70 replies to this topic

[Baro]

If this gets me downtown to downtown faster than taking the bus to Swartz bay (or about the same speed but without the hassle of all the connections) I'd be down, even if it costs a bit more.  Has to be that right mix of price and convenience though.

[Nparker]

.... Has to be that right mix of price and convenience though.

That will be the make or break factor.

[sdwright.vic]

$80 each way per person. For a couple to use it, sorry I will take BC Ferries and drive my car.

Edited by sdwright.vic, 16 September 2015 - 06:16 PM.

[SamCB]

Too bad they can't set up operations from Oak bay marina. That would shave an hour off the trip, and it's close enough to "downtown" IMO.

[VicHockeyFan]

$80 each way per person. For a couple to use it, sorry I will take BC Ferries and drive my car.

 

A lot of haters on social media too.

 

But I'd liken it too:  "Oh my God why would I go the the Keg and pay $90 for dinner when I can get the McDonalds 2-4-1 and get a McChicken for $2.99?

 

Or OMG why would I go to Victoria and spend $275/night at the Empress when I can go to the Kimpton Hotel for $60/night?

 

Losers with no vision.

 

Just like how so very few of us take the Clipper, it'll be set to take visitors to or locals from Vancouver to here.

 

You know, people with money.

[North Shore]

Why not ally with either BCFC, and contract their docks at Swartz, or with ?Washington Marne group - again the docks at Swartz that the truck ferries use, and go to Van frm there?

[Bingo]

How about sitting a bar with friends for 3 hours while you are bumping around and bouncing off your seat?

 

There won't be too many people drinking on a three hour trip once the wind pipes up and they are strapped in holding onto their barf bag.

[57WestHills]

Those are vehicle ferry docks, so of minimal value. The Coastal Ferry Act contract does, however, have provision for competitors to apply for access to the terminals. Of course no one could afford to operate a private car ferry successfully here that had reasonable enough fares to actually attract non-commercial traffic. SeaSpan and Coho could have never started today with contemporary cost realities.

Why not ally with either BCFC, and contract their docks at Swartz, or with ?Washington Marne group - again the docks at Swartz that the truck ferries use, and go to Van frm there?

[VicHockeyFan]

There won't be too many people drinking on a three hour trip once the wind pipes up and they are strapped in holding onto their barf bag.

Clipper has the odd rough trip but it's not very often. The route to Vancouver is a bit smoother. There was plenty of drinking on the Royal Sealink.

[sdwright.vic]

A lot of haters on social media too.
 
But I'd liken it too:  "Oh my God why would I go the the Keg and pay $90 for dinner when I can get the McDonalds 2-4-1 and get a McChicken for $2.99?
 
Or OMG why would I go to Victoria and spend $275/night at the Empress when I can go to the Kimpton Hotel for $60/night?
 
Losers with no vision.
 
Just like how so very few of us take the Clipper, it'll be set to take visitors to or locals from Vancouver to here.
 
You know, people with money.

I don't know, but this response comes off as a bit rude. Who are you calling aa hater? And honestly since my spouse and I are D(ouble) I(ncome) N(o) K(id)S with Government jobs you can take your " loser" and just run on along to the dollar store for some more of your .78¢ sody pop.

[sdwright.vic]

^^ on and I prefer the Hotel Grand Pacific thank you. Empress i small drafty rooms and highly overrated IMHO.

[Mike K.]

This service will compete with Harbour Air and Helijet, not BCF, and we'll likely see a lot of bureaucrats having to take this in lieu of $300 Helijet flights.

I'm certain once this gets going the cost will be closer to $90-$95.

[VicHockeyFan]

 we'll likely see a lot of bureaucrats having to take this in lieu of $300 Helijet flights.

 

I don't think so.  Over 6 hours on the thing return.  Bureaucrats will continue to take the quicker option, so they can be home at a reasonable hour on the same day.

[Mike K.]

Fly in one direction, boat in the other, no?

