Rockies Grandeur & Alaska Cruise Reviews
2 Rockies Grandeur & Alaska Cruise reviews from past travelers that booked with Global Journeys.
Good Travel Agency with Responsive Staff 0 Paul, NSW, Australia, Aug 2025
This was my second tour booked with Global Journeys. We returned to Global Journeys because of good services in prior tour. And for this second one, we also received similar service. The consultants we engaged were Grace and Georgie who had been very helpful and responsive. I highly recommend Global Journeys for your tour requirements.
The Rocky read more Grandeur tour was good. We quite enjoyed the services and in general, accommodations were ok except for the South Thomson Inn in Kamloops and Emerald Lodge in Emerald Lake. I would rate South Thomson Inn as the worst in this tour due to the location and meals. The breakfast was something like an Australia outback motor inn. Emerald Lake Lodge was unique but I rated it low because of the dodgy pillows that could not support the neck. Not sure why this accommodation would use such cheap pillows that caused me and my wife unable to sleep and had sore necks the next day. Hilton Whistler was the best in term of everything. Places this tour included were good and we really enjoyed the sceneries and other places Emerald Tours took us. The tour director , Rhonda Borton was also nice, professional and very helpful.
The Rocky Mountaineer train ride was very nice with professional crews, good food and comfortable carriages. We felt lucky that we did not upgrade to Gold Leaf class as the Silver Leaf was quite nice. I think the approx US$3,000.- saving for 3 persons was a good decision. But if you really enjoy better food and the booze, the Gold Leaf might be your choice. Since we are not drinkers and have to be careful with food due to our age, the Silver Leaf was sufficient.
The Holland America Line’s Alaska Inside Passage cruise was good especially for those who never visited Alaska on cruise. HA provided lots of food and choices from many countries. Services were very good and super friendly. We were very impressed with the 2 staterooom stewarts, Amir and Cipto who looked after our cabins. These two guys worked so hard and always kept the rooms clean and tidy. Thumb up for the guys.
The optional (extra cost) dinners at Rudy’s and Pinnacle restaurants were worth the money with yummy food and services. I highly recommend if you want to taste something different from the meals included in the cruise package. The all you can have laundry at US$70.- for the entire cruise is also a good option if want to keep your clothes clean.
Entertainments were good and we did enjoyed the dancing performances. The gym was ok but not as good as I expected. But I am more on the weightliftings side rather than treadmills though.
Out of some optional excursions we took, the Tracy Arm Fjord was the most disappointed one. At US$309.95/pax, it was a waste of time and money. The Tracy Arm Fjord was replaced with Endicott Arm. Since I had never seen Tracy Arm, my comment here is about Endicott Arm. It was another glacier, nothing special. It took 6 hours for the return journey and we stayed for about 30 or so minutes to view the glacier. No whale, dolphin nor bear to see. There could be a few seal but I cannot recall exactly. On 27/08/2025, the cruise arrived at Glacier Bay National Park. I can tell you that it is not much different (except the mountain view) from the Endicott Arm and it is FREE. So safe your $309.95 and enjoy Glacier Bay instead. From the Fjord environment perspective, my view is the Norwegian Fjords (like Geiranger) and New Zealand’s Milford Sound are better.
The Rocky read more Grandeur tour was good. We quite enjoyed the services and in general, accommodations were ok except for the South Thomson Inn in Kamloops and Emerald Lodge in Emerald Lake. I would rate South Thomson Inn as the worst in this tour due to the location and meals. The breakfast was something like an Australia outback motor inn. Emerald Lake Lodge was unique but I rated it low because of the dodgy pillows that could not support the neck. Not sure why this accommodation would use such cheap pillows that caused me and my wife unable to sleep and had sore necks the next day. Hilton Whistler was the best in term of everything. Places this tour included were good and we really enjoyed the sceneries and other places Emerald Tours took us. The tour director , Rhonda Borton was also nice, professional and very helpful.
The Rocky Mountaineer train ride was very nice with professional crews, good food and comfortable carriages. We felt lucky that we did not upgrade to Gold Leaf class as the Silver Leaf was quite nice. I think the approx US$3,000.- saving for 3 persons was a good decision. But if you really enjoy better food and the booze, the Gold Leaf might be your choice. Since we are not drinkers and have to be careful with food due to our age, the Silver Leaf was sufficient.
The Holland America Line’s Alaska Inside Passage cruise was good especially for those who never visited Alaska on cruise. HA provided lots of food and choices from many countries. Services were very good and super friendly. We were very impressed with the 2 staterooom stewarts, Amir and Cipto who looked after our cabins. These two guys worked so hard and always kept the rooms clean and tidy. Thumb up for the guys.
The optional (extra cost) dinners at Rudy’s and Pinnacle restaurants were worth the money with yummy food and services. I highly recommend if you want to taste something different from the meals included in the cruise package. The all you can have laundry at US$70.- for the entire cruise is also a good option if want to keep your clothes clean.
Entertainments were good and we did enjoyed the dancing performances. The gym was ok but not as good as I expected. But I am more on the weightliftings side rather than treadmills though.
Out of some optional excursions we took, the Tracy Arm Fjord was the most disappointed one. At US$309.95/pax, it was a waste of time and money. The Tracy Arm Fjord was replaced with Endicott Arm. Since I had never seen Tracy Arm, my comment here is about Endicott Arm. It was another glacier, nothing special. It took 6 hours for the return journey and we stayed for about 30 or so minutes to view the glacier. No whale, dolphin nor bear to see. There could be a few seal but I cannot recall exactly. On 27/08/2025, the cruise arrived at Glacier Bay National Park. I can tell you that it is not much different (except the mountain view) from the Endicott Arm and it is FREE. So safe your $309.95 and enjoy Glacier Bay instead. From the Fjord environment perspective, my view is the Norwegian Fjords (like Geiranger) and New Zealand’s Milford Sound are better.
There & Back Again 3 Stephen, United Kingdom, Sep 2023
Can't fault the tour in any way. Tracey at Global Journeys was brilliant even with the complication of us booking from the UK. As for Valerie, our Evergreen tour guide, just excellent. Great knowledge and very entertaining.
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