Your right about the Disney Channel filming location vibes, many of their shows have been filmed here most notably "The Descendants" also a ton of Hallmark movies too
I had family in Victoria. You guys should travel all of Vancouver Island some time. It’s incredible. BC is one of the most beautiful places on earth. On the Island I love Chemainus, Nanaimo, Cortenay, Tofino… and everything in between. But go in summer. If you were there in winter you would probably change your mind about living there 😊
It’s only a port of call because they have to do a foreign port, it’s a stop over port to check the box. You can walk to downtown in about 15 minutes, just an FYI. Just walk to your left outside the gate on the side walk. You’ll literally see everyone going.
I've been to Victoria many times and would move there in a HEARTBEAT! But here's the thing, the cost of living is crazy expensive!!! And if you think taxes are bad in America, you can't imagine what they are like in Canada. That being said, if I win the lottery I'll make it my new home.
A family member did HR and payroll for a US/Canada company. They said that for similar jobs, the Canadians ended up with HIGHER net pay because of the cost of healthcare! ( They allowed for how much the company paid for the employees healthcare insurance in calculating their compensation)
I ❤️ Victoria! Such a beautiful city! My Holland America cruise from Vancouver to San Diego stopped in Victoria for an entire day. We did an excursion to Butchart Gardens-it was magical! Highly recommend it if you ever go back!
Hiiiii TRAVEL SPREE!! I live in Victoria, BC... I hope you had the most magical and mystical day!! Would love to have had fish and chips with you on the boardwalk! Love your show! Love your energy! Sometimes I wish I was WITH you! We'd have so much FUN! Safe travels 👩❤👨
I hope you enjoyed your day in Victoria. I am born and raised in Vancouver. Been there many many times my daughter also lived there right near the cruise port. You can definitely walk into town from the cruise port and I think the cruise ships docks there later because of where they are coming from but I believe there are some that come earlier in the day. Also, Victoria has a British influence to it and it’s very expensive to live in. Love watching your videos 😊
I live in Vancouver. Cruise ships are in port at all hours there, just deoends on what cruise line you take. If you want to do a bike tour, you should do stanley park in vancouver.
I went here on Ovation of the seas in May and we arrived early and had all day. It is such a beautiful place. We walked all over the city without a map and accidentally ran into fisherman’s wharf which is so cute! We saw otters there playing and eating fish.
My take on it is that the ships stopping in Victoria (which is beautiful) are doing so more to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act rather than provide a port of call on an Alaska cruise. Therefore, they are picking times that get them back to Seattle at the optimum time. That's why we chose to depart from Vancouver BC - all our stops were decent timing. Princess has been doing Alaska for a long time. I remember in the 80's & 90's when my job in Alaska had me in and out of the Anchorage airport weekly, I would see their desk and tours. With that said, we chose Holland America's Koningsdam for our Alaska cruise. I like the ship and the line's enrichment programs and it was absolutely perfect! I don't know if you mentioned it in the other vlogs, but I believe Alaska has the most varied demographic of all cruises. Seems multi generations of the same family travel together for their one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Loving your content. We’ve been on 3 or 4 cruises that got us into Victoria early in the day and others where we didn’t get in till 5 or 6 pm. It just depends on your cruise. Victoria is amazing even if you only have 2 or 3 hours.
Ahhh! Travel Spree Canada? I'm dreaming! Please explore more! I'm from Ottawa, Canada's capital and would love for you to see our city as well as Montreal and Toronto! 🙌💕😭
Hey Local Victorian here! We are a BRUNCH town Spoons is the place to go, The best Burger is at the Dutch Bakery, we have a petting zoo, we love our Tea and tea services, and the best view is MtTolmie
We used port valet but was apprehensive cuz our flight was at 11:28pm. Thank God no issues. But your flight was cancelled. You said you got your luggage the next day in Florida. Going our flight was cancelled and we had to go to the carousel and get our luggage. That’s amazing they didn’t misplace your luggage as it was tagged with a cancelled flight.
I had to google why Victoria is such a short time in port for every cruise that goes there.. it’s due to PVSA guidelines, the cruise lines need to stop at at least 1 foreign port before returning to the original US port
geetings, i live here in Victoria, i cannot believe the lack of information at the port. literally 50 steps from the ship is a city transit bus stop, for $5.00 you get a day pass and they run until 12 to 1 am. Go on to playstore down load the app for the buss, or, google any point of interest and hit the directions button for easy transit information you can go to everywhere and back to you ship for 5 bucks. yes its bird poop because we rarely get rain in summer, always get the Halibut from Barbs, STAY OFF Johnson and Patricia from Douglas to Quadra that is the infamous open drug market and although not dangerous it is a vacation buzz kill with all the zombies milling about. it is a small town you can walk from the water to Becon Hill Park get an ice cream and walk back in an hour, bikes are great if you have good knees (we have hills, they can be knee busters)
also, you missed the little quaint Chinese shops and alleyways, one of them being Fantan ally but they lock it at night time. You can also have high tea at the empress$100 🤣 or go to Murchies tea shop for the same tees and snacks and sandwiches for 1/5 of the price ❤@@TravelSpreeOfficial
I’m from Victoria, and it’s so interesting to see my city from the point of view of tourists. There’s so much more to do though my Google maps is filled to the brim in Victoria!
