Amtrak Guest Rewards - Lake Shore Limited

I have two older European friends visiting next week, and they will take the westbound Lakeshore Ltd out of Boston South Station (the stub train). In a roomette or a sleeper, will they:

Get Club Acela lounge access at South Station?
Receive a complimentary lunch in the Amfleet cafe out of Boston?
Be able to accommodate four small suitcases (two each) in the sleeping car if not in the sleeper itself?
Will the attendant alert and help them when they arrive at their detraining point (western Mass.)?
Would you recommend the roomette or bedroom (this is daytime only, and the cost is only slightly more for the bedroom)?

These ladies are old-school, and are not terribly familiar with the US (last visit here was in the 1960s). They both do speak English (but in the formal way taught back in the day). I want this to be as easy as possible without driving to Boston myself and picking them up. A mutual friend will escort them to South Station and onto the sleeper.

Get Club Acela lounge access at South Station?

Yes, if they board at South Station, then they will have access to the club with their sleeper tickets.

Receive a complimentary lunch in the Amfleet cafe out of Boston?

They will indeed get lunch in the cafe car, although it's not an Amfleet cafe it's a Horizon cafe car. They will have the choice of two cold entrees and will sit at a table with a table cloth. Typically one choice is a salad of some form, be it with salmon on it or chicken. They other choice is usually a sandwich.

If they don't like the choices, then they would have to purchase something from the cafe.

Be able to accommodate four small suitcases (two each) in the sleeping car if not in the sleeper itself?

If they get one roomette, 4 suitcases could be a bit snug. And getting some of the suitcase up into the cubbyhole could be problematic for them too. If they're getting two roomettes, then it wouldn't matter.

Will the attendant alert and help them when they arrive at their detraining point (western Mass.)?

Yes, in fact it is his/her responsability to do that. The attendant should give them a 5 or 10 minute warning and then make sure that they do indeed get off the train. It's also not out of line for them to ask the attendant to please be sure to let them know when to get off. And if they'd prefer more warning that 5 minutes or so, they can also convey that too.

They should probably slip the attendant a few bucks upon detraining too for his/her trouble. Doesn't need to be a lot, 2 or 3 is probably sufficient, unless he/she carries their luggage off the train in which case they might want to go to $5.

Would you recommend the roomette or bedroom (this is daytime only, and the cost is only slightly more for the bedroom)?


Given the luggage situation, I'd probably suggest the bedroom if the cost difference is minimal. In the bedroom there will be no luggage issues and they'll have a bit more room to move around. Also, you get the enclosed bathroom that way. In the roomette, if one wants to use the facilities, the other needs to step out into the hall for privacy.

Thank you AlanB!

I think you'll find this interesting...it's a trip report of the westbound Lake Shore Limited featuring the lunch meal they'll recieve:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/988980-amtrak-lake-shore-limited.html