Victoria justice. Based on what I saw, your stop was likely during spring and on a weeknight or Sunday. Chinatown normally closes around 7pm, but looks like the restaurants were closed so you were probably there after 9pm.
It was a Friday night in early April. Definitely on our list to go back, we loved what we saw!
It is NOT the Parliament buildings. It is the Legislature buildings. Wikipedia is wrong. I should know this because I grew up in Victoria, BC.
Thanks!
It's "out" not "oot"
That was me trying to be Canadian. Guess I failed! 😄
@@TravellingWithTeensThe first pronounciation was correct. The guy correcting was not.