Hi guy. Glad you enjoyed Victoria. The capital for BC. That big yard building is our parliament building beside that was the provincial museum. It is a very good walk through. But you need about 3 hours and during the day. Plus if you want to live there it rains from about Oct to March non stop. So if you like rain come on down. Summers are great. But Vic is in a kind of a rain shelter so maybe 3 out of 7 days a week.
Hi guys! I live in Victoria and I can say some things about your experience in our beautiful city! Our Chinatown is the second oldest in North America, the oldest one is San Francisco’s. The white spots in the streets…. Seagull’s poop 😅 Quebec is the best place for poutine, BC ones are not that good unfortunately! 😅 hope you loved our city!! 🇨🇦
Dang- we shoulda stayed with you guys as guides. We would have warned you about the non fish n chip food. So nice to have met you guys. Do come back and we will show you the real Victoria! Those little ferry boats do pub crawls too. Some ships do offer full days here. Usually at the start and end the Alaska season. Butchart gardens. Oldest China town, not largest and you missed Fan tan alley- closed. Love from The sisters!
Aw that’s ok!! It was great to meet you two and it’s always fun to get lost and make mistakes the first time in a city haha. We’ll come back and do it right!
I agree that ships should work harder to arrive at Victoria (or Vancouver) at a more reasonable to to allow passengers to have a good amount of day time to enjoy the city.
Glad you loved Victoria! I live in Victoria (yes it’s EXPENSIVE!) and I would recommend next time either walking or taking the public bus (only $5 for a day pass and the busses go everywhere you need!) You guys ended up back tracking to fisherman’s warf from where the cruise shuttle dropped you off at the Inner Harbour. I think it’s so funny that someone said Victoria architecture reminds them of Russia? I would say it’s more English, a lot of things in Victoria are influenced by England. Also that building with the green roof is our Parliament building, Victoria is actually the Provincial capital of British Columbia! And yes those white spots are bird poop.. we’re by the sea so lots of seagulls - and to be fair you visited in summer and it hasn’t rained recently 😂 Also as a local I would never go into that 7/11…
I live in Vancouver and ships come in as early as 6am here (across the water from Victoria) so its not true of BC in general. Victoria is relatively quiet but pretty, mostly seniors and young families, and university students and everything closes weirdly early, different from Vancouver but Vancouver still isn't as big a late night city as most American cities are.
Just found y'all from your Tokyo vlogs and I'm hooked. I can't wait to see y'all's vlogs for London at Christmas time. 🤞🏽You get to visit some Christmas markets.
Yeah, that wasn’t real poutine. The poutine sauce “gravy” is never that bland. I am so sorry you had to experience that. Barb’s would have been a better option. I often wonder about what the cruise passengers are offered when they disembark. I live across the water from the terminal and see them coming and going each day during the season
Just to comment on the short port of call time here in Victoria and as someone who 1) lives here and 2) works in the cruise industry - it is correct that the ships call Victoria only for the Passenger Vessel Services Act or Jones Act. As I have always understood this means that ships only sailing from a US port to other US ports need to call a foreign port for a defined period of time before reentering the US port. Some ships do call for the day, but it is less common for sure!
Awesome traveling blog. Nice heavy rollers we need get one . Dad and mom did carnival said was amazing time so think princess 👸 be a notch above in class like celebrities offering.
Some cruises I've seen, particularly Royal Caribbean do all day visits to Victoria. But the majority of cruise lines just seem to use it to get around the Jones act and just stay for very few hours.
I didn't know ships docked there during the day! We were on carnival and we were there for 4 hours from 7 to 11pm at night. Cool to see Victoria during the day! Loved how walkable it all was!
It's so wild that we (Americans) see built out, dense cities that aren't just parking lots and highways and say it looks like a movie set. This is what cities should look like..
And as someone who lives in Victoria, it's STILL not perfect. I ride my bike a lot and although it's one of the best cities in Canada for cycling, it's still really unsafe at times.
Its a 15 min walk to Fisherman Wharf, then a 5 min water taxi from there. Or you can keep walking another 10 min. Yes, flowers everywhere...no need to go to Buchart Gardens. Its the Second Oldest China town, behind SF
I think this is my first time watching y’all but I am from Victoria. We run on island time here so things so close pretty early. Hopefully if there is a next time y’all get to see more of our beautiful city. There are a lot of things to see on our island. And if you return make sure to visit fan tan alley!!!! It’s in china town and it’s a bit hidden but cool place. It kind of reminds me of a small version of Diagon alley almost. I mean it’s nothing like it but it hides in plain sight and the store signs give me that vibe! Anyways, I enjoyed the video! I will be subscribing!!
