Only three hours in Victoria, BC? BeaverTails, Chinatown, Orca Alert

Are you on a cruise, and only have three hours in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada? Increasingly, cruise lines are docking for three hours in Victoria for legal reasons... so, what can you do while you're there?
In this vlog, we cover our own experience on the NCL Bliss. We cover our exciting sea day beforehand, and our equally exciting three-hour evening stop in Victoria!
We cover:
- Spotting a pod of orcas (including a baby killer whale!)
- Getting into Victoria from the Cruise Terminal
- The Empress Hotel and Legislative Building
- Downtown Victoria
- Canada's Oldest Chinatown
- Pinhalla Pizza and Pinball: pinhalla.com/
- BeaverTails
... and more!
This is the last of our Alaska cruise series onboard the NCL Bliss, but if you missed any of the other videos, they're all here in this playlist:
• Norwegian Cruise Line ...
See you next time!
- Beth and Tony
@TravellingWithTeens
#alaskacruise #victoriacanada #norwegianbliss
00:00 Hello from Canada!
00:36 Medical Emergency!!!
02:34 Spotting Orcas!
05:30 Drama Getting Ashore
07:09 Downtown Victoria
08:54 Chinatown
11:14 BeaverTails!

[@isabellind1292]

Thank you, Travelling With Teens.💓🚢👨‍👩‍👦‍👦💓

[@TravellingWithTeens]

You’re very welcome! Thank YOU for watching!

[@unattendedgrandma4073]

I lived within walking, and specifically hearing distance, of where the cruise dock. The ‘pier’ mentioned is the Ogden Point breakwater at Dallas Road, a very popular walkway - 244 metres, or 800 feet. Our cherry trees tend to blossom in February, I think they were late this year (2024)They were gifted to Victoria 85 years ago by the local Japanese community and are treasured by locals and cared by the municipalities.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

That’s lovely to hear about the trees! They really were beautiful!

[@karenblake9759]

We are lucky enough to be docked in Victoria for 14 hours next September at the end of our 14 night Alaskan cruise, really excited but got a bit of a wait still. It will be our second visit, first being 25 years ago.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

That sounds an IDEAL amount of port time! We hope you have an amazing trip (two weeks!!!) and thank you so much for watching

[@karenblake9759]

@@TravellingWithTeensloved watching all your Alaska vlog very interesting. It is only our second cruise out first being Disney Magic around the Med in 2011.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@karenblake9759 what a fantastic contrast - Alaska is so different than the Med, we just know you’ll love it. And thanks for watching all of our vlogs!

[@dannyrowland7312]

I'm glad you enjoyed your quick stop in Canada! You must come back and discover much more! 🇨🇦❤

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Absolutely! We were blown away with how friendly you all are, so we’ll be back for sure!!!

[@cathybarber2624]

Sorry you didn’t have more time in our beautiful city of Victoria - you’ll have to come back for a longer stay sometime. Thanks for sharing!

[@TravellingWithTeens]

We totally will! Thank YOU for watching!

[@deniselanglois6193]

Am hoping to go on a cruise to Alaska but definitely not on Bliss I’ve subscribed to get more hints what to look for - I’m 76 and going solo

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Thank you so much for subscribing! You will have a wonderful cruise we’re certain… Alaska is amazing no matter how you get there. Best of luck choosing the best line for you

[@JudithJoice-nk7mf]

Great video. I’ll be cruising there in August.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

What beautiful weather you’ll (probably) have! Thanks for watching and Bon voyage!!!!

[@marcleblanc22]

getting excited just booked! 8/10 sailing...

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@marcleblanc22 have a lovely time!

[@isabellind1292]

@@marcleblanc22 I hope that Skagway is accessible to cruise ships after the mishap this past winter when the new section they were putting in place was damaged on the way to Skagway. Maybe they'd found a way to dock despite what happened but I hope it won't impact anyone visiting.

[@MomsTravelTeam]

Thank you, we'll be there in September. 🤞🏽 hope the Orca are hanging around.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

We hope so too! The baby was so sweet!!! Have a great cruise

[@bethturner7051]

Thank you! I'm biased; however LOVE Inner Harbour and especially the Parliament Building lighted up.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

They were both STUNNING

[@monstrok]

I highly recommend a return visit to Victoria on Royal Caribbean which docks during the day. Everything is open and the scenery is even more spectacular in sunlight. This longer stay will also afford time to visit Butchart Gardens with its huge flower displays.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

We definitely plan to return… thanks for the tip about Royal!

[@cruisefraterpoultons]

Oh wow, how gorgeous were those Orcas and their babies? Every time we cruise im looking out for whales and never see any but this was awesome. The sail into Victoria is breathtaking and loved all the lit up buildings on your walk. Wondering when you are going to tell us more about the story of Tony and the ferret he took to Canada? intrigued 😂 Great video, Victoria looks as pretty as I imagined it to be.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Hopefully we’ll bump into you on a cruise and we can tell you the ferret story in person. Thanks for watching as always, we appreciate your support!!!

[@cruisefraterpoultons]

@@TravellingWithTeens That would be great. Have a great week 😍

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@cruisefraterpoultons you too!

[@sheilamccarn416]

I really enjoyed this series. My daughter and I are going in September.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Thank you so much! Hope you have a wonderful time

[@sheilamccarn416]

By the way, I love the nail polish you are wearing. Can you tell me what it is?

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@sheilamccarn416 yes! It is Chanel #117 Passé Muralle - glad you like it, I do too!

