NoLaGent

Hi Amtrak forum!

I've never been here before and I did a quick search, but mods, please merge into whatever is appropriate if necessary!

Summary: My partner and I are taking a quick, spur of the moment trip from San Francisco up to Reno tomorrow (Tues) and back Thursday.

I haven't rode the rails in a VERY long time, and I'm not familiar with the room categories at all.

Needless to say, this is a very short trip (6.5 hours on the Zephyr each way), but I thought it might be kind of novel to do the family bedroom one way (double windows, right?) and the roomette back. The cost differential is minimal (+$100 and change one-way), but I thought I would ask the experts if there's something I'm not thinking of? Does the family room have any glaring disadvantages that I'm just not aware of?

Many thanks in advance for your input!

jackal

Upside: it's larger than a roomette.

Downsides: it's downstairs, which means less of a view and a climb up the stairs every time you want to visit the lounge or diner. Also, while you get a window off both sides of the train, the windows themselves are smaller than the normal windows upstairs.

Really, on that majestic route, there's no reason to spend much time anywhere other than in the Sightseer Lounge car, so I'd suggest forgoing a room altogether and planning on spending most of the trip between Reno and Roseville in front of those panoramic picture windows.

NoLaGent

This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for, THANK YOU!

I should've mentioned, and this is pretty key, I have important work to do (on my laptop) during the ride up, so power and privacy are a must.

Given that and window sizing, would a roundtrip (upper) roomette make more sense for view and accessibility?

Sicariis

Having done the Zephyr in the family bedroom last winter from Sacramento to Denver (last minute switch from a roomette due to a small points difference) with my partner it was great to be able to spread out. We could both essentially lie down at the same time without taking the bunks down. Double windows were nice, just remember you are on the lower level. This also means its quiet, less foot traffic, and easy access to multiple bathrooms and the shower if needed.

The one downside we had which I don't think is indicative of all lower level superliner train sets is when the train was stopped we would occasionally get a sewage smell (likely when someone upstairs had flushed), and then after a few seconds it would dissipate.

After taking the trip in the family bedroom and having the extra room, We are much more likely to shell out the extra for a bedroom or family bedroom on future overnight trips, though a roomette is definitely sufficient for daytime or solo travel.

NoLaGent

Brilliant, thank you for the intel. Since I have to work tomorrow, it probably makes more sense to have the family then (more room, I won't be able to enjoy the view as much) and the roomette for the return.

(or for around $60 more, I could just book the regular bedroom coming back, which I don't think gives *that* much more room, but does give us our own restroom. Hrm.)

diburning

I don't know how important it is for you and your partner to be together the entire time, but why not a Roomette for yourself to work in while your partner rides in the sightseer lounge? If you book the room for the two of you, then you can at least both sleep in the room if you wanted to.

MADPhil

The room costs the same whether it is for one or two. If both are on the ticket then both get meal(s).

NoLaGent

You're both right, relatively quick day trip of 6.5 hours, we'll have lunch together and I've pulled the trigger on the FBR for the ride up tomorrow - he can read or lounge upstairs, I can work, all is well. Thanks everyone!

Even though I really have a ton of work to do, I'm looking forward to an alternate to the usual metal tube that I mostly call home.

NoLaGent

And as an added update, i booked the Bedroom back so that we can enjoy the ride together without work getting in the way, have our own restroom and have a cocktail (or 5) together...

MADPhil

The restroom is a marvel of ingenuity, just be sure not to turn the shower on when using the toilet One advantage of the bedroom is that you get the upper level view on both sides if you don't mind the loss of privacy with the curtains open.

serpens

Since you have booked the family bedroom and a regular bedroom, rest assured you made the right choices. When you get back, please post a follow-up with what you wish you had done and why.

While those who recommended sitting in the Sightseer Lounge offered good advice, it is not always possible. Sometimes, that car is packed. At such a time, having your own room with large windows is nice.

The bedroom does, in my opinion, give *that* much more room.

I think it would be hard to confuse the controls to the point of turning the shower on, but I have heard that some have done it. (Once I reached for the shower control, but it is sufficiently different from the toilet flush button that I just stared in bewilderment for a moment before figuring it out.)

NoLaGent

I'm back!

Follow-up notes:

Outbound - Emeryville to Reno:
The family bedroom was a great choice for this segment. Even though it doesn't have a restroom, the extra square footage was fantastic and really allowed us to spread out. Boy, these sleeper cars are in rough shape, tho. The seats were pretty badly stained and the car itself just seemed to be in general disrepair. It was also colder than the North Pole in there and of course there's no way to regulate the temperature as the "thermostats" are inoperative. The sleeper attendant brought down a roll of duct tape and taped both of the air vents closed, which helped immensely. Tried to visit the Sightseer Lounge after lunch, but not a single seat to be had. Train was on time and I really have nothing much to complain about here.

Return - Reno to Emeryville
In theory, I should've liked this ride more because in the bedroom we sat across from each other and had the double windows to enjoy the view. However, the day before, there was a huge mechanical problem with our sleeper car that rendered all of the plumbing completely inoperative. Any visit to the restroom required a trip to the next car up. That wouldn't have been a huge deal, but the mechanical problem also resulted in our car smelling like a sewage treatment plant. I asked the attendant if there were any bedrooms available in the next car, to which he said they were booked, even though 3 of them remained empty throughout our entire journey. The saving grace was that this train wasn't as crowded and we were able to escape to the Sightseer Lounge where there was actually uncontaminated oxygen to breath.

I did sit an empty roomette just to compare against the bedroom and the difference in size is significant. If the differential isn't much, I would book the bedroom over the roomette.


All in all, the cars are a mess, the food is cafeteria level at best and it's not something I would actively seek out to ever do again. The only redeeming qualities are the incredible views from the lounge and not having to either drive or deal with the hassles of air travel for such a relatively short trip.

NoLaGent

Additional follow-up:

I submitted an online letter to customer service over the weekend describing the mechanical issues experienced onboard, in hopes that they are addressed.

Even though I did not request nor expect compensation, I just received an email from them with $150 in vouchers ($75x2) for future travel.

They'll probably go unused, but it's still a nice token of customer goodwill on their part.

serpens

I believe you can apply the vouchers to any ticket, not just your ticket. Here is one of the bullets from an eVoucher.

On the other hand, it might be that Amtrak considers your vouchers, which were issued for substandard performance rather than a refund, ineligible for application to another person's travel.

NoLaGent

fyi, definitely the latter, as I considered gifting it to a friend until I read the fine print:

Redemption Policy
Transportation Vouchers can only be redeemed by the person to whom it was issued (proper identification required).
The Transportation Voucher is valid for one time use, and any remaining unused value will be forfeited upon redemption.
The person to whom this Transportation Voucher is issued must be one of the travelers on the reservation.
Transportation Vouchers expire one year after issuance.