# a couple questions about meals on the canadian



## yarrow (Mar 6, 2012)

a couple questions regarding meals on the canadian. on the via website there is a page listing meals and the cities near where they are served. for example, day 2 out of toronto breakfast is at capreol, luch at foleyet and dinner at hillsport. how approximate is this? some of the breakfast times would be awfully early if they start serving upon leaving some of the listed stations. also, on day 4 heading to vancouver there is a breakfast-brunch listed between edmonton and jasper and the menu lists some breakfast and some lunch items. it isn't that i am worried about getting enough to eat but why just this once on the entire round trip are there two meals instead of three? thanks


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## Swadian Hardcore (Mar 7, 2012)

_I think_ that the stations are just there to offer a glance at what you'll see during that meal. Having both lunch and breakfast items might make the chef's job eashier, but I am not a chef, so I cannot explain that for sure, either.


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## greatcats (Mar 7, 2012)

Don't worry about the meals on the Canadian. I rode it eastbound and it is a leisurely trip The food and service rate high in my book. In my opinion, Amtrak's dining car food is pretty good, but the Canadian's cuisine is a couple of notches above it. As to why they combine breakfast and lunch westbound out of Edmonton I don't know, but there must be a good reason. Enjoy yourself.


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## NS VIA Fan (Mar 7, 2012)

greatcats said:


> As to why they combine breakfast and lunch westbound out of Edmonton I don't know, but there must be a good reason. Enjoy yourself.


On that day, the Canadian is in Jasper from 1 to 2:30 (and will probably be in early) The stopover would straddle lunch time when most people will want to be ready and off the train exploring that mountain park town so VIA gives you a choice of heaving a late breakfast "Brunch" with lunch items included. Some people complain they are missing a meal but on my last trip, I liked the option of the mid-morning brunch then a chance to sample something local while wandering around town during the stop. That evening, there will be another great meal in the diner...... and believe me......on the Canadian, you are more than adequately fed!

Besides, there is always fruit, muffins, pastries, coffee, tea etc set out in the Park Car to just help yourself and in the late afternoon there will be champagne and hors d'oeuvres .


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## pennyk (Mar 7, 2012)

When I was on the Canadian in December, we were running 8-10 hours late due to a freight derailment. Even though we did not get into Jasper until after 10pm, we still maintained the same meal schedule. I had more than enough to eat the day there was only 2 meals. (In fact, I am still trying to take off the 4 pounds that I gained on my trip.  )


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## yarrow (Mar 7, 2012)

pennyk said:


> When I was on the Canadian in December, we were running 8-10 hours late due to a freight derailment. Even though we did not get into Jasper until after 10pm, we still maintained the same meal schedule. I had more than enough to eat the day there was only 2 meals. (In fact, I am still trying to take off the 4 pounds that I gained on my trip.  )


off topic, but what time did you get to vancouver? most of us have found amtrak to be variable in its response to and compensation for very late trains. i wonder how via handles the situation?


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## NS VIA Fan (Mar 8, 2012)

yarrow said:


> pennyk said:
> 
> 
> > When I was on the Canadian in December, we were running 8-10 hours late due to a freight derailment......
> ...


I believe pennyk's train was late due to a freight derailment but I'm sure she'll reply with details and her experience with the compensation she was offered.

But anyway…..VIA provides a chart on their web page showing the Travel Credit that will be offered on how late a train is. And it's automatic too, everyone gets it…..no need to obtain a voucher, just keep you ticket receipt and apply it to your next trip (late train info is stored in the system).

http://www.viarail.c...n-travel-credit 

 

For example, on a 12 hour late Canadian you will be entitled to a 100% credit of the rail fare portion of your ticket but not the accommodation charge. (Only reasonable……your get to occupy your sleeper longer and are provided with all additional meals.

 

But the compensation does very by incident. On an Ocean trip a few years ago where we had to be bused around a derailment in the middle of the night…….it was 50% credit on the rail fare plus 100% of the accommodation charge due to the inconvenience of transfering at night.


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## yarrow (Mar 8, 2012)

NS VIA Fan said:


> yarrow said:
> 
> 
> > pennyk said:
> ...


very interesting chart and policy. i don't know if i totally agree with it but at least it is public and above board. thanks. only a little over 3 weeks until our trip. very excited about it


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## pennyk (Mar 8, 2012)

yarrow said:


> off topic, but what time did you get to vancouver? most of us have found amtrak to be variable in its response to and compensation for very late trains. i wonder how via handles the situation?


I do not remember exactly when we arrived in Vancouver, but we ended up about 7 to 8 hours late. I had about 30 minutes to wait before boarding the Cascades to Seattle.

From what I understand, everyone on the train will receive a credit towards our next trip of 50% the amount we paid for that trip, if our next trip is taken within one year of the trip where we were late. I am seriously considering taking the trip again this fall if I can get an express deal (and use my credit).

On the positive side of being seriously late, we got to see scenery that normally is not visible because of darkness. There was a man on my train who had taken the Canadian 19 times and had never seen the Canyon that we saw the morning of the last day.


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## manderson (Mar 13, 2012)

I just got off the Canadian in Vancouver yesterday. Meals are based on time of day, not city. If the train is late at a city with a long service stop, mealtime is adjusted slightly because they know that people are off the train and walking around. For the brunch on the third day, they also had a continental breakfast set up in the lounge, so you could breakfast lightly in the lounge early, then go in later and have brunch in the dining car. I think last call was around 11:00.

We were as late as three hours at times, including on the third evening, but made it into Vancouver on time.

One thing I noticed that I don't think I've seen mentioned on this board -- Most people did not tip at each individual meal. I'm assuming that they tipped just once for each of the two dining crews.

I don't think I can add anything else to what's already been described on this board about the Canadian. Scenery, comfort, crew and food are all spectacular. Add a very congenial group of fellow passengers, and it made for a highly memorable trip.


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## pennyk (Mar 13, 2012)

manderson said:


> I just got off the Canadian in Vancouver yesterday. Meals are based on time of day, not city. If the train is late at a city with a long service stop, mealtime is adjusted slightly because they know that people are off the train and walking around. For the brunch on the third day, they also had a continental breakfast set up in the lounge, so you could breakfast lightly in the lounge early, then go in later and have brunch in the dining car. I think last call was around 11:00.
> 
> We were as late as three hours at times, including on the third evening, but made it into Vancouver on time.
> 
> ...


Maryanne, I am happy that you had a great time.  I noticed the same thing about tipping. I was under the impression that "Canadians" don't tip, but then someone (possibly AlanB) mentioned that they probably tip dining car staff at the end of each "shift" as they would the sleeping car attendants.


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 13, 2012)

As a rule, Canadians are much more like us than other Countries! Most Europeans find Tipping Foriegn to them since Cover Charges/Tips are usually included in the Bills there! Lots of my Friends that Work in the Hospitality/Travel Industry have told me that Germans and the Wealthy  are the Worst Tippers, that most Americans usually are Pretty Good Tippers!!


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