Trip Reports by our Clients:
North America by Rail, Sea and Air
by Steve and Gayle Murphy
Rocky Mountaineer
(including VIA Rail portion)
Hotels: The five Canadian Pacific/Fairmont hotels associated with this trip (Royal York, Jaspar Park Lodge, Chateau Lake Louise, Banff Springs, and Vancouver Waterfront) were excellent beyond belief. Their treatment of guests is just a cut above anything else we experienced on the trip, even the Palmer House in Chicago. Personnel were accommodating, friendly, and helpful at all times. At Lake Louise our room was a complimentary upgrade which included a view of the Lake and the glacier beyond. At Banff Springs Hotel we were also afforded a beautiful view of the river valley. Likewise at the Vancouver Waterfront, our room overlooking the harbor had a different, but equally breathtaking view. The Four Seasons Sheraton at Kamloops, while not as elegant, more than adequately served our needs. Only suggestion: The Jaspar Park Lodge stops running its town shuttle at 4PM. While in some respects some may feel no need to leave the lodge, we would have preferred the option to go to town. Perhaps they could extend the hours of the shuttle.
Trains: Though we did have some long train platforms to negotiate with our luggage, those are items we learned from and will correct ourselves in the future. All other luggage transfers were great. On the plus side the VIA trip was excellent. I can't thank you enough for booking us in literally the last sleeping accommodation on the train. The drawing room was spacious and comfortable and its proximity to the dome and round end observation lounge was exquisite. We spent long hours in both of those locations. Attendants were efficient and helpful, and meals were excellent, as was the diner service. The lake and forest scenery through Ontario province and the prairie scenery beyond, while not as phenomenal as the Rockies, was still beautiful and engaging.
The Rocky Mountaineer train was delightful. The scenery was beyond description, the equipment was beautiful, and the service was excellent. We were particularly impressed with our car attendant Rami who provided commentary and attended to our needs in a most skillful, yet easygoing manner. We are truly grateful you worked this rail option into the trip. As the train was a little late getting to Kamloops, passengers were to go to the Two River Junction before going to the hotel. We decided to skip the show and were provided a meal voucher at the hotel instead. The meal was quite tasty. Luggage and hotels transfers were basically flawless.
The only drawback to the entire trip, and it is beyond Rocky Mountaineer's control, is the reverse move into the Vancouver station. It is time consuming and laborious. While I understand the necessity of turning the train (at Vancouver and elsewhere), it seems this could be done after offloading the passengers. Otherwise, it seems the procedure is done for the convenience of the railroad and not the customer.
Sidenote: We were at the Chateau Lake Louise on the morning of July 4. At 9AM the flags were raised and a bugler played both 'O! Canada' and 'The Star Spangled Banner.' It made my day!!
The one side tour we took that included the Columbia Icefield trip was extremely well done. The bus driver/guide Chris was courteous, extremely knowledgeable, and professional. We enjoyed the tour a lot.
Holland America portion, cruise and land.
The cruise was beyond our expectations. The scenery was obviously superb, the service impeccable, the ship activities enjoyable, and the personnel well-trained and attentive to perfection. We enjoyed our stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Sitka very much, amusing ourselves without signing on for any of the excursions. We commend the service of our room attendant Agi who was invisible in a good way. He took care of our needs at times when we were off doing things and we would return to find things taken care of. We also enjoyed the gracious attention especially of Ed Tabunda in the Explorers' Lounge. We went to this particular part of the ship often to listen to the music of the Rosario Strings (Super) and Walter Arhart, a piano player and singer of exceptional talent. Everything about this cruise was as close to perfection as is possible.
Sidenote: I appreciated the opportunity to attend the Catholic Mass daily while on board.
