APT Tours & Cruises

Rockies Odyssey and Alaska Cruise Reviews

17 Rockies Odyssey and Alaska Cruise reviews from past travellers that booked with Global Journeys.
4.59
AVG. RATING 4.59 / 5
17 Reviews
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Rockies Odyssey   1 , VIC, Australia, May 2023
We would certainly travel with APT again our tour guide Mary was the best & coach driver Norm was excellent & we always felt safe. We had many highlights dog sledding in Skagway white water rafting in Jasper. Our Rockie mountaineer trip was wonderful- from Banff back to Vancouver everything was beautiful & our visit to the beautiful Butchart Gardens ...read more where we had the place to ourselves was a special treat. We loved every moment. Our group of 39 got on very well.
Trip of a lifetime- Rockies and Alaska Cruise   0 , NSW, Australia, Aug 2019
We booked our trip through Global Journeys and found them very professional and helpful, plus we saved some money off the tour price. We had a problem with our flight being cancelled and we were moved to a later flight and after a phone call to Jodie she made sure that transfers would be waiting for us at Vancouver airport, which was a relief. This ...read more was our second trip with APT and once again lived up to expectations. We had an amazing time. The scenery was unbelievable and even postcards and photos cannot capture how stunning it is.

Highlights include Goldleaf on The Rocky Mountaineer, the view from our room at Lake Louise, the colour of Moraine Lake, paddling a canoe on the lake at Jasper, walking a glacier, Butchart Gardens and seeing bears, deer, elks in the wild. We did some fantastic tours like the Harley Davidson motorbike tour of Jasper, a Jeep safari in Whistler and a whaling tour in Victoria where we saw orcas. The Alaska Cruise at the end was a slower pace and we thoroughly enjoyed it too. Glacier Bay was stunning! We were extremely lucky that everyone in our tour was lovely and everyone got on. It truly was a trip of a lifetime!
Fantastic trip from start to finish 4 , ACT, Australia, May 2019
We booked our APT 22 Day Rockies Odyssey & Alaska cruise through Yvonne at Global Journeys and the whole experience was delightful and seamless. Yvonne is very professional, prompt, and helpful. I thought we had to cancel our trip due to my husbands medical condition and Yvonne was terrific... thank goodness were able to go and it was truly the trip ...read more of a lifetime.

The flights with Air Canada in premium economy were certainly the way to travel however the service was pretty ordinary. Once we met our APT tour guide Russel Burton (Russ), we knew we were in good hands and he managed our group beautifully as ages ranged from mid 40's to late 70's. Russ was very informative, enthusiastic and very caring and I would love to do another tour with him "at the helm". Norm Creighton was in charge of driving the coach and we were able to relax (snooze) knowing we were in very capable hands.

To the tour... OMG Lake Louise was breathtaking in her frozen elegance, the Banff Springs Hotel made us feel like royalty, the Rocky Mountaineer was fantastic from the minute we boarded. The meals and Freedom of Choice activities were all first class and we went on a helicopter over Banff, on a zodiac in Victoria, Float Plane in Whistler and the Ice Explorer on the Athabasca Glacier just to name a few activities. We were lucky enough to see one grizzly and 7 black bears in the wild. I would recommend going early in the season, beat the crowds and experience the frozen wonderland at its best.

We enjoyed the land content more than the Holland America Cruise. We found that Holland America need to provide more activities (trivia etc) and it is lacking live music in the day time around the ship. Having said that we enjoyed BBKings and Billboard each night where there are two pianists taking requests. The meals were smaller than other cruise ships I have been on, however the beds comfortable and the scenery at Glacier Bay stunning.

We all found the last day in Vancouver to be very taxing. We disembarked the ship at 08.00 and did not fly out of Vancouver until 11.50 pm. This was a very long day as it was cold and raining and whilst APT looked after our luggage they did not look after the tour group. Unless you had booked day use in a hotel (too late on the day) there was nowhere to go. The Fairmont said we could not sit in their lobby and some of the group sat in the food court in excess of 12 hours waiting to go to the airport. I feel that APT could make a meeting room available for travellers to use, buy their own meals etc but have somewhere to go. This left a bitter taste in many a mouth after what was previously a first class, every detail thought about, trip.
Fantastic Canada and Alaska Experience   3 , VIC, Australia, Sep 2018
We thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful APT tour. The booking process with Georgie from Global Journeys was very easy and the communication excellent. The tour presented some beautiful scenery and some wonderful experiences. The early snow at Lake Louise was a highlight! We loved the Rocky Mountaineer's great service, great food and spectacular scenery. ...read more The Fairmont accommodation at Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff in particular lived up to their icon status.

