From my first experience on a train, a steam engine passenger from Hancock, NY to Susquehanna, Pa., then to taking the last trip of the Phoebe Snow in 1966. I have always loved trains.
My wife and I lived in Japan back in the late '60's and we experienced the percision clockwork schedules of their rail system. In 2001 I was back in Japan and had the ride of my life on the Tokaido Shinkansen Bullett at 158 MPH from Tokyo to Osaka. What a beautiful ride.
We took the CountryLink XPT from Sydney to Brisbane and again we had an incredible experience.
Now we're up in our years and tired or driving. Our daughter is in the Atlanta area we've been looking at the Amtrak from either Syracuse, NY or driving to Philadelphia and picking it up there.
I came across this forum and have been reading every post that has to do with that route and other Amtrak routes. Interesting to say the least. Everybody had different taste and experiences when it come to coach or roomettes.
With gas, hotels and meals from the Syracuse area to Atlanta and back, Amtrak is a deal until you add in a roomette. Even then it's still not too bad. I'm tending to spend the daughter's inheritance and go for the sleeper, but the wife say's that she can sit the whole way and even eat her meals out of a cooler.
Help me convince her to go top shelf. I really would like to hear of some recent great experiences on the Philly to Atlanta and back route. How was coach? How was a roomette? Meals. What was the menu. Prices if we chose to go coach and eat in the dining car. What about the lounge car. Anything going on there?
We're looking at an October date so for now, I'll sit back and hope for some comments.
Thanks in advance.
Joe from the Finger Lakes of NY
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
DON'T EVEN THINK OF COACH; take it from one who has some 350K lifetime rail miles of which maybe 100K are Amtrak.
In fact, don't even think double occupancy of a Roomette; it is simply a single adult accommodation that has a second bed, such as for an adult traveling with a small child. Two mature adults evidently not on a budget? it's two Roomettes or a Bedroom.
Secondly, forget the precision you experienced with Japanese rail travel, While on the NY-Wash "Corridor", the trains run more or less on time; not so for the remainder of the system. Those trains "arrive when they arrive'.
But having said that, I find my Long Distance journeys that are made when rail travel is convenient to my needs (on a just completed trip to Wash DC and vicinity, auto was more so: unlike some colleagues here, I do not ride trains just to ride trains) to have more positives than negatives.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Hi Joe,
Well, I can give you my personal opinion...but it's just that---my opinion (which means people may disagree with me, but that's okay).
This is how I see it. If you go to any Amtrak station that is served by long-distance trains and attracts larger crowds (such as Oakland, California or Seattle, Washington), here is what you can do. Observe. Just do some people watching. As you look at the people who look like they just got out of prison and are on parole, that would be your coach crowd. The people who look like they're probably decent people that you can sit down and have dinner with in the diner, that would be your sleeping car crowd. Are there exceptions to this rule? Absolutely. Am I being prejudicial in my views? Absolutely. But this is also reality. I did my little "observation game" a few days ago when taking the California Zephyr out of Emeryville, California. As I looked at people, I said to myself, "Coach. Coach. Sleeper. Coach. Sleeper." And guess what? I was 100% correct.
I know that this is not always the case. There are exceptions. There are good and decent people who will tell you about their fantastic experiences in coach on an Amtrak long-distance train. Great! More power to you. But it's not for me. I will NEVER take coach on an Amtrak long-distance train again. Ever.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
I second Mr. Norman's advice, but if you and your spouse stand under 6 feet, weigh less than 180 pounds each, and are fairly limber for your age, I think the roomette might work out well for you.
The deluxe bedrooms are nice but VERY costly.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
I would not contradict Smitty195 either, but would like to point out that many genteel coach passengers may be riding the train by day from intermediate point to intermediate point and therefore are not interested in sleeper rooms.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Likely Amtraxmaniac, JONATHON, and Montana Jim - all young fellows, will weigh in with contrary opinions, but at the moment the score is Sleeper 3, Coach 0.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Likely Amtraxmaniac, JONATHON, and Montana Jim - all young fellows, will weigh in with contrary opinions, but at the moment the score is Sleeper 3, Coach 0.
Make that 4-0. But then there are exceptions. I have a possible trip in August that may find me in coach at an ungodly hour. So there are certainly exceptions to the generalization.