Thank you so much for posting this video. me and my wife we’re on Holland America last week and Saturday was our last stop in British Columbia got there at 7 PM and by 12 o’clock we had to be all aboard so we only did one excursion which was to a beer and wine spirit brewery. The main thing with the baggage tag is that you don’t have to worry about the 50 pound weight limit so you can put as much in there because there no penalty for being overweight love that.
As a vancouverite I must point out that our tax rate is high so our streets and neighborhoods are picturesque due to how much we pay in income tax. The city takes very good care of our streets and they do look like Disney towns
Still can't believe my sis, and I bumped into you two when we did. So glad you liked Victoria and want to come back. Some cruises do stay longer, usually in the early or later months. Not Russia but England vibes. You will find that out when you go on your trip to London later this year. FUN FACK... Many films have been made here pretending to be London. Oh ya, and the "white stuff" yes it's from the birds, probably seagulls. We have plenty of them, and weeks without rain didn't help the situation. Should have also warned you about that shrimp place. Barb's place next time, please. Sis and I would like to take you guys on a tour next time you're in the city. I can't wait to see your next blog 😊 cheers 👍 ❤
This is so odd lol. Welcome to my home town! They stop here really late because it's a forced stop and they don't actually care. There is ships here all day but they don't stay too long.
I have heard that the cruise lines own most of the attractions in Alaska and they want their passengers to spend their money there and NOT in Canada! (A US law forces the ships to stop at a Canadian port, but it does not say how long for!
Would you guys ever consider doing a series on boutique cruise lines? You always do the large ships, but I would love to see your review on something like Windstar.
I looked it up and I guess they really only go to Victoria to satisfy the PVSA which states that they have to stop at a foreign port before returning to the US port of origin. Still not sure why they don’t give you much time
When in Canada, you go to Tim Horton's not 7Eleven Love the reference to RENT on of my favorite Broadway (first run) and /Leicester Square Musicals. You should've went for the fish and chips in Victoria! I just returned from ATL and cruising to Seattle to Alaska next week... What month and year was this cruise?
Yeah, coming here on a cruise ship is pretty much not worth it at all. Pretty much every American I meet that is here always makes the same mistakes lol. I have seen others mention the buses lol, but you definitely need at least a weekend to explore everything we have! Mainly we are an outdoorsy place with tons and tons of parks, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls... you just need the time to get 20-30 minutes outside the city! And it is SOOOOO unfortunate you picked the only place on Fisherman's Wharf I haven't tried (I heard it sucks too and that is the worst poutine I have ever seen in my life lmao). If you tried Barb's or The Fish Store, you two would've had a much better time! We actually have the second most restaurants in NA per capita (Only behind San Francisco)
the walk is alot longer than 12 min to that spot in town from cruise terminal. take shuttle!!!! water taxi's have many stops you can do and if there is an excursion to buchard gardens from the ship I highly recommend it, beacon hill park is near the port and has beautiful walkways and peacocks and the petting zoo might be open (we really like this park) of all the times we have been there we have yet to visit china town but we want to. I will be there in a couple of weeks for another weekend getaway and maybe then... Beautiful city! you don't get enough time to see it with that short docking.
@@TravelSpreeOfficial Definitely on our bucket list to do Vancouver Victoria on a longer adventure. It's a 3 1/2 hour ferry ride From Vancouver to Victoria so it is definitely an extended trip.
I live in WA State. Love Victoria! Beautiful place! Love your videos, but I always thought you should actually open with; “We’re back at it!” Than Laura would say, “Back at it again!”
Nuts I am going to miss this ! I have a project! 8-2…. L I like the fresh original content on this channel. Also you are not showing up in my feed. AGAIN ???!! It’s very odd most of my feed is 5 to 12 years old lots of repeats, kind of sneaky in that algorithm
Great content! I’m taking this cruise next week and considering the luggage hack. Did you all have any issues with your luggage getting on your flight?
Unfortunately those restaurants aren’t very good, us locals don’t eat there as they are mainly “tourist traps”.. I would strongly advise trying poutine again elsewhere if you make it back to Canada.. when done well it is very good! You were in fact mistaken about Chinatown, it is the second OLDEST China town in North America to San Francisco, not biggest. Also - funny you say it gives you Hallmark Movie vibes, as Hallmark films several movies in the city every year!
Hello Travel Spree thanks for sharing you awesome Victoria BC video…I have two question did u guys get any information on the “ Hot Tub Boat” excursion,& Port Valet what did it cost you guys? Thanks in advance.
@@amirasavoy1264 unfortunately it was closed when we came across the hot tub boats. For the port valet m, that was free from the cruise, you just had to fly with certain airlines that were on the list.
Hot tub boat is immediately a must...who knew? I don't think we're in Japan anymore...🤣🤣 Orcas spotted. Mission accomplished! Kudos!!! Port valet sounds legit. Great vid as always y'all.
