Rocky Mountaineer レビュー 99

We’d been looking forward to taking the Rocky Mountaineer’s First Passage to the West route from Banff to Vancouver. Our experience did not come close to meeting expectations. In fact, we considered ditching the second day of the train and flying from Kamloops to Vancouver, but getting up to meet a 5:50 a.m. flight was just not on the menu.

The first day of the trip was more sitting than moving. Our train stopped at least six times for as much as 45 minutes to an hour each time to allow freight trains the right of way. The first day’s journey was supposed to end at Kamloops, but we made it only as far as Revelstoke where were waited - again - while buses were lined up to carry passengers by dark of night onward to Kamloops, cutting abut 140 miles of rail travel from our plan. (That's half of the day's planned distance. Gone. Passengers were offered nothing in exchange for their loss of this portion of the rail journey, approximately 140 miles / 225 km). It took nearly an hour to organize the buses for the passengers to board at Revelstoke. It looked like Amateur Night. Passengers were herded onto cramped buses that not only had no drink or beverage service, but didn’t even have a restroom for the bumpy 2.5 hour trip to Kamloops. Economy (dis)service at First Class prices.

The train itself left a lot to be desired. The domed windows in the touted Gold Leaf coaches were dirty to downright filthy in places, which was hardly conducive to taking photos. In this supposed first-class section of the train, there was no way to request an attendant, and the attendants did not make regular trips through the coach to see if passengers would care for any hospitality. If a passenger wanted a soda pop or some nibbly thing, he had to walk to the rear of the coach and ask for it himself. The requested item(s) may show up in five minutes, maybe 30, and sometimes never came at all.

The crowning glory of this fiasco was at Revelstoke where I stepped onto the outdoor viewing platform to stretch my legs and get some fresh air while waiting for the buses to do whatever it was that they were trying to do. No one had been told to stay off of the platforms. Indeed, I was not the only passenger on the viewing platform at that time. However, one of the Rocky Mountaineer’s coach attendants went postal on me about my being on the open-air platform and yelled at me that no one had been instructed to disembark from the train. I wasn’t trying to disembark from the train, there was no evidence of such. Given that the steps to disembark were not even in place, that would not have been a practical possibility anyway. This coach attendant appeared to channel all of his frustrations at me, for what reason I cannot fathom. I did not take the Rocky Mountaineer in order to get humiliated and screamed at by an attendant, especially given that I was not the only passenger on the platform and that I was doing nothing out of the ordinary.

That experience ruined the rest of the trip. There isn’t much to see between Kamloops and Vancouver, anyway. A promised telephone call from Rocky Mountaineer’s management to discuss the verbal lashing I received at Revelstoke never came despite my sending them a letter and making two phone calls to try to get some explanation. The Rocky Mountaineer fell FAR short of the expectations that their promotional materials lead one to expect. ADVICE: Skip the Rocky Mountaineer. Hire a car and drive the Trans Canada Highway instead. The rail’s route roughly parallels the Trans-Canada Highway 1. That way, you have the option of stopping wherever you like and seeing the towns by which the train passed, eating whenever you like, wherever you like, and avoiding becoming the lightning rod for some angry unprofessional employee’s wrath.

GRADES: Cleanliness: D. Food: C. Employee professionalism: F. Planning for contingencies (like that god-awful bus ride that was like an elementary school bus ride): F. Delivering product as advertised: F. Overall grade: D-

First day on train was 12 hours. Second day was 18 hours. We were not told that RM did not have priority on tracks. We were constantly have to pull over to let freight trains go by. Several cars had issues with toilets. Some ceased to work at all. Unsanitary conditions prevailed. There was an outbreak of Covid among the passengers. The scenery was amazing.

Just perfect in any detail, period. We were travelling Banff-Vancouver (Gold Leaf) and from the very start it was very well organized, efficient transport to and from and loading, friendly and knowledgeable staff, excellent food, nice cars. Like travelling on Business Class as it should be.
The hotels in Banff and Kamloop were OK, it is small towns, but Fox in Banff was below what you could expect.

The whole experience of the two day trip from Vancouver to Banff was exceptionally high and there is nothing to give negative feedback except pricing. This was Gold Leaf and the car we had on the train, our crew on board and the food plus drinks were good. Also the terminal in Vancouver, transfers at Kamloops and Banff were smooth for both passengers and luggage. The scenery was superb, although in fairness that was already in place and remember RM have a monopoly most of the rail routes, e.g. Kamloops to Banff. Even Vancouver to Kamloops which is duplicated by VIA Rail's 'The Canadian' is done mainly in darkness, east to west especially.