Posted by 20th Century (Member # 2196) on :
If I were traveling your journey I would get a roomette at the least but a bedroom is the most comfortable.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
I would consider riding coach if I were boarding a train in the wee hours or getting off in the wee hours......trips where I wouldn't benefit from a full night in the sleeper.
The last time I planned such a trip was in spring 2004. I was going to be on the Californina Zephyr Sacramento to Salt Lake City and didn't see a point in springing $200.00 for a roomette I'd be getting out of around 4:30am.
Sleeper bookings were a little slow that week though and an Amtrak representative called me a few days before wanting to know if I'd like to upgrade into the roomette for 50% off the usual fee. I said yes immediately......in case she changed her mind. The train was about 90 minutes late and I felt like I had gotten value for the room.
However......if you have the means, count my vote as 5-0 for sleeper.
Oh.......and one other point......the accomodation charge for the sleeper is what it is......whether you have one or two people in the room. I say this in case your wife gets the idea that she's saving money by offering to ride in coach even if you go for the sleeper.
Posted by 20thCenturyLimited (Member # 1108) on :
I also say "Go by Sleeper" and since it's two of you, get a full bedroom.
I also agree with Smitty195 in general, although I myself have taken the Zephyr in coach, more than once, from Emeryville to Roseville; I mean there's just no need for a private room for that trip, as Henry Kisor said.
Posted by HillsideStation (Member # 6386) on :
FULL bedroom! Roomette could the real source of Henny Youngman's joke about his hotel room being so small he had to go outside to change his mind. Roomette for one, bedroom for two. If you want an idea what it would be like for two, just watch any old Marx Brother's film, say a Night at the Opera. The scene in Groucho's "cabin" will give you some idea of two grown ups in a roomette. Best regards, Rodger
Posted by Mike Smith (Member # 447) on :
My wife & I usually travel in the roomette. I can haul my 230# 5'11" body into the top bunk with minimal problems, and the price is much less than the deluxe room.
That said, we are fixing to take Amtrak from Houston, through LAX, to Seattle in a roomette and return via Chicago in a deluxe room {Thank you Amtrak Guest Rewards!}, starting on June 18.
Coach is NOT an option on any overnight train ride. I cannot sleep amongst strangers, my body's defensive mechanisms will not allow any sort of deep sleep.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Count my wife and I as about 7-0 now for sleeper vs. coach, but I have lost count -- the point is, Mr. Urdahere, that most people on this forum choose sleeper for overnight travel!!!!
Welcome to this forum, and have a great trip!!!
Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 4724) on :
I also vote for sleeper. As NotElvis said, in cases where sleep is not going to be good anyway, coach would be a better choice. Still, it can be very hard to sleep in coach, not because of noise, or the people, but because you really can never find a comfortable position.
So a room is the way to go. Keep in mind that meals are included, bottled water, an occasional newspaper, the ability to use the VIP lounges in the stations that have them, access to a shower, no waits to use a toilet, a bit of extra privacy and quiet, a door you can lock at night, and more attentive "personal" service from the car attendants. You can also leave things at your seat and not really worry. And you BOTH get a window seat!
Posted by HillsideStation (Member # 6386) on :
Almost to a person, folks we've met traveling in roomette's say "next time it's a bedroom". Best regards, Rodger
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Until any of the gentlemen I noted earlier choose to respond, I guess this topic link will suffice as the "Democratic response":
Posted by Urdahere (Member # 8938) on :
I want to say thank you to all of you have taken the time to enlighten me with your suggestions. I have the DW (darling wife) reading these post and I think that the 8-0 towards sleepers is beginning to sway her.
I'll keep watching.
Again, thanks,
Joe
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Make that 9-0! But I do disagree with the notion that you can't be comfortable in a roomette. My husband is 6 ft , I m 5/4 and we did well in the roomette for many years. Now we travel via bedroom because we can afford it.The first time my husband saw the roomette he was ready to get off the train. After he calmed down and got settled in he admitted he was fine. Your only problem wpuld be if neither of you is able to climb up to the upper berth. In the bedroom 2 average size people can share the bottom berth.
Posted by jlcks (Member # 7282) on :
Make mine a sleeper vote. Even on trips we take from KC to Chicago on the Southwest Chief we try and book a roomette for me an my Girlfriend. We normally will try and book a Bedroom on longer overnight trips we take. I am 5'11 210 and she is 5'2 100 and have not found any problems with using a roomette overnight however. We like the extra space available to us in a bedroom.
