DAY 1 on the DIAMOND PRINCESS

I yesterday summarized the two cruise segments of our recent 50-day trip, and half those days were in Canada, mostly on VIA Rail Canada and Rocky Mountaineer trains, both with no WiFi.  Somehow, I think I only missed a couple of days of posts.  And some amazing good news.  The SJourney train trip we are taking from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi at the end of the year does have WiFi.

Interestingly enough, during this current travel period, my original blog site, which had been averaging 500 visits/day for the first 15 years, jumped to 25,000/day.  For reasons I can't explain, this surge began from the American Melody cruise, Memphis to New Orleans, and continued on through Canada.

This Canadian train trip changed my mind about trains.

• Turns out that the only time I slept overnight on a train was on VIA Rail Canada, a four-day ride in December of 2017 from Vancouver to Toronto.
• Passengers were peeved because we arrive half a day late.  Why?

What happened about a year ago is that "Americans" got majority ownership over CN (Bill Gates owns the most shares), the Canadian train freight company.  Both were once government entities.  However, the freight portion was privatized, and, incredibly enough, negotiated priority over passenger service.  In other words, if a freight train wants to use any common railway, passenger trains will need to wait.  There have been delays of almost a day just between Vancouver and Edmonton.  That's not even halfway to Toronto.

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  This condition has continued to today, and there were interminable delays.  However, our train arrived into Vancouver about on time.  I asked Google AI though if a fair and equitable system been worked out between Gates' company and the government-owned passenger train company.

As of May 2026, Via Rail Canada and Canadian National Railway (CN) have not worked out a mutually agreed, "fair" system for rail use priority, with significant, ongoing disputes continuing to impact passenger service.[1, 2]

Key findings as of 2026:

• Persistent Delays: VIA Rail's on-time performance dropped to 33% in the third quarter of 2025 and continued to struggle into 2026, largely due to CN-owned track infrastructure.
• Legal Action: VIA Rail has taken legal action against CN, seeking a judicial review of speed restrictions CN imposed on new Siemens Venture trains, which VIA argues are crippling performance.
• Safety vs. Priority: CN maintains that these speed restrictions and priority decisions are based on safety concerns regarding the new trains' axle counts and their ability to trigger track circuits.
• Negotiation Stalemate: The Train Service Agreement (TSA) between the two parties expired in 2018, and negotiations for a new, "fairer" agreement have been slow and contentious.
• Legislative Efforts: Due to the impasse, advocacy groups and some politicians are pushing for changes to the Canada Transportation Act that would formalize passenger train priority. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]

In summary, the relationship remains adversarial in terms of track access, with VIA stating that continued negotiations are failing. [1]

Unless you are like us, no special concern about train delays, watch out!

Before I begin writing about our recent train trip, here are a couple of interesting tidbits about the one I took nine years ago.

• I did not realize it when we got on board the VIA train in Toronto, but I got essentially the same type of room.  I did not at that  time feel the space was minimal and uncomfortable.
• One still sits at a table of four for meals.  A couple met was so interesting that I here repeat what I said on 12December 2017.

There are tables for four only, and you get sat according to when you come in to fill the next one.  You meet all kinds of people.  For example, one retired couple, both in their 50's, I think, sold their home in Tasmania, and has been using an internet source to place them in residencies where they pay nothing to take care of the place.  They bought around world fares and find a way to do this.  They are on to Minnesota, where they plan to somehow get to see the Super Bowl, and said they bought tickets (paid $390) for an Eagles concert somewhere.  They don't return to Australia until July.  One more thing, they bought shares in a keg with some friends from a Tasmanian whiskey company some years ago, and in 2014, Sullivans Cove was selected as the World's Best Single Malt Whiskey.  They pick up their 42 bottles next year.  The company was only formed in 1995, and they are friends with the owner.

Well, now, about our train trip.

• If you can, I recommend a stay at the Fairmont Royal York, located across the street from where VIA Rail Canada (VRC) leaves Toronto.  Gold Level if you feel like splurging.
• Star Alliance allows my suitcase to weigh up to 70 pounds.  VRC has a 50 pound limit.  It was a royal pain to accommodate that requirement.  The company stores the large baggage and only allows limited carry-ons.
• The company widely advertises a $328 cost for this 3-day ride.
• That price is promotional, and you need to book very early.  Easily goes up to $424 and $531can be reached.
• You get a comfortable semi-reclining seat with large legroom and access to the Skyline car for panoramic views.
• Meals not included, but can be purchased from the snack car.
• The Sleeper Plus Class costs from $1500 to $3000 depending on size of room, all meals in the dining car, and access to the Panoramic Dome Car.  This is the class I have now twice traveled.  
• There is also a Prestige Class, costing several thousand dollars/person, with ensuite washroom/shower, etc.

