Rhapsody of the Seas

While I'm back now from my holiday in Alberta, it may take me a few days to shift gears and get back into Victoria. In the meantime, here's a photo from a few weeks ago of the Rhapsody of the Seas being towed into her berth at Ogden Point. Amazing power in those tiny tugs. This photo was taken from my favorite walk along the West Bay Walkway.

Two Ships

If you like things that float on the water Victoria is a good place to live since pretty well every type of watercraft can be seen most days if you're near the shore. Here's two extremes I saw recently. Above is one of the many cruise ships that stop here regularly, the Silver Shadow. And below is one of those instantly recognizable little Harbour Ferries.

Sea Princess

To provide a little contrast to yesterday's post on the tiny little Harbour Ferries, just around the corner from Fisherman's Wharf is Ogden Point, where monstrous cruise ships such as this, the Sea Princess, tie up to disgorge their passengers.

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I'm going down to Seattle for the next few days so until Thursday these posts will be going up automatically (I hope!).

Photogenic Fisgard Lighthouse

Living close to the Fisgard Lighthouse is like having a beautiful model available to one at any time and it would be foolish not to take advantage of such a situation. Consequently, regular visitors to this blog have already seen several photos of this lighthouse and can expect to see many more. Last time I was out there I tried to find some new angles by walking around it several times. It looks good from every angle. I like this shot particularly because of the tiny cruise ship visible on the horizon to the left.

Cruise Ships

What have these lovely ladies got to do with cruise ships? They are members of the City of Victoria Chorus who came out to celebrate the arrival of the 150th cruise ship in Victoria this year.Their splendid performance was only a part of the festivities organized by a group called Victoria AM that ensures that cruise ship visitors are warmly welcomed. Victoria AM is "a non profit society dedicated to enhancing and supporting Tourism in Greater Victoria." In addition to the chorus, there were other performances and a night market, pictured below. The entertainment was generally good but I cannot help but wonder why some of the talented performing artists from the Causeway Artists Society were not invited to participate. Their performances on the causeway are, after all, an important part of what makes Victoria an interesting and memorable stopover for cruise ship passengers.The cruise ship in the background above, the Star Princess, was only the 149th to arrive. The 150th, the MS Westerdam, is shown below shortly after docking, towering over an African drum and dance ensemble that performed as part of the welcoming ceremonies. I assume that the 150th ship was selected for this honor to mark also the 150th aniversary of British Columbia. However, there does not need to be any special reason to welcome these huge floating hotels. They are a major source of income for the city and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. They bring over 300,000 visitors to Victoria annually and every cruise ship that stops here leaves tens of thousands of dollars behind.

Infinity

I mentioned before that much of Victoria's prosperity depends on tourists. Many of them spend a few days here while cruising on a ship such as this, the Celebrity Infinity. It carries about 2,000 passengers. I took this photo this afternoon from Macaulay Point in Esquimalt, a suburb of Victoria, just as this big ship was turning to enter the harbour.