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I'm thinking on traveling on the amtrak crescent soon and I have many questions. I have never been on Amtrak before.
1.Are the Standard bedrooms on the viewliner really cramped and should I pay extra for the Deluex. 2.Are the beds comfortable? 3. Is it bad not having an enclosed toliet on a standard bedroom 4.where can you get the cheapest rail tickets? 5. Does anyone have photos of the inside of an amfleet lounge? 6.Does anyone have a photo of the beds down in a viewliner bedroom.
If you can answer any of these questions it would be greatly appreciated
The Chief Member # 2172
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new, my "View"...
+Viewliner Standard BR was fine for two; +Beds are comfortable; +It's a short trip down the hall, no problem, but it's called a Deluxe for a reason; +Check Amtrak.com and its promotions for your tickets; there are some good deals now;
+Use the Search box on the first TrainWeb.com page for your photos, it will be good experience, I'm not your mom!
- - - - The Chief
[This message has been edited by The Chief (edited 03-21-2003).]
dilly Member # 1427
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Think of Viewliner standard rooms as "cozy," especially if you'll be traveling alone.
At night, the upper and lower bunks are about the width of a single bed. They're perfectly comfortable. By day, the upper bunk ascends into the car ceiling, while the lower bunk converts into two comfortable facing seats with a fold-down table in between.
Yes, it feels weird to have the toilet and sink in the room. Personally, I'd rather have my facilities "down the hall," as they are in Superliners.
On the other hand, if you suddenly get the urge in the middle of the night, having all that plumbing at arm's length will be a godsend.
The tissue-thin curtains are my only serious complaint. They're much cheesier than those used in Superliners, which makes them fairly useless even when fully closed. After dark, whenever your train passes a large town, stops at a station, or rumbles through a brightly-lit railyard, your room will light up like a night game at Yankee Stadium.
As for whether you should go for a deluxe room instead. . . that depends on your budget. But a trip on any Amtrak train is definitely worth the ride, especially if you go by sleeper.
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 03-21-2003).]
daisybumble Member # 855
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I think the Viewliner beds are more comfortable than the Superliner, especially the older (not yet rennovated) cars. The upper bunk has more height, and its own window. Space-wise, I guess it would depend on the preference of you and whoever you're travelling with. I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I was just fine in the standard room. It's very well laid-out, with everything you need at an arm's length. A deluxe would be nice, but I can't justify the extra cost. It is a pain to have to wait in the hall while you roommate uses the toilet, but it's something I can live with. To find good rates, play around with the Amtrak reservations site. Check out special promotions often; plug in those codes and compare prices versus any other discount you can get (such as AAA). I've found that sometimes Amtrak's promotions beat the AAA rate. The community can correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression that rail fares are not as arbitrary as air fares; that is, the prices don't change as often and differ as greatly for passengers on the same trip. Do any of the online travel discounters even deal with rail? I don't have any pix of an Amfleet lounge, but I can describe it. Half of the car has booths on either side of the aisle that can each seat four people. In the middle of the car is a snack bar area. Beyond that is a glassed-in smoking room. The corridor bends around it so you can walk past it and go to the next car.
royaltrain Member # 622
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For two, if you can afford it, definitely go for the deluxe. I have travelled in both standard and deluxe in Viewliners, and standard is fine for one traveller especially on a short overnight trip such as Buffalo-Chicago, but for two they would be horribly cramped. For long trips I always take a deluxe, as the extra room and the enclosed toilet compartment/shower are very convenient. I also prefer the Viewliners over the superliners as I think they are more comfortable.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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To Daisy B - concerning the Amfleet Lounge you described, on my trip last summer, the only train I had that style of lounge on was the Silver Meteor from Winter Park to Philadelphia -- those newer lounge cars, in addition to the glassed-in smoking area, also have plugs at each table in the lounge, which I enjoyed very much being able to plug in my camcorder in the lounge and saving rechargeable battery power. On the other Viewliner trains I rode, they had the "old-style" Amfleet lounge cars, which do not have the glassed-in smoking area, but have a "smoking section" in one half of the lounge car, which consists of smaller tables that seat 1, 2, or 3 people.
Are the newer lounges with the glassed-in smoking areas the standard now on Viewliner trains? --Rich K
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