Photography is my obsession and when traveling the world often images just present themselves. Most are random impressions with little context but some seem to suggest at a self contained story. Still others leave me wanting to find out more about what I stumbled upon. Here’s a glimpse of just why we travel…
The Azores are a beautiful place and walking late one day around Ponta Delgada this ice cream parlor struck me as the essence of why we love these islands.
Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against beautiful backdrops that are endlessly changing.
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Amazing sites and fun adventures are awaiting you along with beautiful beaches, tropical Sun and crystal clear water. Wherever you go you’re going to love the Caribbean.
Amazing sites and fun adventures are awaiting you along with beautiful beaches, tropical Sun and crystal clear water. Wherever you go you’re going to love the Caribbean.
Bondi Beach is recognized as Australia’s premier surfing beach and it is similar in topography and surf to Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach. The normally moderate height waves are famous the world over for their long rides drawing a number of international surfing competitions each year. It is also an iconic beach town and being only five miles from downtown Sydney and easily accessible by public transportation it usually has large weekend crowds. Most days starting with sunrise the beach draws surfers out into the waves, swimmers to its many ocean pools along with a mix of sunbathers and people watchers to its sand.
Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these decorating accessories that are perfect for framing.
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The port of Victoria, Canada is located on Vancouver Island in southwest Canada. Victoria is a popular cruise ship port of call on many Alaska itineraries partly because it’s located not far from the city of Vancouver. It is a beautiful city with a number of things to see and do and is only a short ferry ride or plane trip away from the city of Vancouver.
Where Your Ship Docks
Most cruise ships now dock at the cities port facilities within walking distance of downtown. There is a terminal with public facilities and taxis are usually available.
Wheelchair Accessibility
Disembarking – This port has a developed cruise ship pier but the ease of disembarking varies by the individual ships gangway designs. The Victoria pier disembarks in a mostly residential neighborhood with about a mile trip into downtown. For passengers using wheelchairs there can be a moderate ramp incline to deal with.
Port Area Characteristics – This port has an average wheelchair infrastructure typical of large cities. The port area has moderate inclines in sidewalks. Intersection crosswalks may have a few curbs or other wheelchair obstacles.
Transportation
Taxis are readily available and local bus service is provided by the Victoria Regional Transit System, a fleet of modern single and double-decker buses that offer frequent service to Victoria BC’s main attractions. LINK HERE.
Typical options for bus fares include: Cash Fare C$2.50 Single boarding only – No Transfers. Drivers do not carry change. 10 Tickets C$22.50 DayPass C$5.00 and are only available on bus. Drivers do not carry change. There are also water taxis and float planes available on the cities waterfront.
Ferry Terminals
Vancouver Island is connected by a regional ferry service with frequent service to the city of Vancouver. The ferry terminals serving Vancouver and other areas are located almost an hour out of town.
There is a combined service for trips to Vancouver cruise terminal that offers one fare to take a bus from Victoria, the ferry to Vancouver and a bus over to the Canada Place Terminal.
If you need to go from Victoria to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal you can use BC Transit or take a private shuttle to the ferry terminal with the BC Ferries Connector.
Money
The local currency is the Canadian Dollar and unlike the cities in the east of Canada US Dollars are not generally accepted. If they do take the US Dollar expect them to charge an additional amount in addition to current exchange rates. Most credit cards are welcome and ATMs are common.
Attractions
Butchart Gardens
The Butchart Gardens – Located in Brentwood Bay, near Victoria. The gardens receive over a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
Chinatown – It is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America after San Francisco’s. Victoria’s Chinatown had its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century in the mass influx of miners from California to what is now British Columbia in 1858. It remains an active place and continues to be popular with residents and visitors.
BC Museum – Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum consists of The Province of British Columbia’s natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives.
The Victoria Bug Zoo – This unique facility is a two-room minizoo that is located in downtown Victoria, just one block north of the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Victoria is also home to several architectural landmarks and parks of note and offers a number of great pubs and cafes.