However, you do need to query the justification of the pricing. They are very fluid and if, like me you wanted to to secure a booking months ahead you put a (non refundable) deposit down. And unlucky me saw the price had dropped significantly when I happened to look a few months later after paying the deposit. But of course not enough drop for me to lose the deposit and start again. Annoyingly RM don't give you the option (unless perhaps you go through a VPN) to pay in Canadian Dollars like for instance VIA Rail and all the other tours, hotels I had in Canada for a 7 week trip. Payment was handled in the UK in GBP which makes me thing international payments are not consistent and in line with RM's "base" country's currency. Value for money is a difficult point to express, but even given the high running costs, that it is a very labour intensive and (what we got told by a coach driver) things like the new Gold Leaf cars were $10m (presumably Canadian) each, it still was a very high price in my opinion. The hotel (Delta) used for the overnight stay in Kamloops was showing on the chain's own site the same day as details were emailed to us was just over £100 for a double room when the whole RM trip was £2200. Bearing in mind RM block book rooms there, price they secured them at is probably significantly less. I know the hotel isn't the most important part of the two day trip, but is the most transparent part of how he price you pay gets worked out. So this did give me further thoughts that what we as guests had paid for the experience and costs incurred to the business for running the operation has a big disparity.

So think twice about exactly what you get and value for money especially if going for Gold Leaf. I personally walked away thinking it was a good two day experience but I paid far too much for it. And a good experience doesn't need to be expensive. I had ideas of travelling with RM on another of their routes north of Vancouver via Whistler at some point in the future. But quite honestly I don't think I will now seeing as the trip to Banff wasn't worth what I paid.

Does the Rocky Mountaineer experience match all the hype? Certainly it does in the most positive way!
Be warned, this is a 800 mile trip on largely single track, freight only lines. If you’re looking for the quickest (and only) passenger route from A to B then you’d best fly, as this won’t be for you!

Been a long time coming having initially booked the Rocky Mountaineer back in 2014 when an unexpected health scare put pay to that. Booked again for September this year, initially from Jasper to Vancouver, then the Jasper wildfires intervened. Rocky Mountaineer’s rearranged itinerary from Banff - Kamloops - Vancouver was seamless from our perspective though no doubt a logistical nightmare! Travelling Gold Leaf, picked up on time from the excellent Hotel Canoe and Suites, Banff, our luggage followed us seamlessly without our intervention to our hotel room in Kamloops and again to our destination hotel in Vancouver.

The rearranged Banff itinerary and route brought in some exciting engineering including the unique and innovative Spiral Tunnels. Deep ravines, raging river torrent, insanely long freight trains all made for a memorable experience.

The onboard team in coach 4 of Sean, Sinead, Mauro and Marie and the catering team were fantastic, full of enthusiasm and info-bytes about where we were. Sinead in particular was totally engaged and didn’t seem to relax for a minute! Teas, coffees, soft drinks, wine, light snacks, fruit were available all day with quite superb breakfast and lunch menus prepared by the small and bespoke catering team. Coffee was a bit bland, but all Canadian coffee was a bit of a letdown!!

It is a long day and our arrival at Kamloops was delayed by a suspicious package on the station, which, by the obvious police presence was being dealt with appropriately. Our on board team kept us fully informed and a further evening meal was provided . Coach transfer to our hotel met us off the train and a twenty minute ride later we’re in our hotel which was perfectly satisfactory for the night.

The following day’s trip from Kamloops to Vancouver was more surprising. The arid, semi-desert landscape giving way to the increasingly turbulent Thompson River and then the deepening Fraser River gorge was unexpected.

An altogether unforgettable experience!

