Cindy

Paying for upgrades can easily pay for another holiday! It would be nice to be able to afford to upgrade all the time. I have upgraded to Premium Economy for the Borneo trip just to guarantee an Aisle seat - will have to wait and see if this happens. To me it was a lot of money, but I have decided to see this as a 'treat' albeit an expensive one!

Jaya

Good for you ..you deserve a treat

I'm sorry that you didn't get as much out of Gold Leaf as I did but, as you say, it's all down to personal opinion and expectation I suppose.

On our trip, we definitely got the 'unlimited drinks and snacks' as advertised (including freshly baked and still warm cookies from the kitchen below us) but, given the huge quantities of superb food on offer for breakfast and lunch, none of us really wanted much.

We also had a full running commentary from our lovely attendant Brandi and her team, but not so much that there was constant talking on the microphone. Sometimes it was just nice to enjoy the peace and take in the view. They did, however, make a special point of giving us plenty of warning if a specific view or photo opportunity was coming up and also advised us if we would get a better picture from our seats or the vestibule (depending on the time of day, there was sometimes reflection on the windows from the sun).

We also had time for a couple of fun games/competitions amongst the travellers in our car. To this day I treasure my little 'Order of the Salmon' pin that I won on behalf of the JY group having 'taken one for the team' and agreed to write our entry in the Rocky Mountaineer limerick competition. (Naturally, it started...."There was a young lady called Brandi...." and I'll leave you to work out the rest....)

Speaking of the glass dome, I've just remembered that Sookie asked about the heat from the sun in the car. This isn't a problem because there is full air conditioning and the glass has an anti-glare covering on it. The leg room is also fantastic (I'm tall) and the seats are like arm chairs. One tip I would suggest is to negotiate with the person sitting next to you that one has the window in the morning and then swap each afternoon. That way, you both get the best views, especially of the mountains on Day one because the terrain on Day Two is much flatter as you head from Kamloops to the coast.

Finally, as I said, the choice of which service to go for is all down to personal opinion and of course I can't speak for the Silver Leaf because it hadn't been introduced in my day. My friends in Red Leaf did seem to enjoy themselves, but they did mention not being able to move around very much and also complained about being stuck in a dark tunnel of trees for ages when one of the freight trains passed. None of us saw much wildlife on our two day 'Journey through the clouds' but I have heard of others who had amazing experiences of bears, elk and ospreys.

I haven't done 'Route 66' (yet...) but I'd board the Rocky Mountaineer again like a shot!

All the best

Mandy

Paying for upgrades can easily pay for another holiday! It would be nice to be able to afford to upgrade all the time. I have upgraded to Premium Economy for the Borneo trip just to guarantee an Aisle seat - will have to wait and see if this happens. To me it was a lot of money, but I have decided to see this as a 'treat' albeit an expensive one!

Jaya

This is one tour which is on my ever growing list. If and when I decide to go, I too will think hard as to whether or not it is worth upgrading to Gold Class - I guess it is similar to upgrading to business class!

Jaya

Jaya

As a child 9 times out of 10 we as a family were upgraded as my Mum worked for a airline, so it wasn't till I got married that I had to travel cattle class ....I did enquire for an upgrade on the NZ tour but the price would of been all my spending money, so I still went cattle class...

Cindy

Jaya

Hi,

It's funny how peoples views vary. I did Canada and the Rocky Mountaineer in 2010 and would class it as equal with route 66 as the best holiday I have had. The only thing was I up-graded to Gold Class, and can honestly say I did not think it was worth the extra paid. Perhaps, to me, it wasn.t what I expected and I felt I could have used the extra money paid on other things. We didn't get a running commentary. or unlimited snacks and drinks. Perhaps we saw slightly more than fellow travellers in the 'other' class but judging by their comments after, they seemed to have had a great time too. Instead of asking people who have up-graded ask someone who hasn't for their experience.

You have a very good point there, it's a question worth asking I am sure, I do at some stage have my eye on this tour so will think long and hard about spending yet more money.

Cindy

It's funny how peoples views vary. I did Canada and the Rocky Mountaineer in 2010 and would class it as equal with route 66 as the best holiday I have had. The only thing was I up-graded to Gold Class, and can honestly say I did not think it was worth the extra paid. Perhaps, to me, it wasn.t what I expected and I felt I could have used the extra money paid on other things. We didn't get a running commentary. or unlimited snacks and drinks. Perhaps we saw slightly more than fellow travellers in the 'other' class but judging by their comments after, they seemed to have had a great time too. Instead of asking people who have up-graded ask someone who hasn't for their experience.

I did this trip in 2011 and upgraded to Gold (they didn't have Silver back then). You are right that it's pricey but in my view it was totally worth it.

The Gold leaf coaches are double decker with the restaurant underneath. (There is also a large 'vestibule' or viewing platform on the back) The joy of this (apart from not eating your meals on your lap) is that you have a view over the treetops. The Mountaineer travels on the same tracks as Canada's huge freight trains rather than regular passenger routes. The freight trains have priority at crossings, so the Mountaineer has to stop if it meets one.(Which it often does) As the freighters often have 50 or more trailers, it can take over 30 minutes for them to pass and if you are in a regular single decker car, that could mean that you just have a view of tree trunks or even a tunnel wall for a while. If you are in the double decker, you have a much better view. Also, and again I can't speak for Silver, the Red Leaf travellers had to take an overnight bag for the Kamloops stopover because their luggage was taken straight through to Vancouver. The Gold travellers all found their luggage in their hotel rooms as usual after an exhausting day in the lap of luxury!

The food and service are simply phenomenal, whichever class you choose but, and I know I'm biased, I'd definitely go for Gold again if I ever get another chance (having holidayed my way through the rest of the JY brochure first 😉 )

Whatever you choose, you'll have an amazing time. Happy to help if you have any other questions

All the best

Mandy

Cheers,

Bob