The coach tour with driver Vic was very enjoyable with ample refreshment stops and opportunities to take in the atmosphere and scenery. Tour leader Rusty was exceptionally well organised, provided excellent support and a very knowledgeable commentary throughout the tour. The Holland America cruise was smooth with great dining, shore and entertainment experiences. The only disappointment was the inability to visit Glacier Bay due to an on-board medical emergency. Whilst this was disappointing we fully understand why this decision was taken and would have appreciated this action had the "boot been on the other foot". Overall this was a wonderful coach, rail and cruise holiday experience to two very beautiful countries presented in a very enjoyable way.
Rockies Odyssey & Alaska Cruise 0 , NSW, Australia, Aug 2018
Our trip to Canada and Alaska with APT was very pleasant and relaxing. APT did a superb job looking after us. In the future I will have no hesitation travelling with them again.
Amazing trip through Canadian Rockies and the Inside Passage Alaska   11 , NSW, Australia, Jul 2018
Have just returned from this magnificent APT tour! This tour included a fabulous luxury GoldLeaf train trip, beautiful hotels, wonderful scenery and a great group of travelling companions, plus a delightful Alaskan Cruise to round off the journey. We have travelled on many group journeys but none can match the quality of this APT trip. This is definitely ...read more the way to go with so many all-inclusive features, such as a wide range of inclusive tours to choose from in each stopover, excellent accommodation in top class hotels (most for 2 nights) all porterage, tips, airline transfers, good food options etc. etc.

Many of the other cheaper trips look similar but do not offer the same inclusions and in the end often end up costing almost as much once you start paying for tips, tours etc. APT with the all-inclusive bundle takes the concern out of travelling as you never have to hump your own case around or need to consult your wallet looking for small denominations to β€˜tip’ people.

Our favourite hotel was the Fairmont Lake Louise staying in a superb lake-view room - the view was mind-blowing and certainly made us appreciate how lucky we are to be able to travel at this level. My personal bucket-list has always included the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise and I was not disappointed with either, such wonderful memories. Photo is the actual view from our window at Lake Louise! The Gold Leaf Rocky Mountaineer starting on Day 3 was an added bonus and really brought the group together as we shared meals, wonderful sights and general fun during this travel. We all felt that we knew each other after this train journey and this set us up for a wonderful bus trip with lots of shared photos, jokes, email swapping etc.

Some days were long (early morning bag pulls etc.) but each one was a new eye opening journey so we soon forgot about this and simply enjoyed what was on offer. Our super safe driver Brian and our Tour Guides Ron Grant (Canada road trip) and Cara (Alaskan cruise) were both absolutely full of local knowledge and tips that saved us so much time by pointing out the best free WiFi, food and great sightseeing spots etc. etc. This trip with APT was superb in every aspect except for the return airline trip with Air Canada! As this is the only airline offering direct flights – we are a captive audience and they treat us (especially the Sydney flights) as 2nd rate citizens! I would recommend that people contemplating this or any other trip to Canada completely boycott this airline – take more time to travel with a better airline with a stopover via the USA and then on to Canada, you would be doing yourself a great favour.