We were due to have a two day Rocky Mountaineer gold leaf experience in August, originally from Jaspar to Vancouver but rescheduled from Banff to Vancouver due to the Jaspar wildfires, absolutely fine althopugh it didmean we had to spend 5 nights in Banff which was far too long. This was to be one of the main highlights of our Canadian trip and the main reason we planned a 2 week trip around the train journey. As per some of the previous reviews, we had the misfortune to have our first day cancelled due to the Canadian rail strike. We appreciate that the rail strike was outside the control of RM and they had to make alternative arrangements. There is some suggestion that RM knew about the train strike well in advance and had plenty of time to prepare for it but I cannot prove this one way or another.However, the alternative arrangements we received fell far short of what we had expected and indeed paid for.
We were only informed of this cancellation on the day before the trip when I went to collect luggage labels. I subsequently received an email from our travel agent when the strike did go ahead. We certainly did not receive the gold leaf experience service on day 1. Breakfast was in a local hotel , it took 45 minutes for breakfast to arrive and when I dared to ask for a fruit juice as well as the earlier coffee (we had been waiting an hour at that point!) the first serveur forgot and then I was VERY impolitely told by the second serveur that there was only one drink with this breakfast! We were driven to Kamloops on a very basic coach, with very little interaction or commentary by the RM representatives who accompanied us. We had two 15 min restroom breaks and a 30 minute stop off for a pre-packed cold lunch in a car park. No seating, table cloths, cutlery etc. No wine, no soft drinks, just water and fruit juice. We had to rush through lunch as apparently the driver could only be on the road for so long - too cheap to pay for 2 drivers!.
In view of the minimal service provided by RM, we fully expected a substantial refund from RM for that day’s lost experience. However, RM’s “final offer” has been less than 25% of what we paid.
The second day from Kamloops to Vancouver did go ahead aboard the Rocky Mountaineer as scheduled and the service was excellent. The hosts were entertaining and informative and worked hard to give us the experience we expected. Breakfast and lunch were excellent too and only reinforced what dreadful service and food we had received the previous day.
In summary, this is a very expensive trip. Please carefully read the T&C’s as Rocky Mountaineer seem to have carte blanche to make whatever changes they see fit.

This was a trip of 2 halves. First part of both days were great, stunning views, great commentary and service from the team in our gold carriage. Both days we were very delayed getting into our final station. 10pm on day 1, we had lunch at 1pm and nothing further to eat until 8am breakfast next day! Too late once we got to the hotel, it took 3 hours to get from one side of Kamloops to the station, in the dark with no information why! Day 2 very similar got into Vancouver at 9pm but at least we were given something to eat for dinner. Meals lovely but too small with very few carbs. Take some snacks with you. The scenery is worth the experience the train very comfortable and the staff great. But be prepared for delays at the end of very long days and take snacks!

My husband and I are currently on a “gold leaf” Rocky Mountaineer trip. A $19,000 U.S. dollars (with travel insurance) expenditure. We are on the circle journey. The itinerary got altered because of the Jasper fires. I was somewhat okay with that until we got to Lake Louise. We were put in the Post Hotel which is not on the lake. Almost all of the other passengers were put in the Fairmont which is on the lake. Never even saw Lake Louise because while we there I got very sick. I got diagnosed with Covid 19 yesterday at a medical clinic in Lake Louise. My first time having Covid. I know I got it from the train. The dining car on the train is very cramped, uncomfortable and stuffy. There are only 2 restrooms on the train car, and people are always waiting to use one. So, now we are in Banff. My husband and I are not allowed to travel on the train back to Vancouver because of my Covid diagnosis. The Rocky Mountaineer customer service is pathetic at offering help, along with my pathetic AAA travel agent. I am being told that Rocky Mountaineer will help with alternate arrangements at my expense which they claim will be reimbursed through our travel insurance. Yeah, right. I know that the travel insurance and Rocky Mountaineer will most likely do everything in their power to deny my claims. This is a terrible experience for us. I DO NOT recommend traveling with this train company.

We were due to have a two day Rocky Mountaineer gold leaf experience in August, originally from Jaspar to Vancouver but rescheduled from Banff to Vancouver due to the Jaspar wildfires. We are from the UK and this was to be one of the main highlights of our Canadian trip. As per some of the previous reviews, we had the misfortune to have our first day cancelled due to the Canadian rail strike. We appreciate that the rail strike was outside the control of RM and they had to make alternative arrangements. However, the alternative arrangements we received fell far short of what we had expected and indeed paid for.
We were only informed of this cancellation on the morning of the trip when we assembled in our hotel lobby. There was no communication from RM prior to this. Instead of the gold leaf experience we had been looking forward to, we were driven to Kamloops on a very basic coach, with very little interaction or commentary by the RM representatives who accompanied us. We had two 15 min restroom breaks and a 30 minute stop off for a pre-packed cold lunch in a car park with little seating, adjacent to a sports field.
In view of the minimal service provided by RM, we fully expected a substantial refund from RM for that day’s lost experience. However, RM’s “final offer” has been approx 25% of what we paid.
The second day from Kamloops to Vancouver did go ahead aboard the Rocky Mountaineer as scheduled and the service was excellent. The hosts were entertaining and informative and worked hard to give us the experience we expected. Breakfast and lunch were excellent too and only reinforced what dreadful service and food we had received the previous day. The trip on Rocky Mountaineer was however spoilt by the long delay getting into Vancouver which made for a rather tedious last few hours with no scenery due to it being dark outside. It was also chilly in our carriage due to the cool air conditioning!
In summary, this is a very expensive and overrated trip. Please carefully read the T&C’s as Rocky Mountaineer seem to have carte blanche to make whatever changes they see fit.

