What is there to do in Victoria, Canada?

[halfmonkey]

The cruise from Vancouver on 9/27/15, shows that it's stopping at Victoria from 8:15 to 2:45. That doesn't seem like a lot of time. From what I researched, it seems that the most popular thing to do is either visit Buchart Gardens or do some whale watching. If you've been whale watching while visiting Victoria, I'd like to get your feedback on how successful your tour was in finding some whales. From what I researched, it seems like it's very expensive to go on these whale watching tours. Considering how many of us there are, that might not be feasible.

Does anybody know exactly which area the ship docks at? I'm just guessing that it's close to the downtown/fisherman's wharf area.

Considering that it's such a short time in port, does anybody care to share their opinions of what they did while visiting Victoria and what they would recommend in that short time? We'll be traveling in a group of 7 people to include both my mom and mother-in-law, DH, DW, DS8, DS6, DD(almost)3. It'll be our first time in Victoria so I'm guessing worse case scenario, we'll need to do some kind of city bus tour. Anybody have any recommendations or should we just stick with Disney tours?

 

[Mousesmom]

I am lucky enough to live in Victoria.......

Buchart is amazing but your kids might get a little bored looking at flowers and gardens. Close to it is Butterfly World which is awesome. Either of these is a long taxi ride from Ogden Point where the ship docks.

I believe there is a shuttle service to downtown but don't quote me on that.

There's city tours that start at the Empress Hotel, or you can opt to hire a Kabuki Cab (bike pulled cab) for a tour.

I think you might enjoy Beacon Hill Park. On the outskirts of it is the Beacon Drive in which has the best ice cream in Victoria. From there you can walk down to Dallas Road and enjoy the scenery.

I've never done whale watching but lots of people do.

If you have questions about anything, ask me I've lived here most of my life.

 

[tortoni]

We are taking the same cruise this year and purchased a Disney excursion to the gardens. I have always wanted to see these so I am beyond happy.

Mousemom, I suspect this will take up most of our time in Victoria, but is there anything near the pier you would recommend if we have a little extra time?

 

[sabrecmc]

On our 2011 cruise, we did a DCL horse-drawn trolley excursion from the port that took us on a city tour and gave a bit of history and flavor. We followed that up with Princess Tea at the Empress hotel and then a visit to the Natural History Museum (not sure if that was what it was called, but it was basically across the street from the Empress and had a great collection of exhibits about the area). A DCL courtesy bus picked up near the Empress and dropped us off at the port.

Victoria was absolutely lovely! The front yards of the homes were stunning. Our tea was yummy (but PRICEY!) and service at the Empress was outstanding. DD enjoyed the Natural History Museum.

We were there on the Pacific Coast/First Alaskan cruise in late April/early May and were told that we'd have better whale watching in Alaska. We did see whales on our Alaskan excursion, but probably saw just as many from our verandah!

 

[rcchello]

When we stopped at Victoria there was a free shuttle that stopped by the Fairmont Empress Hotel. On the left of the hotel is the shopping district, on the right the BC Legislature Building and the Royal BC museum.

The museum is excellent http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ with good exhibits of the natural history, First People (what we call native Americans), founding of Victoria, etc.

The hotel is where the English teas are held that are mentioned in the tours.

 

[clten]

We were in Victoria last May (the repositioning up the Pacific Coast). We did the whale watching in Victoria (had been before and had already done the gardens). We saw zero whales on our trip. They gave some interesting information and learn some things about Orcas but didn't see any of them. It was overcast when we started so we took the inside seats (everyone else who boarded before us took positions outside). But once it turned rainy and cold, everyone on the boat tried to pile inside. Wasn't a lot of fun. I would only do it again if I was guaranteed a whale sighting (doesn't have to be the full fare, but it was expensive for a rainy boat ride) or if it was nice weather!

 

[halfmonkey]

On our 2011 cruise, we did a DCL horse-drawn trolley excursion from the port that took us on a city tour and gave a bit of history and flavor. We followed that up with Princess Tea at the Empress hotel and then a visit to the Natural History Museum (not sure if that was what it was called, but it was basically across the street from the Empress and had a great collection of exhibits about the area). A DCL courtesy bus picked up near the Empress and dropped us off at the port.

Victoria was absolutely lovely! The front yards of the homes were stunning. Our tea was yummy (but PRICEY!) and service at the Empress was outstanding. DD enjoyed the Natural History Museum.

