But I'm not new to train travel, as I have taken the Coast Starlight up and down the West Coast a few times in the late 1990's. I live in Orange County and also occasionally ride the Surfliner down to San Diego or up to Los Angeles for the day. I've always enjoyed trains, but I'm in no way an expert like many of you here. So I'm hoping someone here can answer some questions and help me decide on vacation plans for later this summer.
I'm going to head up to Seattle to visit friends in late July and I thought it would be fun to take the Coast Starlight again. But after doing some poking around on the Internet I found this website and learned that the Coast Starlight isn't exactly what it used to be in the 1990's. I guess the Parlor Cars are in jeopardy and not all Coast Starlight trains run with them anymore? And the food in the Diner can be spotty now too? But I just hate flying nowadays with all the hassles and headaches they throw at you at the airport and on board, so the train is still attractive to me.
Is Amtrak commited to providing a Parlor Car on each Starlight train? Or is that a gamble that I'll even get a Parlor Car on my train? Do they still do the wine tasting and such if the train does have a Parlor Car? And is the food in the Diner too inedible to try and live off of for the 36 hours I'd be on the train?
And one last question, if I reserve my tickets on the Amtrak website, how can I be assured that I will get a Roomette on the upper level? I really don't want to be downstairs. Is it first come first serve, or can I know ahead of time what room number I have on the train?
Please, someone talk me into taking the Coast Starlight to Seattle this summer instead of flying.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Alweg - welcome to the forum! I'm sure some of the others here will also reply to your questions. It's true that the Starlight may or may not have a Pacific Parlour Car on the day you travel -- you'll have to take your chances. As far as I know, they are still holding the wine tastings every afternoon on board. If there is not a Parlour Car on the train, they will do the wine tasting in the diner.
I am not as "picky" about food on trains as some on this forum are. Yes, it is true, that most trains have the new "simplified dining service" now, but I don't specifically know if the Starlight has that service or if they stll have the "good" service -- I'm sure Mr. Toy or someone else on this forum who regularly rides the CS can address that. But cetainly the food is far from "inedible;" I'm sure the food will be fine........
The Starlight is still one of AMTRAK's "premier" trains, although in recent years, there have been some major timekeeping issues with that train and the UP Railroad, over which it travels -- I don't really know the status of the on-time performance nowadays, since I haven't ridden the CS for a few years.
Anyway, by all means, GO BY TRAIN!!!!!!! You will still enjoy the experience, and we would be very interested in reading a report on your trip when you return!!!
--"Railroad Rich" Kimmel
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Supposedly the timekeeping is doing better of late, although that is more likely to mean being 2 to 4 yours late in Seattle instead of 6 to 16 hours late.
While UP has not been exactly overenthusiastic in trying to keep passenger trains on time, it is not all their fault. When they took over SP, the system was in much worse condition than they thought. They are finally beginning to get their head above water on most main line track conditions systemwide on the ex-SP parts. The Overland Route used by the CZ still remains to be fixed up, and of course continued double tracking and other work on the Sunset Route.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
If you want a specific room call Amtrak ( 1800 usa rail) to make your reservation rather than using the online site. In my experience 3-8 are the best.
Posted by stlboomer (Member # 2028) on :
Rooms 1-10 are on the upper level, 11-14 on the lower level. You can book on the web and then, if necessary, change your room assignment either by calling Amtrak or by talking to a ticket agent at a station. I've done this in the past at no additional charge. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell on which side of the train your room will be.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
The timeliness is variable but lately the southbound has been running very close to on time. The food is adequate, just not great. The scenery is wonderful as is the ability to relax, walk about, not stress out. To guarantee an upper level roomette either method noted above will work, reserve by phone or online and call to change if necessary. Parlour Cars seem to be usual now but, if no PPC, wine tasting is still done. Definitely still a trip worth taking!
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Do it! I've had late trips on the Starlight but never a really awful one. (Well, I did have that bad sleeper earlier this year but Amtrak gave me a full credit for the accomodation part of the trip.) The food is OK, the scenery wonderful, the wine tasting fun and it's one of those experiences you want to have just in case it's not there in a couple of years. I had the opportunity to fly on Concorde a couple of years ago at a very reasonable rate and put it off. Am I sorry? YOU BET!
Miss Vicki--Is it tomorrow you leave on your next adventure?
MightyAlweg--Does the screename have anything to do with the Magic Kingdom?
Frank in (can you believe it?) SUNNY SBA!
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Yes---definitely take the Coast Starlight to Seattle! A couple of corrections though on some comments:
Amtrak is no longer Amtrak's premier train. This ended a few years ago. Bit by bit, the amenities and their signature "Superior Serivce" were taken away. Amtrak's Empire Builder is probably their premier train now, as it was re-launched last year with refurbished equipment and regular dining car food (not Simplified Dining Service). However, Amtrak has publicly stated that it will be re-launching the Coast Starlight sometime between August 2007 and August 2008. The re-launch will include refurbishing the Parlour Cars (including the unit in Beech Grove, which is the 5th car), upgrading food, and upgrading ammenties. As of right now, the Coast Starlight is NOT a premier train. Personally, I think the scenery makes it an incredible trip. And with the exception of the Parlour Car (if your train has one), it's just like any other Amtrak Superliner train with the exception of the Empire Builder.