Not worth the money, even when it runs properly. Worthless when it doesnt go to plan. Gold leaf worthless
Aug 2024 • Couples
Booked as part of a 40th wedding anniversary, a trip which always promised lots and was a "once in a lifetime experience" (their words).
Firstly, due to the Jasper Wildfires, they modified our itinerary and instead of starting in Jasper we had to go back to Banff to pick up the train. No option to cancel and very badly communicated to us. Not discussed with us, no options given, just told this is it.
Secondly, the strike on the Canadian rail tracks was not their fault. What they did about it was their fault and boiled down to the following:
1. Appalling communication – no communication and a considerable lack of interest in the customer and their needs/wants. Could not organise a knees up in a brewery.
2. Dreadful transport substitutes – awful coaches for first day with poor quality food and ill thought out stops. Really enjoyed the restroom break in Walmart carpark (sarcasm). No differentiation between gold and silver leaf. Lunch out of a plastic box with plastic cutlery next to a public restroom does not justify the massive price tag.
3. Dinner was served on second day because train journey was longer than expected (well done) but it was vile (not so well done) and no alternatives. Obviously defrosted and microwaved inadequately.
4. Journey was way too long, last 3-4 hours of second day were in dark (promised daylight travel only) and totally boring as railways were congested with freight and they do not appear to get priority, regardless of what they say. Wife ended up with awful migraine which ruined more than just that day.
All in all a diabolical experience; if a company of this size and turnover (roughly $300M CAD I believe) does not have a disaster recovery plan fit for purpose then it should not be in business.
Nothing positive to say, but highly recommend anyone considering travelling with them do the following:
1. Check all local news, especially with connection to CPKC and CN (the companies that run the rail services) – ensure no upcoming industrial actions.
2. Don’t bother with Gold Leaf – it is NOT worth the extra and anyway, they don't recognise the fact you have paid extra if they alter the services. Viewing platform a space between 2 carriages, not all that impressive.
3. Keep an eye on weather/fire warnings in area.
4. Do not pay the balance until the latest possible moment – they will not refund anything worth while; once they have their hands on your money they don’t let go!
5. Read the small print, repeat, read the small print.
Service is NOT luxury, food is not gourmet and service is not excellent. My advice if you are considering the rocky mountaineer as a holiday option is DON'T - you would be far better hiring a luxury car, visiting decent restaurants and staying in good hotels. You will see more and be able to stop when you want, eat better and be far more comfortable. You might even be better off financially. Whilst the constant chatting about what is around you from the staff can be interesting, a good guide book is a far better substitute and a lot cheaper. Forget the train, a good sightseeing plan is much much better.
If there was a negative rating, this lot get it. Please, please save your money and your time on holiday and DONT GO ON THIS TRAIN.

We have just returned from the Banff to Vancouver 2 day trip
First thing everyone must note is that these are very very long days, irrespective of the advertised timings . First day 15 hours on the train, we actually thought we would never get off. Second day 13 hours
In between a very short night sleep at Kamloops
We are exhausted
Never an explanation from the staff for the delays
Evidently there was a suspicious package on the station in Kamloops on Sunday night
We found the explanation suspicious
The first day we were excited but at the end you just want to get off

The first 6 to 7 hours of our first day were good but after that it becomes tedious
The second day is a bit of a waste of time
However the food and drink is reasonably good the staff are pleasant .

I would say one day is enough
Hire a car in Kamloops and drive to Vancouver. It would be cheaper and a lot quicker
This trip is expensive
Hope that helps

Abysmal. I prepaid a great deal for experiences, service not received. Bought Gold leaf, got a cramped bus with broken door, box lunch standing in the rain. Nearly a thousand of us prepaid. Do the math to see how much $$$ RM potentially made on that in interest. We were flat refused and compensation and warned not to escalate the matter. I understand they did not cause rail strike-however if you sell me something and don't deliver it, you owe me refund.

