May 14, 2012 - Va-moose-ing to Vancouver!

[Disneyana'sAunt]

Hi Janice,

We live in Victoria and I believe there are free buses that will take you from the Cruise Ship to downtown Victoria. The bus will drop you off outside the Empress Hotel. From there you can buy tickets and get a bus that takes you out to Butchart Gardens I believe. I'm not 100% certain but that's how it's been done in previous years.

Thanks!! We are wanting to do the afternoon tea. Do you recommend it or is there somewhere else that does an authentic english tea better? My 12 year old niece is wanting to do this.

Janice

 

[tomoyo]

Hi Janice,

We live in Victoria and I believe there are free buses that will take you from the Cruise Ship to downtown Victoria. The bus will drop you off outside the Empress Hotel. From there you can buy tickets and get a bus that takes you out to Butchart Gardens I believe. I'm not 100% certain but that's how it's been done in previous years.

Sorry, I don't mean to step on the toes of a local, but from my research, I'm fairly certain those buses by the pier aren't free. However, $8 per person rt isn't too bad.

http://www.cvscruisevictoria.com/cruiseship_shuttle.html

Or there's public transportation, which is $2.50 per person one way, but not as comfy most likely.

 

[disneymom3430]

Thanks!! We are wanting to do the afternoon tea. Do you recommend it or is there somewhere else that does an authentic english tea better? My 12 year old niece is wanting to do this.

Janice

From what I've heard The Empress is the place to go for afternoon tea. It's been over 20 years since I was there but did enjoy it. Be prepared though to pay quite a bit. From what I've heard is it's quite pricey. You'll definitely be paying for the experience.

 

[tomoyo]

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[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Are you doing the garden tour thru Disney? If not how are you getting there? Thanks for any help about transportation!

Janice

We booked it through Cruise Victoria. The link was just posted by Tomoyo. There is a shuttle that is $8 to take us to where we need to go. It is about a block away to get the bus. We bought the tix in advance on their website so we know we are going. I booked the 9:45 so we didn't have to stress about getting there for the 9:00 AM.

I ordered our tickets today for the Walt Disney Museum! AAA discount saved us $15! Does anyone know if there is transportation options from the port? We don't want to rent a car. Also, can anyone recommend any restaurants in that area? Thanks!!

Janice

San Francisco has wonderful transportation. I am sure there are buses that go there but you will need to look up the transportation schedule. If i remember correctly we would have to take 2 buses to go there. We are not going until our October cruise.

Thanks!! We are wanting to do the afternoon tea. Do you recommend it or is there somewhere else that does an authentic english tea better? My 12 year old niece is wanting to do this.

Janice

You may wish to check their menu online before you make the reservations (and you will most likely need reservations) My daughter loves tea but it was not only on the pricier side (which was fine) but she was not thrilled with the options. There is also another tea cottage that my friend suggested called (I think) The White Heather. I plan on going to see the hotel even though we will not be having tea.

Sorry, I don't mean to step on the toes of a local, but from my research, I'm fairly certain those buses by the pier aren't free. However, $8 per person rt isn't too bad.

http://www.cvscruisevictoria.com/cruiseship_shuttle.html

Or there's public transportation, which is $2.50 per person one way, but not as comfy most likely.

That is the site I got my Garden tour through. The shuttle is $8 round trip per the site.

I logged in and saw I've been assigned a room number. An 11C to an 11B, oh well. At least you can update my cabin info now, it's 6637.

I have updated you!

 

[rillsung]

It looks like you didn't update the FE count after adding my in-laws. It should be +1

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

It looks like you didn't update the FE count after adding my in-laws. It should be +1

I can not count - sorry! Got it.

 

[JNelson825]

Looking forward to this cruise with my husband, daughter (12), mother-in-law and step mother-in-law.

 

[Goofy Adpi]

I ordered our tickets today for the Walt Disney Museum! AAA discount saved us $15! Does anyone know if there is transportation options from the port? We don't want to rent a car. Also, can anyone recommend any restaurants in that area? Thanks!! Janice

I'm planning on doing the Viavor (?) hop on hop off bus. It's map says it stops near the port and the "Walt Disney Museum" is one of the official stops. And then you can see the rest of the city too.

Thanks!! We are wanting to do the afternoon tea. Do you recommend it or is there somewhere else that does an authentic english tea better? My 12 year old niece is wanting to do this. Janice

I found out that you can make reservations through Open Table. It's on my to do list.


