Cruise ship stopping there for a day. I’d thought it would be a rustic fishing village, but my preliminary research indicates it’s a single vast shopping mall. Other than shopping, what’s worth getting off the boat for?
Eat Nanaimo bars, of course! (If you can stand the sweetness. Better get some strong coffee to go with them. No sugar.)
There’s Petroglyph Provincial Park.
If you’re into diving, there’s the HMCS Saskatchewan wreck. Pretty cool dive (in both senses of the word!). Brittle stars all over the place, and scallops dancing about.
Nanaimo? I got off the bus from Port Alberni, walked down the hill, and got on the boat to Vancouver. ISTR that there was some arcane regulatory reason that the bus couldn’t connect directly to the boat.
That’s all I have.
You could go to Newcastle Island - a very quick ferry ride away from where I assume your cruise ship is docking.
Also, downtown Nanaimo is supposed to have some nice shopping. The malls are further out of town, towards Parksville.
That’s all I’ve got, sorry.
There’s an excellent Mexican restaurant (Gina’s?) close to the Courthouse. Generally, though, the town sucks.