Posted by Mesaman (Member # 6720) on :
Don't go for coach. I don't know what you mean by "up in years" but you are probably not as far up as I am. In any event from my experience, if you have passed 50 your old bones are going to rebel at trying to sleep in a coach seat. When my wife and I traveled in the 70s and 80s we found that a roomette was adequate for the 2 of us. Only when she became ill and didn't want to walk to the toilet and shower did we find it necessary to go to a bedroom. But if you can afford it, go for it, you will enjoy the ride either way.
Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :
I'm also a sleeper man.
If we are talking Viewliner sleepers, I'm OK with both of you in the "roomette." (You're old enough to understand it's a Pullman Section with doors).
If we are talking Superliner, go for the Bedroom (once upon a time, footprint was that of a Pullman Compartment). The lower is big enough for two. Trust me on that.
The upper berth on a SL roomette is but 24" wide. My backpacking mats are wider than that!
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
My husband and I rode from CHI to SEA in a roomette/economy bedroom and we didn't mind it a bit. I'm neither young nor small and it was fine for us.
We've had every room except the accessible bedroom and for us, it pretty much depends on the cost. Won't go LD in coach, though, at any price. Well, maybe if it was free. . . Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
If money were an issue, I would say go in the coach rather than either drive or not make the trip. I have done Washington to Birmingham by coach more than once, but the last time was over 20 years ago. However, for you I would say spend the daughter's inheritance and enjoy the ability to sleep horizontal. When considering the difference, remember that meals are included in the sleeper fare.
Posted by graynt (Member # 17) on :
Sleeper is the hands down winner, obviously with some exceptions. A roomette is fine for two people, a little crowded perhaps,but if you are trying to save some money, the roomette is a lot cheaper than the upgraded rooms.
We are looking into FTL-PHL for January..a one night trip. The cost of a roomette is well over $300, a little steep for a one night trip,so we will probably go coach and endure the night. Sometimes the cost is the prime consideration.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
I'm not quite as magnanimous to the Coach product as is Mr. Harris. Quite simply, if there were "no dough" for auto (which is not necessarily less than Sleeper for one passenger; I noted earlier my just completed trip to DC where gas for such was $261.87, tolls of $29.65, and both a $15.79 en route car wash as well as a $504.57 30K periodic maintenance awaiting its return, for which I allocated $326.70 to the trip) or a "fly and rent", I would simply stay at home. AmCoach or Pooch?, I'd have to be much more "down and out" than I am in my "comfortable plus" retirement, and the trip would have to rise to the level of "family emergency".
To Mr. Graynt, I have two words of "Judge Judy" advice: "Pay it", or use other transportation.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Gil, what about lodging and meals? Those add up as well
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Whoops, you got me, Ms. Train Lady; Holiday Inn in Akron OH outbound was $104.41, return (same hotel; "supply and demand" I presume) $135.39. Meals? you gotta eat anyway!
All told, $857.98 for the round trip journey Home to Fredericksburg and return. Make your own comparo with Amtrak Sleeper fares and auto rental rates, as I have long thought it unwise to report at any forum Amtrak fares for future travel (and somehow I think Mr. Hertz would hold same).
Posted by CNJ_1526 (Member # 3931) on :
It might be worthwhile to note to Mr Urdahere that Amtrak's Sleeping Car service isn't near the Pullman sleeper service of the pre-Amtrak era.
If you are expecting anything in the area of pre-Amtrak first-class service, you may be in for a bit of a dissappointment.
Just something to consider.
Posted by Liberty Limited (Member # 4300) on :
I would say that if you want the best experience out of the trip, then sleeper it is. However, I also note that the very easy act of SAYING "Get a Bedroom" is much easier than your act of actually PAYING for a Bedroom.
Roomettes on the Viewliners to me are much nicer than those on Superliners, thanks to the significantly extra amount of overhead clearance from the top bunk to the ceiling.
If I were the one footing the bill for the upgrade, I would go for the Roomette, but if a Bedroom happened to be available for about 30% more than the roomette charge, then I'd certainly snap it up.
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
I will repeat what I have said here before: I have taken a number of Amtrak trips, both in coach and sleeper. There have been several times, after a trip in coach, that I have wished that I could have traveled in a sleeper. There has never yet been a time when, after taking a trip in sleeper, that I have wished that I had the money back and had traveled coach.
