Effective April 5 2022 the first cruise ship should be arriving in Victoria Canada Ogden Point after almost 2 plus years closed due to the pandemic.
The Canadian government requested all passengers and crew must be vaccinated prior and tested at times on board.
Local pandemic rules must be followed
Like other areas in the world , tourism staff are short staffed by all businesses looking forward to this recovery
Welcome
Effective April 3rd 2016 the Star Princess will be the first cruise ship to dock at Ogden Point for 2016.
Will arrive from Los Angeles at 08:00 pst and leave for Vancouver at 23:59 pst
http://victoriacruise.ca/page/cruise-schedule
The Star Princess was the last ship in for Alaska 2015 cruise season at Ogden Point , on its way to Los Angeles.
Per attached article ,
quote: ” Overall, the harbour authority welcomed 227 ship visits and about 533,000 passengers in 2015 — up from 206 ship visits and about 465,000 passengers the previous year – It’s a record year,” said Ian Robertson, chief executive officer of the harbour authority, which oversees cruise operations at Ogden Point. “It’s a record year for number of ships and number of passengers coming into Victoria.” Robertson attributed the increase to the growing Alaskan cruise market and the rising appeal of Victoria as a destination port – ”
It is expected for 2016 to be same number of ships but larger capacity as RCCL will be sending the International’s Explorer of the Seas , a first to Alaska.
This year with introduction of low sulphur ships , ferry to Inner Harbour , improvements to Ogden Point and transportation , our cruise port is very popular with passengers and crew.
Looking for forward to 2016 season.
Well, I am pleased that not only was today in Victoria , Canada on beautiful Vancouver Island a wonderful sunny day, though at 16C but our first cruise ship ‘Grand Princess’ will be docking at Ogden Point this Wednesday April 22nd 2015 at 07:00 pst from Vancouver and to San Francisco at 14:00 pst. It will then begin its regular Alaska cruises back to Vancouver.
This year 230 cruise ship port visits will be made to Ogden Point , majority are on route back to Seattle or San Francisco with some being repositioning cruises and some parts of World Cruise segments. This year we expect a large number of ships to dock in morning or afternoon giving passengers a longer time to enjoy Victoria instead of the standard for some of 18:00 to 23:50 pst stops. Mind you our daylight hours are longer into the late summer.
The last scheduled cruise ship will be the ‘Star Princess’ on November 9th 2015 , making its way to Los Angeles
Here is the link to our schedule http://victoriacruise.ca/page/cruise-schedule and a PDF can be downloaded from this site.
The Times Colonist has written a great article on the pending season , quote : ” Cruise-ship daytime visits are scheduled to rise by about 17 per cent this year compared with last, bringing good news to local businesses keen to sell services and goods to tourists. – See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/more-cruise-ships-coming-earlier-in-day-to-victoria-staying-longer-1.1820867#sthash.SA62Wkkn.dpuflink is here
Sadly we have been advised by the Times Colonist that ” Harry, Happy and Henrietta, the Hippo buses that have been carrying tourists on land and on water in Greater Victoria, are leaving for warmer weather in the Caribbean. – See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/victoria-s-hippo-tourism-buses-head-to-warmer-climate-1.1822578 So, will it be Barbados or St Maarten or what Island in the Caribbean to host these three land/sea buses 🙂
Of special note and thank you to a Facebook friend in the UK , I was advised that the Crown Princess will be in dry dock at Victoria Sea Span Yards from approximate May 1 – 15 2015 , undergoing tune-ups and maintenance.
http://www.seaspan.com/seaspan-shipyards-cruiseship-repairs
These yards have worked on many cruise ships and have a reputation of quality work and to ensure the job is completed on schedule allowing it to begin its scheduled Alaska runs out of Seattle.
Welcome to all the crew and contractors , course we enjoy the revenue and work in our city .
The last ship for the Alaska 2014 season docked at Ogden Point , Victoria , Vancouver Island Canada on October 6th 2014. It arrived from Vancouver BC at 07:00 pst and left for San Diego at 13:00 pst.
I arrived at the dock area around 11:00 pst and it was fully fogged in, though by 11:45 pst it had finally lifted. Many passengers walking around, coming back by bus or taxi and crew looking for WiFi access near the shops.
I had finished taking some pictures , some inserted here and was relaxing on a bench watching passengers pass though security and final excursion buses arriving. Driver pulls out a step stool for folks to come off the bus onto the pavement and they all start to walk to the terminal to board the ship but two folks decide to walk in the other direction , away from the ship. !
I watched and thought , who in Victoria would take a shuttle bus back to a ship ? My concern was it was now going on 12:00 pst ( Noon) and the ship was leaving at 13:00 pst. (yes, I am known to ensure one does not miss a ship’s departure, prefer being on board 1- 2 hours prior)
It was two woman , one perhaps in her 70’s / 80’s walking slowly and the other , a daughter or young friend in her 40’s. I ran after them and asked if they were off the ship, they said yes and had been told they had time to visit our Ogden Point Breakwater wall. I said well you do realize that it will take you about ten minutes to get there (plus the stairs). It will take you from here about five – ten minutes to get on the ship going through local security, Most ships do begin the process to bring in the gangplank 30 minutes prior to departure. They looked at me in wonder and then left to board the ship, walking slowly, I sat there watching and finally saw them emerge on the quay after security at 12:20 pst , walking slowly. The good news was there was a long queue at the gangplank, waiting to board. 🙂
Love to find the intelligent person who gave them that advice…… crazy
I am enclosing an article that explains the benefits to the local city for cruising and tourism and of course we want folks to come back for a longer visit to our shores.
