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What is AMTRAK's policy about upgrading onboard from tickets purchased from a Rail Sale promotion? Can you upgrade to a Sleeper and if so, what can one expect to pay per diem say, on the Sunset Limited?
JFB Member # 2520
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Upgrades are possible with any type of ticket. You will not be charged extra for transportation. What you will pay for the sleeper depends on demand for that trip. Conductors are authorized to provide discounts on rooms if they are certain to be unused otherwise, but are discouraged from doing so until the last minute (i.e.: 10pm, no bookings, and no one else has asked). Be prepared to pay the full room rate--you won't be charged any more than that. At worst, you'll have saved substantially on your ticket.
Be warned that sleepers tend to sell-out in all seasons, especially on western trains. It’s likely that there will be no rooms to upgrade to. Unfortunately, you can't reserve a room with a Rail Sale ticket, so in your case, it'll be luck-of-the-draw. Consider it the same as flying standby. If you think you'll be irredeemably disappointed sitting in coach, best pay full fare and reserve a room.
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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The Rail Sale price was way, way too good to pass up. I've travelled Coach before on overnights on the Capital Limited, but never for more than just 1 overnight at a time. I am wondering how it be will be on a cross-country trip? Can you upgrade to a Sleeper (if it is available) for just 1 night of a cross country trip?
JFB Member # 2520
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Sure. In fact, you will find it far easier to do a one-night upgrade than you will getting a room for the entire trip. Cheaper, too. If you're flexible about which night you upgrade, you may be able to get a room that was vacated somewhere mid-route, and has no bookings for the rest of the trip. You're more likely to get a discount in that case. Just be sure to make your intentions known to the conductor when you board.
How comfortable you'll be in coach for 2 or 3 nights is impossible to determine without first trying. Obviously, people do it all the time (or thrice weekly in the Sunset's case), and are perfectly comfortable. I suspect that if you had no problems with your coach trip on the Capitol, you'll be fine on the Sunset--bearing through the first night means acclimation for the second and third. And if that doesn't happen, you'll have all that extra money in your pocket to make yourself feel better.
[This message has been edited by JFB (edited 12-18-2003).]
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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I was curious too why the Sunset Limited only runs 3 times a week, when other long distance trains like the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, and SW Chief run daily.
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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My experiences with onboard upgrades have not been good. I think there is opportunity here for Amtrak to improve.
Most conductors I have dealt with acted like they just did not want to deal with it. I have had to ask them several times and start all over when the crew changed. I often get some bogus response. The latest one (last month) was: "They shut off our phone service because Amtrak didn't pay their phone bill, so you have to get off at ABQ and buy it at the ticket counter." Huh? They need a phone?
At the ticket counter, they charged me almost twice what I saw on the website the day before I left. The room they sold me turned out to be already occupied, so the attendant put me in a room still full of garbage, and I never saw him til the next am (I still tipped him though!)
It used to be you would get something like a 20% discount purchasing vacant bedrooms onboard. Several years ago I experienced conductors walking the train offering bedroom space at a discount.
Now, wouldn't it make sense to sell vacant bedroom space at a discount to increase revenue? And shouldn't conductors be aware if there is vacant first class space available, so I do not have to wait hours to get an answer?
I would be interested to hear if anyone else out there has had similar experiences.
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Good to hear an "onboard upgrade" success story.
But you say that you paid cash? And all you were given was a standard seat check as a "receipt?"
I'd say the chances are pretty good that your $58 never reached Amtrak's head office, and disappeared into the conductor's own pocket instead.
Amtrak288 Member # 1967
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quote: The latest one (last month) was: "They shut off our phone service because Amtrak didn't pay their phone bill, so you have to get off at ABQ and buy it at the ticket counter." Huh? They need a phone?
OK that is WAY TOO FUNNY! Amtrak Conductors don't need a phone to upgrade a ticket onboard, as far as I know, all they need is an updated Manifest to ensure that the space in question wasn't sold already.
And to answer Dilly's question, I was thinking the same thing about what happened to the cash I paid for the room. I was too tired to haggle over the price at that point since I had spent the previous night either sitting in my hotel room then trying to "sleep" in a Superliner Coach with my scanner on all night so I really didn't get that deep of a sleep to begin with. I had also spent the next day sightseeing in Washington so I was super tired and needed a BED and quickly, to avert a "system shutdown", or how should I say it, TO AVOID JUST PASSING OUT DUE TO SEVERE LACK OF SLEEP! ha ha ha!!!
[This message has been edited by Amtrak288 (edited 12-19-2003).]
JFB Member # 2520
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The phone argument rings true. Rooms can be booked at any point on a train's route, any time before arrival. The conductor's manifest is only current to the minute it was printed. Without a telephone, he has no way of ensuring that a last-minute booking wasn't made, and he can't notify the reservation system that the room is occupied.
Had he sold the room, he would've risked bumping someone else--who had paid full fare and reserved prior to boarding. Could he have checked at the next stop? Probably. But with everything else he has to do, that could be asking alot.
On-board upgrades are not guaranteed--space or no space. It can be a nice way to save money, but if you really want a room, book it before you get on the train.
rmiller Member # 341
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some tickets are not upgradeable, check the small print on the ticket.
the conductor must be able to call in to block out the sold room or it could be sold by a ticket agent down the line.
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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I checked the Rail Sale tickets and they do indicate 'upgrades onboard only' so I'll have to hope for the best and see if I can upgrade one of the 3 nights I am onboard, otherwise I may be taking a 'birdbath' in the restroom!
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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Thanks JFB for explaining the why the phone is needed. So the reason the room I bought at the ABQ ticket counter was already occupied, is that it was probably sold onboard using the conductors printed manifest. No one messed up, it was just a timing issue.
But, I would guess the onboard price would have been considerably less than the $223 I paid for a standard for 1 night and 1 meal (But hey, I got 446 guest reward points and Amtrak is my favorite charity). And since it was a Rail Sale trip I still saved much bucks over booking in advance.
I really think they should explain the onboard upgrade procedure in the National Timetable. I have just learned enough from this panel to handle it with a little more savvy in the future.
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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Even by boking in advance a STD bedroom on the Sunset Limited runs about $200 a night for the time frame I am going in mid-January. That seems a bit excessive for what you get in return? I only paid $25 each way ($50 roundtrip ORL-LAX) on the Rail Sale, so it seems a bit of a waste of money to pay another $400-600 to book in advance a sleeper just for a few nights. I'll guess I'll have to try my luck on board and if not I know I can sleep in coach well enough :-)
[This message has been edited by dmwnc1959 (edited 12-21-2003).]
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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You can always check prices each night and bedroom availability on the website just before you leave (if a bedroom is not available it will not appear in the drop down menu). Then you could try for a good price on board or skip it if it is too high.
I am actually a convert to coach overnights. I used to always go first class, but I have found that with the right preparations (extra pillows, a small towel for the birdbath, my trusty hooded sweatshirt, and the luck of the seat next to me being unoccupied), I slept just fine in coach and felt less claustrophobic.
Some choose to stretch out in the lounge overnight after the movie, either on the 3 seats together, or on the floor. They do wake you though when they open for business about 6:30.
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