Advice please

[Little Nell]

We are currently looking to book for 2017. We are considering the Celebrity package, 20 night ultimate Alaska and Canada cruise tour. Everything looks perfect except we have a similar offer (very little difference in price) from our TA which has a better Canadian tour which is on the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf, giving us an extra day on the train in daylight as opposed to Celebrity's offering with Via Rail, of an overnight in a sleeper car, missing out much of the Kamloops to Jasper journey. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done the Canadian tour with Celebrity on Via rail or the alternative Rocky Mountaineer. Given the cost of the Rocky Mountaineer the TA's offer for a slight increase in cost looks the better deal. What is making me hesitate is that we are travelling from Edinburgh and are booking this blind as the flights are not available until September. I have a feeling that Celebrity will be able to put a more cohesive flight package together for us. I would appreciate your feedback because we are unlikely to do this trip again.

[DaKa2002]

If nearly everything else is close, we would choose the Gold Leaf service on the Rocky Mountaineer!

We have driven most of Alaska's roads, multiple cruises to Alaska (from Seattle, Vancouver, and both Northbound and Southbound). We have also taken the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf Service, on their Great Circle route - a fantastic trip.

[Little Nell]

If nearly everything else is close, we would choose the Gold Leaf service on the Rocky Mountaineer!

We have driven most of Alaska's roads, multiple cruises to Alaska (from Seattle, Vancouver, and both Northbound and Southbound). We have also taken the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf Service, on their Great Circle route - a fantastic trip.

 

Thank you, Dakka2002. I appreciate you giving the benefit of your experience.

[ClaudiaB]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

Go here. It's the Alaska section on Cruise Critic. You might get some very helpful information here.

[Little Nell]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

Go here. It's the Alaska section on Cruise Critic. You might get some very helpful information here.

 

Thank you. Will study this when it is not so late.

[awhfy]

Rocky Mountaineer hands down

[4774Papa]

We are currently looking to book for 2017. We are considering the Celebrity package, 20 night ultimate Alaska and Canada cruise tour. Everything looks perfect except we have a similar offer (very little difference in price) from our TA which has a better Canadian tour which is on the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf, giving us an extra day on the train in daylight as opposed to Celebrity's offering with Via Rail, of an overnight in a sleeper car, missing out much of the Kamloops to Jasper journey. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done the Canadian tour with Celebrity on Via rail or the alternative Rocky Mountaineer. Given the cost of the Rocky Mountaineer the TA's offer for a slight increase in cost looks the better deal. What is making me hesitate is that we are travelling from Edinburgh and are booking this blind as the flights are not available until September. I have a feeling that Celebrity will be able to put a more cohesive flight package together for us. I would appreciate your feedback because we are unlikely to do this trip again.

 

We have an NCL cruise 5 Sept of this year, because of they offered third passengers free in cabin as well as great promos. We generally prefer Celebrity, but NCL has a great itinerary for Alaska.

 

I planned around the cruise and we spend a week in Vancouver, then a Rocky Mountain Bus Tour from Vancouver. Priced the Rocky Mountaineer and it was just too expensive. The bus tour goes to the same places and costs 30% of the train.

Check out the bus tour at Key West Tours and Travel.

Also, if you stay in Alaska, a great option is Alaska Tours and Travel.

 

http://www.alaskatravel.com

[Mirage]

I have been on the Gold Leaf Service to Vancouver, it used to be offered Calgary to Vancouver. The Dome car and the open platform on the last car was a great way to see the countryside. Kamloops overnight with a folksy show was entertaining. The food on board in Gold Leaf was excellent. I have not been on the sleeper car by Celebrity, so can't comment.

 

Rocky Mountaineer was very memorable and a fun adventure.

[afto]

We are currently looking to book for 2017. We are considering the Celebrity package, 20 night ultimate Alaska and Canada cruise tour. Everything looks perfect except we have a similar offer (very little difference in price) from our TA which has a better Canadian tour which is on the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf, giving us an extra day on the train in daylight as opposed to Celebrity's offering with Via Rail, of an overnight in a sleeper car, missing out much of the Kamloops to Jasper journey. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done the Canadian tour with Celebrity on Via rail or the alternative Rocky Mountaineer. Given the cost of the Rocky Mountaineer the TA's offer for a slight increase in cost looks the better deal. What is making me hesitate is that we are travelling from Edinburgh and are booking this blind as the flights are not available until September. I have a feeling that Celebrity will be able to put a more cohesive flight package together for us. I would appreciate your feedback because we are unlikely to do this trip again.

 

You should still be able to book your flights with Choice Air (through Celebrity), even though your land arrangements are not made through them. You can check this about 11 months in advance.

[Little Nell]

Thank you very much for the replies. I think we are leaning towards the Rocky Mountaineer.

 

Thank you for the advice about Choice Air, I didn't know that. We may book through a TA, would we still be able to use Choice Air?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you very much for the replies. I think we are leaning towards the Rocky Mountaineer.

 

Thank you for the advice about Choice Air, I didn't know that. We may book through a TA, would we still be able to use Choice Air?

 

Yes, definitely for US citizens or if you're booking through a US TA. Not sure about UK citizens.

