BUYER BEWARE
We are currently on an Alaskan Caravan trip with this company, and want to warn others that we are not getting what was promised when we purchased this caravan trip. If I could give ZERO STARS, I would! Seriously, ZERO STARS! We have had one disappointment after another.
We are not getting what we paid for not what was promised. Instead, we are getting free and low-cost museums and visitors centers.
Here are some of the itinerary items that we paid for, that we did not get:
-Radium Hot Springs (we went but had to pay ourselves if we wanted to go in)
-Home of a Thousand Faces (this shouldn't have been a surprise to the caravan company, it burned down in 2021)
-Chateau Lake Louise brunch (we were told to pack our own lunch to bring)
-Miles Canyon
-The Fish Ladder in Whitehorse, Yukon
-Diamond Tooth Gertie's show
-Dawson City and Chicken were bypassed (instead we took a different route and ended up driving the same route in and out of Alaska)
-Top the world Hwy was bypassed
-Ferry boat across the Yukon River
-Dredge tour / gold-panning
-Columbia glacier
-Salmon fishing
-Musk Ox Farm
-Camping on the Spit in Homer, Alaska
-Halibut charter fishing
-Seldovia art village and boat trip there
-Alaska Sea-life Center
-Wild Berry Park movie
-Portage Glacier
-Inland Passage Wildlife cruise in Skagway, Alaska
-Skagway whale watching
-Eldred Rock lighthouse
-White Pass and Yukon Train ride
We were promised a tail gunner- to follow behind the group of caravanners and help with any issues, etc. THERE WAS NO TAIL-GUNNER, instead people experiencing any breakdowns or issues have been left behind to deal with it on their own. This has happened several times thus far.
Most of the campgrounds are sub-standard. We have had multiple nights of primitive camping with no services at all. At some places the sites were so small that we couldn't even open our slides (not if our neighbors wanted to get out their door).
Our so-called professional Wagon Masters are totally unprofessional and left us out in the cold rain at a campground where we did not have a campsite.
The Wagon Master has told the group that they could run their generators when the campground said we could not. They refused to purchase a required Conservation Pass (that is required for every vehicle in the Banff area of Canada) telling us not to worry about it because Canada goes by the honor system so they probably won't check anyway!
We have been asked to carpool to get to locations/activities. On one occasion we were told that we had to have at least four people in every vehicle because they didn't want to pay for a park pass for everyone. As a former insurance agent, and knowing the liability that exposes a person to, I am firmly against that being asked of us.
We have not gotten some of the meals that were promised. And at the restaurants, we were told that we had a $20 limit (including drinks) when there were few options on the menu for $20 or under. Other times we got to the restaurant and found out that we are not allowed to order from the menu, but they give us pizza and salad only.
Each day we emailed and texted the owner of the company asking why we were not getting what we paid for...THE OWNER BLOCKED OUR EMAIL ON DAY EIGHT OF THE CARAVAN! We have never received a single reply from him. Several of the people on this trip will be pursuing legal action. read more