Review of our Canadian Rockies Princess Tour

[MLinFL]

We recently returned from our Canadian Rockies Tour/Alaskan Cruise with Princess. Below is my acount of the Canadian Rockies portion of the trip. If you have any questions, please let me know. The bottom line was that we loved the tour and would greatly recommend this trip.

(This report is too long to post at one time, so I will break it up into a couple of parts. Here is part one)

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Canadian Rockies Tour - 7/31 - 8/7/04 - Part 1

 

July 31 – Saturday Huron/Cleveland

 

Today we started on our adventure. We left our house around 4:00pm and drove to the Sheraton Hotel at the airport. We like to stay here before an early morning flight. They offer a nice “park and fly” package which includes the room for one night, 15 nights of parking and a continental breakfast. They also have great cookies that they give out when you arrive – a nice extra!

 

We had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant and then just relaxed and watched TV. We had an early wake-up call at 5:30.

 

 

August 1 – Sunday Cleveland/Calgary

 

We woke up early, grabbed a quick continental breakfast at the hotel and then took their shuttle to the airport. At the airport, we had hoped to check our bags outside, but there was no one at the bell stand. We managed to drag all of our bags inside and checked them in at the self-serve kiosk. (We had checked in for the flight and printed our boarding passes yesterday at home.) Our friends met us at the gate and we chatted until it was time to board. Our first flight was from Cleveland to Minneapolis and it was uneventful, thankfully. We had about an hour layover before we boarded our flight to Calgary. We were delayed about an hour due to a thunderstorm which prevented flights from leaving and landing. We arrived in Calgary around 2:00pm.

 

After a quick stop through Customs and then picking up our bags, we made our way to the Checker Cab desk outside of the International arrivals. Princess had provided us with vouchers for the cab ride from the airport to the hotel. We were able to get a large van so that all 4 of us could ride together. In about 20 minutes we arrived at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in downtown Calgary. We checked into Room 910 and our friends had room 943.

 

Around 5:00pm, we walked over to the Salt Lick Restaurant, a steak house that was recommended by the concierge at the hotel. We had a great meal and walked around a little before heading back to the hotel. When we came back, we stopped in at our friends room and realized how much larger their room was than ours. Ours was so small that there really wasn’t much room to walk around with all the luggage and also, there was only one bed – either a double or a queen. Our friends’ room had two beds, a very nice comfortable chair and plenty of room to walk around. So, we went down to the front desk to see if they could find us something a little larger. They were very accommodating and we actually ended up with the room right next to our friends’ room – Room 945. This one has a king size bed, and is much more spacious. This is an old hotel with a lot of different room configurations. We were most appreciative of them finding us a larger room since we are going to be here for two nights.

 

Tomorrow morning we get to sleep in. We don’t have anything planned until later in the day when Princess hosts a Cocktail Reception to start our tour. There we will meet our tour guide and fellow passengers. We are really looking forward to exploring this beautiful country.

 

 

August 2 – Monday Calgary

 

I guess I am still on “Eastern” time, as I woke up this morning at 5:00am. I tried to convince myself that I should go back to sleep in order to get on schedule with the Mountain time zone, but to no avail. So, I got up and got ready, made some coffee and read the paper. I eventually went down to the lower level of the hotel where they have a small coffee shop and got a bagel. The shop did not open until 6:30am.

 

Later in the morning, we went with our friends to have breakfast at a very quaint place called the Avenue Diner which was located close to the hotel on Stephen Avenue which is a pedestrian mall. We enjoyed this place and would recommend it. When we were done eating, we spent some time walking around the city. Although the newspaper predicted a high temperature of 25c (77F), it was no where near that this morning. Also, there was a strong wind blowing making it almost uncomfortable walking around. Most everything was closed because it was a government holiday. (Some things opened later in the day, but the majority remained closed.)

 

We made our way back to the hotel and did some reading of attractions, trying to figure out what we wanted to do. We decided that we would just go walking around (it had warmed up a little more, but still not as high as predicted) and have lunch some where. We went back to Stephen Avenue and walked down one side about 5-6 blocks, eventually deciding to eat at a very nice place called “Earl’s”. The food was delicious. If you ever are in Calgary and eat at Earl’s, make sure that you visit the restrooms. They were very different!

 

We needed to walk off our lunch, so we headed east down Stephen Avenue. Our intention was to walk down to the river where they have many nice pathways for walking and biking. Along the way we passed a very nice park in the Theater District which had beautiful hanging plants all around the entrance. They were wonderful splashes of color. There was also a performing stage and a wading pool with a fountain in the park.