So we finally get to our room, and I feel minimized.  The previous time I had this space all to myself.  The breakfast, lunch and dinner are adequate, but not much more.  Beer and wine comes with lunch and dinner.  

Spent most my time just looking outside the window.  Snowy terrain, no fur critters.  Lots of mountains, snow topped.

Not much else to do.  There was a wine or beer tasting each day.  Three drinks in one hour.  Small snacks.  Won a bingo card.  Bar of candy award.

Had breakfast once with Santa Claus.

Saw a lot of burnt trees from the 2024 Jasper wildfire, which caused about a billion dollars in damage.

Sunset in the domed car.

Arrival in Jasper meant that a tour company handled our group to Lake Louise and to the next train.  Onde stop was Athabasca Fall.

A highlight was a visit to the Athabasca Glacier.

Walked on the glacier.

Snow plus glacier, which is so blue because centuries of compression forced out air bubbles, allowing it to better absorb red light and scatter blue light.

Saw mountain goats.  They were lapping salt from the road.

Lake Louise was a wonderful stay, at the Fairmont.  

View of Lake Louise from our room at night and the next morning.

Now on to Banff, a neat boutique town.  The Banff Gondola took us to the top of the mountain.

At the top, we saw several bighorn sheep and a tall blue bear.

Then on to Emerald Lake.

It was May 5, so we had a Mexican Cinco de Mayo lunch in Banff.

From Banff, we caught the Rocky Mountaineer.  I asked Google AI to compare VIA Rail Canada with the Rocky Mountaineer:

VIA Rail Canada and Rocky Mountaineer offer distinctly different Canadian train experiences: VIA Rail is a year-round, budget-friendly, traditional passenger service with sleeper cabins, while the Rocky Mountaineer is a seasonal (April–October) luxury, daylight-only sightseeing train with glass-dome coaches and hotel stays. [1, 2, 3]

Key Differences at a Glance

• Experience & Focus:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: A luxury "gastro-excursion" focused on scenery and comfort, with onboard stewards and commentary.
  • VIA Rail: Functional transportation that also offers a scenic, nostalgic sleeper experience, operating like Amtrak in the U.S..
• Overnight Accommodation:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: Trains do not run at night; guests stay in partner hotels in towns like Kamloops, ensuring no scenery is missed.
  • VIA Rail: Guests sleep in berths, private cabins, or Prestige class cabins on the train, continuing the journey through the night.
• Dining & Service:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: Gourmet meals (GoldLeaf) or meals served at your seat (SilverLeaf) with complimentary alcoholic beverages and snacks.
  • VIA Rail: Dining car service is included for Sleeper Plus and Prestige passengers, with more casual food options for economy passengers.

• Operating Season & Schedule:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: Seasonal only (mid-April to mid-October).
  • VIA Rail: Year-round, providing a "winter wonderland" view in colder months.
• Cost:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: High-end, expensive luxury vacation (e.g., thousands of dollars).
  • VIA Rail: Generally more affordable, with options ranging from economy seats to high-end sleeper cabins.
• Routes:
  • Rocky Mountaineer: Focuses exclusively on routes through the Rockies and Western Canada (e.g., Vancouver to Banff, Jasper, or Lake Louise).
  • VIA Rail: Offers the "Canadian" route from Vancouver to Toronto, as well as many other routes throughout Canada (e.g., to Halifax, Churchill). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Which one should you choose?

• Choose Rocky Mountaineer if you want a luxury, all-inclusive, daylight-only sightseeing trip with excellent dining and comfort.
• Choose VIA Rail if you want a classic sleeper-train experience, are on a tighter budget, or want to travel in winter. [1, 2, 3]

The Rocky Mountaineer is a private company, while VIA Rail Canada is part of the national government.  The personnel of the Rocky Mountaineer is far superior, and their planning is awesome.  Our baggage went in three directions, and ended up in our hands at the end.  Amazing.

So anyway, we spent the day seeing more snow and spent the night in Kamloops.

We left our Banff hotel at 7:15AM when the temperature was 42F.  The train departed at around 8AM, went west, and arrived in Kamloops at 7:15PM  We exited the train with heavy overcoats, and were shocked to find that the temperature was just around 80F.  I provide these details because, we have been freezing from a month ago when our Viking cruise from Manhattan to Toronto experienced sub-zero temperatures.  We have seen snow during this whole period and just about all day today.  Until we got off the train to be stunned by the warmth.  We leave around 7AM tomorrow morning when the temperature will be just under 50F, which will later in the day rise to 80 F.

Two videos of a lunch announcement and lunch.

Then a view of the Fraser River.

Very much enjoyed the Rocky Mountaineer.  We were then sent to the Blue Horizon hotel, with a tour of Vancouver the next day.  Here is one of seven videos from my posting of May 9.

My final posting was O Canada.  Sing along to O Canada.

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