Victoria is the Last Port Stop on Royal Princess

Our cruise on the Royal Princess was coming near the end, but we still had one stop left and it was one of my favorite cities—Victoria, Canada. I had been three times prior and looked forward to this trip.

When I first found out we were doing this cruise I immediately thought about Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress hotel. It was something I had never gotten around to doing in Victoria. Unfortunately, the ship wasn’t getting into the British Columbia city until nighttime so that wasn’t going to work.

I was intrigued when the public relations rep for The Empress told me, since there were so many cruise ships coming in later, the hotel had added a Sunset Sips program for those who had wanted Afternoon Tea. I agreed that we would come try it.

We had many hours to go before our scheduled 9:00 pm arrival in Victoria. I wanted to take it easy, so I didn’t overdo it during the day.

The International Café became the standard for our breakfast, and we didn’t change that on this last sea day. We loved the specialty coffees and, since we were on the ship for the day, a few little quiches and pastries were more than enough to begin the day.

After breakfast we went to play bingo. As far as we knew, it was the only bingo offered on the cruise. It was fun. We didn’t win anything, though.

 We headed to the Concerto dining room for the English Pub lunch after Bingo. While the menu wasn’t one of my favorites on the cruise, Brittany enjoyed the Bangers and Mash.

 We skipped dessert with lunch because we wanted to go to the Gelato Shop for one last premium dessert. Those were hard to give up! They are so good.

After a little time in The Enclave thermal suite in the Lotus Spa, it was then back to the cabin for a nap and some packing. It was the night we had to leave our luggage outside to be picked up for the morning debarkation.

 We showered and got ready for the Farewell Dinner in the dining room. Although the waiters didn’t carry the Baked Alaska as I had seen on nearly every other cruise, they did sing a farewell song to us while we ate. 

Brittany started with the Alaskan Cocktail with shrimp, scallop and cod in a citrus mayonnaise. For a main course she had the Slow Roasted Prime Rib.

I did the Spinach Ricotta Ravioli and Princess Love Boat Dream (layered chocolate-raspberry and vanilla-raspberry cream on a shortbread cookie cut into a heart) for dessert. I also had a latte to keep me awake for the night out

As dinner was ending, there was a magnificent sunset we could see from the table. I moved closer to get a better look. Sunsets had become the time I was winding down from the exhaustion of the day. This time it was our day that was restful preparing for the night.

We went up to the cabin to get jackets and see the end of the sunset. The announcement came shortly after we had docked in Victoria, and we could get off.

The entrance into the country of Canada was quick. Outside there were buses waiting to take us downtown. The lines were long by the time we got down there, but the wait wasn’t too long.

 The bus was accessible and there was a spot just behind the driver for me to park my scooter in. I had to wait for the rest of the bus to get on and off before me so he could get me hooked in and taken out, but we weren’t in a major rush.

 

The first stop was right in front of the Fairmont Empress hotel. It looked even more spectacular in the dark night than the daytime I had previously seen it in. It was just the beginning as the inside was just as opulent.

We made our way to the Lobby Bar. They had our reservation and welcomed us to our seats by the window, where we could see the city lit up. We checked out the menu and it was quite unusual, but everything sounded like it would be good.

To pay homage to their famous Afternoon Tea, the cocktails in the Sunset Sip menu are poured from a teapot at the table. They are referred to as “Teapot Temptations Secret Libations.” Most of them also have a tea connection

I had the Lady Whistledown, with Botanist Gin, cucumber, chamomile tea syrup, and prosecco. Brittany ordered the Daisy Ricky, a concoction of citrus punch, tea infused Bacardi Rum, Coconut Ciroc vodka, lime, mint, and simple syrup.

The food was also served afternoon tea style in tiered trays. There was an assortment of sweet and savory. We decided to go with mostly the food, with a little dessert because we needed a variety. They were all delicious and large enough to share:

Warm White Cheddar & Chive Biscuit

Vegan Mushroom Pâté

Prime Rib Stuff Yorkshire Pudding

Grilled Avocado & Tomato Tartine

Chocolate Profiterole

 We had to be back on the ship by midnight, so we left soon after we finished eating to take a short walk around Victoria and pick up some souvenirs. Then we got back on the bus and onto the ship. It was a too short trip to Canada.

  As tired as we were, it was hard to fall asleep after all the excitement and a little bit of sadness that we’d be leaving our first Princess Cruise early in the morning. >

I was hosted on this trip, but opinions are my own.  