I bet someone who follows your channel would have been more than happy to meet you at the port and show you around. If you came to Alberta, I know I would meet up with you two and show you around. There's better restaurants there, I promise 😂.
Grew up in Seattle. Been to BC several times..... is maybe that port also used for the commuter ferries to and from Seattle and Vancouver? Been 12 yrs. Florida now. worst decision.
I know that Americans are clueless about geography, but you paid TOO much for a bus to take you not quite into the downtown, but then you started back the way you came , away from downtown and back towards the ship!
I'm not sure the fried rice was the right call, but Laura is right. The Japanese sauce is a savior. I love that you went to Chinatown afterwards, where you should have gotten fried rice LOL. The lack of seasoning in the North is concerning
@TravelSpreeOfficial that stinks...should've gone with the gut fish and chips on the coast. But as Laura is like my wife. Sometimes fish sometimes not hahaha
@@TravelSpreeOfficial We now have a cruise from the Port of Montreal through the Maritimes that ends up in Boston, if you opt to do this. Treat yourself to at least a day in Montreal to sample some of the best cuisines in the world! Happy travels and thank you for your content!
That food, especially the poutine, was the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’m from the area. Poutine has cheese curds, not melted cheese and flavorful gravy. So strange to see that ugly concoction in Canada.
You are on the lands of the Lekwungen speaking people, the Esquimalt & Songhees First Nations. Yes - you will see many signs that you are on Indigenous land, including Totems.
I live in Victoria BC Canada 🇨🇦. and if you walked one block there was transit which cost $5.00 each for a day pass.🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Oh man you guys took the bus to downtown then walked almost back to the cruise ship terminal when you went to the wharf 😂❤
Victoria has the 2nd oldest China Town on the west coast of North America, not the 2nd largest. Glad you had fun!
If you ever come back to Victoria, there is a transit bus system called BC Transit. The fares are way lower than 15 bucks.
Your right about the Disney Channel filming location vibes, many of their shows have been filmed here most notably "The Descendants" also a ton of Hallmark movies too
I had family in Victoria. You guys should travel all of Vancouver Island some time. It’s incredible. BC is one of the most beautiful places on earth. On the Island I love Chemainus, Nanaimo, Cortenay, Tofino… and everything in between. But go in summer. If you were there in winter you would probably change your mind about living there 😊
Yes, exactly. Rain, rain, snow, and more rain. And sometimes we get freezing rain and the roads turn into ice rinks!!
Just got off Crown Princess to Alaska. We got to Victoria at 8 am and left around 9 pm.
It’s only a port of call because they have to do a foreign port, it’s a stop over port to check the box. You can walk to downtown in about 15 minutes, just an FYI. Just walk to your left outside the gate on the side walk. You’ll literally see everyone going.
I've been to Victoria many times and would move there in a HEARTBEAT! But here's the thing, the cost of living is crazy expensive!!! And if you think taxes are bad in America, you can't imagine what they are like in Canada. That being said, if I win the lottery I'll make it my new home.
A family member did HR and payroll for a US/Canada company. They said that for similar jobs, the Canadians ended up with HIGHER net pay because of the cost of healthcare! ( They allowed for how much the company paid for the employees healthcare insurance in calculating their compensation)
I ❤️ Victoria! Such a beautiful city! My Holland America cruise from Vancouver to San Diego stopped in Victoria for an entire day. We did an excursion to Butchart Gardens-it was magical! Highly recommend it if you ever go back!
Hiiiii TRAVEL SPREE!! I live in Victoria, BC... I hope you had the most magical and mystical day!! Would love to have had fish and chips with you on the boardwalk! Love your show! Love your energy! Sometimes I wish I was WITH you! We'd have so much FUN! Safe travels 👩❤👨
Hey!! Thanks for stoping by. Your city is beautiful and the people are so kind! Wish we had tried the fish and chips though. We'll have to come back!
I hope you enjoyed your day in Victoria. I am born and raised in Vancouver. Been there many many times my daughter also lived there right near the cruise port. You can definitely walk into town from the cruise port and I think the cruise ships docks there later because of where they are coming from but I believe there are some that come earlier in the day. Also, Victoria has a British influence to it and it’s very expensive to live in. Love watching your videos 😊
I live in Vancouver. Cruise ships are in port at all hours there, just deoends on what cruise line you take. If you want to do a bike tour, you should do stanley park in vancouver.
I went here on Ovation of the seas in May and we arrived early and had all day. It is such a beautiful place. We walked all over the city without a map and accidentally ran into fisherman’s wharf which is so cute! We saw otters there playing and eating fish.
@@takedownspecialist1767 sounds like the perfect day!
