3308 replies to this topic

[sdwright.vic]

And if there is a need to supply it, the supply chain will increase to accommodate it. And if more stuff is coming to the island to stock cruise ships then maybe the extra volume can reduce some cost for stuff.

[sdwright.vic]

Also cruise ships buy and charge in US dollars. Buying in Canada can be a 30% discount. Volume could add up to a 40% discount, especially if the schedule abd provisions are known in advance, which they would be.

[HB]

but its already 50% cheaper or more in the US so is it really a discount..BC liquor stores sell items at an 80% markup

[Mike K.]

I would assume that the mark-up cruise ships resell their liquor for would make it all work out in the end.

You can make $125 profit off of a $25 bottle of liquor, fwiw.

[LJ]

^Not if you tick the "all you can drink" option box.

[spanky123]

Wont work for many reasons but here are 2 good ones.

Lisa Helps really does need Help climbing down out of the clouds she is floating around on.

 

1 There are not enough hotel rooms for passengers to stay at before and after the cruise.

 

2 Provisioning the ships would be a joke especially when it comes to loading up on booze.Why in the world would they do that in Canada (BC) which is probably the most expensive country on the planet to purchase alcohol beverages

 

Also most passengers would have to connect through either Vancouver or Seattle to get to Victoria adding unnecessary costs to their travel.

 

What got me though was the caveat that US customs would have to open a pre-screening facility at Ogden Point. That I will not hold my breathe for.

Edited by spanky123, 23 March 2017 - 08:15 PM.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's the problem ^. One extra flight both ways. It's why it'll never work. Why would operators put their guests through that pain?

A smarter way might have Vancouver departures stop here on the way back and give travellers the option of ending here. I'm not sure what that would mean for customs.

[Nparker]

...A smarter way might have Vancouver departures stop here on the way back and give travellers the option of ending here. I'm not sure what that would mean for customs.

That already happens on some of repositioning cruises. In fact, I did it myself on a cruise back from Hawaii in 2003. About 50 of us optioned to leave the ship in Victoria before it carried on to its final port in Vancouver the next morning. Customs agents cleared us at Ogden Point.

[Hotel Mike]

Not so simple to do VHF. Stopping in Victoria on the way back to Vancouver would be a major move for the cruise lines, pretty much adding a day on to an itinerary. I don't think they would ever consider that. And I wonder Nparker do some people on the regular runs disembark in Victoria rather than continue to Seattle for the final stop? Does customs provide the staff?

[Nparker]

...And I wonder Nparker do some people on the regular runs disembark in Victoria rather than continue to Seattle for the final stop? Does customs provide the staff?

I have no idea if that happens on the Seattle-based cruises, but I know it's relatively common on the itineraries where Victoria is the penultimate port before formal disembarkation in Vancouver.

[VicHockeyFan]

Not so simple to do VHF. Stopping in Victoria on the way back to Vancouver would be a major move for the cruise lines, pretty much adding a day on to an itinerary. I don't think they would ever consider that. And I wonder Nparker do some people on the regular runs disembark in Victoria rather than continue to Seattle for the final stop? Does customs provide the staff?

 

I have had friends that have done that last year, with advance notice.  So it can be done.

 

I'm not sure it would add a day, HM.  The Seattle trips stop here, and they are also one-weekers, same as Vancouver trips.  And they leave here at midnight, and basically drift to Seattle in a leisurely 7 hours.  Vancouver ones could do the same.

[Bingo]

Get off at Ogden Point, head over to the V2V dock and get to Vancouver a bit sooner.

[Nparker]

Get off at Ogden Point, head over to the V2V dock and get to Vancouver a bit sooner.

But a whole lot poorer and likely sea sick.

[johnk]

but its already 50% cheaper or more in the US so is it really a discount..BC liquor stores sell items at an 80% markup

They can buy booze in the US in bond and lots of it, no lack of storage space for booze on big ships.

[lanforod]

I've been thinking of doing a cruise and getting off in Victoria sometime. If the Vancouver ones did that, I'd much sooner lean towards one of those over one going from Seattle, but they don't, other than a few very rare exceptions. Might do similar to what NParker did, and do a Hawaii cruise or something that goes to Vancouver, stopping in Victoria. Just so nice to step off the ship, and you're home, no other travel required. No flight, ferry etc. how much more relaxed could you be.

[Nparker]

...Might do similar to what NParker did, and do a Hawaii cruise or something that goes to Vancouver, stopping in Victoria. Just so nice to step off the ship, and you're home, no other travel required. No flight, ferry etc. how much more relaxed could you be.

Initially, my friends and I had not planned on disembarking in Victoria (or even knew that we could), but on the trip back from Hawaii we ran into a significant storm that delayed our arrival in Victoria by about 6 hours. In the end it worked out well for us, because we were able to have one last dinner aboard the ship, leisurely collect our luggage and be back sleeping in our own beds at a reasonable hour.

[Mike K.]

The season starts this Monday with the noon arrival of the Star Princess from LA. She's destined for Vancouver.

[VicHockeyFan]

It’s an event like no one in Victoria has seen before -- home runs, being hit into the ocean. Splash hits that will mark the opening of the Baseball Canada Men’s Championship in the B.C. capital.

 

On the evening of Wednesday, August 23, some of the best power hitters from across Canada will be representing their provinces, hitting batting practice pitches for home runs into the water between the cruise ship piers. The event is sponsored by Victoria Mobile Radio, in partnership with the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, and with charitable proceeds going to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation.

 

 

“This is something that has been done in a few places before, but never in Canada that we’re aware of, and we’re excited for how this will really help us make a big splash, pardon the pun, for the start of the men’s national tournament,” said Chair Gary Beyer.

 

“Ten home run hitters, hitting towering blasts over the home run line, to be declared the best home run hitter in Canada -- it will be a lot of fun and it will be a unique event that Victoria can really get excited about.”

 

The “Harbour Derby with Victoria Mobile Radio” will be free to the public, with White Spot supplying food options. Kayakers will be in the water retrieving all the baseballs.

 

[shoeflack]

Those poor seals. A few months after losing their freebie food source, they start learning how to hunt in the wild again, and then BAM! A bunch of ballplayers start socking dingers their way.

 

Tough 2017 for those seals.

[aastra]

What red-blooded seal wouldn't enjoy a sockeye dinner?