[sdwright.vic]

Yeah, they get paid travel time. They are not going to waste 6 hours on travel time unless it's for local field calls. Otherwise it's the quickest way possible to get to the meeting and back to start producing again. Trust me I know, I book the travel, this is the mandate, you are not to be out of your home office for longer them actually required to perform your job duties. Pestered is towards Videoconferencing whenever possible.

[jeffifah]

Royal Sealink went up to 37 knots and indeed did the trip in 2.5 hours, I took it lots.  No shore damage.  The fast ferries that BCF built for cars had much more displacement and thus more wake.

 

If they still offer the fax machine as part of the service, I'm in ;-)

[VicHockeyFan]

Don't forget that for many years now, PoW has been running a Vancouver sailing every day in the tourist season.  And it takes almost 6 hours to get there and costs $200.

 

 http://princeofwhale...victoria-tours/

 

 

 

[Jacques Cadé]

Since we're discussing the history of boats to Vancouver, and their comparative speed and cost, you might find this interesting. Below is part of a 1938  brochure for sale on eBay, for CP's Victoria-Vancouver-Seattle "triangle route". Sailing time from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver was 4 hours and 10 minutes. There were only two sailings a day (one of them overnight), and the one-way passenger fare was $2.50, or $40.80 in 2015 money. But you got a stateroom, a dining room with linen tablecloths, and a well-appointed lounge ... where one would have undoubtedly found VHF's granddad.

Attached Images

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[amor de cosmos]

Australian ferry operator Riverside Marine is poised to take on passenger-only service for the 59 nautical miles between Victoria and Vancouver harbours — a route that deep-sixed another operator more than 20 years ago.

The Down Under company has confirmed that it plans daily catamaran sailings of just over three hours at a one-way cost of about $80 for 300 passengers, with Victoria arrivals and departures set to operate from the dock of the CPR Steamship Building in the Inner Harbour.

Sailings could begin as early as next summer.

A long-term lease for a Vancouver dock — a linchpin for any service — is expected to be signed soon. “We have advanced discussions in relation to a terminal and wharf in Vancouver at the Convention Centre, which we expect to finalize in the next couple of weeks,” Andrew Leis, Riverside company secretary, said in an email to the Times Colonist from Queensland.

“We are looking at an initial combined lease and option terms of 13 years,” he added, with estimated start-up costs for the service at about $15 million.

Still to come: successful contract negotiations with the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority for 2,400 square feet of administration space in the CPR Steamship Terminal and dock space outside.

“We are very excited at the prospect of having our business located in the CPR Steamship Terminal,” Leis added. “We feel that it is the perfect place in the Inner Harbour to base our business and to use as an arrival and departure point for a domestic crossing from Vancouver to Victoria.”

http://www.timescolo...h.v20Dzmu8.dpuf

another option

A high-end mini-adventure cruise from Vancouver to Victoria in a new $3.5-million Prince of Whales vessel is expected to debut in May.

The purpose-built Salish Sea Dream is under construction in Port Angeles, Washington, said Alan McGillivray, owner of the company, billed as the “largest whale watching and eco-adventure company” in B.C.

Local shipbuilders were too busy with tugboat contracts for the build, he said.

The $315-round-trip “ultimate day tour” from Vancouver’s Westin Bayshore dock to Victoria Harbour, with a stop at Butchart Gardens, is expected to launch May 14.

The 24-metre Salish Dream Sea has 94 seats outdoors and the same number indoors, with huge windows and an all-weather enclosed cabin that is expected to extend the sailing season by about four weeks, until Oct. 10.

Cruises in the smaller Ocean Magic catamaran operated this year from May 23 to Sept. 20. The vessel can carry 74 passengers outdoors but only 60 inside and is not fully enclosed.

The Dream will go 30 knots an hour, about 10 per cent faster than the Ocean Magic, so more exploring can be done with a comfortable and smooth ride, McGillivray said.

http://www.timescolo...h.awG6ydTs.dpuf

[dasmo]

I like it!