 

We felt that we got a good impression of the city by walking around and glad that the weather cooperated and we had the opportunity to do so.

 

Tonight the official start of our tour began with a cocktail reception held in the Oval Room of the hotel. Soft drinks, wine and beer were served along with snacks – nuts and chips. We met our tour director, Jeff Porter, and our fellow passengers. It was interesting to find out that about 50% of the people on the tour were from Great Britain. Mostly there were people about our age – 50s and 60s – but we also have a woman that is celebrating her 91st birthday, traveling with her son and a young couple on their honeymoon. They all seem very nice. After introductions were made all around, Jeff talked a little about the tour, especially the plans for tomorrow. He handed out an informational sheet describing 4 optional tours. One of them was for a helicopter tour for tomorrow. He said that we had to let him know in the next 30 minutes so that he could call in the reservations. We didn’t like this quick decision mandate to spend $120 each. We felt that Princess could have sent this information on ahead so we could have planned better. We decided not to go as we already have taken a helicopter ride the last time we were in Alaska and also, we have a flight-seeing trip planned for when we are in Ketchikan. The other optional trips are a guided rafting trip in Jasper ($32), a gondola ride at Lake Louise ($12) and a boat trip of Maligne Lake ($42). These last 3 trips need to be paid with cash. (Another reason why we should have had this information in advance.) Aside from this issue of the optional tours, we thought Jeff was organized and knowledgeable and would be a good guide for us.

 

After the cocktail party, we went to James Joyce Pub on Stephen Avenue Mall for a light dinner. It was around 10pm when we got back to the hotel and we were ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we start our tour of the Rockies.

[MLinFL]

Here is the second part of my trip report.

 

August 3 – Tuesday Calgary/Banff

 

This morning we “officially” started our tour with a wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel. This buffet was quite nice with a lot of choices, including fruit parfaits, fresh fruit, juice, hot items and wonderful pastries. The best part was when they presented the bill ($77 for the 4 of us) we just signed our names and marked “Princess Tours – Heart of the Rockies”.

 

We had to have our bags out by 7am and the coach left the hotel at 8am. Our driver, Greg, has a lovely black bus with black leather seats. He keeps it very clean and expects us to do so also. We made our way out of Calgary and it wasn’t too long before we came to the breathtaking sight of the mountains. The majestic beauty that surrounded us all day is hard to describe. After a short drive, we dropped off the 19 people that were taking the helicopter flights and the remaining 31 of us were taken into the town of Banff and dropped off to explore the town for a few hours. It is a quaint small town with many gift shops and restaurants surrounded by the mountains. We did a little shopping, walked down to the Bow River and then grabbed a quick lunch at “Wild Bill’s” which was very good. The bus picked us up at 1:00pm and we continued our tour with a drive along the mountains, stopping at the sight of the “Hoodoos” which are a natural rock formation that the Indians thought were gods. From that vantage point, we also could see the hotel and its golf course and lake – a beautiful sight. After that, we also visited the sight of the Bow River Falls and then made our way to the hotel, stopping to view some elk and deer up close.

 

The hotel looks just like a stone castle sitting among high mountains. We have a nice room (521) which has a king bed and a very nice view of the lake and the golf course. Jeff made reservations for us at the Bow Valley Grill, one of the nicest restaurants on the property (although we could go to any of them that we wanted to). Our reservation was for 6:30pm. We were given a window table and were told that we could order 1 or 2 appetizers, an entrée, dessert and coffee or tea. The food was wonderful and it was such fun ordering without regard to the price. We all had delicious, beautifully plated meals and thoroughly enjoyed them. The bill for the 4 of us was over $300 dollars and we just signed it to Princess. It was a great ending to a fun-filled day surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. And tomorrow, we get to do it again!

 

 

August 4 – Wednesday Banff/Lake Louise

 

This morning we didn’t have to leave until 10am, so we put our bags out at 8:15am and then went to breakfast in the Bow Valley Grill, where they had quite an extensive buffet. We then gathered outside for a group photo, with the mountains in the background. Although it had been raining most of the morning, it cleared up and the sun came out right before our scheduled photo time.