[@kathleendavis5727]

Love this series to Alaska on NCL. We’re on the NCL Encore in July with our extended family. Your filming and suggestions have been beautiful and really helpful. So much so, we have rented a car through Turo for our time in Juneau.Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

That’s brilliant! You’ll have a great time. Thanks for watching!

[@isabellind1292]

It took this cruise to see Orcas in the water, lol! When we took a (June) cruise aboard the MS Volendam through the inside-passage to Alaska we never saw one single whale or anything, either way! One day, I sat on the deck for nearly the entire day, just looking for any wildlife and I was really disappointed when I didn't so I'm thrilled for this family to have seen something so fantastic...and BABY ORCAS?! WOW!🐳🚢😊JUST WOW!

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@isabellind1292 we were so lucky! Like you, we sit watching all the time. You’ll have to book another cruise to keep looking!

[@isabellind1292]

@@TravellingWithTeens How nice! I really enjoyed watching your adventure! So happy to sub. Thank you TravellingWithTeens.🌎👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🌎

[@jlgcannuck]

Sadly Victoria gets short shrift by the cruise lines that only stop there to satisfy the American laws. (Jones act?) It is a beautiful city. And a trip to Butchart Gardens is so wonderful but takes time to get there. Cruise lines should reconsider the beauty of this city and give passengers a decent amount of time to enjoy it.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Couldn’t agree more! It’s everything a cruise port should be, easy to get around, perfect size for a city, fantastic views and scenery, and friendly people. Who could ask for more?!

[@TravellingWithTeens]

What would YOU do with only three hours in Canada? Let us know 👇

[@cruisecrazy7066]

Have a Canadian beer, but NOT a light beer.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Haha!

[@lawrencelyke8454]

Taking a carriage ride for roughly an hr.and half sponsored by my line.Acknowlege I only have three hrs.and want to insure I get back to the boat for the final nite.An easy decision as I love horses and can't be nice enough to them.Plus probably will benefit from the driver's knowledge of the city at twilight.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@lawrencelyke8454 we saw those coaches! It looked a really beautiful way to see the city. Have a great time!!!

[@seastheday956]

Thats called the Breakwater. Ppl walk on there all the time. Not to see ships come in. Its called the Parliment Buildings. Its at least 20 min walk to Chinatown from the inner harbour. Beavertails is something new for the tourists. Its an east coast thing. Victoria is known for its fishNchips.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Thanks for all the detail! We can’t wait to go back!!!

[@shannonchadwick8534]

Not the Parliament buildings, those are the Legislative Buildings. The Parliament buildings are in Ottawa.

[@seastheday956]

@@shannonchadwick8534 google it. Parliament Building, where the legislation is held...I live there.

[@atomicrancher3745]

I live near Victoria on the coast and see the ships pass by daily during the season. There is lots to see in Victoria and a full day there would be ideal with Butchart Gardens, the Royal Museum and the pleasant downtown area. I’m sorry cruisers don’t get to enjoy what it has to offer with their very short visit and the walk into town. BTW, I’m taking this same NCL cruise early April 2025. (I’ll stay on the ship in Ketchikan I think.)

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Victoria was one of our highlights, despite being our shortest stop! One of the things we love about cruising is that it gives us a taste for places we want to return to. Have a great cruise!

[@SumanSingh-yz7dq]

If I were you, I would complain to the cruise line about the short stay in Victoria. Maybe they will think twice and change their itinerary for future cruises.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

We would have loved to have stayed longer, Victoria was beautiful! Thanks for watching!

[@deniselanglois6193]

Looks like it’s a lot of work walking on cruise my trip to Giraffe Manor, Kenya & Tanzania was much more relaxed and no crowds - are there any carts to take u to the end of the wharf? I’ll definitely go on a smaller ship

[@TravellingWithTeens]

Beth here, and I am OBSESSED with Giraffe Manor on Instagram! We did a Kruger safari ten years ago and it was one of the best things we ever did. If you love wildlife, Alaska is for you!

[@deniselanglois6193]

If you can see my picture I’m at Giraffe Manor Christmas morning and the giraffe is Betty

[@TravellingWithTeens]

@deniselanglois6193 yes we can see it and it is an AMAZING photo. What a memory!

[@bleumustang6362]

Hello my cruise in July. i will only have 3 hours in Victoria and it’s between 8- midnight I say 3 hours because im not going to want to be back that late. It’s our very last stop so. Also i am planning on us to just take a walk around. No time for anything else

[@TravellingWithTeens]

It’s such a pretty place to walk around, you’ll have a great time! It’s a shame it’s such a short stop as it’s such a great city!

[@jolilly4264]

Do you live in the US or the UK as your kids sounded like they have a UK accent? Shame you couldn’t have been there longer but as you say all the more reason to go back xx

[@TravellingWithTeens]

We live in the UK, and we will go back to BC for sure!

[@gxwbc]

It's unfortunate that the cruise stop was clearly an obligitory stop and didn't do your visit to Victoria justice. Based on what I saw, your stop was likely during spring and on a weeknight or Sunday. Chinatown normally closes around 7pm, but looks like the restaurants were closed so you were probably there after 9pm.

[@TravellingWithTeens]

It was a Friday night in early April. Definitely on our list to go back, we loved what we saw!

[@bethturner7051]

It's "out" not "oot"

[@TravellingWithTeens]

That was me trying to be Canadian. Guess I failed! 😄