We were there on the Pacific Coast/First Alaskan cruise in late April/early May and were told that we'd have better whale watching in Alaska. We did see whales on our Alaskan excursion, but probably saw just as many from our verandah!

That's interesting as that might be our 3rd DCL cruise or 3rd cruise with another cruise line. I would love to do an excursion where we can see whales or killer whales out in the open sea but if they're visible from the ship, why pay extra.

If and when we do our 3rd cruise, I might try and pick an alaskan cruise when school gets out so starting the second week of the June. Does anybody know if the whales and killer whales are active during this time? I have no idea when whale watching season is.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been to Victoria many times including on th Disney cruise a couple of Years ago. At that time there was no shuttle to town. I didn't get off but my husband and grand daughter walked into town. It was pretty easy walk. Th gardens are fabulous but I'd recommend you do the excursion because otherwise you would need to get a cab I think since there is so little time. Others have suggested the parks, etc. the downtown area at night is stunning with all the lights on the buildings. The empress is lovely to go into. The tiger bar there is great for drinks but no kids allowed. Along the waterfront there are lots of street vendors, musicians, performers...it's lots of fun just to walk around and hang out. The harbor is one of the most beautiful in the world with planes, ferries, water taxis, etc, I suggest you just enjoy the city, you won't be disappointed. We have been there 5 or 6 times and it's never enough.

 

[sabrecmc]

That's interesting as that might be our 3rd DCL cruise or 3rd cruise with another cruise line. I would love to do an excursion where we can see whales or killer whales out in the open sea but if they're visible from the ship, why pay extra.

If and when we do our 3rd cruise, I might try and pick an alaskan cruise when school gets out so starting the second week of the June. Does anybody know if the whales and killer whales are active during this time? I have no idea when whale watching season is.

On our whale watching excursion in Juneau, I will say that we got closer to the whales and also got to see other wildlife, like eagle and sea lions. But we saw MORE whales from our verandah. So, it was kind of a quality vs. quantity thing. Closer to the whales and with more viewing time on the excursion b/c the boat is stopped for you to take pictures vs. quantity of sightings from the ship. I'd probably do a whale watching excursion again, but would do a non-DCL one with a smaller outfit. Our trip was fine, but reading other reviews, I think those who booked their own whale watching excursions had better luck. our boat was pretty filled and pretty big, so could only get so close (I want to say like 50 feet away maybe, but don't really remember).

 

[Mousesmom]

Mousemom, is there anything near the pier you would recommend if we have a little extra time?

The pier is a fair ways from much of anything except by taxi. If you have a couple of hours, you might want to go to China Town (right downtown)

 

[Mousesmom]

PS - the Tally-Ho, Hippo bus or a horse drawn carriage are also fun options.

If you are here at night in the fall, there's a cool Ghost Walk.

 

[KORY]

I also live in Victoria I have done whale watching and loved it I would suggest eagle wing tours for that. high noon tea at the empress, hippo tour, horse and buggy ride, royal bc museum, china town, the bug zoo, miniature world, harbor ferry tour. there's so much to do I hope some of these help you plan ur short time in Victoria.

 

[ludari]

I've been to Victoria four times (two times with DCL and twice with another cruise line) and although it's a beautiful place if your an active person like me (I like to bicycle ride, scuba dive, hiking, kayaking, etc) there isn't much to do. I've done two different tours (city and garden) on two different trips and like I said it's a beautiful place but IMHO not much to do. On my last visit to Victoria I did walk from the ship into town but after a quick look around and several pictures I returned to the ship.

I should mention that I always book my port adventures through the cruise line so my tour selections where limited. If I find myself visiting Victoria again I would definitely look into booking something on my own.

 

[halfmonkey]

I also live in Victoria I have done whale watching and loved it I would suggest eagle wing tours for that. high noon tea at the empress, hippo tour, horse and buggy ride, royal bc museum, china town, the bug zoo, miniature world, harbor ferry tour. there's so much to do I hope some of these help you plan ur short time in Victoria.

Does anybody know if the port adventure offered through DCL for whale watching is through Eagle Wing Tours or is it another company? The Eagle Wing Tour company has a pretty nice website and it says that it guarantees whale sighting. It seems that if you don't see any sightings during your outing, they offer you a return trip to get another chance at seeing whales. Not sure how useful this would be since we'd be visiting Victoria as a stop along our way down to San Diego but if we did do it, I hope we see something. Especially at the prices that they're asking.

 

[KORY]

I dont know what whale tour dcl offers. Maybe call dcl to find out.