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Planning a rail trip from Seattle to NYC for March, 2001. Just wife and I, we are retired seniors. Would we be better off going First Class or buying our meals seperately. Have no idea of the cost of Dining car meals. Any help and advice will be appreciated. Posts: 1 | From: Auburn, Wa. USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Thats a tiring trip, you'd be better off getting a compartment so that you don't have to sleep in coach. The meals are almost too filling but you can always order less. The Cascades are pretty, once you leave Chicago the scenery is pretty tame and I'll bet you find a difference in service. Still and all a nice trip and hope you enjoy it.
------------------ Gin
[This message has been edited by gin (edited 11-27-2000).]
Posts: 4 | From: Grahamsville, NY USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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You definitely want to get a sleeping car room. Meals are included with these. A deluxe bedroom is very nice, but pricey, and has private toilet and shower. Economy rooms have the bathroom down the hall, and are quite tight for two people. One option if you don't want to spend the $ for the deluxe room is a "family bedroom", which has two fullsize bunks and two short ones for kids. You should check out the fare for this vs. the deluxe room. Bathroom is still down the hall for the family room, though.
Posts: 614 | From: Merchantville, NJ. USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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I would suggest a room at least from Seattle to Chicago as this is a 2 night trip. There are only one family bedroom per sleeping car so these need to be booked well in advance. Compare the price for all three room options & weigh the benefits compared to the cost. I would opt for a standard room from Chicago to New York on the Lake Shore Limited as the Viewliner standard rooms are more spacious & have a second row of windows for the upper bunk. The scenery on the Lake Shore Ltd. is marvelous from Buffalo to Albany & the trip down the Hudson River is great too. Have a great trip & E-Mail me if you have any questions. Yours Reggie
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Edwin, we made most of that trip this past July (Seattle thorugh to Albany). We had a Delux and Standard room on the Empire Builder and 2 Std rooms on the Lake Shore (2 adults and 2 kids, ages 11 & 9.)
I would recommend getting some sort of sleeper accomodations for that trip. In addition to the 'free' meals, you get a nice quiet place to hang out during the day.
As for the difference between the Delux and Standard rooms on the Superliner - Both have upper and lower beds, but the Delux room has a ladder for access to the upper bunk. In the Standard room you have to climb up on steps and shelves. The lower bunk in the Delux room is larger than the other beds and can fit two people...
In the Delux rooms you have a great view out one side of the train and if you leave your door open, a pretty good view out the other (through the hall.) In a Standard room, your view out the other side of the train is through another room, so unless the occupants have all their curtains open, you have no view out that side.
I think you'll find either type of room comfortable, but depending on how agile you (or your wife) are, climbing to the upper bunk in the Standard might be a challenge.
The upper bunk in the Viewliners is accessed by stepping on the toilet seat cover and a shelf, pretty much the same as the Superliner Standard room.
The Family room is roughly the cost of two Standard rooms, and probably 1.5 times the cost of the Delux room. (We had one on the Coast Starlight, LA-SEA.) You do get a view out both sides, but the windows are smaller, so it's not as scenic.
For both of these trips, try to get a room on the north side of the train.
Are you planning a day off in Chicago? There is a 3 hour window between trains (4pm-7pm), so if the EB is late, you'll probably be bussed to meet the outbound train. If that doesn't bother you, plan a day off in Chicago and don't worry about a late arrival (that's what we did.)
Finally, the rough cost of meals in the Dining car are in the range of $5-8/breakfast, $8-12/lunch, $10-18/dinner.
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If you are going to New York City from Chicago via either the Lake Shore Limited or the Three Rivers, the best scenery is on the SOUTH side of these trains, not the North. For the Lake Shore, a room on the South side affords an unobstructed view of the Hudson River; for the Three Rivers, the unobstructed view is Horse Shoe curve.
Posts: 62 | Registered: Jul 2000
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just a note on Dave's cost figures for the accomodations. The deluxe room is about twice the cost of the standard room. The family room is about one and a half times the standard room & on some routes a little more than that. I've noticed the charge for the family room is going up faster than the other rooms. There will be a price change this month on all routes & strange as it may seem there will be some prices going down. Yours Reggie
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I personally think that for traveling from Chicago to New York, the Three Rivers is a much better option than the Lake Shore Limited: friendlier service, better on-time record with approximately the same scheduled time, in general less crowded, and MUCH better scenery! The "Late Shore Limited" only gets scenic on the very last leg of the trip from Albany south to NYC, while most of your waking hours on the Three Rivers will be spent in beautiful Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountain country, including the famous Horsheshoe Curve mentioned by MLC, near Altoona, PA. The L. S. L. is just boring, I think.
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If you do chosse the Three Rivers, be forewarned that the train has no dining car. If you don't bring your own food, you will be forced to eat the tasteless microwaved "food" from the snack-car.
Posts: 62 | Registered: Jul 2000
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