Canadian Railroads > Vancouver to Toronto on the Canadian

The “Group of Seven” has made another long-distance train trip, this time on the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto earlier this month. Two people in the group are different from the seven who rode the Ocean round-trip in October.
 
The accommodations occupied were: one in a lower berth, one in a cabin for 1 (roomette), three in cabins for 2 at single occupancy, and one lucky couple were in Prestige. They booked it on VIA Preference points, of which it takes a lot: 53,000.   I had originally booked a roomette, but two weeks before the trip I decided that I had had enough of four nights in a roomette so I upgraded to a cabin for 2.
 
The Prestige passengers were escorted on to the train in Vancouver an hour and a quarter before departure. Coach passengers were boarded next, then finally those of us in sleepers. One of my friends requested assistance with his one case - because of his age and the fact he was in the first sleeper making it eight cars from the rear - but it was explained that this service is no longer provided. An offer of a ride in the “golf buggy” was promised, after the families travelling coach and those in sleeper who had an obvious need for a ride were handled.  Unfortunately when he finally got on board the device broke down even before it reached the Park car, so he and a few others had to walk after all.
 
The couple in Prestige had a lot of visitors in the four days. We could not all be seated at once, of course, but we often had a total of four. Five was a tight squeeze and was only for a few minutes. I enjoyed visiting and spent a lot of time there. The faux wood panelling was quite attractive. The large window was appreciated. The toilet/shower annex had a heated floor and, I was told, the walls of the shower stall were also heated. One thing that surprised me was what I thought was a mini-fridge was not that. It was called a cooling cabinet. The two bottles of water therein were not very  cool to my touch. The concierge explained that if they wanted something cold it would be put in the fridge under the dome. There were two other things our friends did not like about the room. Although they liked the double bed, when it was down there was little room for two people to stand. Also, the clothes closet was so narrow they could barely put two coats in it.
 
Although all alcoholic beverages in the cabin, Park car and dining car are included for Prestige passengers, our friends in Prestige do not imbibe. The other five of us do “toast the Queen’s health” from time to time and, of course, had to pay. We did, however, have a bottle of our own Champagne on some afternoons in “suite E & F.” The attendant removed the wall in afternoon for a few hours.
 
The dining car meals continue to be very good indeed. I noticed no downgrading of the food over the past many years. Those in Prestige have the same meals as everyone, except for an hors d’oeuvre platter served before each dinner. They are called into the diner 10 minutes before the general announcement. We were told that the Prestige people are normally seated together, but the dining car co-ordinators on both sides of Winnipeg knew that we were a group of seven, so those of us from the “low rent district” were allowed to sit with our friends. Two tables were set aside for our group at those meals for which reservations are issued, i.e. lunch and dinner, but not breakfast or brunch which is open seating.
 
There is little to complain about in the diner, but it surprised us that the Prestige passengers are served the same horrid orange juice that has been offered for as long as I can remember. A couple of years ago the quality jams and marmalades in little glass jars were replaced with Kraft products in little plastic containers. The so-called “pure strawberry jam” was pure sugar and pectin and probably never came any closer to a berry than having one waved over it. Our friends are acquainted with a manager in Montreal and were asked for a critique, including nit-picking negative points. This were graciously received and they were thanked for pointing out the little things.
 
From what I saw of Prestige it is an excellent product, but for me it is not something I would pay for. For the fare charged I can get much better value in a holiday. The summer fares (starting next June) for the entire trip are going up. A westbound trip will cost $12,023.20 and eastbound is less at $11,172 because of the difference in sales tax.
 
I should point out that for the first time in memory my cabin was fairly quiet. I was prepared with bits of cardboard and duct tape to augment the usual squashed paper cups to insert in various places to cut down on the squeaking, rattling, banging, etc. It wasn’t as quiet as a Renaissance sleeper, but as good as it gets in a 64-year old Budd sleeper. The staff were excellent; there was little that needed to be asked for.
 
The timekeeping was fairly good. A repair to a connection between two coaches caused a bit of a delay in Jasper and a much longer delay in Winnipeg. Despite a three-hour late departure from Capreol, the SM predicted an on-time arrival at Toronto. If we had not spent about 40 minutes at Pefferlaw waiting for three freights we would have been on time. But 45 minutes late at Union is not too bad.
 

Thank you for the report.  I am looking forward to my next trip, in March.

Gosh, one has to go prepared with tape, paper, cardboard on VIA just like on Amtrak !

As long as they still have those little chocolate sticks in the diner after dinner....I'm happy. I'm also booked in March. I wonder if I can cancel and re-book at a lower fare? 

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> As long as they still have those little chocolate
> sticks in the diner after dinner....I'm happy. I'm
> also booked in March. I wonder if I can cancel and
> re-book at a lower fare? 

Alas, the chocolate Ovations were nowhere to be seen. We did, however, get a square of chocolate on our pillows. Those in Prestige got a small box of chocolates wrapped in a ribbon.

Indeed, you can cancel and re-book. The $100 cancellation fee will apply (unless you paid full fare)  but you should still save a lot. Friends have cancelled and re-booked a trip on the Ocean. The cancellation fee for that train is only $25.

mundo Wrote:
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> Gosh, one has to go prepared with tape, paper,
> cardboard on VIA just like on Amtrak !

This is for possible noise-suppression. The train is not falling apart. Of course, none of these items can do anything about noise below the floor or in the ceiling. As I said, I was lucky in this sleeper. It's a pity I can't request Burton Manor on my next trip!

March seems to be a popular month.  I'm booked on # 1 out of Toronto on March 19th.

Thanks DrawingroomA for the great review.   I just booked today for WPG - Vancouver - Toronto - Winnipeg for April and can hardly wait even after just doing a WPG - Vancouver - WPG trip in October!  This coming trip, I will have wife with me and sold her on the long trip by visiting some of her relatives north of Seattle.  The 40% off Black Friday is on now but after working for over an hour with a great VIA Preference agent, he was able to do even better by using the VIA Premier coupons for 50% off fare and 50% off points.  However, my points are now down to just over 1,000 but the deal so good I am not even going to quote it here!  Those wonderful valued Premier coupons that are so good that one cannot afford to not make use of them by t he end of the program year.

I noted the great jam in jars disappeared about the same time as the real flowers in the dining car.  However, the chocolate Ovation sticks were still there in October.

So DrawingroomA glad your trip was good.  And I wish those who mentioned the are now booked a great trip.  And I presume the trip with my wife will also be great!
-Eliot





 

I'm going in March as well, with a group of four.  And like Drawingroom A, while I enjoy four nights in a roomette, after four or five trips that way I'm thinking of seeing how much it might cost to go back to a single occupancy bedroom.  I have done the single occupancy bedroom before, and there are pluses and minuses.  The big minus is the roomette seat with its "ottoman" (the top of the commode) is more comfortable for reading (and napping) during the day than the folding chairs in the bedroom.  The pluses of the bedroom are fairly obvious.  

JBWX

What I do when I have single use of a double bedroom is have the attendant make the bed but leave it down all day in the event I wish a nap.  That is just fine as most of my day is spent in the Park or Sleeper plus Skyline dome.