Luxury Gold Reviews

The hotel lobbies were very nice, and the restaurants generally good, however the rooms were more 4 star than 5 star. The only true 5 star hotel we experienced was the one we booked in Milan after our trip, for a price significantly less than the extra night at the beginning through Insight Vacations. We enjoyed our trip, but question the value of Luxury ...read more Gold over a normal Insight Vacations trip.

What a wonderful experience we had, we saw so much; killer whales, humpback whales, eagles, moose, antlers, sled dogs, glaciers, snow (even though it was the wrong time of year for it), and much more. The Canadian Pacific Train was amazing, the food was 5 star, and the Neiuw Amsterdam cruise ship was unbelievable. We loved meeting all different people ...read more from all around the would, we even met a couple that lives near one of our sons and is a friend of our daughter-in-law. Our travel guide Nancy was absolutely amazing and passionate about her country, and our coach driver known as The Fox was brilliant, got us through without any difficulty. There is nothing about this journey I would change.

Trip was excellent. No hiccups. Connections and transfers went well. Seamless. Fortunately weather turned for the better and we saw magnificent scenery. According to tour operators, "Best for the season". Accommodation was first class and most meals were very good. Food at Vermillion restaurant was ordinary and my only other criticism was with the ...read more cruise. On the ship Nieuw Amsterdam, the entertainment was pretty ordinary and the buffet meal poor quality and badly served. Dining Room food was excellent.

I booked through Global Journeys and Jemma Rosen did an excellent job with our booking and was responsive and helpful with all my queries.

The tour commenced on 25th August which was perfect. Any later the weather is colder & some things are not open. The coach was very comfortable & the tour director was great. Accommodation was amazing. The cruise on a large ship was our first time. We could see ourselves booking another cruise at some stage.

Unfortunately for us there was so much smoke from forest fires that we didn’t get to see a lot, but what we did see was spectacular. Would advise people not to go in August, as apparently this is usually when forest fires occur. The bus tour was interesting and very well planned with an excellent guide Lori and driver Owen. Nothing was too much trouble ...read more for her and she really worked hard. There was plenty of room on the bus, as Insight takes seats out so there is a maximum of 40 seats.

I found that Luxury Gold is not as good as Insight Vacations. For what you pay, the accommodation was not as good as that which I have experienced with Insight. In Jasper the room had no aircon and it was really hot. The pipes made terrible noises when neighbours showered and the shower ran cold. That was a Fairmont property. The properties were 5 stars, but in many cases the rooms weren’t.

The cruise was wonderful - Glacier Bay was breathtaking.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would happily recommend it to anyone interested in seeing South America. We were fortunate that we had the most amazing weather basically for the entire trip of 21 days to enjoy the countries we visited. The rainbows showed up at Iguassu Falls for us at daytime then we saw the falls at night due to the full moon, ...read more how wonderful! Our Tour Director was excellent and attentive to all our needs and our fellow travellers provided very enjoyable company. Just amazing!

The tour itinerary was well planned. I liked our visit Whistler, Victoria and Banff. The scenery in the Rockies was impressive. The hotels were excellent, in particular The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Hannah did a good job in helping me to book the tour.

An excellent tour overall, highly knowledgeable tour director, well planned itinerary, luxurious hotel stays, and excellent tour inclusions - exclusive guided tours, themed dinners, breakfasts and a lot of flourishes. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone particularly planning to go to Canada. This tour has been wonderfully organised for us ...read more by Hannah at Global Journeys and we are already planning our next trip with her. Hannah has always been prompt in replying to my emails and always keeps us updated. Thanks so much again Hannah.

Perfect holiday, great Tour Director and driver. Good balance of relaxed starts and free time. Excellent hotels and included activities i.e. Capilano swing bridge, gondola and rafting, tour to glacier on large purpose built all-terrain vehicle. Not to mention Holland America cruise. Not a problem in the world.