We had planned on doing this trip when Corona hit so had to wait until things quietened down and we eventually travelled this year. There was much anticipation and we were not disappointed as the trip was fabulous with many spectacular sights. The train itself was very nice and Gold Leaf Service was as good as I have ever had on an airline Business Class. The weather was very kind to us so I managed to take some pretty spectacular photos and videos. The whole RM experience was positive and even the delays caused by priority freight trains was not a problem as I am a railway enthusiast. The whole 2 day trip was outstanding and I will be back to do a longer trip at some stage.

Our 2 day trip from Vancouver to Banff was cut in half by the rail strike. Obviously not fault of RM. They had to transport us the 2nd day by bus, with cold box lunches. Far different than the "Gold Leaf" service we paid nearly $3K/pp for. Their only compensation is a $1000 credit on future trip. Useless!! Slould have been $1500/pp cash refund!

We booked from Jasper to Vancouver but due to the wildfires we were rerouted and departed from Banff instead. The journey was superb, wonderful scenery and an informed and interesting commentary from Pete and Chris brought everything to life. We were looked after every inch of the way, Beatrice provided food and snacks , whilst the “jolly” trolley and Tea and coffee were constantly available. Fresh fruit snacks and savoury nibbles did the rounds as well. The team were really engaging and their love of the country was very apparent, all delivered with smiles and good humour. Yes there were delays and we did arrive late to Kamloops and Vancouver but we were kept informed of what was happening and extra meals appeared without fuss. (And quite honestly if you are in a hurry this train probably isn’t for you.) The overall organisation was faultless, bags were picked up and delivered safely to their destination, we were also collected and transported to our train, hotel etc quickly with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of efficiency. Our team of Pete, Chris and Beatrice were exceptional and should take much of the credit for our really positive experience.
A magical and breathtaking journey which we will remember long after we have forgotten the cost! Richard Ellis

I booked a tour that included a stop in Jasper. On Aug. 7 I received an e-mail saying that my booked tour was cancelled and I was being moved to another tour due to evacuation of and fire damage in Jasper. Jasper was evacuated and the park closed on July 25 through the end of September. My final payment was due July 31 which was paid on July 30 and yet they did not inform me at that time so that I could choose to cancel the trip and just loose my deposit. I should have looked more closely at their policies because apparently I have no input into what they book me on and will not get any kind of credit for the cost difference.

Booked a trip from Vancouver to Jasper. Jasper was closed because of the wildfires. Refuse to refund our deposit and want us to "rebook" to another destination like Banff. Been there. Like saying I can't get you to Rome so you'll have to go to Paris. Make sure you read all the negative review. When it's good it's good, but terrible are really terrible!

Booked a trip from Vancouver to Jasper. Jasper was closed because of the wildfires. Refuse to refund our deposit and want us to "rebook" to another destination like Banff. Been there. Like saying I can't get you to Rome so you'll have to go to Paris. Make sure you read all the negative review. When it's good it's good, but terrible are really terrible!

Terribly let down by Rocky Mountaineer train manager dumping us in Jasper 2 mins away from mandatory evacuation!!! He should never have allowed ys to disembark at the height of a fire situation not knowing who and when we would be able to evacuate. Our luggage is stuck in hotels there and they are washing their hands off that too saying it will be the hotel responsibility when it is the Rocky Mountaineer who took luggage there knowing the imminent danger. Extremely disappointed!! This happened last Monday 22nd July. There were a few people with limited mobility who would have found it very hard to wait for a bus to get us out in the smoke filled town.

Save your money it’s a rip off
Just disembarked from three day journey Jasper to Quisnel, Whistler and ending at Vancouver. £5500 pounds for two
First day breakfast at 8.30 Lunch at 11.30 then nothing to eat till 7pm which we paid for in hotel (2 star) Also a very boring day very little to look at seriously
Day 2 Food timing much better( not sure if it was due to our complaints ) view over Fraiser canyon exceptional (but not for those seated on left hand side)
G
Very good hotel in Whistler
We had a departing time of 2.45pm
You paid for your breakfast or lunch in resort as it’s not included
On train third day for just over 3 hours and was given one light snack(3bitesize pieces of salmon with rice)
Staff seemed to have some internal problems and tried hard but and did their best
Do not waste your money and take it out of any bucket list you may have
Don’t trust just me read the other reviews