Our last day on the Alaskan Cruise portion of our 2015 roadtrip west was spent mostly at sea, traveling back down the coast of Alaska and Canada. Our last port of call would be a late one in Victoria B.C. which didn’t start until 7 pm!
Spa Pedicure
I spent my last proper morning on the ship getting a pedicure in the ship’s spa! I have always wanted to do a cruise spa experience, and with last-day discounts, my pedicure “only” cost $45. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures! It was an early morning for me, especially since we lost an hour overnight. Let’s blame that.
I had a really great talk with the woman working on my feet. I think she was from Jamaica. Since this was one of the few times I got to have a real conversation with a ship’s crew member, I took the chance to ask her all sorts of questions. How she started working on cruise ships, what it was like, how long her contract was for, when they got time off, etc. It was a great conversation! And she did an excellent job on my feet. Yay.
Cooking Show
After breakfast, Mom & I went to a cooking demonstration in the theater, which was more like a comedy act. I certainly don’t remember anything about the food! There was supposed to be a galley tour of the kitchens afterwards, but none of us could find where to go for that. I’m sorry to have missed it, I would have loved a backstage look at the ship.
I napped and packed my luggage during the afternoon, with enough time to read on deck and see some killer whales swimming beside the ship!
Dinner & Stampede
We had a lovely final dinner in our regular dining room with our excellent servers. It was a little earlier than usual because everyone wanted off the ship right at 7 pm when we came into port.
When you have an excursion, usually you meet in a certain spot on the ship and you get priority to disembark first. I’m not sure this happened tonight. It seemed like the entire ship lined up at the same time to walk through customs and into Victoria. And with such a limited port time, who could blame them? All the same, it went pretty quickly.
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is a much larger city than the small tourist towns we have been visiting. And as such, there is plenty to do here! I won’t cover anything in much detail, but let’s hit the highlights to get a decent overview.
Victoria is self-described as the most British of Canadian cities and the oldest city in the Pacific Northwest, and it shows the most in its stately older buildings. Take a FREE tour of the Parliament Building (only at stated times–see link) or take afternoon tea or an evening drink at the bar in the impressive Empress Hotel. Or maybe chuck all that and go to an
Royal BC Museum
One of the most popular attractions in downtown Victoria is the Royal BC Museum of natural and human history. A huge woolly mammoth seems to figure prominently in most pictures of the museum, so I expect you’ll see him centrally-located, Night-of-the-Museum style. Also, learn about First Nations (which is what Canadians call their native people groups) and artifacts from thousands of years of history in the area. An IMAX theater experience is also adjacent.
Tickets range from $17 for an adult one-day admission to $35.45 for two-day admission plus one IMAX show.
Beacon Hill Park
Victoria is known as a City of Gardens due to its extremely temperate climate year-round. This is the southernmost city in Canada, well with the Pacific temperate zone and it hardly ever snows, plus it gets plenty of rain. Great for growing things! In fact, we learned that you can get a tax deduction if you have a “farm”. On the way to Butchart Gardens, we passed
The largest park in Victoria is Beacon Hill Park within walking distance of the Inner Harbor, Royal BC Museum, and the Empress Hotel. There are walking trails, sports fields, a concert stage, the world’s 4th-tallest totem pole, playgrounds, water play areas, water features and more.
Farther inland, you can tour the extensive gardens of the Government House for FREE anytime. If you’d like a guided tour of several of Victoria’s public and private gardens, book the popular Victorian Garden Tours. No prices are listed, it looks like you call them up and work something out with them directly.
Craigdarroch Castle
Out near the Government House is
Tickets are $14.60 and under and include parking. It’s a short drive from the harbor or about a 30-minute walk.
China Town
Victoria boasts the second-oldest Chinatown in North America, only behind San Francisco. Right downtown near the harbor, you can step into another world via shops and restaurants and find Canada’s narrowest street. Long gone are the opium dens of the gold rush era, now you’re more likely to find handmade noodles and lucky cats.
Whale Watching
Boat trips to spot orcas and humpback whales are very popular in Victoria. There are several companies to choose from–though I have to say my favorite name award goes to the Prince of Whales. Prices seem to be in the $80-140 range. The highest rated on TripAdvisor is Eagle Wing Tours.
Butchart Gardens
We opted for a paid excursion to Butchart Gardens, about 30 minutes north of the city. We had a great tour guide/bus driver who told us all about living in Victoria on the way.
Even at night, Butchart Gardens is amazingly beautiful! Originally started in 1909 from her husband’s exhausted limestone quarry, Jennie Butchart created what would ultimately become 55 acres of beautifully landscaped scenery. There is the original Sunken Garden, Italian, Japanese, and Mediterranean gardens, and a rose garden. Plus, there are several places to eat and shop and even fireworks on Saturdays in the summer.
Rates can be anywhere from $18.75-33.80, depending on the season you’re visiting. Our ticket including transportation cost $70. It might have been cheaper to find our own transportation, but I know when I was looking, the bus system wouldn’t have dropped us off where we needed to go. We didn’t want to risk it with such limited port hours.
I’ll leave you with my pictures from the night which might give you a taste of the place. It is truly beautiful any time.
Next Up
In the next post, I’ll talk about our (painful) experience disembarking the ship, driving through the Columbia River Gorge, and landing ourselves in Pendleton, OR.
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