Below is a press release from San Juan Cruises, which is making changes to its seasonal services. I hope to have more details later today. The daily trip to Victoria has been a staple at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven for quite some time:
San Juan Cruises has discontinued the Bellingham to Victoria service the company has offered for nearly 20 years. In it’s place will be their new “San Juan Adventure” 8-hour day cruise, which includes a narrated tour through the San Juan Islands, whale watching and wildlife viewing, a 2-hour shore visit in Friday Harbor, and a complimentary salmon & chicken buffet dinner.
The “San Juan Adventure” cruise runs May 6 through September 25th, 2011. The adult price will be $89.00, with youth and children’s rates available.
San Juan Cruises offers this and other tours that highlight the best of what makes this corner of Washington State so special and unique – the rugged coastlines of the San Juan Islands and Chuckanut Bay, wildlife such as Orca Whales, Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals and Stellar Sea Lions, and Northwest cuisine, including Wild Alaskan Salmon and Dungeness Crab.
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May 3rd, 2011 at 7:59 am
Hi Dave,
Does this decision have anything to do with crossing the border?
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:59 am
reallyseriously,
I’ve been playing phone tag with Owner Drew Schmidt, so I’ll find out when I talk to him. In the past he has mentioned how the new passport requirements have hurt his business.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:44 am
Just talked to Drew… the passport regulations were a big reason for the change. Many Americans don’t have passports and they would start to book a seat on the boat and then cancel when they found out they needed the passport. He said the number of passengers dropped from about 14,000 in 2002 to about 5,000 last year.
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:08 am
I can imagine that there would be difficulty in last minute changes or worse yet, refusals of entry.
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:16 am
Aw, maaaaaaaaan. Really enjoyed a summer trip over to Victoria on San Juan Cruises. Ugh.
May 3rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
I’m so sorry to hear this, we enjoyed going over on this trip several times. Now we will have to go to Anacortes or Tswassen for the same experience.
May 18th, 2011 at 5:25 am
This is an unfortunate change! I was hoping to use this ferry service to travel to Birch Bay on the weekends from Victoria this summer.