 

We left the hotel and headed out on our journey. Our first stop was the YoHo National Park where we saw the Natural Bridge which had Class 5 rapids surrounding it. It was a great photo spot. From there we went to the Lake Louise Ski Resort where we had the opportunity to ride a gondola/ski lift chair up to the top – an elevation of 6,950 ft. The best part of that trip, though, was the return trip. All the way back, we had the most spectacular views of Lake Louise, the Ten Peaks surrounding it and the Chateau Lake Louise Hotel. The weather was rather cool up there, we were glad that we took our jackets. There was a little time to grab something to eat, if you wanted some lunch, which was on our own. Then we drove to our last stop of the day, Moraine Lake. This lake was a beautiful shade of blue-green and surrounded by mountains and snow-covered glaciers. Every new sight is better than the one before! There was a path about a ½ mile long if you wanted to get a view of the lake from a higher elevation.

 

We left Moraine Lake around 3:30pm and drove to the Chateau Lake Louise where we stayed tonight. Princess certainly has clout here as we all had rooms right in the middle of the hotel, overlooking the lake, mountains and glaciers. This is such a spectacular sight and right outside our room! Bill had I stopped in the lounge before dinner and had a drink (we all received complimentary drinks to make up for the problem we had yesterday at the Banff Springs with regard to the water in the room – due to the installation of a new water line, at times we didn’t have any!!). The lounge overlooked the lake with basically the same wonderful view that we have from our room. We had dinner with our friends Judy and Tony and also another couple, Major and Diane who we just met on the tour. Again, we were given a prime table by the window. We enjoyed the dinner and the company. However, this dining room, Victoria, was not as nice as the one yesterday. There were two other dining rooms so perhaps the others were more comparable to the Bow Valley Grill at the Banff Springs.

 

Tomorrow is an early morning – we have to have our bags out by 6:30am and we are leaving the hotel at 8:00am.

 

 

August 5 – Thursday Lake Louise/Jasper

 

This morning we got a quick breakfast from the buffet in the Victoria Dining Room, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the one at the Banff Springs. We left at 8am and headed out for the Columbia Icefields, stopping along the way at Peyto Lake and Crowfoot Glacier. We continue to be in awe of the spectacular landscape that surrounds us every mile of the way. I never dreamed that there were so many huge mountains, glaciers and icefields in the Canadian Rockies. When we arrived at the Athabasca Glacier for our snowcoach ride, the skies were blue and sunny, a perfect day. We took a shuttle bus to the snowcoach and then proceeded to travel out on the ice. There are miles and miles of white snow-covered glacier. We walked around (carefully – that ice is very slippery – couldn’t believe that some folks were walking around in sandals!) and also drank some of the fresh, glacier water. Our guide also offered some scotch to go with the water and to warm you up – if you wanted to partake. While we were there, there was an avalanche in the glaciers/mountain above us. It was spectacular! I am running out of adjectives to describe this place.

 

After this excursion, we drove to Sunwapta Falls Resort for lunch. It was a pleasant stop and the stew was great. After lunch, we continued on to Athabasca Falls which were quite turbulent. More wonderful sights!

 

After that, we proceeded to the drop-off point for those of us who were going to do the rafting tour. These are Class 1 and 2 rapids – very easy. We did get quite splashed (I got drenched!!) but the worst part was that the water was only 38 degrees. It was quite warm when we started out, but clouded over and got cooler as the ride progressed. This did not aid in warming us up. I was very wet and cold and did not find this trip enjoyable. If the weather or the water had been warmer, I believe that would make all the difference in the world.

 

Our bus picked us up at the end of the raft run and took us to the Jasper Park Lodge. In this hotel, the public rooms are in the main lodge building and the guest rooms are in cabins surrounding it. The have golf carts to take you around. They dropped us off at our door as it was starting to rain. A warm shower and dry clothes helped make me feel human again.

 

We had dinner in the Moose Nook restaurant at 8pm. Again, we could order off of the menu and it was charged to Princess. I had a salad, steak and dessert. The food was very good – a little fancier than the meal we had last night. The coffee they served was the pressed type and very good.

 

Today was Bill’s birthday and everyone on the bus sang “Happy Birthday” to him and one other celebrant as we started the day. All in all, it was a great day filled with many wonderful sights and experiences.

[MLinFL]

Here is the third and last part of my trip report. Sorry to take up so much "bandwidth" but I just wanted to share our trip with any of you who may be planning the same one. When we were in the planning stages, we couldn't get too much information on this trip.

