Cruise

V2V Ferry Departs From BC Tourism Waters

A boutique ferry service that had sailed between Vancouver and Victoria has decided to end its run in the BC tourism business. V2V Vacations, which had been in operation for 2 1/2 seasons, announced that it was folding in the first week of January this year.

“V2V Vacations has made the difficult decision to cease our service between Vancouver and Victoria with immediate effect,” says a message on the website home page.

V2V had operated a luxury catamaran named the Empress that sailed in stylish comfort on a leisurely 3.5-hour route between the two cities. Sightseeing – not rapid transit, like the BC Ferries in those same waters – was the appeal and selling point of V2V.

But passenger load projections for the future were not strong enough to justify another season of operations by V2V Vacations, said management.

The company was also blindsided by an engine failure in its first year of operations, in 2017. Just three months into its first summer, an engine on the Empress gave out and the catamaran was sidelined for four months while a new engine was sourced and installed. That incident had some impact on consumer confidence, said management.

V2V promoted itself as a service for tourists who had time to enjoy the scenery of the Gulf Islands in the Georgia Strait on their trip between Vancouver and Victoria. One-way tickets ranged from $110 to $180. The 242-seat cat offered both indoor and outdoor viewing areas, comfortable lounge seating and a variety of upscale meal choices. It operated passenger services from March to October.

“Travellers who have purchased tickets will be fully refunded,” continues the message on the V2V site. “The V2V Vacations crew thanks all our customers over the past three years for their patronage.”

Refunds are being processed by calling 1-855-554-4679, or emailing [email protected]