My take on it is that the ships stopping in Victoria (which is beautiful) are doing so more to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act rather than provide a port of call on an Alaska cruise. Therefore, they are picking times that get them back to Seattle at the optimum time. That's why we chose to depart from Vancouver BC - all our stops were decent timing. Princess has been doing Alaska for a long time. I remember in the 80's & 90's when my job in Alaska had me in and out of the Anchorage airport weekly, I would see their desk and tours. With that said, we chose Holland America's Koningsdam for our Alaska cruise. I like the ship and the line's enrichment programs and it was absolutely perfect! I don't know if you mentioned it in the other vlogs, but I believe Alaska has the most varied demographic of all cruises. Seems multi generations of the same family travel together for their one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Loving your content. We’ve been on 3 or 4 cruises that got us into Victoria early in the day and others where we didn’t get in till 5 or 6 pm. It just depends on your cruise. Victoria is amazing even if you only have 2 or 3 hours.
Ahhh! Travel Spree Canada? I'm dreaming! Please explore more! I'm from Ottawa, Canada's capital and would love for you to see our city as well as Montreal and Toronto! 🙌💕😭
Definitely want to explore more of Canada!!
My next Alaskan cruise with Norwegian stops in Victoria at 1pm! Hoping to enjoy it! Thank you for your content, love you guys! ❤
Have a great time!
Hey Local Victorian here! We are a BRUNCH town Spoons is the place to go, The best Burger is at the Dutch Bakery, we have a petting zoo, we love our Tea and tea services, and the best view is MtTolmie
Born and raised in Victoria here but left for the USA in 1998. Barbs fish n chips is/was the bomb! Glad you enjoyed your quick visit.
Barb's still is the bomb but Finest At Sea on Erie Street has it beat. The rice bowls during the spot prawn season are amazing.
We used port valet but was apprehensive cuz our flight was at 11:28pm. Thank God no issues. But your flight was cancelled. You said you got your luggage the next day in Florida. Going our flight was cancelled and we had to go to the carousel and get our luggage. That’s amazing they didn’t misplace your luggage as it was tagged with a cancelled flight.
It felt like a miracle that our luggage still got on the same flight as us haha
My hometown ❤ you gotta come back - so much more to see & do!
I had to google why Victoria is such a short time in port for every cruise that goes there.. it’s due to PVSA guidelines, the cruise lines need to stop at at least 1 foreign port before returning to the original US port
Crown princess had us there from 8 am to 9 pm
geetings, i live here in Victoria, i cannot believe the lack of information at the port. literally 50 steps from the ship is a city transit bus stop, for $5.00 you get a day pass and they run until 12 to 1 am. Go on to playstore down load the app for the buss, or, google any point of interest and hit the directions button for easy transit information you can go to everywhere and back to you ship for 5 bucks. yes its bird poop because we rarely get rain in summer, always get the Halibut from Barbs, STAY OFF Johnson and Patricia from Douglas to Quadra that is the infamous open drug market and although not dangerous it is a vacation buzz kill with all the zombies milling about. it is a small town you can walk from the water to Becon Hill Park get an ice cream and walk back in an hour, bikes are great if you have good knees (we have hills, they can be knee busters)
Dang, we needed you and all this info lol
also, you missed the little quaint Chinese shops and alleyways, one of them being Fantan ally but they lock it at night time. You can also have high tea at the empress$100 🤣 or go to Murchies tea shop for the same tees and snacks and sandwiches for 1/5 of the price ❤@@TravelSpreeOfficial
I’m from Victoria, and it’s so interesting to see my city from the point of view of tourists. There’s so much more to do though my Google maps is filled to the brim in Victoria!
Hi guy. Glad you enjoyed Victoria. The capital for BC. That big yard building is our parliament building beside that was the provincial museum. It is a very good walk through. But you need about 3 hours and during the day. Plus if you want to live there it rains from about Oct to March non stop. So if you like rain come on down. Summers are great. But Vic is in a kind of a rain shelter so maybe 3 out of 7 days a week.
PS I grew up in Nanaimo just north of Victoria.
Or... come on up.. 🙂
Vancouver...has the 2nd largest Chinatown outside of San Francisco. It's our British following outside of England.
I loved this! We did port valet on Royal Symphony last cruise. It was awesome!
I think it’s great if you’re traveling a long distance to get home
Hi guys! I live in Victoria and I can say some things about your experience in our beautiful city! Our Chinatown is the second oldest in North America, the oldest one is San Francisco’s. The white spots in the streets…. Seagull’s poop 😅 Quebec is the best place for poutine, BC ones are not that good unfortunately! 😅 hope you loved our city!! 🇨🇦
Have you been to L'Authentique Poutine? We thought it was amazing! Now I need to visit Quebec to see who can top that.😂
Ahhhh 2nd oldest!! That’s what our bus driver must have said, not second biggest haha. Thank you!! Your city was gorgeous ❤️
I'm loving this cool weather series in August...far western KY is soooo humid right now, and I'm living vicariously through yall 💙🙌💯
Yes the humidity is awful! Florida has been so bad recently. We miss Alaska haha
@@TravelSpreeOfficial I bet 💯
I haven't been to Victoria,but I've been to Vancouver twice, and B.C. is beautiful.
