posted
If I am getting a bedroom for Sunset Ltd. end to end and know of a certain room to avoid, A I was told, am I better to book on line or with an agent?
Posts: 89 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. When you book online, after you pay and receive your confirmation, you will see which bedroom you were placed in. If they put you into Bedroom A, you will have to call Amtrak and see if it can be changed.
If you call Amtrak directly, you can request a specific bedroom with them on the phone. Either way, you have to make a call (unless your online booking puts you into a bedroom that you like).
I've never understood why Amtrak.com does not allow you to pick a certain room, or why they don't have the car layout in an easier to spot location than where it currently is hidden on their web page. For years and years, airlines have given seat maps on their websites when making a reservation, so I'm not sure why Amtrak does not do this with their sleepers (I do understand why they do not do for Coach).
One thing to look out for: You can book your room online and get Bedroom A, and then when you call Amtrak to change the room, they will tell you that any of the other rooms will cost more money. I've had this happen a lot. I don't pretend to understand how their bucket-fare system works, but just know that it does do this. If you are an AGR Select-Plus member, you can ask the agent to waive the fee. They will put you on hold and check with someone in the back room (just like a new car salesman), and come back and tell you that the fee was waived.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
And since you mentioned Bedroom A....not sure if you were told why to avoid that one or not, but it is the smallest of the 5 bedrooms. The hallways curves inward at that location (so that passengers can walk to the next car through the end-door). Because of this, Bedroom A is smaller to accommodate the wall intrusion. If you are significantly overweight (railfans overweight?? Say it ain't so!), you will NOT fit into the bathroom in Bedroom A----the clearance is too tight when you open up the bathroom door. I've seen people in room A that have to use the public facility down the hall because their huge gut won't fit through their bathroom door.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
another thing to watch I discovered to my horror. We like bedroom c. It is in the middle so there is less noise BUT it has a wall that can be slid back making b and c into a suite. Fine except due to age? the latch doesn't always catch and you may awaken to find the wall has sliped back and you are sharing a room with strangers. So I always carry duct tape and use it on that wall before we retire.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Trainlady, Rooms B&C or D&E can be combined into one large "suite" so the issue you describe is not limited to room C. Room A is the only one that can't be combined with another. However, I think accidental openings between rooms are rare.
As for on-line reservations vs. an agent, the only reason to use an agent is if you want a specific room. Some people, particularly those with reduced mobility, prefer to use an agent to see if they can get a room near the dining car. I agree that one should be able to select a room on-line as well.
On our honeymoon almost 26 years ago (when Superliners were almost as new as our marriage) we had room A. We got along just fine, not even knowing the other rooms had a different configuration.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
You are right Mr. Toy. But we have had the problem door more than once which is why I mentioned it. Your comment about room C reminds me of perception. We didn't mind the roomette at all while others space out on it. I am much more tolerant of travel conditions than some of my friends. It all depends on one's personality and how one sees things, don't you agree?
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't find the roomette a problem as long as stairs don't present an obstacle (I don't like the lower rooms because I don't think the views are as nice). If you must wait out others' use of the upper common toilet, it can be inconvenient. I think 2 adults can share a roomette for one night. For a longer trip, you might get an each other's nerves. I'm referring to the superliner roomettes. I would not suggest 2 adults share a viewliner roomette with its en suite bathroom. I don't think ANYONE is that close to someone that they want to share the bathroom right in the bedroom! You see lots of people waiting in the hall while the other occupant is using the "facilities". ICK, ICK, ICK!!!
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Judy McFarland is right about the toilet in the Viewliner roomette. It was certainly a design flaw that a sleeping car has no public toilet facilities similar to the superliners or Via's Budd built cars. Sometimes it happens that the toilet malfunctions and all the other roomettes are occupied, so where does the hapless passenger go? Of course Amtrak's roomettes are not real roomettes (a very small room consisting of a single bed, toilet and sink). Oddly enough Via which does have real roomettes now calls them "single bedrooms" which is blatantly false as they have nowhere the size of a real bedroom. So Amtrak tries to fool you into believing they have roomettes which they do not, and Via tries to fool you into believing they have single bedrooms which they do not. So much for truth in advertising.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Another advantage, to me anyway, of booking by phone is that you then can have a week to think about it before paying and locking in the reservation. At least that is true for bookings that are at least a few weeks in the future. One can easily call during that grace period to make some change. I usually work the trip out on the computer before calling.