The land portion of the Holland America trip was good in many points, but paled by comparison to the atmosphere on the ship. On the plus side, the train trip was spectacularly scenic and enjoyable. The Denali Lodge was also very nice. Gayle took the opportunity to take a helicopter trip there and was quite pleased. Luggage and hotel transfers were well handled. The tundra tour in Denali was exceptional, as was the commentary of the driver John. The Gold Dredge tour in Fairbanks was enjoyable, and the driver John was also excellent. The accommodations in Anchorage (Hilton) and Regency (Fairbanks) were pleasant, friendly and accommodating. I enjoyed my morning walks around Fairbanks,
On the negative side, the tour was often staffed with untrained or lightly trained college students. The bus driver/guide on the Seward-Anchorage leg* had an extremely poor command of the English language as did the car attendants on both legs of the train trip.
I am an English teacher and am perhaps more attuned to this, but I would not want these young people fronting for my company without further training. In addition the bus stops from Seward at the wildlife center and the native heritage center, while enjoyable, seemed designed mostly to get us to the hotel later. Several people would have preferred to go directly to hotel. While it may have been a little early, I'm sure the hotels could accommodate early arrivals like this. Our tour guide Wade did an acceptable job, but was in essence superfluous. He took our entire voucher book on the ship before leaving, which made us and others uncomfortable. His entire role was handled much differently on Rocky Mountaineer and I suggested in surveys that Holland America look to Rocky Mountaineer for guidance on upgrading this. On this tour we were responsible for our own vouchers, and it worked out fine. While the McKinley Explorer service was good, it was considerably lower than our earlier experience on Rocky Mountaineer.
The absolute lowpoint of the trip was the riverboat tour. We found the entire tour crass commercialism. It was a 'production' designed primarily to promote Captain Binkley and his family, and the boat commentator has all the charm of a sleazy televangelist.
*Question, Sylvia? There was a train connection from Seward to Anchorage yet you book us on the bus. On the ship we had an opportunity to upgrade to the train, but were unable to to do so because of the particular tour we had. Just curious as to why you booked us on a bus, when a train was available.
Alaska Airlines
Both legs, Fairbanks-Anchorage and Anchorage-Portland, went very well. Personnel were efficient, business-like, and friendly without being condescending as seems to happen at times on airlines. Seats were also roomier than my last flight on Delta.
Portland
Hotel was fine. We enjoyed our day prior to boarding Empire Builder. Used some of the light rail and had a great lunch at a nice brewpub. We will definitely return to Portland someday.
Amtrak
Amtrak was the least traveler friendly part of the trip, but not a total loss. On the good side, we had never done the Portland-Spokane portion of the Empire Builder (#28/8-July 20-22) and it was worth it. The scenery through that valley was delightful. On the whole, the entire trip to Chicago went well and on time. We could have made the connection to the Lakeshore Limited the same day, but are still glad we took your suggestion to overnight in Chicago.
Some of the bad parts of Amtrak are out of their control; some are not. On the opening leg of our trip from Rochester to Toronto (#63-June 29), we suffered through 'exit customs' one hour on the American side of Niagara Falls, and Canadian customs, one hour on the Ontario side of Niagara Falls. In Chicago, the Lakeshore (#48-July23-24) was held up for one hour and forty minutes to accommodate connecting passengers (this is a noble idea, but does Amtrak wish to inconvenience a whole trainful of people to accommodate a handful with connection problems?). Ultimate arrival back in Rochester was three hours late. The final fifteen minute delay was right outside Rochester where we were held to let an Empire Corridor Amtrak train pass us and get access priority to the Rochester station. This was particularly annoying.
Were I not an incurable train rider, I would likely not give Amtrak much priority in future travel plans.
Chicago
Palmer House was elegant, though not at the caliber of the Canadian hotels. I was, however, put off by a charge to use a treadmill in the spa. I did not run into this problem in other hotels.
We both enjoyed our day in Chicago while waiting for the Lakeshore. Gayle went to the museum, and I rode commuter trains, something I love to do.
OVERALL, A SPLENDID TRIP!!
Steve and Gayle Murphy
July 27, 2001
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