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August 6 – Friday Jasper/Kamloops

 

Again we had to get up early, as we were going to take a riverboat ride and they were picking us up at the Lodge at 8:00am. We had a problem when we were trying to get ready, as when I turned on the cold water to take my medications, it was very warm. I tried running it, but it was still warm. We called the front desk and they quickly brought us some bottles of cold water.

 

The riverboat ride was beautiful. Because of the cold weather (in the 30s this morning) there was a mist on the water which made it even more scenic. We had a very knowledgeable guide who explained to us about the mountains and the wildlife. After we cruised around the lake for about 30 minutes, we stopped briefly at Spirit Island for a short walk and photos. On the cruise back, some of the people on the boat claimed to have seen a bear in the woods, but most of us, including the guide, could not see it. On the ride back, we did see elk and a moose.

 

When we returned to the lodge, we got on our bus and headed out on our journey to Kamloops. We stopped at Mt. Robson Café for lunch. This was of course, next to Mt. Robson, a very high mountain, over 12,000 ft. We saw about 90% of it, the remaining portion being covered with clouds. After lunch, as we were traveling along, they showed the movie “The Bear” and then stopped along the Thompson River for a break. Jeff provided soft drinks and snacks. Today was mainly a “transportation” day, making our way to Vancouver for the cruise on Saturday. Before we reached our dinner stop, we rode through a large portion of burned-out forest. This fire last year was one of the largest they ever had. Many homes and businesses burned down and they had to evacuate the town and the road was closed. Now they are starting to rebuild but it still looks rather desolate.

 

Around 6:00pm, we arrived at the Hacienda Caballo (House of the Horses) for our farewell dinner. This place is operated by Rick and Donna who have been hosting and catering these dinners for Princess for 20 years. They were great people and the dinner was wonderful. They offered steak, salmon or chicken along with wonderful salads, potatoes, and home-grown tomatoes. They also had several lovely desserts and there was an open bar. Although it started to rain right before dinner and did not let up until we were ready to leave, we still had a great time. The dinner is held in a covered gazebo-type building. You did have to walk to the building where the restrooms are, but they had quite a few umbrellas available. If the weather had cooperated, they had beautiful grounds to walk around and a small pond with peddle-boats. The also had 12 lovely horses which you could visit with and feed them carrots. All in all, it was a wonderful evening and a great end to our land tour.

 

Tonight we are staying at the Coast Canadian Inn, not a Fairmont property by any means, but the best hotel in Kamloops – something like a Holiday Inn. It is really quite adequate, and actually a much larger room than we had at the other hotels. Tomorrow we are leaving early at 7:30am. We are heading to Vancouver and will stop for some sightseeing along the way.

 

 

August 7 – Saturday Kamloops/Vancouver

 

Today was mainly a “travel” day to get to the ship. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel – another buffet but nothing like the ones we had at the Fairmont properties. We left at 7:30am and headed south. The scenery, although still quite nice, was not as dramatic as it was higher in the Rockies. We traveled to Minter Gardens which was a beautiful place. It had many lovely flowers and plantings. It was smaller and of course, much less crowded than the famous Buchart Gardens in Victoria. Our travels then continued toward Vancouver. We watched the movie, “Out to Sea” with Walter Matthou and Jack Lemmon which was perfect for pre-cruise viewing! We arrived in Vancouver around 1:30pm. When we were at the gardens, it was gray and overcast, but by the time we reached Vancouver, it was sunny again. We took a city tour going through China Town, Gas Town and Stanley Park before arriving at Canada Place and embarking on our ship, the Island Princess. Most of the people that we had been traveling with also are on this cruise with us. The remaining 12 will be staying the night at the Pan Pacific Hotel and then heading town to Seattle tomorrow to board the Sapphire Princess. From the time we got off of the coach to the time we were in our cabin (A615), it took us 30 minutes. The only real line we encountered was the security line, as there was one security check for all three ships (Holland America’s Zaandam and a Crystal ship were also in port). This moved quickly, as they had 4-5 scanners.

 

This concludes my review of our Canadian Rockies adventure. It was one of the most wonderful trips that we have ever taken. I would greatly recommend this. We had been to Alaska 10 years ago, and from what I can remember, the Canadian Rockies are much more dramatic and spectacular. If you are thinking about taking this trip, don’t hesitate to do so. If you should be lucky enough to get Jeff Porter as your guide and Greg Penner as your driver, you will be very fortunate, indeed. (Jeff indicated that there are rumors that Princess may be dropping their land trips. This happened to Holland America - West Tours - when Carnival took them over. So, again, we feel so fortunate that we were able to take this tour with such talented guides.)