We’ve heard great things about Vancouver!
Dang- we shoulda stayed with you guys as guides. We would have warned you about the non fish n chip food. So nice to have met you guys. Do come back and we will show you the real Victoria! Those little ferry boats do pub crawls too. Some ships do offer full days here. Usually at the start and end the Alaska season. Butchart gardens. Oldest China town, not largest and you missed Fan tan alley- closed. Love from The sisters!
Aw that’s ok!! It was great to meet you two and it’s always fun to get lost and make mistakes the first time in a city haha. We’ll come back and do it right!
I agree that ships should work harder to arrive at Victoria (or Vancouver) at a more reasonable to to allow passengers to have a good amount of day time to enjoy the city.
Yup! Just feels like such a waste to get there so late
Glad you loved Victoria! I live in Victoria (yes it’s EXPENSIVE!) and I would recommend next time either walking or taking the public bus (only $5 for a day pass and the busses go everywhere you need!) You guys ended up back tracking to fisherman’s warf from where the cruise shuttle dropped you off at the Inner Harbour. I think it’s so funny that someone said Victoria architecture reminds them of Russia? I would say it’s more English, a lot of things in Victoria are influenced by England. Also that building with the green roof is our Parliament building, Victoria is actually the Provincial capital of British Columbia! And yes those white spots are bird poop.. we’re by the sea so lots of seagulls - and to be fair you visited in summer and it hasn’t rained recently 😂 Also as a local I would never go into that 7/11…
I live in Vancouver and ships come in as early as 6am here (across the water from Victoria) so its not true of BC in general. Victoria is relatively quiet but pretty, mostly seniors and young families, and university students and everything closes weirdly early, different from Vancouver but Vancouver still isn't as big a late night city as most American cities are.
Just found y'all from your Tokyo vlogs and I'm hooked. I can't wait to see y'all's vlogs for London at Christmas time. 🤞🏽You get to visit some Christmas markets.
Yay!! Glad you’re here and hope you’ll stay 😊
There’s so much more of their Chinatown. Dragon alley etc. sorry ya missed it 18:19
Yeah, that wasn’t real poutine. The poutine sauce “gravy” is never that bland. I am so sorry you had to experience that. Barb’s would have been a better option.
I often wonder about what the cruise passengers are offered when they disembark. I live across the water from the terminal and see them coming and going each day during the season
My cruise on ovation this June was in Victoria from 8am-6pm, had a great time, walked downtown and caught the city bus out to Butchart gardens.
I absolutely LOVED Port Valet! Seattle to Tampa and our luggage was right there waiting for us!
Just to comment on the short port of call time here in Victoria and as someone who 1) lives here and 2) works in the cruise industry - it is correct that the ships call Victoria only for the Passenger Vessel Services Act or Jones Act. As I have always understood this means that ships only sailing from a US port to other US ports need to call a foreign port for a defined period of time before reentering the US port. Some ships do call for the day, but it is less common for sure!
Awesome traveling blog. Nice heavy rollers we need get one . Dad and mom did carnival said was amazing time so think princess 👸 be a notch above in class like celebrities offering.
Yes we really wanna try Princess!!
Vancouver is the second largest Chinatown. San Francisco is largest.
Some cruises I've seen, particularly Royal Caribbean do all day visits to Victoria. But the majority of cruise lines just seem to use it to get around the Jones act and just stay for very few hours.
I didn't know ships docked there during the day! We were on carnival and we were there for 4 hours from 7 to 11pm at night. Cool to see Victoria during the day! Loved how walkable it all was!
It's so wild that we (Americans) see built out, dense cities that aren't just parking lots and highways and say it looks like a movie set. This is what cities should look like..
Lol that’s so true!
And as someone who lives in Victoria, it's STILL not perfect. I ride my bike a lot and although it's one of the best cities in Canada for cycling, it's still really unsafe at times.
We were there in June on Ovation of the Seas and I think we docked by noon and had a lovely afternoon walk and some phenomenal poutine !!
Oh really?? That would’ve been so nice to be there earlier!
Its a 15 min walk to Fisherman Wharf, then a 5 min water taxi from there. Or you can keep walking another 10 min. Yes, flowers everywhere...no need to go to Buchart Gardens. Its the Second Oldest China town, behind SF
Technically it's a 17 to 19 minute water taxi but I was think the exact same thing.
I see ships at the port before 5pm all the time
I think this is my first time watching y’all but I am from Victoria. We run on island time here so things so close pretty early. Hopefully if there is a next time y’all get to see more of our beautiful city. There are a lot of things to see on our island. And if you return make sure to visit fan tan alley!!!! It’s in china town and it’s a bit hidden but cool place. It kind of reminds me of a small version of Diagon alley almost. I mean it’s nothing like it but it hides in plain sight and the store signs give me that vibe! Anyways, I enjoyed the video! I will be subscribing!!