The next item would be concerning which room you have in a sleeper, and whether you should call or book it online. It is NOT correct to say that you can book it online, and then call them to change to a different room number *without charge*. Amtrak's reservation system is based on "buckets", and I can assure you that if you reserve a room online and don't like where it's located, and then you call them to change rooms, you will most likely encounter an extra charge to change rooms. This is because of the bucket system, which charges different rates for different rooms. You will not figure out the method to the madness.....just accept the fact that this is how it works. Yes, it's true that SOMETIMES they may put you in the room you prefer without charging extra, but this is something that is not guaranteed or assured. The only way I have gotten them to waive the extra cost on my previous trips is to let them know I'm an AGR Select Plus member, then they put me on hold and check with "someone", then come back and say the extra fee is waived. Your BEST bet on getting the best deal is to book online, because, as Julie always says, "Lower fares may be available". If you don't like the room assignment that you get online, you can TRY to have them change it without cost, but it is not likely they will do this unless you are a frequent Amtrak traveler.
If there is no Parlour Car on your trip, Amtrak will issue a travel credit (NOT a refund) to you for a modest amount. You call Customer Relations after your trip and tell them there was no PPC, and they will mail you the credit slip. The wine tasting that is held in the diner is very rushed and, in my opinion, a total waste of time. I am not a wine drinker, so it really doesn't bother me. But in the diner, they will rush things through because it will be after the lunch rush and before the dinner rush---and the dining car staff wants you OUT of there! I think it's a very awkward setup when they do this, but that's just my opinion.
Other than the above things, the Coast Starlight is a great train! The scenery is first class, and the on-time-performance of this train has improved dramatically. It has arrived at it's terminus of Seattle and Los Angeles EARLY on several occassions.
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
I have taken the Coast Starlight, on vacation, almost every year since the 1990's. I do find a significant deterioration in the CS services. The decline in the quality of the food, for me, is the most difficult to deal with. Last summer, the CS delay was especially bad. At one point, we pulled onto a side track, waiting for Train #11 southbound, for almost an hour. A train crewman got out and took some pictures of the train sitting on the sidetrack. I later learned, from either RAILFAN/RAILROAD or TRAINS magazines that it was one of the worst delays, ever. We were only about 2 hours late getting into Eugene, but we did not get into Portland until around 9:30 PM. The food was bad..sorry, but I really do miss the freshly prepared meals of the 1990's. We did not have a parlor car, but it is good to see they are back. Mainly, however, an upgrade in food and a better on-time record would do wonders to improve the Starlight.
One thing I do suggest...I travelled from San Jose to Portland. My final destination was Seattle, but I got off in Portland and took the Cascade, the next day, from Portland to Seattle. If I had stayed on the CS, I probably would have not arrived in Seattle around 2-3 AM.
Richard
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
For all the reasons stated above, fergosh sakes take the train!
The Starlight may not be the "premiere" train it once was, but it is hardly a piece of junk either. The crews are dedicated to your satisfaction despite the reduction in perks. The food may or may not be as good as before, but in the majority of cases it is still palatable. The meals on my last trip were generally good to very good, except for one salmon dinner which was horrific. So I would say avoid fish. Amtrak has always done chicken and burgers right, so those are safe bets.
And those downgrades you've heard about will soon be upgrades. The lessons learned from upgrades on the Empire Builder are slated to be applied to the Starlight next. The Parlour Car is currently unstaffed, but will be restaffed later this summer. This summer Amtrak is providing free DigEPlayers (portable movie players) for use by all sleeping car passengers on the Starlight.
My most recent trip report from last fall can be seen here. It also happens to be featured on Trainweb's home page this week.
As for room selections, I rather enjoy taking the luck of the draw. I like upstairs and downstairs rooms for different reasons. My favorite part of being downstairs is that there are far fewer human noises down there. But if upstairs is a strong preference, get a fare quote on-line, then call Amtrak and talk to an agent to request an upstairs room. Usually the price will be the same if you call right away.
Posted by MightyAlweg (Member # 5407) on :
Awesome responses everyone, thank you all very much!
After reading all the replies I'm going to just go for it and take the Coast Starlight round trip. I'm headed up to Seattle around the 30th of July and will head back a week later.
Thank you for all the great info on reserving a Roomette. I hadn't even thought of calling Amtrak and speaking with a live reservations agent to make the reservation. And to think that's how we used to do almost everything up until 8 or 10 years ago before the Internet! What was I thinking?
My only real concern about not having the Parlour Car is just for the social aspect of it and not so much the wine tasting (although that was fun too). I enjoyed chatting with other travelers there, or just leaving the sleeping car and having somewhere to go besides the Diner. Plus the ability to look out both sides of the train through the dome windows was nice. I'm honestly not a snob, but often the crowd in the regular Lounge Car looked a bit rough around the edges. But there was always lots of nice folks in the Parlour Car that made it a pleasant place to be. I'll just cross my fingers that it's still in service this July and August on my trains.
As for the schedule delays, as long as they are less than 10 or 12 hours I really won't care. I'll just be happy to read and watch the world go by and simply be on the train. I'll be in no hurry to get anywhere on this trip.
As for a few specific comments;
Mr. Toy - Yes, I had read some of your recent trip reports. That's how I initially learned of some of the changes to long distance Amtrak trains like the Coast Starlight, through reading your very informative reports. Thanks so much for offering up all that info! I'll continue to keep an eye out for your online contributions.
I guess I had just assumed that the downstairs Roomettes were noisier than upstairs. Is it not that much of a difference in noise and vibration if you are downstairs?
sbalax - You are correct that the Alweg screen name has a lot to do with Disneyland. I actually grew up in Seattle and as a kid dreamed of growing up to become a Monorail pilot on the Alweg system left over from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
But now as an adult I have a career in management at Disneyland and still think a monorail is about the coolest thing on wheels. We are getting a brand new fleet of monorails that arrive in Anaheim later this year. They aren't Alweg models obviously, but Bombardier is working on the chassis and drive systems in Vancouver and the Disney Imagineers are outfitting them with snazzy bodies and plush interiors that are a cross between the 1959 tail fin originals and a 21st century hot rod. They will be very cool!
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