 

I will post my review of the Cruise on the Princess and the Alaska boards.

[Andrea A]

I so enjoyed reading your review of the Princess Canadian Rockies Land tour. It brought back many wonderful memories as my husband and I did the same trip (a little different itineary) in 2000. Our guide was also Jeff Porter. He was awesome!! He made everyone feel special. I'm glad to hear he is still out there as I have recommended this trip to many over the past few years.

I think we enjoyed the land tour portion more than the Alaskan cruise. At least we saw more wildlife, and had beautiful weather.

Thanks for writing as I enjoyed the memories.

Andrea

[margord]

Oh my goodness Mary Lou, what a wonderful write up. I really appreciate it as my DH and I are going with our best friends next July. I do have one question and it has to do with luggage. We have read that we are limited on amounts of luggage on this trip. Can you talk about this a little. Also, what about carry on luggage. Are we limited on size? Help, and information is greatly appreciated.

 

Marilee

[suron]

Thank you for such a wonderful report. We are taking virtually the same route on our Rockies Land Tour pm 22nd May before joining the Dawn Princess for an Alaskan cruise round trip from Seattle on 27th May. We are really excited about this trip - it was like gold dust trying to book from England and unfortunately with the wonderful promotional offer we secured by booking prior to 30th Sept the bargain price did not allow us to book anything other than an inside. Still we are in a good position on Caribe Deck but are still deciding whether or not to put in for an upgrade (understand we could end up anywhere in the ship and maybe in a non-favourable position). With the inside cabin it will encourage us to get up early, get out on deck and see those sights.

 

We were on Star Princess on Caribe Deck in August on the Baltic itinerary from Copenhagen and that trip was awesome. We know we have some wonderful sights to see and are so grateful to you for giving us a preview of what to expect. Just wish as you say that Princess could see their way to providing more information on the land tour excursions - far better to be able to plan ahead and budget accordingly.

 

Thanks again

Suron in Bristol, England ;)

 

 

read 'on' instead of 'pm' at beginning!! sorry

[suron]

Can you answer a question regarding luggage on the land tour section of the Alaskan cruise please? Reading through various bits of information I think I read somewhere that on the land tour section only one piece of luggage per person is permitted on the coach - do I have this right and if so does this mean we are restricted to just one case each on the entire trip? :confused: From England to Canada it is the norm to be allowed two pieces of luggage per person and each case is to be no more than 32 kgs. It will sure be difficult to pack all we need for the land tour and the cruise into one case but if that's the rule then we will have to be very organised with what we take. Would appreciate some information on this.

 

Thanks in advance.

Suron

[MLinFL]

We were not restricted at all with regard to luggage - except by the airlines. We had a beautiful touring coach for our land portion of the trip, but it was not full - perhaps just 1/2 full. That allowed plenty of room for everyone's luggage underneath the coach. My husband and I each took a very large suitcase, plus a large garment bag, along with a carry-on bag. Each evening when we arrived at the hotel, all of our bags were brought in for us. There were no problems. You might want to try and pack the things you will need for the land portion in just one bag, only to make it easier on yourself as to not having to dig into all of your bags, but that would just be for convenience.

 

We did not take the train portion of the tour that some do. If you are taking the train, you might be more restricted with regard to bags. However, many years ago when we took the Denali land tour with Princess and went on the train, Princess kept our bags while we were on the train trip and we just took one small one for that short period.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. If I can remember - I'll be glad to answer.

 

Mary Lou

[suron]

Mary Lou - Many thanks for replying to the query re luggage on the Rockies Land Tour. We are not taking the train option so let's hope that we will not be too restricted on luggage.

 

I would be interested to read your review on the cruise part of your trip. Can you point me in the right direction to find this please? I would like to get some information on the excursions you took in Alaska - whether you opted for Princess organised trips or made your own arrangements for things like the whale watching and helicopter/seaplane trips.

 

People like yourself who are so willing to share their experiences certainly make life easier for others and perhaps in our turn we can help by adding further tips once we return.

 

I posted a review following our trip on Star Princess to the Baltic in August and prior to the trip I found so many useful tips from others who had done the same itinerary. I posted my review from the English passenger's viewpoint as I discovered a lot of questions from English people when I returned from our trip. Also we found that we did some different trips to those already reviewed so this meant the options for future passengers were even more varied.

 

These boards are great and thanks to everyone for their help.

Suron in Bristol, England ;)