Thank you once again Global Journeys (especially Jemma) for yet another well organised trip, and making everything so easy for us. Can't wait to start planning the next trip.
Rockies/Alaska Trip   2 , QLD, Australia, Jul 2016
Pretty good mix of people. No stragglers! It might be helpful if people could be told that the bus trip required early morning starts. Our trip highlight were the North and South Sawyer Glaciers which were an extra excursion attached to the cruise. It was a cold, very wet day, but the trip which we took from the ship before it reached Juneau was fabulous. ...read more Blue ice floes and glaciers, seals floating on ice, a mother bear and 3 babies on the shore, waterfalls, and whales - all rolled into one! Frankly, after we had seen these glaciers, Glacier Bay was a let down.
Magnificent scenery and great people in Canada 1 , VIC, Australia, Aug 2015
If there was one trip to do in a lifetime this was it. Magnificent scenery great people in Canada. Each day got better and better, just when we though that what we saw could not get any better they managed to blow the mind the next day and so it went. The cruise should be taken at end of the touring as we did as its quite exhausting living out of a ...read more suitcase with that early bag pull each day, the cruise allows you to sit back and relax a bit more. Thanks for your help with this great trip.
Trip was brilliant and the scenery was truly amazing 4 , VIC, Australia, Jul 2015
This trip was brilliant and the scenery was truly amazing. This is my first time with APT and would definitely travel with them again, very professional and it was so nice that everything was included. Lovely hotels, lots of food, great tour guide and driver, they really added to the enjoyment of the trip.
Attention to detail by APT was impeccable 5 , NSW, Australia, Jun 2015
Canada is a beautiful country, very much like the South Island NZ. The hotels were magnificent and attention to detail by APT was impeccable. I have travelled to many countries of the world, both rich and poor (75 to date and still counting!) but I found this holiday to be the most expensive one I have taken so far. To me , Alaska was a bit of a let ...read more down; perhaps I expected a whole lot more from it but it did not deliver except for Glacial Bay. One tour that I took from on board the ship particularly at Ketchekan (Fishermen's Bering sea excursion) was I think a con-artist's job. The giant crabs and the octopus had been caught months' beforehand and were in a cage on the sea bed only to be hauled out for the gullible tourists on the tour. Greenpeace would not have been happy with them! The huskies and Harley Davidson tours were the most memorable ones for me. Our fellow companions were pleasant people but a little on the old side with an old mind set. This tour would suit seniors and retirees but not young people.
Beautiful tour 0 , NSW, Australia, Jun 2015
This was truly a wonderful tour paying attention to all the finer things in life. APT really does do a wonderful job of their itineraries. Everyday was an amazing day, truly enjoyed it.
Cruise on Holland America just unbelievable first class 3 , Australia, Aug 2014
This Canadian & Alaskan APT tour was just a fabulous experience, surpassed our expectation. Just loved the two day Rocky Mountaineer rail journey, sitting back and taking in the landscape and being looked after by very dedicated and professional staff. The 12 day coach journey was fantastic staying in the best accommodation and great meals and being ...read more entertained and informed ever step of the way by our tour director great job. Then just to finish off, seven day cruise on Holland America, this part was just unbelievable first class.
You can't take a bad photograph 1 , Australia , Aug 2014
Thanks Yvonne - after using several travel agents you are the most professional and helpful and we will certainly be back for all our future travel. As you are aware I broke my back on the APT whale watching Freedom of Choice tour on the high speed zodiac, so definitely won't recommend that excursion. I was also very disappointed with APT'S lack of ...read more response to my email on return. Probably won't travel with them again, though did enjoy the European river cruise we did with them earlier in the year. Canada is a wonderful destination. Beautiful scenery and so clean. You can't take a bad photograph. It certainly won't disappoint. The accommodation offered by APT was of a high standard but would have preferred staying at the Fairmont in Victoria and Whistler instead of accommodation used by APT, although it was still of a high standard. The Fairmont in Victoria is beautiful and I would have loved to stay there. I notice Scenic tours use them. Most of the travellers on my tour were disappointed with the welcome dinner. Before the dinner you were offered ONE drink while meeting the other people on the tour. You were then ushered into a dining room to sit. Before the meal was served a waiter then came and put prices for wine on the table. You then had to pay for your drinks. On a welcome meal you would at least expect ONE glass of wine included with your meal, especially as this was your FIRST meal on the tour. Nearly everyone made a comment about how mean it was. The meal included at the Fairmont Lake Louise fine dining was a wonderful memory and a must do. I would also recommend the Harley Motor Bike tour and the float plane option at Whistler. A great trip but be prepared to constantly put your hand in your pocket for wine, beers and meals not included. Certainly different to the river cruises where everything is included. The tour guide and coach driver were very helpful and friendly. I would have rated the tour a little higher but the last week, because of my injury, was a little limited. Will probably do Canada again, but the eastern coast and definitely no zodiac trips :(
Enjoyed the tour immensely, Global Journeys were a pleasure 0 , Australia, Jun 2014
Enjoyed the tour immensely, found dealing with Georgie at Global Journeys a pleasure. Although we never met face to face she was always very helpful and answered any questions promptly. Not a complaint but a suggestion - Leaving Sydney (at airport by 6.00am) in the morning and flew direct to Canada arriving early morning (again approx 9 am Canada Time) ...read more we were then transferred by limo (very nice) to our hotel. On arrival we were told that our rooms would not be ready untill at least 2.00 to 3.00pm due to rooms not being vacated till 12.00 noon and then cleaning etc had to be done. After a long 14+ hour flight, a room to at least freshen up on arrival would have been very much appreciated. Note: We were not the only people on tour with this same problem, but as you can imagine after flying for such a long time and then having a meet with the touring party that evening it made for a very tiring first couple of days.
Would I do another APT Tour, unlikely 0 , Australia, May 2014
Did the APT Gems of the Rockies and Alaskan tour in May 2014. Hotels.. good. Coach - the worst ever - no legroom, a disgrace for APT. Tour Guide was aggressive, no patience with passengers, when she got off the coach she did not bother to wait for all the group - very Poor. Would I do another APT Tour, unlikely.
Great service 0 , Australia, May 2014
We have travelled on Holland America's sister company Princess ships. In comparison Princesses service and staffing were far in excess of what was offered on Holland Americas Zuiderdam.
I will be in touch for the next trip! 0 , Australia, Apr 2013
It was an amazing holiday. I can't praise it enough. I am looking forward to my next trip. Global Journeys did all that was required. Many thanks. I will be in touch for the next trip!
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