Thank you so much for posting this video. me and my wife we’re on Holland America last week and Saturday was our last stop in British Columbia got there at 7 PM and by 12 o’clock we had to be all aboard so we only did one excursion which was to a beer and wine spirit brewery. The main thing with the baggage tag is that you don’t have to worry about the 50 pound weight limit so you can put as much in there because there no penalty for being overweight love that.
I was in Victoria on Princess Cruises last year and we docked earlier in the day 😊
As a vancouverite I must point out that our tax rate is high so our streets and neighborhoods are picturesque due to how much we pay in income tax. The city takes very good care of our streets and they do look like Disney towns
Still can't believe my sis, and I bumped into you two when we did. So glad you liked Victoria and want to come back. Some cruises do stay longer, usually in the early or later months. Not Russia but England vibes. You will find that out when you go on your trip to London later this year. FUN FACK... Many films have been made here pretending to be London. Oh ya, and the "white stuff" yes it's from the birds, probably seagulls. We have plenty of them, and weeks without rain didn't help the situation. Should have also warned you about that shrimp place. Barb's place next time, please. Sis and I would like to take you guys on a tour next time you're in the city. I can't wait to see your next blog 😊 cheers 👍 ❤
We’ll definitely take you up on that city tour next time! It was great to meet the two of you 🥰
This is so odd lol. Welcome to my home town! They stop here really late because it's a forced stop and they don't actually care. There is ships here all day but they don't stay too long.
I wish they’d let us make the most of it and come in earlier!
I have heard that the cruise lines own most of the attractions in Alaska and they want their passengers to spend their money there and NOT in Canada! (A US law forces the ships to stop at a Canadian port, but it does not say how long for!
if I had known you were coming here I would have told you a few places to see
We visit Victoria every Halloween and love it. Safe travels on your way back home.
why Halloween? from where? just curious 😊
Would you guys ever consider doing a series on boutique cruise lines? You always do the large ships, but I would love to see your review on something like Windstar.
Yes absolutely! We’d love to, but just waiting for the right time. The boutique cruise lines are usually pretty pricey
I looked it up and I guess they really only go to Victoria to satisfy the PVSA which states that they have to stop at a foreign port before returning to the US port of origin. Still not sure why they don’t give you much time
Yup! We had several people tell us that. I wish they’d let us make the most of it!
LOL yeah that was bird poop. Seagull Poop and other birds.
It’s crazy
I'm late for the live, but I'm here now!! ❤
Glad you made it 😊
Biggest issue is your sailing out of Seattle.. Get up to Vancouver.. its more fun here!
Might try that next time!
@@TravelSpreeOfficial come a few days early or stay an extra day at the end.. and well maybe enjoy the Disney Wonder :)
Today(Aug 24) there was a huge orca in the harbour we told you about. He was following the whale watching tours lol.
Great video❤
Thank you 🥰
When in Canada, you go to Tim Horton's not 7Eleven
Love the reference to RENT on of my favorite Broadway (first run) and /Leicester Square Musicals.
You should've went for the fish and chips in Victoria!
I just returned from ATL and cruising to Seattle to Alaska next week... What month and year was this cruise?
I would like to know if your bags turned up where you expected it to be
They can have ships come in early, but it's a long way to sail from alaska, so it would have to be an 8 day cruise
Yeah, coming here on a cruise ship is pretty much not worth it at all. Pretty much every American I meet that is here always makes the same mistakes lol. I have seen others mention the buses lol, but you definitely need at least a weekend to explore everything we have! Mainly we are an outdoorsy place with tons and tons of parks, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls... you just need the time to get 20-30 minutes outside the city! And it is SOOOOO unfortunate you picked the only place on Fisherman's Wharf I haven't tried (I heard it sucks too and that is the worst poutine I have ever seen in my life lmao). If you tried Barb's or The Fish Store, you two would've had a much better time! We actually have the second most restaurants in NA per capita (Only behind San Francisco)
Hot tub boat…. WHAT?!?😆
That’s awesome. Too bad you didn’t get in earlier. That would have made exploring so much better.
the walk is alot longer than 12 min to that spot in town from cruise terminal. take shuttle!!!! water taxi's have many stops you can do and if there is an excursion to buchard gardens from the ship I highly recommend it, beacon hill park is near the port and has beautiful walkways and peacocks and the petting zoo might be open (we really like this park) of all the times we have been there we have yet to visit china town but we want to. I will be there in a couple of weeks for another weekend getaway and maybe then... Beautiful city! you don't get enough time to see it with that short docking.
You missed out on barbs!!! The best!!!
The Victoria China town is the "oldest" second to San Fran, not the "biggest". FYI
When we got there we weren't there even that long. Start in Vancouver for the next trip then you can see it all first or after.
Would love to see Vancouver!
@@TravelSpreeOfficial Definitely on our bucket list to do Vancouver Victoria on a longer adventure. It's a 3 1/2 hour ferry ride From Vancouver to Victoria so it is definitely an extended trip.