One time I found a bedroom from CHI to MSP (not overnight) that was cheaper than a roomette. The agent quoted me a higher price. When I told her I had just found it on the computer, she said "Oh yes, I see it now".
When I traveled with my late wife on the viewliner roomettes, I also did not like the toilet in the room. One of us would stand in the hall, or maybe delay returning from the dining car. It didn't bother us, however, when one needed to use the toilet in the middle of the night.
One time on a Viewliner the attendant made a big announcement that the toilet in one room (apparently not booked on that trip) would serve as a community toilet.
The old slumbercoach sleepers, which had toilets in each room, did have one community toilet at the end of the car (one style of slumbercoach anyway). However, we normally booked two single compartments across from one another. That was when the slumbercoach accommodations were quite inexpensive.
On a recent trip ALONE, I found the viewliner roomette to be quite a nice accommodation
Posts: 127 | From: Worcester, Massachusetts | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you book online, you have to give your credit card - BUT if you do not physically take possession of the tickets, you can easily cancel online with the refund going back to the card. I always do this & pick up the tickets a day or two before the actual travel. (Obviously if you are boarding at a station with no agent or ticket machine, this is not an option.)
The beds in the viewliner sleepers roomette are narrower than the superliner ones. Those of us who are "broad where a broad should be broad" find that narrow beds combined with rough track equal the need for seatbelts on the lower bunk. Imagine getting tossed to the miniscule (when bunks are made up) floor - you'd never get unstuck!
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thank you, Ms. McFarland, for reminding me why one should not pick up the tix too soon. I was planning to pick up my Jan. 9 tickets in Glenview tomorrow (combining that with a visit to the nearby Trader Joe's) but it makes more sense to wait until just a few days before departure.
I have slept in a Viewliner and must concur with your complaint. The best train bunks I've ever encountered are in the full bedrooms on VIA Rail's sleepers. Wide and thick!
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by royaltrain: Of course Amtrak's roomettes are not real roomettes (a very small room consisting of a single bed, toilet and sink).
After consulting six dictionaries (two books, one software version that came with Microsoft Works, and three on-line) only one mentioned anything about toilet facilities.
The definitions are as follows: American Heritage: A small private compartment in a railroad sleeping car.
Funk & Wagnalls: A small compartment in a railroad sleeping car furnished with a folding bed.
Microsoft Works Dictionary: Small sleeping compartment: a private single compartment in a railroad sleeping car
Meriam Webster Online: a small private single room on a railroad sleeping car.
Dictionary.com: 1. a small private compartment in the sleeping car of a train, usually for one person, containing its own washroom facilities and a bed that folds against the wall when not in use. 2. any small room, esp. one used solely for study or sleeping.
Yourdictionary.com: a small room for one person in a railroad sleeping car.
So, in my estimation, Amtrak's definition is perfectly correct. I know that traditionally the railroads of yesteryear included a sink and toilet in their roomettes, but there is nothing to indicate those features were mandatory to fulfill the definition of the word.
Anyway, the term Roomette is much more accurate than Amtrak's previous terms which were "Standard Bedrooom" and before that "Economy Bedroom" neither of which gave an accurate impression to the uninitiated user.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Mr. Toy: Anyway, the term Roomette is much more accurate than Amtrak's previous terms which were "Standard Bedrooom" and before that "Economy Bedroom" neither of which gave an accurate impression to the uninitiated user.
When did Amtrak use the term Standard Bedroom for an economy room? I don't recall ever seeing that.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Smitty, Amtrak was calling them "standard bedrooms" as late as 2003 or 2004 -- do a Google on "Amtrak standard bedroom" and you'll come up with quite a few hits during those years.