Posted by CHATTER (Member # 1185) on :
Nicely put, Mr. Bowen. Add my name to the chorus of sleepers.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Well if all of this info doesn't convince your wife to book a sleeper, NOTHING will. Posted by Urdahere (Member # 8938) on :
We did it. Thank you all for your input. The DW finally said to go with a sleeper, not only one way, but both ways.
I have been watching the rates and can't believe what a difference a couple of days does. I did find a bedroom for about $20 more than a roomette but it was in December. Even in the same month there are huge swings in rates.
Finally have booked a roomette both ways from Phila to Atl and back. I expect gas prices to go up even more, so the rate booked now may look like a bargain the last week of September.
This is a great forum and I again want to thank all of you experienced travelers for your advice. I'm sure the Darling Wife will not regret taking all the advice.
Thanks again.
Joe
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Keep us posted on your return and have a super trip!! One hint..my husband took his clothes to the bathrrom on the upper level and got dressed there. That is a bigger room than the ones down stairs and also has more space than the roomette.where I had no problem at all. Also put a couple of hangers in your carry on. That way you can hang up clothing on the hooks rather than try to cram it all in the little closet
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
He will be on the Crescent, which is a single-level train.
Also, speaking of the upstairs bathroom (on Superliners).....I was on the California Zephyr a few days ago, and it was one of the original Superliner I's. I had forgotten that Amtrak had several SI sleepers with a WINDOW in the upstairs bathroom. That was interesting. I hadn't been in one of those in at least 20 years. I can't remember if all of the original SI orders were like this and Amtrak ended up covering up those windows with sheet metal over time, or if just a few were like this. Anyway, it sure was a surprise to open the door and see that I had a view.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by smitty195: He will be on the Crescent, which is a single-level train.
Also, speaking of the upstairs bathroom (on Superliners).....I was on the California Zephyr a few days ago, and it was one of the original Superliner I's. I had forgotten that Amtrak had several SI sleepers with a WINDOW in the upstairs bathroom. That was interesting. I hadn't been in one of those in at least 20 years. I can't remember if all of the original SI orders were like this and Amtrak ended up covering up those windows with sheet metal over time, or if just a few were like this. Anyway, it sure was a surprise to open the door and see that I had a view.
That's Amtrak aiming to please (You aim too, please!). After all, the California Zephyr does have the most best scenery of any train in the system!
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Notelvis, it takes a throne to best view the majesty of Donner Pass.
Posted by Urdahere (Member # 8938) on :
As I said above, the wife and I are booked on the Cresent from Philly to Atlanta in September. I have booked from Paoli to Philly and then on to Atlanta, just so I don't have to mess with city traffic and parking in the city. I might be wrong, but that is why I am curious if there is long term, secure parking at the Paoli station? I have looked everywhere and find no info.
Any help would be appreciated
Joe
Posted by MDRR (Member # 2992) on :
Joe, have never been to the Paoli station, however, the Amtrak national timetable indicates overnight parking available for a charge. You may get more info by calling the 800# and asking the res agent to pull up the info in the computer regarding Paoli. You may establish more credible info that way...
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Joe, as well as MDRR's suggestion, you might try calling the Paoli Police Department, 610-644-1224. Methinks the coppers would know about parking lots near the station.
Posted by Urdahere (Member # 8938) on :
Thanks for the update on the parking at the Paoli lot. I'll give both a call.
Joe
Posted by Urdahere (Member # 8938) on :
Can someone explain the reasoning behind this?
I was plugging in different dates for the Phila-Atl. trip. They are all over the place.
Phil-Atl Dec 1-Mon-roomette-$252, Bedroom-$358 Atl-Phila Dec 8-Mon-roomette-$252, Bedroom $441
Phila-Atl Dec 6-Sat-roomette-$252, Bedroom-$276 Atl-Phila- Dec 13-Sat-roomette-$252, bedroom-$276
Phila-Atl Dec 7-Sun-roomette-$311, Bedroom-$358
The one that makes no sense is the roomette for $252 and a bedroom for $276. That's a no brainer if I was to be on that trip. Can that be correct?
Thanks,
Joe
Posted by MDRR (Member # 2992) on :
Joe, It is called supply and demand coupled with the Yield management software Amtrak uses to maximize revenue from sales.
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
quote:Originally posted by Urdahere: The one that makes no sense is the roomette for $252 and a bedroom for $276. That's a no brainer if I was to be on that trip. Can that be correct? Joe
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