We had 462,201 passengers approximate plus crew from 205 scheduled port visits this year
A few ships could not dock due to weather but that was rare, and we brought in 33.4 million dollars per a report in March 2014 from previous seasons ( seems to be the normal average of $60 – $100 a passenger , per my unofficial calculations).
http://www.vicnews.com/news/277956851.html
Here are some of the pictures I took (cc Robbar — Robert Holloway)
Been awhile since my last post as we were in Barbados with family so missed a few months of cruise ships porting to Ogden Point , Victoria Canada.
Only one week left and the ms Zaandam on October 6 , 2014 will be the last ship in for the 2014 season , all will be quiet.
The ship will arrive from Hawaii on October 4, go to Vancouver , back here and off to San Diego.
– Tomorrow on September 29, 2014 the Star Princess will arrive from Ketchikan , Alaska and then on to San Francisco.
– On September 21, 2014 I went down to Ogden Point to see the Silversea ‘Silver Shadow’ and the Celebrity ‘Solstice ‘
Have added some pictures.
We had a good season with lots of passengers and no loud noise from the community of pollution , noise, horse poop , cars going through quiet streets.
The Victoria Harbour Authority has done a lot of work in listening to concerns, offering ways to provide options to go into town that lessen traffic and yet retain a vital business for the community.
Early 2015, the North America Act for bunker fuel usage by cruise ships comes into effect, as in ” more stringent 0.1 percent sulfur rule effective in 2015 ‘ .
Some estimates suggest a cost increase per week per passenger as in Alaska by $100+ , which in the broad scheme of things is less then tax you pay by Air for fuel usage and in this case , much cleaner , so less impact to environment, peoples whose health can be effected and other reasons.
http://www.cliaalaska.org/safetyenvironment/air/
Yes I write updates about cruise ships yet today and tomorrow no ships will be docking which is really due to regular schedules
we are now in the 7 – 10 day cycle
No more repositioning ships till the fall.
Shucks 😊
Thought I would add some thoughts today
I have been reading some cruise posts recently about some peoples expectation on a cruise
It amazes me that they act this way
fog horn
I want a credit as the fog horn kept me awake or inform the Captain to not sound during the night
I guess we will not check their cabin when an emergency muster is called.
comedy club night show
My teenage daughter should not hear jokes like that and I want a credit
What happened to babysitter or club or just not going
Group in study room
When you made an announcement over the speakers it disturbed us and that fog horn should be stopped
Mmmmm we are on a ship with 2,000. + souls
dancers costumes
We are insulted by the skimpy clothes they wear and demand a refund
Did they ever think that ship dancers wear more clothes then on a beach
looked at passenger too long
Officers greet passengers and one lady was so beautiful they spent a few seconds longer turning left while upset passenger next inline was upset
Wanted a free meal at least in compensation
strong currents cause late arrival
Passenger booked own excursion and was told they would loose 50 % or more
Wanted ship to refund the private excursion costs plus costs for being at sea an extra day
Do they ever read contracts and electing to save monies with a private tour now want ship to pay up ?
ships arrival mooring
Compensation for noise of anchor dropping each day
They chose the cabin……
Steak House
I am a vegetarian and booked the Steak House but it only ha done offering
Want a refund
Why book a steak house and did you read the menu posted outside prior
smoking
I paid good monies for this cruise and why should I not be allowed to smoke where I want
Forgot the rest of the ship who adhere to rules
So I am sitting here on my iPhone typing my thoughts and it still amazes me the me only expectations people have on a cruise and are so rude to the crew and other passengers
Any thoughts 😳 / Rob
Some pictures of the recent ships (May 2014) into Ogden Point (Victoria BC ) Vancouver Island for the Alaska Season 2014 which I have taken from trusted iPhone5 🙂
I started a Facebook site last year 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/groups/325535934241017/?fref=ts
where I can locate remotely the ship coming into our harbour , check the ships schedule and give you more information as to where it came from and is going to.. If the weather is lousy that day or I cannot access our family car then at least I am able to reach out to folks.
My blog itself allows me to share picture I took at the harbour and post here. Just have to do more frequently for you all.
I have finally discovered ( nerd here) that I can load multiple pictures at same time..
What I plan to do is make a slideshow and upload that at some point.
Our Alaska season is just starting , so the weather is not that great at times, when I venture to the harbour in early evening and sometimes the sunny day becomes a misty day.
This year I will probably invest in a WordPress direct internet address just to try some more blogging opportunities.
Please leave any comments that tell me if you enjoy this look at our local cruising world.
Thank you to my friends and virtual ones around the world who give me ideas
Rob
/ CC RobBar
Ogden Point (Victoria) Water Shuttle to Inner Harbour
In an effort to reduce traffic , pollution and noise as requested by the local James Bay community , a new option of travelling via ‘Water Shuttle’ to downtown Victoria will be piloted for the 2014 Alaska Cruise season.
Passengers will enjoy a short ‘Water Shuttle’ ride of 30 minutes which includes loading and unloading with a narration into the downtown harbour from the Ogden Point cruise terminal.
Quote: ” Apr 04, 2014
(News Release) VICTORIA — Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) is expanding on the Victoria cruise shuttle service to include a pilot water shuttle service from Ogden Point to the Inner Harbour. The 40-passenger Victoria Harbour Ferries vessel the “Linda Mae” will shuttle cruise ship passengers and crew from the newly built multi-purpose float at Ogden Point to the Steamship Terminal float on the lower causeway ”
http://www.hellobc.com/victoria/things-to-do/water-activities/cruises-boat-tours.aspx
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