[Little Nell]

Yes, definitely for US citizens or if you're booking through a US TA. Not sure about UK citizens.

 

I will check with my TA. Thank you.

[Hydrokitty]

We are currently looking to book for 2017. We are considering the Celebrity package, 20 night ultimate Alaska and Canada cruise tour. Everything looks perfect except we have a similar offer (very little difference in price) from our TA which has a better Canadian tour which is on the Rocky Mountaineer, Gold Leaf, giving us an extra day on the train in daylight as opposed to Celebrity's offering with Via Rail, of an overnight in a sleeper car, missing out much of the Kamloops to Jasper journey. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done the Canadian tour with Celebrity on Via rail or the alternative Rocky Mountaineer. Given the cost of the Rocky Mountaineer the TA's offer for a slight increase in cost looks the better deal. What is making me hesitate is that we are travelling from Edinburgh and are booking this blind as the flights are not available until September. I have a feeling that Celebrity will be able to put a more cohesive flight package together for us. I would appreciate your feedback because we are unlikely to do this trip again.

 

Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf is fabulous. We did it as a land tour and loved every second of it. Scenery, food, service, all excellent and Kamloops is small but fun. However. the VIA Rail was not so much. Before you decide to do Via Rail there are a few things you should know:

 

1. the sleeping quarters are about the size of a jail cell. The 2 chairs convert to bunk beds for the night and let me just say that if either of you has trouble climbing a ladder to the top bunk, you're in trouble. Add to this the fact that if one of you is dressing, the other has to either stay in their bunk entirely or leave the room. The ladder comes down right up against the bathroom door. The bathroom is the size of a closet and, if you're small or average size, you can expect your knees to touch the opposite wall while you're on the throne. There is NO storage. You cannot bring a suitcase into your sleeper. You will have to bring a carry-on, the smaller the better. There is a shower in every car (not room) and it was surprisingly good and very private. 1 shower, 1 door, 1 lock!! The food was very very good but you have set dining hours with the first at 5 and the last at 9. The biggest problem is that the train is rarely on time and I don't mean a little late...I'm talking hours late. We were supposed to leave Jasper at 4 p.m. we left at 8. We were supposed to arrive in Edmonton at 4 p.m. and arrived at 3 a.m. The reason: freight owns the rails, passengers only rent them. If a freight train needs to pass the VIA has to pull to a siding and wait. Sometimes these freight trains are a mile long and sometimes there's more than one of them. Hence the scheduled times means absolutely nothing!!! I'm very glad I did this ride from Vancouver to Banff on Mountaineer and Jasper to Toronto on Via Rail. It was an experience I'll never forget but these are things the tour companies don't tell you and I believe you need to know.

[Little Nell]

Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf is fabulous. We did it as a land tour and loved every second of it. Scenery, food, service, all excellent and Kamloops is small but fun. However. the VIA Rail was not so much. Before you decide to do Via Rail there are a few things you should know:

 

1. the sleeping quarters are about the size of a jail cell. The 2 chairs convert to bunk beds for the night and let me just say that if either of you has trouble climbing a ladder to the top bunk, you're in trouble. Add to this the fact that if one of you is dressing, the other has to either stay in their bunk entirely or leave the room. The ladder comes down right up against the bathroom door. The bathroom is the size of a closet and, if you're small or average size, you can expect your knees to touch the opposite wall while you're on the throne. There is NO storage. You cannot bring a suitcase into your sleeper. You will have to bring a carry-on, the smaller the better. There is a shower in every car (not room) and it was surprisingly good and very private. 1 shower, 1 door, 1 lock!! The food was very very good but you have set dining hours with the first at 5 and the last at 9. The biggest problem is that the train is rarely on time and I don't mean a little late...I'm talking hours late. We were supposed to leave Jasper at 4 p.m. we left at 8. We were supposed to arrive in Edmonton at 4 p.m. and arrived at 3 a.m. The reason: freight owns the rails, passengers only rent them. If a freight train needs to pass the VIA has to pull to a siding and wait. Sometimes these freight trains are a mile long and sometimes there's more than one of them. Hence the scheduled times means absolutely nothing!!! I'm very glad I did this ride from Vancouver to Banff on Mountaineer and Jasper to Toronto on Via Rail. It was an experience I'll never forget but these are things the tour companies don't tell you and I believe you need to know.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. It is exactly as I feared and not for us.

[Hydrokitty]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. It is exactly as I feared and not for us.

 

You're very welcome, LN.... Since you're coming from Edinburgh you might want to get off the ship in Vancouver, spend a couple of days there on your own (it's an easy place to get around and a wonderful place to visit) and then take the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff. Banff is absolutely gorgeous, again with lots to see and do and then rent a car and drive to Jasper (about 4-5 hours, including stops and Athabasca sno-cat) The drive is breathtaking with lots of pull outs and you can stop at the Athabasca Glacier and take a sno-cat ride on the glacier!! (the road is scenic and safe and not at all like a twisting, turning mountain highway) When you're ready to go home, drive 90 minutes to Calgary and fly from there. What I'm describing could easily be done in 7-10 days. :D

Edited June 4, 2016 by Hydrokitty