Cruises
Book your Cruise On-Line
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Vancouver is the main southern terminus for the
Summer Alaska Cruise ship season. (One cruise line uses San
Francisco, but goes to Alaska via Victoria). From the beginning
of May until the end of September, this is a very busy place for
cruises. There are only about 7 or 8 days during this period when
there is not a departure (usually mid week). On the weekends
there are usually 3 or 4 departures on each day. Below are links
to some of the Cruise ship companies operating out of Vancouver.
Some of you might ask, what is a cruise section doing in a
Backpackers web site (its actually evolved beyond that). Well,
you can also take a "Poor Mans" cruise on BC Ferries.
These are surprisingly good value for money. You can journey up
the spectacular BC coast and back for just a couple of hundred
dollars. Its not the Love Boat, but you get a cabin and you don't
have to dress for dinner. This Web Site has now grown to the
point where I am now catering to all levels of traveler, from the
backpacker, to the filthy rich, hence the Cruise section.
You might wonder why Vancouver is the principal southern
terminus for Alaska Cruises, rather than Seattle, 100 miles to the south. This
has occurred due to a rather odd US Federal law that states that foreign flagged
passenger vessels may not sail from one US port to another without a foreign
stop in between. For reasons of economics, nearly all cruise ships are foreign
flagged. This law has been of great benefit to Vancouver, at the expense
of Seattle, which would dearly love the cruise ship business. Fortunately for
the cruise ship passenger, Vancouver is a destination in and of itself, and is
generally more interesting and scenic than Seattle. (Not to berate Seattle,
which is a lovely city, but really does not come close to Vancouver's assets).
Seattle has, however, in the last couple of years managed to snag its share,
especially, one week cruises. They have built one cruise ship facility & are
planning another. It is unlikely that Seattle will ever overtake Vancouver, but
it is certainly cutting into Vancouver's share. After September 11th, some
Americans feel more secure staying in their own country (I don't know why, they
are trying to kill Americans, not Canadians), so Seattle might be a more favored
departure point for some. If you can't make up your minds, just remember that
your friends will be more impressed if you can say you went abroad for your
holidays rather than just somewhere else in the US. These things are important.
Unfortunately for the tourist industry here, a
lot of cruise ship passengers fly into Vancouver, transfer to
their ship, and spend virtually no time seeing Vancouver itself.
I hate to say it, but since most cruise ship passengers are
American, this seems to fit a pattern of lack of knowledge about Canada,
that a lot of Americans unfortunately have. I don't know if is
the result of an insular education system, lack of exposure about
Canada in the American media, or what. Believe it or not, I have come across
Americans, who thought we still all lived in log cabins. A lot
of American visitors are very surprised when they first see this
city, and many comment on its similarities to San Francisco. Fact is, your
average Canadian is virtually indistinguishable from your average American and
our cultures are probably closer to each other than between any other two
countries in the world. Canadians are supposed to be politer, but I get better
service in restaurants in the US, so that one is a myth. Many
Americans are also not aware that they have seen Vancouver
hundreds of times on TV or in the movies, since this city is where a large number
of American television shows are filmed, although it is usually
depicted as Seattle or San Francisco. I hope, via this web site,
to convince you that you should try to spend at least 3 days
here, preferably a week. Unlike some some parts of the world these
days, we love Americans. You might also want to
read my "Canada
Facts" section. Its quite
tongue-in-cheek, but you will certainly impress us local yokels
with knowledge, if you pick up some of information there.
The main Vancouver Cruise ship terminus is located
downtown at the foot of Granville Street at the Convention
Center. (the building that looks like a sailing ship). Some depart from
Ballentyne Pier. Unfortunately you have to travel through what is probably the
worst area of the city to get to that one. If you
depart on a cruise during late July or Early August, you may be
lucky enough to coincide with the Annual Symphony of Fire
fireworks display, which runs over several days (I post the dates
in my Things to See & Do section). Most cruise ships in port
at this time will anchor out in English Bay, giving passengers a
front row seat.
If you are driving to Vancouver and need to
store your car during your cruise, it will cost you about $65 a
week downtown (secured) or you can do it cheaper by storing it at
the Airport for about $35 a week (outside, but secure). There are
links to both these services in the table below. Multiply the
amounts above by 0.65 for the US dollar equivalents.
MalRob Limousine provides
limousine service to & from the terminal from the airport or elsewhere.
I would suggest you check out the links below
to Ken Stutt's web site. This is the best all round site I have
seen for those interested in taking a cruise. It contains a
tremendous amount of information, and it appears to be always up
to date.
Check out my section on the Airport for information on
getting Downtown from there.
Getting to Victoria from the Cruise Ship Terminal:
Pacific Coach Lines operates a once daily direct bus service from both Cruise
ship terminals (Canada Place & Ballantyne) directly to Victoria on Vancouver
Island. It leaves around 10:45 AM. Return Fare is about $50 US, one way about
half that. Price includes the ferry fare. Check out this link for more info: http://www.pacificcoach.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=schedule.cruiseship. This
is your best bet to get to Victoria if you are planning a stay there a night or
two, & don't want to hassle with your luggage. If you just want a tour of
Victoria, several of the limo services such as MalRob Limousine do day-long tours of Victoria direct from your cruise ship. This can get very
pricey, though. Nice if you have the money to spend, but if your a cheapskate
like me, I would probably try to store my luggage, & then hop the regular Pacific Coach bus from the Main
terminal at the Main Street Skytrain Station, & do it on my own. You can pick up
a tour when you get to Victoria. Make an early start, & you can do it in a long
day. You can eat on the ferry to save time, if you wish, the food isn't
half bad; Belgian waffles or full Bacon & Eggs breakfast.