This is the 3rd trip we have done with Insight Tours and yes we would travel with them again if the opportunity arises. There is always a good mix of people and personalities on the tours. The highlight for us was the extra helicopter flight over Niagara Falls and also loved Quebec. Unfortunately, because of the weather being so warm for that time ...read more of the year there was not a lot of Fall colours.

The hotels were fantastic on the whole. Only one which wasn't up to standard and apparently Insights not staying there next year anyway. Ben, our Tour Director was absolutely fabulous. He had us in fits of laughter lots of times. Jemma was helpful all through the quote and then the booking and payment right up until we left on our magic trip.

The Rocky Mountains part of the tour really was excellent. Accommodation really was 5 star in most locations though often with the worst views. Food was very good where provided although a few breakfasts were more Denny's than 5 star. We experienced a lot of smoke from the British Columbia bush fires which did take the gloss away a little, but we ...read more still had a good time thanks to the excellent tour concierge, Ben Hutchison.

The cruise though was more 3 star. We cruise a lot and this ship, Nieuw Amsterdam, was cheap and nasty. Our verandah room was more like a back office of a factory. Food was more Ramada Inn than 5 star, and staff in general had a could not care less attitude. We disliked our first Holland America cruise and this, our second, was worse. To cap it all on the last day they destroyed both of our suitcases requiring me to spend $200 to buy a replacement and to try to temporary repair the other. My grading below only applies, to the Insight portion of the trip.

Overall the trip was wonderful. We saw some amazing scenery and learnt so much. We were disappointed in the "luxury gold" experience. It did not meet our expectations. We stayed in top hotels but the rooms were certainly not the best. Beautiful countryside. It was quite tiring as it involved a lot of travelling.

Excellent trip from start to finish. Main highlights were getting special access to areas in private like the Vatican Museum and the Dojo's palace in Venice. Highly recommend this trip and some of the experiences (wine tasting and making pasta) made the trip very special.

Insight as usual has put together another fabulous, hassle free journey.......wonderful scenery, great accommodation and food. The wildlife wasn't as abundant as we thought it would be but I guess that was because we went just prior (June/July) to the salmon season.

The Rocky Mountaineer was pleasant, with exceptional service but in hindsight an over ...read more rated expense…. I think it would be very pretty if there was more snow around on the trees etc but otherwise it was a bit boring.
The other problem about the train was that freight trains have priority….at one time we were stationary for 1-2 hours while waiting, we spent 12 hours on the train that day and although we were well fed and watered but it felt like a long haul fight and we were all totally exhausted and fed up by the end.

The Inside Passage Alaskan Cruise was fabulous….and I didn’t get seasick once!...very calm cruise.....the scenery is spectacular. If you can afford it get a verandah stateroom....it was worth the extra money to be able to sit and enjoy the majestic landscape quietly and serenely, away from all the hustle and bustle of the ship (Ed. Verandah Stateroom is now included in the tour price).

A great combination of travel in Canada and Alaska. Coach through Canadian Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer back to Vancouver. Cruise to Alaska and the Inside Passage finished it in great style. Too many highlights to list.

The Insight tour concierge was just the best, a local with great knowledge and experience. Hannah at Global Journeys made sure all matters were completed on time and ready for us to have a hassle free tour.

Very well organized and worry free. Good quality accommodation in great locations. Excellent travel director and efficient booking process through Global Journeys. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Hannah Campbell from Global Journeys was excellent to work with, with quick responses and effective communication, Insight Tours gave us a fantastic tour through the Canadian Rockies, great hotels and meals, with a very knowledgeable Tour Director and Coach Captain. June/July is a great time to visit the Rockies and Alaska. We plan to book with Global ...read more Journeys again.

I have already given an extended review on the trip with Insight in which I stated how wonderful the tour was, especially our guide who absolutely made the tour such a joy for us. (GJ. This review is based on a previous version of this itinerary. It has since been renamed and revised)