Side Note (FE): Thank you so much for being so understanding. On my last cruise, which was my first Disney cruise, the FE experience was a bit more ..... intense.

 

[Disneyana'sAunt]

Thanks disneymom3430, A Litle Pixie Dust, tomoyo and Goofy Adpi. All of the information has helped. I'm going to cancel our disney excursion and we'll do it on our own. We can get Disneyana a child price this way.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Thanks disneymom3430, A Litle Pixie Dust, tomoyo and Goofy Adpi. All of the information has helped. I'm going to cancel our disney excursion and we'll do it on our own. We can get Disneyana a child price this way.

We got our DD a youth's price that way too. Just as a FYI - If you make the Garden Tour for the 9:45 and you do get there for 9AM and there is room on the bus - they will take you early. We are looking forward to it!

 

[tomoyo]

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[Magix]

I keep contemplating bringing some of my pirate gear for pirate night, but I think we're just going to go with pirate-themed t-shirts. I'll probably bring along some of my pirate rings and necklaces, though. And perhaps my own bandana. My formal wear will take up plenty of space, so I don't think we'll have the room for much else. Pirates are really my thing, though, so it's kind of a bummer not to be able to bring the coat, hat, etc. But, it'll be fun, anyway.

 

[rillsung]

Is anyone dressing up for pirate night?

I love dressing up and wearing costumes and such, but we decided to take carry on sized luggage only, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make everything fit.

Wow our days of carry on only are long over! We'll have 3 large suitcases (maybe), 3 carseats, 2 strollers, 2 kid carriers....

 

[everafter1]

Hi cruisers! My husband and I booked this sailing a few months ago, but I haven't had time to come on here and say hi!

Random question... Is anyone visiting Disneyland before the cruise? If so, how are you getting from Anaheim to the Port? I have friends in L.A. but I figured I'd see if there was another way

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Hi everyone, I posted right after we booked this cruise but then things got very busy and I haven't posted since. I will try to get on here more often. I can't believe it is now less than 2 months until we cruise We are really looking forward to this cruise!

We are spending 2 days in Seattle after the cruise and flying home from there. Can anyone tell me the best way to get from Vancouver to Seattle. We were going to rent a car and drive but car rental rates are very high. Is there a less expensive way to do this in case those rates don't come down at all?

 

[disneymom3430]

Hi everyone, I posted right after we booked this cruise but then things got very busy and I haven't posted since. I will try to get on here more often. I can't believe it is now less than 2 months until we cruise We are really looking forward to this cruise!

We are spending 2 days in Seattle after the cruise and flying home from there. Can anyone tell me the best way to get from Vancouver to Seattle. We were going to rent a car and drive but car rental rates are very high. Is there a less expensive way to do this in case those rates don't come down at all?

Have you considered by bus? We are busing from Vancouver to Bellingham to fly down to Long Beach before the cruise. For our family of 4 it's only $50.00 by Greyhound. I can't imagine it would be that much more to continue on to Seattle. It's worth looking in to anyway.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Have you considered by bus? We are busing from Vancouver to Bellingham to fly down to Long Beach before the cruise. For our family of 4 it's only $50.00 by Greyhound. I can't imagine it would be that much more to continue on to Seattle. It's worth looking in to anyway.

Thank you! I will definitely check into that. I had not really checked anything other than car rentals so far and the prices for that are crazy right now. We could always take the bus and then rent a car in Seattle if that is cheaper. When you go by bus is there a limit to the amount of luggage you are allowed. We will probably have 1 or 2 checked bags and 3 carry ons. Also do you know where we would be able to get the bus in relation to the cruise terminal in Vancouver?

 

[KarenMom]

Random question... Is anyone visiting Disneyland before the cruise? If so, how are you getting from Anaheim to the Port? I have friends in L.A. but I figured I'd see if there was another way

I'm staying at DLR for 3 nights prior to our cruise and looking for the best way to get to the Port as well. So far I've found out that DCL transportation can do it for $35 per person one way but they don't pick up from the DLR until noon and I want to leave earlier than that. Now I'm researching shuttles. I'm traveling solo so I don't want to rent a car for just myself. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm sure there are others visiting Disneyland prior to the cruise.

7 weeks to go and I can't wait!

Karen

 

[tomoyo]

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