Prince of Whales between Vancouver & Victoria?

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Has anyone done the Prince of Whales whalewatch that goes from Vancouver to Victoria? This seems like a perfect option for us because combined with the seaplane return it solves a lot of logistics problems, gives one last exciting day, and saves us a lot of time so that I can add a second Canadian city to my list. I can't find any posts about them from before 2008 except one person "doesn't recommend them for many reasons."

Can anyone describe the experience? Rough seas? Loud? Good visibility? Animals to see? (We are going the beginning of September).

I'm feeling discouragement because the frequent Alaskan cruisers have made posts about disliking ALL of the other excursions I have chosen.

So I wanted to get some feedback on this one BEFORE I made reservations.

[cruiseryyc]

Go onto the Trip Advisor forums and ask the question there as it is quite often mentioned as a way to get between Vancouver and Victoria. Check to see if there are any reviews on Trip Advisor too.

[trophy_23]

I think it's a great option if the time works for you. We have been out with Prince of Whale's though only from Victoria. They have nice boats that are well setup for whale watching. They are fairly big boats, but it can get rough, and you never can predict it. They are always in contact with their other boats and even other whale watch companies to keep track of the whales, so your chances of seeing whales is very high. I would go for it!

 

I think they also have a package that will take you from Vancouver, whale watching, then to Victoria inner harbour where you board a bus to Butchart Gardens, explore the gardens where you then board the boat at the gardens back to Vancouver.

Edited May 28, 2016 by trophy_23

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• hope you are not getting off a cruise the same morning. While the departure point is downtown.... it will be challenging to make it.
  
• I did a whale watch departing from Granville Island. Yes the seas are rougher by the airport and Storybrooke from the outflowing Fraser. The Prince of Whales is a much larger boat. Can't speak about whale operations from Steveston or Victoria. I assume they may have less rough seas being away from the Fraser. I'll let others comment.
  
• The Prince of Whales is a great time saving option to combine an Orca watch with Victoria. For others.... they may prefer to watch the larger humpbacks in Juneau.
  
• once in Victoria... some prefer to continue their journey to nearby Seattle to visit a third city (without returning to Vancouver) and perhaps a cheaper flight home. The Prince of Whales does take luggage with their large boat.
  

Edited May 28, 2016 by xlxo

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Thoughts...

[*]hope you are not getting off a cruise the same morning. While the departure point is downtown.... it will be challenging to make it.

 

Thank you for looking out for me - we'll have 3 other days to enjoy Vancouver first, but we have to be out of our Air B&B before noon and our flight doesn't leave until almost midnight. Them managing our luggage is a HUGE perk. But if I'm going to get so seasick that I can't participate in the rest of the day, then it's certainly not worth it.

 

Seattle was an option we considered but decided I wanted to maximize my time North of the border, since I've never been to Canada before.