Wildfires, Smoke and Jasper
August 9, Best of Canadian Rockies -- The news reports seem dire, to include the evacuation of Jasper, but reading some of the posts it seems the weather is NOT impacting this Tour. Have heard nothing from Tauck. Has anyone heard anything different?
1
Comments
There is an earlier thread on this topic. Navigate to the 'Home' page and select '2024 Wildfires.'
Per the Tauck posting dated July 30, Tauck plans to run the 'Best of the Canadian Rockies' Tour with a new itinerary for those departures in early August. With Jasper being eliminated for obvious reasons, in our opinion the crown jewel of the Tour has been removed. We are seriously considering canceling, but was wondering what our other fellow travelers are thinking?
If you don’t cancel the tour, I guarantee that so many people will have canceled that you will have almost a private tour with just a few people which could be awesome. It’s not as if Jasper is going to be the same for a long time.
For me, it would depend on how truncated the itinerary became and what the Jasper Park Lodge was substituted with.
Does anyone have any updates. We're scheduled on the September 13 tour and were wondering if anyone has gotten any info on what changes were made to this tour.
We are booked on the Best of Canadian Rockies trip leaving Sept. 15th. I called to see if they'd provide me with an idea of the updated itinerary, but they wouldn't share anything yet. I was just told that the trips scheduled for August were staying at the Fairmont Banff (4 nights total) instead of Jasper. I wanted to ensure they were not just "free" days, but that something else would be included and they said they were including extra excursions but until more is finalized they can't share. If anyone has the updated itinerary that excludes Jasper, please share.
We are scheduled for Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park leaving on August 21st. We have not received any updates yet. They said we are supposed to get get information Friday.
We were to leave on Sunday, August 11th. Tauck did not give us an updated itinerary until Thursday afternoon, August 8th. They replaced the days in Jasper and added the extra days in Banff. A boat and a gondola ride were to replace Jasper items. We ended up canceling because we were worried that Tauck did not have the itinerary finalized on our week. We also did not know if it was going to be hazy due to the smoke.
We leave on the trip the 24th. I am a plan ahead girl and I really would like info sooner rather than later so I can schedule other outings. I know it’s thrown Tauck for a loop, but a little more info would be nice.
Tauck modified this trip significantly. We don’t want to spend extra days in Banff and Lake Louise. We did want to see Jasper, but understandably that has been eliminated. I don’t want to see an ash covered glacier from a bus driving by. I’m very disappointed that Tauck did not offer refunds to people on the August 9 departure, considering this is an expensive tour. Having used Tauck several times, this seems to me like a money grab. I am reconsidering using Tauck in the future.
dv: Not clear about this. Are you on the trip now?
Dvpriem, if you took the Tauck insurance, you could have canceled. Tauck often say with this kind of situation that there are some people who would still want to take the tour, even when modified.
Disappointed in Tauck which should've cancelled the Aug. 9 thru 16 "Best of the Canadian Rockies" tour or given us the opportunity to cancel because 1/3 of the trip couldn't take place with Jasper closed. Air quality there is a concern, too. Had insurance and canceled rather than take a costly substandard tour.
Thank you to everyone one who gave updates on what has happened to them and their tours. Very helpful info.... keep it coming. As of today Jasper town residents (only) are being allowed back into town to evaluate their homes, properties and businesses, which has to be heartbreaking for them. The Park itself is still closed, although at least the highway is open, for now. It appears that things are still uncertain, and those who enter the town of Jasper have to be prepared to evacuate on an hours notice. As other have mentioned I too, was concerned about air quality, but .... I just checked and the air quality in Jasper, Banff and Lake Louse is fine. Better than where I live in Northern California LOL
I’m a little confused about this discussion. We have had to ‘change’ tours a couple times and have done so without penalty. On the other hand if you want to ‘cancel’ a tour, rather than change it, you can do so ‘without penalty’ if you have the Tauck insurance, but you ‘use’ your insurance to do that. The experts I trust will correct me if I’ve got that wrong.
I think you are correct SeaLord. The wildfires and now the Mpox stuff in Africa is going to cause a lot of cancelations by customers,
There are going to be many people who want to still take the Canadian tours and that is Tauck’s thinking by not canceling. If it’s your only vacation for the year and you can only go away for a certain time line, you are going to make the best of it and take the tour.
I do hope the people who go will report back on their experiences.
We are going on this trip September 15. I will miss seeing Jasper if that is the case, but I've waited too long to get to the Canadian Rockies. My dad, who used Tauck and traveled the world (Galapagos, St.Petersburg, Europe, etc) said this was the prettiest place he had ever been.
Slitch - Although missing Jasper National Park and the lovely lodge is unfortunate, I agree that the Canadian Rockies are breathtakingly beautiful, as are other regions in Canada. And thank you for your positivity. Since the outbreak of the horrific fires, Tauck took immediate action and was transparent with their information and kept their guests apprised regularly.
I hope you have a glorious tour and please report back with your thoughts. Enjoy.
Doesn't everyone have the option to cancel if they wish? But grateful to Tauck for keeping journey for those who wish to go. In Nov 2023, we were faced with with decision on Egypt and Jordan tour. We went and had the best time, and so happy that Tauck did not cancel.
As for changing the tour, the new itinerary is in the same proximity, so you are getting the Canadian Rockies. Sadly with the devastation in Jasper, it would appear that the new itinerary will probably be in place for a while. There are so many beautiful little towns in that entire area, I would bet that Tauck has found a way to deliver a wonderful journey.
Yes, go while you can; simply put, life too darn short.
Our tour is Best of the Canadian Rockies leaving on September 13th from Calgary. Just got an email that it has not been cancelled. Maybe because it is a small group tour. Instead of 2 nights in Banff and Lake Louise, we will be getting three nights.. We will still be going to the Ice fields in Jasper. We will just be driving back and forth from Lake Louise. Additionally, the category of room, aka room with a view has been changed,. Rooms are the same size, but without as super a view. The letter doesn't say anything about being able to cancel or not, just giving a number to call if we have questions
If you have insurance, it is for any reason, so you can cancel. You will lose the insurance money but I believe be able to put the deposits to another trip.
You can always cancel any trip at any time. What differs is the amount (deposit, % of tour, insurance premium, air fare, etc.) you may or may not lose if you do and if you are canceling for a "covered reason." The amount depends on a number of factors- whether you are canceling a land journey or cruise, how many days prior to or even after the start of the tour you cancel, whether you took the Tauck Guest Protection Program, etc.
This information is summarized in the information at the View Your Documents link in the email with subject, IMPORTANT: Your personal travel documents you received about 60 days prior to your departure. (Many call this the e-green book- some years ago a spiral-bound green and white-covered book with this information was mailed to everyone.) More detailed information can be found on the Tauck website at this link: https://www.tauck.com/guest-travel/travel-protection At the bottom of the page is another link to the full, state-specific policy (the fine print in excruciating detail!)
Jan, I’d be interested in how many people still go on your tour, maybe it will be like a private tour!
Tauck may send you a modest refund after the tour to compensate for losing the room with a view. They do that sometimes when they are unable to deliver on a promised feature of a tour.
British, I will report in after our trip how it went. I did look to see if our tour was sold out . The system says there is limited availability. We got a revised itinerary late last night. I haven't had a chance to see if there are any additional excursions added to the trip yet.