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Sailing into Victoria on the Millennium

When I first found out I would be taking the Pacific Coastal Wine Cruise with Celebrity, I told a lot of friends and relatives about it. Everyone said the entire itinerary looked great, but the majority came back and said, “You must see Victoria, it’s one of my favorite places.” With that kind of buildup I was afraid the real thing would let me down.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

After the ship docked, we took a cab down to Silk Road, just on the corner of the elaborate entrance to Chinatown. There we met with Cathy Ray of Tourism Victoria and Daniela Cubelic, owner and manager of the tea and aromatherapy shop. I had never seen anything like it, a combination of modern décor with the tradition of tea. Daniela has made a point of studying tea variations and customs from all around the world so she would know how to custom blend them downstairs and serve them at the store’s Tea Tasting bar. It is where she holds workshops and pairing events for customers who want to fully enjoy this beverage.

We tasted Velvet Potion, a black tea that contains chocolate and vanilla; Oolong Tea, a cross between green and black teas that is good for digestion; Silk Road Chai, an Indian style blend that is most different in its spice; and Casablanca, a Moroccan green tea that the natives of that country say should be “as sweet as love and as bitter as death.” I enjoyed them all and Lynn agreed with me that it was nice to start the morning with a little tea instead of the usual wine tasting.

From Velvet Potion we walked for awhile, exploring Victoria, a picturesque city with very European undertones. We passed Bastion Square and Lo Jo, the term used to describe the area on Lower Johnson, which Cathy described as a “hip and funky area.” I found Victoria to look like a cross between London and Melbourne, with the same clearly British influences. We even past some British Style pubs on our way to meet a real Brit, aka, The London Chef.

Dan Hayes is The London Chef and he just opened this cooking school/deli with his wife Micayla, a Victoria native.  The place is set up as one huge horseshoe shaped kitchen with plenty of kitchen gadgets and appliances. Lynn and I had an upfront and personal lesson with Dan and listened to him talk about his cooking with great passion, a passion he intends to share with others through this school.  He poured some wine and talked to us about what we liked to eat, smiling as his mind began writing recipes and his hands began pulling out herbs and oils.

First it was a Crostini with Chargrilled Vegetables. We watched him make a marinate with lots of local herbs (including mint and rosemary), olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper before grilling some asparagus zucchini and Japanese eggplant. The mixture went on top of toasted ciabatta that had been spread with goat cheese and was topped with a sauce of capers, mint, parsley, olive oil  and a bit of Dijon mustard.  While the Crostini was was baking, we talked more about Dan’s belief in fresh, local ingredients and decided that we would stick with the vegetarian theme and make a Risotto for our main course.

I love risotto, but it always seems to take forever to make. Dan showed me how to make a delicious mushroom risotto in just 20 minutes, sharing tips like adding a chunk of Parmesan rind directly into the risotto.  It was a perfect meal and a fun time. We bid Dan and Micayla farewell and took a cab back down to the water. Lynn opted to stay down by the bench for awhile and I spent the next hour and a half exploring the waterfront of Victoria. I enjoyed the mix of old and new buildings, like the Royal BC Museum and the Empress Hotel, known for its High Tea. I also loved watching the artists along the water at work, walking past as many bed & breakfasts as grand hotels.

Before we went back to the ship, we had drinks and snacks at the AURA Restaurant at the Inn at Laurel Point. The restaurant is directly on the water, offering beautiful views for cocktails or dining. We got to meet the restaurants new chef, Takashi Ito, who has worked at restaurants that included the Fairmont Empress down the road so he is very familiar with Victoria has to offer. He is excited to also be working with the sommelier to bring in more local wine and I certainly agreed that British Columbia offerings deserve more attention, as I had learned the week before the cruise. As an example, he brought us some Starling Lane Wild Berry Dessert Wine (made in Vancouver Island), a perfect accompaniment to the cheese and fruit plate.

All too soon it was time to leave Victoria and get ready for my final dinner aboard the Celebrity Cruise. It was hard to believe this was the last of 10 nights (and very busy days). I decided to go all out for the last supper and enjoyed a wonderful fruit display, French Onion Soup, Fettuccine with Veal, and a Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream!  I finally lost that $20 I had brought on board to gamble with and, with a smile at the slot machine, headed up for my last night in our Veranda Suite before my first day in Vancouver.