Victoria Island vineyards
Vancouver Island is now home to a very good and growing number of vineyards with a number of wine country tours available. Winemaking began on Vancouver Island in the 1920s, with fruit wine, honey wine (mead) and still and sparkling wine from grapes. A government research project in the 1980s, tasked with identifying grape varietals that could thrive in the maritime climate, that really fueled Vancouver Island’s modern wineries. Today the Island boasts around thirty wineries, from the Comox Valley on the northeast coast down to Sooke, near the southern tip.
Read our article about disembarking in Victoria and taking the ferry over to Vancouver to beat the Jones Act (technically it’s the Passenger Vessel Services Act) HERE.
A popular port of call on Alaska cruises, Victoria is located on Vancouver Island and features great gardens, nearby wine country, and much to see in its own right.
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If you’re new to cruising it’s important to calculate gratuities into your thinking when considering the cost of a cruise booking. At the time of booking you will usually be quoted the base fare along with port charges, fees and taxes but that’s not all your costs. You also need to be aware of what gratuities you should expect.
Tipping on a cruise ship often is a cause for confusion. When to tip, when not to tip and what gratuity charges to expect while onboard. To add to the confusion, cruising is becoming popular with people around the world and many international passengers have different thinking about gratuities.
While policies and amounts can be different for different cruise lines, it can also vary with ports of departure and regions. For most American based major cruise companies there are many similarities. In most of those cruises expect similar gratuity policies.
Expect cabin gratuities to be automatically added to your onboard account. That amount can vary some by cruise line and depends on the class of stateroom. Additionally the amount can be adjusted up by cruise companies from time to time*. Any amounts you’ll find published are usually per person per day. Some cruises will charge them to your account each day while others post at the end of the cruise. At the least expect $12.00 per person, per day. Charges for children in a stateroom are, on average, half the adult amount and infants aren’t charged. With higher priced cruises and more expensive staterooms expect to pay more, usually somewhere around $30 per person, per day.
Another area where you can expect to see gratuity charges is on drinks in lounges, bars and food venues. Today it’s common to have gratuities added automatically to your check, usually about 18% but many checks will also provide room for an additional gratuity. Before you sign a check and add a tip, see if the gratuity is already listed. Gratuities are normally offered for tours (cash and what you think is fair), spas and room service (some cruises are now automatically charging gratuities to room service checks).
A Tip On Tipping – While tipping for good service is what it’s all about, on a cruise tipping for better service is usually worth its weight in gold. Most service staff on ships do their best to provide good service but to get special treatment try providing cash tips special servers on a regular basis. Want special service in a lounge? Try giving the server a few dollars when your drink arrives, he’ll pay special attention to you on your next visit. We have a habit of carrying a number of two dollar bills on board – they get attention because they’re unusual and it gets us noticed and remembered.
Why Are Gratuities Goin Up?
The gratuities have always been an incentive for working on a cruise, and in recruiting. One reason for current increases has to do with increasing staffing problems post Covid pandemic. As cruise lines continue to deal with the aftermath of economic disruption and increased debt due to the global pandemic increasing overall gratuities is a logical move to keep good people working on ships.
*Issues With Tipping Internationally
If you travel internationally one area where you need to do your homework is gratuities. While things are changing it is still not a common practice in many countries. Many places in Europe tipping wasn’t common and at most it was leaving the loose change. Because tipping isn’t common internationally, cruise companies are always struggling to get passengers to understand the practice.
Because some cultures and countries do not believe in the practice of gratuities it presents cruise ships with a challenge at times. For example, Australians simply do not tip. Going to a restaurant in Australia the check will only have the charge for food and drinks – no taxes or gratuities and you aren’t expected to leave any additional tip. Because of that Australians will go to guest services on a cruise and insist gratuities be removed. For that reason Australians booking in Australia or cruising from Australia will often be charged a higher fare to compensate for providing crew with gratuities.
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