Settled into their GoldLeaf Service glass-dome coach — Rocky Mountaineer’s top-tier service level, where plush, recliner seats look out panoramic windows — Julie and Kevin experienced attentive service that left them free to relax and take in the scenery.
Their coach’s two dedicated Hosts moved seamlessly between guests with drinks and snacks all day long, says Julie. “They were constantly there for you, whatever you wanted.”
For meals, Julie and Kevin indulged in the GoldLeaf Service exclusive lower-level dining room, where chefs plated courses of regional cuisine. After a delicious meal on day two, another guest asked to meet and personally thank the chefs, Julie recalls. “When they came out, we gave them a resounding round of applause and cheers,” she says. Kevin jumps in: “The food was to die for … Five-star.”
McMichael describes Rocky Mountaineer’s onboard culinary experience as elevated and immersive. Every offering — from Okanagan stone fruit to British Columbia albacore tuna — reflects the landscapes rolling by, and meals are paired with the Hosts’ signature storytelling.
“We want to introduce you to the terrain that you're traveling through, but we also want you to be walking away going, ‘Wow, I could not eat another bite, but I wanted to,’” says McMichael.
“Your glass was always full.”
THE ART OF BEING TAKEN CARE OF
GOLDLEAF SERVICE
Bi-level glass-dome coach
SILVERLEAF SERVICE
Two Tiers Of Onboard Luxury
Ten miles outside of Vancouver, as the city's edges faded, Julie and Kevin marveled at expansive open prairies. Their surroundings transformed with the rise in elevation; sagebrush gave way to forested alpine terrain and lakes stretched so long they “went on forever,” says Kevin, like inland seas. Even the water changed hues from green to brilliant turquoise.
Hosts provide guests with a newspaper detailing highlights along the route, but the crew also encourages spontaneous discovery, Kevin says. “As you start the journey, they say, ‘If anybody spots anything, yell, shout it out.’"
Taking in each vantage point, including the GoldLeaf Service open-air viewing platform and the wraparound windows from your seat, is a sensory experience, says McMichael. “Up in the mountains, that fresh pine smell is going to come through,” she says. “You could be looking up as birds of prey are flying over or looking down into the river systems with the fish jumping.”
Seven highlights from Julie and Kevin’s journey on the First Passage to the West route:
“Eagle! To the right!”
Witnessing Nature’s Masterpieces By Rail
Gourmet meals served in an exclusive dining room
Up to four Hosts and a dedicated culinary team
Large outdoor viewing platform
Single-level glass-dome coach
Regionally inspired meals served in the comfort of your seat
Up to three Hosts
Outdoor viewing area
Engineered to navigate the steep slopes of the Canadian Rockies, the hundred-year-old Spiral Tunnels loop the train through the mountains. From the GoldLeaf Service outdoor viewing platform, guests can lean out and watch the train curve around itself, coaches spiraling above and below on different levels of track. “You can see other trains on tracks above you and below you that are hundreds of carriages long … it's amazing,” says Julie.
The Spiral Tunnels
“It would've just been a beautiful scenic train journey, but it's the stories, it's the history … that made the journey,” Julie says of the Hosts’ onboard narration. One anecdote involved Doris, a local who has waved at passing Rocky Mountaineer trains for years. The Hosts shared that the rail service eventually invited Doris to ride the train herself; when she passed her own home, the entire crew was on her porch waving back at her. On Julie and Kevin’s trip, the Hosts told the guests to look up as they delivered the story. “Lo and behold, there was Doris,” Julie says.
A Storied Trainspotter
The train slows as it approaches Hell’s Gate, where the Fraser River narrows to just 110 feet wide. White water explodes as the railway clings to the canyon side above the torrent. “You’re looking at those rapids thinking, ‘How on earth did they get through there?’” Kevin says, referencing the region’s first explorers. The Hosts shared stories about the area’s early inhabitants, like the First Nations peoples and Chinese immigrants who helped build the railway in the hostile terrain. “It made the whole journey real, and it took you to that place in history,” says Julie.
History Behind Landmarks
On the second day, after a restful hotel stay in Kamloops, a south-central British Columbia town where the North and South Thompson Rivers meet, Julie and Kevin watched in awe as the Canadian Rockies emerged on the horizon. “You see them in the distance … and you start to think, well that’s big, isn’t it?” Julie says. “And then you realize, no, that’s even bigger! And suddenly you feel so tiny in this vastness.” Camaraderie builds among guests as they bond over stunning viewscapes, explains Kevin, with neighbors urging each other, “Oh, just come and look.”
Hosts encourage guests to shout when they spot wildlife, creating a communal sense of discovery. The train slows in areas known for wildlife and historic vantage points, giving guests time to observe and take photos. Julie recalls one moment when she saw an eagle flying over the water. “It was as though it was flying with us. It followed the train.”
An Eagle Sighting
Majestic Mountain Views
As the train approached Lake Louise, the Hosts gathered guests for champagne toasts to honor those celebrating special occasions — including Julie’s birthday and the couple’s anniversary. “That made it even more special because you were celebrating with everybody,” Julie says.
Marking Milestones Onboard
Arriving at Lake Louise that evening, Julie and Kevin were whisked to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, where they were already checked in for a five-night stay. “Your luggage is there waiting for you,” says Kevin. When they opened their curtains the next morning, the grandeur of Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier sprawled before them. “To us, the Rocky Mountaineer journey ended that next morning when we … looked out and went, ‘Oh my goodness, look where they left us,” says Julie.
Lake Louise Morning Reveal
More than a year after their trip, Julie still gets emotional describing it. She says the Rocky Mountaineer experience transcended ordinary travel, not only for its unbridled luxury and customer service, but for the opportunity it provided to honor life’s big moments.
“The fact that we both have had health issues, it was just the importance of being together,” she says. “Wow, 40 years of being married [and] we’re both in our sixties now together. It was just the amazing memories that we’ve made.”
The built-in slowness of train travel — long days with nothing on the agenda but to watch, listen and be taken care of — offers a rare gift in modern life.
“Once guests get onboard and start taking in the scenery, hearing the stories, they start to unwind,” says McMichael, explaining that too often, travel means buzzing from place to place. Instead, Rocky Mountaineer guests are permitted to slow down and find their own pace.
“We even tell our guests, ‘We know your natural inclination is to take pictures,’” McMichael says. “But take pictures with your eyes too, because there’s nothing that can replicate what you see and absorb.”
“It’s just that awesome feeling of, ‘Oh wow.’”
Why You Just Have To Be There
Learn more about Rocky Mountaineer’s world-renowned rail journeys