In the early to mid 1990s when I was writing my book on Nos. 5/6, they were called "economy bedrooms."
The more the marketing changes, the more the actual bedrooms stay the same . . .
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's very interesting----I don't know how I missed the time period when Amtrak called an Economy Bedroom a Standard Bedroom. My memory goes from Economy to Roomette with nothing in-between.
So then if I'm understanding this right, it went like this:
Economy Bedroom ---> Standard Bedroom ---> Roomette
-AND-
Deluxe Sleeper ---> Bedroom
So if I have this correct, then Amtrak called the smaller bedroom a "Standard Bedroom" at one time and then they made the larger (Deluxe) into just "Bedroom"? That is very confusing if I've got it right.
(And when I make Amtrak reservations over the phone....I still call them Economy and Deluxe. )
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Smitty, probably the phone agents you've talked to have been around for quite a while and remember the old nomenclature. Or maybe the training program for agents instructs them in all the old terms so they can give good service to the geezers among us.
Wonder what they would say if you asked for a "compartment'?
By the way, when I was Googling "sleeper compartments," this came up.
posted
Hey, that's pretty darn cool. I love the way that room is set up, and the "skylight" windows. Not only are the beds their own entity (that don't appear to double as a couch or anything), but you can lay down at night and watch the scenery go by very clearly. Very, very nice.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
In reply to Henry's post a few posts up, it is not necessary to wait until "a couple days before departure" to purchase AMTRAK tickets with your credit card. I always get mine several months ahead of time. Remember, all AMTRAK tickets (including sleepers!!) are FULLY REFUNDABLE up to about 2 days before departure -- unlike the airlines, where once you buy a ticket, you are committed with 0 CHANCE of getting a refund.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
RRRich (how do you pronounce that, with a Scottish burr or French roll?), Ms. McFarland and I meant PICKING UP the actual tickets, not purchasing them. Aren't the tickets purchased and debited on your credit card as soon as you make a sleeper reservation online? That's what I thought -- please correct me if I am wrong.
If the tickets are picked up, then one cannot cancel online (the point of the message) but must go to an Amtrak ticket agent to do so -- is that right or not?
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Henry is correct. The one exception is that you can book your AmReservation and not pay anything for a few days while the reservation is held for you. I want to say that the hold period is 72 hours, but I'm not sure. If you don't pay for you ticket by the deadline, then you lose your reservation.
Of course, in order to do this, you have to do it over the phone. When booking online, you give your credit card and it is charged immediately.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yes, your credit card is charged when you make your reservation on line or on the phone. But until you pick up your tickets, I believe you can change without any fee--except with sleepers, you cannot make changes in the last 2 weeks or something like that (I'm not sure of the time limit) without a hefty fee. Except if it's a medical emergency; then you can bring a note from the doctor or something. . . .
For local trips to NYC, I often book on line. For others, I usually use the phone because my trips are usually too complicated to book on line-- even the Multitrip function does not have enough legs!
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by sojourner: Yes, your credit card is charged when you make your reservation on line or on the phone. But until you pick up your tickets, I believe you can change without any fee--except with sleepers, you cannot make changes in the last 2 weeks or something like that (I'm not sure of the time limit) without a hefty fee. Except if it's a medical emergency; then you can bring a note from the doctor or something. . . .
Just to clarify here......your credit card is **not** charged when you make a reservation over the phone if you ask them just to hold your reservation and not pay yet. As I noted in my comments above, there is a time limit on these no-pay reservations which I think is 72 hours (but it might be as long as a week---I forget the exact time frame).
And also, it is not true that you can change your reservation without any fee if you have not picked up your tickets yet. Remember, Amtrak uses a bucket-fare type of system similar to the airlines (based on supply/demand among other things). A reservation that you book today for a specific date could very well be a higher price when you try to change it tomorrow. Amtrak does not have a "change fee" so to speak, however, the fare could very well be higher.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
)
