Victoria, BC

Ah, Victoria. This turned out to be a beautiful city and one that would be a pleasure to return to some day when we have more time. Everyone we met was very friendly.

Due to the time of our docking there would only be time for one formal excursion, but the late evening departure meant that we could spend a lot of time on our own. We chose to take a walking tour of the city that took us through residential neighborhoods, a magnificent park, and into the city center where it ended at the Parliament House and harbor. 

 

A little breezy as we started out along the shore.

 

Totems and long house at the museum.

As mentioned earlier, Fist Nation tribes were originally denied their cultural heritage. Potlatches were forbidden and tribes were displaced from the native lands. In the seventies, many totems were retrieved from where the tribes originally lived. It was an attempt to preserve that part of their culture, but many of these totems were badly deteriorated. A tribal chief, and skilled carver, began the task of faithfully recreating the more significant of those totems. A traditional long house was built to house the fabrication of the totems.

We explored Government Street where there were trendy shops and restaurants, and finally settled in at The Bard & Banker Pub, a repurposed historic bank building. Lunch and a flight of local craft beers were fantastic and left us in fine spirits (no pun intended) for the walk back to the ship.

 

The Bard & Banker Pub.

Government Street from Parliament House. Empress Hotel on right.

Barbara found a beach to comb on the way back. Sequim, WA in the background.

Since this was the last day on the ship, Barbara and Jocelyne spent the remainder of the afternoon making sure that none of the provided shipboard credits were left unspent. Each couple had $700 in credits and most of that was consumed at the Spa with massages and mani-pedis. The Regent Seven Seas cruises are all inclusive, and this relieves you of any thoughts of cost for any on-board services or tips. The credit also allows the occasional extravagance at dinner for premium wines, or perhaps to enjoy an evening Cuban cigar and cognac without worrying about your trip budget.

 

Jocelyne and Barbara after a session at the spa.

Toasting a wonderful cruise in one of the lounges before dinner.

Dinner on our last night was a return to the Signatures restaurant, one of two premium reservations only restaurants on board. Signatures specializes in French cuisine, while Prime 7 is a steak house. In addition to reservations, jackets were required for the gentlemen. Getting a bit dressed up was fitting for celebrating the completion of a very enjoyable cruise.

As a final note, I must highly recommend Regent Seven Seas cruises. This was my first cruise. I had resisted in the past because I just could not see how spending a week cooped up with two thousand people on a ship could be fun, let alone relaxing. The size of the Regent ships is much more reasonable. All the key amenities you expect such as live entertainment, fine dining, casual dining, a casino, spa, pool, etc. are there. There were 640 passengers and a crew of nearly 400. At no time did it feel crowded. At no time did we feel rushed. The crew at every level was very courteous and friendly. We had a marvelous time and left very relaxed and energized to return to the real world.