We will be there next month and our stop is from 9p to 12a😢
oh geez, thats even worse 😅
I live in WA State. Love Victoria! Beautiful place!
Love your videos, but I always thought you should actually open with;
“We’re back at it!” Than Laura would say, “Back at it again!”
Nuts I am going to miss this ! I have a project! 8-2…. L
I like the fresh original content on this channel.
Also you are not showing up in my feed. AGAIN ???!!
It’s very odd most of my feed is 5 to 12 years old lots of repeats, kind of sneaky in that algorithm
Thank you!! Yeah, it seems like we haven't been showing up in a lot of people's feeds :( Not sure what's going on
Great content! I’m taking this cruise next week and considering the luggage hack. Did you all have any issues with your luggage getting on your flight?
Nope! We were very pleasantly surprised because we traveled on a day with a LOT of cancellations and delays and our luggage still made it home with us
Unfortunately those restaurants aren’t very good, us locals don’t eat there as they are mainly “tourist traps”.. I would strongly advise trying poutine again elsewhere if you make it back to Canada.. when done well it is very good!
You were in fact mistaken about Chinatown, it is the second OLDEST China town in North America to San Francisco, not biggest.
Also - funny you say it gives you Hallmark Movie vibes, as Hallmark films several movies in the city every year!
Did yall secure any Canadian candy? They have some of the best candy bars!
Ugh we didn’t! 😩
Laura, Canadian here, don’t use your phone over the rail 😂 there’s a lot of phones in that water.
😅
Hello Travel Spree thanks for sharing you awesome Victoria BC video…I have two question did u guys get any information on the “ Hot Tub Boat” excursion,& Port Valet what did it cost you guys? Thanks in advance.
@@amirasavoy1264 unfortunately it was closed when we came across the hot tub boats. For the port valet m, that was free from the cruise, you just had to fly with certain airlines that were on the list.
Hot tub boat is immediately a must...who knew? I don't think we're in Japan anymore...🤣🤣 Orcas spotted. Mission accomplished! Kudos!!! Port valet sounds legit. Great vid as always y'all.
I’m so sad we didn’t know about that!! Will definitely be trying that next time or anywhere else that has hot tub boats lol
Start your cruise in Victoria- come 2 days early.
Ooo not a bad idea!
the bird poop stays until it rains 😮 The rain cleans it off 🇨🇦
It does get a bit smelly after our usual summer drought!
I bet someone who follows your channel would have been more than happy to meet you at the port and show you around. If you came to Alberta, I know I would meet up with you two and show you around. There's better restaurants there, I promise 😂.
Victoria is the flower capital of Canada!
Did you go under the big arch/gate for China town?
Possibly! I’m not quite sure
I've been maintaining my own personal bubble for about 45 years😂
😂
Grew up in Seattle. Been to BC several times..... is maybe that port also used for the commuter ferries to and from Seattle and Vancouver? Been 12 yrs. Florida now. worst decision.
Florida is beautiful but I’d take Seattle any day! Especially with this humidity haha
I know that Americans are clueless about geography, but you paid TOO much for a bus to take you not quite into the downtown, but then you started back the way you came , away from downtown and back towards the ship!
Chicago, IL also has hot tub boats fyi 💜
Sounds like we need to spend a weekend there!
Seattle also has hot tub boats! Its been something ive wanted to try.
Oooo really?? Would love to try it out
Oh my dear Fain and Laura. I don’t know wth that was but it wasn’t poutine. Come to Quebec and I’ll buy you a real one. Was that chicken gravy? 😂
Idk what kind of gravy it was but it’s a kind I won’t be having again lol
I'm not sure the fried rice was the right call, but Laura is right. The Japanese sauce is a savior. I love that you went to Chinatown afterwards, where you should have gotten fried rice LOL. The lack of seasoning in the North is concerning
Lol good point! Unfortunately everything was mostly closed in Chinatown so we couldn’t have gotten anything anyways
@TravelSpreeOfficial that stinks...should've gone with the gut fish and chips on the coast. But as Laura is like my wife. Sometimes fish sometimes not hahaha
Really the place to have poutine is in Quebec! No other province does it right.
I’ll have to try it there!!
@@TravelSpreeOfficial We now have a cruise from the Port of Montreal through the Maritimes that ends up in Boston, if you opt to do this. Treat yourself to at least a day in Montreal to sample some of the best cuisines in the world! Happy travels and thank you for your content!
That food, especially the poutine, was the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’m from the area. Poutine has cheese curds, not melted cheese and flavorful gravy. So strange to see that ugly concoction in Canada.
Get ketchup chips you can only get them in Canada
And Bermuda, I’m eating some right now ☺️
You are on the lands of the Lekwungen speaking people, the Esquimalt & Songhees First Nations. Yes - you will see many signs that you are on Indigenous land, including Totems.
When I see a 7/11, I think of Slurpees !