posted
I booked a trip on the EB from Seattle to Chicago in September. Heading back from a summer out west to Florida.
My plans are flexible. I picked a tentative travel day and looked at fares. Lots of $1274 for deluxe bedroom plus $134 rail fare. Going forward and back I found one $815. I called and booked it!
I asked if this was a good fare and was told the best is $419.00. That is a great fare and would have been available if I had booked even earlier. I should have done it earlier as I have known my plans for a year now.
Book early!
Ray
Posts: 70 | From: West Palm Beach, Fl. USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I'd be surprised if a Seattle-Chicago bedroom went for $419. I think that's probably a roomette price, and not a bad one at that. I think you did well getting $815 for the bedroom.
posted
I am going on the EB from Chicago to Seattle in late May. I booked this trip in a roomette last fall for around $704. I went on-line and saw for some reason the price dropped to like $600.
I was shocked because I thought prices on sleepers only went up with the "bucket" system.
(the agent wouldn't say why the price went down, but said they were NOT adding a sleeper, which would have been my guess to the price drop)
Anyhow, I got the cheaper fare and a $104 voucher (the difference) to use for a future trip. (I am planning a Chicago-Yuma ride on 421 in January 2007)
I guess the moral of the story is to check back even after you book a trip because the price could go down and you could end up getting money back.
The price was actually cheaper now (April) a month before the trip than it was months in advance!
Go figure!
Posts: 100 | From: Milwaukee, WI | Registered: Feb 2006
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Well I booked and paid for the trip last July, but the TOTAL accomodation supplement for my forthcoming Washington - Chicago in roomette, Chicago - Portland in a bedroom and Portland - San Luis Obispo was just $588...not bad!
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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For a date this coming December, the internet showed $559 for a bedroom and $565 for a roomette on the Southwest Chief L.A. to Chicago (rates do not include rail fare). I immediately booked it and the rate for a bedroom went to $1080. Why a roomette should be more expensive than a bedroom for that one day is a great mystery.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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Curiouser and curiouser. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago we were all talking about how high fares had become, and that booking early didn't matter anymore?
I did indeed find many bargains if you book ahead to December. I checked the Starlight, and while I didn't see anything as dramatic as the one quoted for the Builder, there were some good deals to be had.
And I also discovered this anomoly. For my favorite stip on the Starlight, Salinas to Salem, I got different rates for different directions, both on December 10. -SLM-SNS $168 roomette or $392 bedroom -SNS-SLM $129 roomette or $298 bedroom
The $298 bedroom rate is only slightly more than what I've paid for roomettes on some trips.
Contrast that with a random date in May (11th): $206 roomette or $485 bedroom, which is more typical. Looks like they've gone back to something more like their original fare structure.
But any way you slice it, $419 for SEA-CHI in a bedroom is a steal.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
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I m planning a December trip on the Empire Builder and I also came up with a very reasonable $190 for a roomette. Just out of curiousity I checked the other long distance trains for the day I wanted to go (Dec 9) and the prices from Chicago...$190 on the EB to Seattle or Portland, $273 on the SW Chief to LA, $392 on the Texas Eagle to LA and $500 on the Zephyr to Emeryville. Also the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to LA was $369. Thses are all for the roomettes, rail fare additional.
Interesting that the best train on the system, the Empire Builder is the least expensive.
Posts: 176 | From: Bloomsburg Pa | Registered: Jul 2000
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Their fare structure for sleepers is definetly getting more interesting.
For my mom's 65th birthday, I am planning a trip from Chicago to Yuma on "The Texas Eagle" in January 2007. It will be a fun trip and you get three nights in your room (the longest trip I think still left after the SL got trunkated)
Anyhow, apparently for the date I wanted to come back on 422 between Yuma and Chicago, they price ONE roomette at $239, ONE at $392, and the rest at $448.
Crazy.
I am guessing that's because there is only one thru sleeper between Yuma and Chicago past San Antonio.
Posts: 100 | From: Milwaukee, WI | Registered: Feb 2006
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Oh well, Mr. Tabern, enjoy your ride next January on the 3:10 to Yuma (well, give or take ten minutes) .
BTW, you have a nice blogsite; much more professionally designed than many such.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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