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On a trip I took last weekend on the Coast Starlight, coach passengers were invited to the wine tasting and one hour in the Parlour Car for a $10 fee. Is this new? In the past, the Parlour Car was reserved only for sleeping car passengers. Why and when did they change this policy?
I was travelling coach on this last trip, and did not choose to attend the wine tasting festivities. Spending $10 for the Parlour Car just didn't make sense compared to the tattoo, body-piercing, and psychedelic hair dye show I was getting for free in coach. But on previous trips, there often are barely enough seats in the Parlour Car to accomodate sleeping car passengers. How are they managing to handle the extras from coach?
posted
Rode the CS OKJ to SEA on 8/28 & returned on 9/8. No such offers were made to coach passengers. I don't think $10. would be a wise investment to be "allowed" one hour in the parlor car. Actually, on the return trip they were short a parlor car so they replaced it with an additional lounge car.
Posts: 218 | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
CK, I rode Chico to Portland on 9/5, and Portland to Chico 9/6. Because of this overnight return, the same crew worked both trains. I'm wondering if this $10 Parlour Car offer was something only this particular crew was doing, or was just a test, or is just being done on occassions when sleeper vacancies are high.
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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I dont think that thats normal, To get to the Parlor car you have to go thru the sleeping cars....They woul dnever allow coach passengers in..its way to crowded, Someone said they replaced the Parlor Car with another Sightseer Lounge...... What a rip....
Anton L. pillsbury09@excite.com
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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I think letting coach passengers in the Parlour car for an additional charge is a real insult to the sleeper passengers. They have paid the extra fare to stay away from the "tattoos and body piercing". I hope this is not a new policy.
In my opinion, the best part about travelling in sleeper is that you are surrounded by a much higher quality group of people than the average coach passengers. Amtrak, please do not let the coach pasenger into the Pacific Parlour Car!
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CoastStarlight99, coach passengers would not have to go through the sleeping cars to get to the Parlour Car. But they would have to traipse through the Diner, which would be somewhat disruptive to the crew trying to prepare for dinner.
As for your request for more information about pierced body parts I observed in coach, I would rather not go into any further detail. After all, this is a family-rated forum. Let's just say I saw rings, chains, and bobbles attached and dangling from every imaginable, and some heretofore unimaginable, area of the epidermis.
Now, I'm certainly not trying to imply everyone in coach was trashy low-lifes. After all, I was there, and all but my wife and closest friends think I'm normal. The vast majority were just normal, everyday people with satisfactory grooming and hygiene habits. But there was enough of the other types to convince me that Jerry Springer should give some consideration to recruiting guests for his show in Amtrak coach.
[This message has been edited by zephyr (edited 09-15-2003).]
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what you observe is the result of Amtrak's low fare policy. Check out some of the pricing on "rail sale" at Amtrak's web site. Cheaper then Greyhound by a long shot.
Posts: 181 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Five Amtrak conductors have been busted recently for pocketing over $100,000 in cash fares paid on board trains. The crew members were based at Albany, NY. Maybe this event on the CS was an over the road sort of promotion along the same lines.
Posts: 284 | From: Ithaca, NY USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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You are not alone with that thought, Mr. Sommer.
When I recently learned from reviewing postings at another board regarding a highly questionable on-board transaction regarding sleeper space, I gave private contacts within Amtrak a "heads up".
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Hopefully it was an isolated incident. I am a big fan of the parlor car. I think it provides the best environment to relax and meet people. My return train from OAK - LAX had a substitute lounge car. The experience was not the same without the parlor car.
Posts: 32 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Sep 2003
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Most Amtrak employees I've met have been really great. There was one more big dollar theft recently on the Empire Builder I believe. I was told by another fan that in general employees are bonded so things work out. I guess it's like those addictive potato chips. Once you dabble it's hard to stop.
Posts: 284 | From: Ithaca, NY USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by paulr: My return train from OAK - LAX had a substitute lounge car. The experience was not the same without the parlor car.
I had a similar experience in March. The Sightseer Lounge turns people away from each other. The Parlor Car puts people face to face. Makes a big difference. So does the quality of the upholstery.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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Mr. Toy - you are right about the Sightseer Lounge "turning people away from each other," but the Sightseer Lounge is much better for viewing scenery than the Parlour Car, especialy if you are shy like me and don't talk to a lot of people on the train. But don't get me wrong -- I do enjoy sitting in the Parlour Car on the CS.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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To update the $10 Parlour Car admittance fee for coach passengers, they did not have it on my trip last week on the Starlight.
I rode coach Chico to Portland on 10/24, and no announcement was made about the $10 deal. On my return on 11/1, I had a sleeper. I asked the Parlour Car attendant about it. He said that allowing coach passengers access to the Parlour Car is an experiment to increase that unit's revenue to help justify keeping it on the Coast Starlight. He said it was only being done on days when sleeper occupancy was very low, and not always then. I got the impression he was not very happy with the concept, but accepted it if it helped justify keeping this car on the train.
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