Alaska Railroad - Anchorage Operation Center — Local services in Alaska

The trip was going well at the start of it until dinner time and baggage claim time. First came dinner, it started late, but things do happen in every kitchen and I’m not the kind of person expecting perfection ever. They call the first group of the B car of the ‘GoldStar Service’ (meal is included with this type of ticket. This is the best ticket anyone could buy for the trip) - [seat 18C and 18D of the 5-17-24 afternoon trip]. I noticed right away such first group was taking a very long time (my party of 5 were on the second group) and I immediately thought it was the passengers’ fault, however, shortly after we found out it was actually the kitchen’s fault. By the time the second group was called (our group) we were almost at the end of the trip and everyone was rushing. When I tried to order, the waiter expressed they could only served either a soup and salad or a dish. I was truly shocked since I never understood a soup and a salad was a ‘meal’. So, then we were told shortly after we couldn’t order soup either I was shocked. My guess is the kitchen person coordinating everything has no idea of what he/she is going, or the food was purposely brought short on board. I ended up ordering a Pot Roast and then the waiter said they had no gravy for the mashed potatoes. I just couldn’t believe it, and already upset I just asked her to bring it anyway since the rest of the menu was subpar anyway (only God knows what happened to people that ordered other items, but judging by the faces and conversations around the car people were not happy at all). Several of us in the car called for a manager, and a young kid that came by tried to apologize sincerely, but there was nothing he could do anyway. We specifically told him to make sure he communicated with his superiors that we wanted a refund for the dinner part of the trip and that we were extremely disappointed. He took our information down. When the food finally arrived I was just beside myself, ….. that looked like anything but ‘Pot Roast’. Took 2 bites and had to leave and return to my seat to make sure I didn’t lose my temper. Of course, I didn’t bother trying my desert.

When we finally arrived, then came the circus of claiming our baggage. They had loaded an actual ‘box truck’ with all the luggage at the terminal in Seward, which I thought the intention was to make sure everybody’s luggage was delivered ahead of time and placed in the destination terminal so people could take their bags faster. Boy was I surprised! When we arrived, we found out the truck, even though it was there for God knows how long, they had not even brought the luggage down. I have videos of the whole show. So three or four passengers had to help the driver and I guess his assistant bringing the luggage down from the truck and the passengers themselves had to kind of help each other to make sure everybody got their bags. A total circus. I just couldn’t believe it.

Bottom line, if anyone ever wants to take this trip, they need to know that yes, they will enjoy beautiful views. However, professionalism should not be expected, and quality should not be part of any type of food or other service offered, including wine. Also, if it’s possible, you may want to bring your luggage with you on the train, but if you have no choice, make sure you know the expectations and also tag those luggage pieces really well, so they don’t get confused at the end of the...

3 stars b/c part of experience is excellent and part is awful. Excellent: The cars themselves are wonderful. Ample viewing spaces, good dining areas, spacious enough bathrooms. The guides narrating the experience were good. The route and views cannot be beat; simply breathtaking. Awful: The blatant disregard of luggage handlers right in front of all passengers. They almost seemed to be trying to damage luggage. Literally throwing bags across the concrete when it would've been just as easy to set them. My suitcase was cracked in 3 places. Upon reviewing the booking it says they are not liable for damage of bags so that, combined with comfort of doing this in full view, lets you know that they literally do not care and have no expectations on staff to properly handle luggage. Just because you have an agreement not to be responsible, doesn't mean that you should be ok with that. I'd imagine there is depot footage. Having to replace luggage added $200 to the cost...

We took the Railcar to Denali as part of a Holland America LandCruise. We were supposed to visit Denali and then take the rail car forward to Fairbanks, but the tracks got washed out. That said, the trip to Denali National park was incredible. The Railcar had panoramic view double decked cars which afforded spectacular views in all directions. There was bar and snack service...