Amtrak train 58:
New Orleans (NOL) -
Chicago (CHI)
8th March 2011
Amtrak Superliner
Yes, I know this is Flyertalk, and this leg of the journey is clearly a train. But it's got an upper deck, and you get served a nice meal on it, and you can convert your seat into a bed. Surely that counts?
Getting to the station was a bit of an adventure - the hotel receptionist doubted our ability to walk, so called us a taxi - which made it about four blocks before getting stuck on the wrong side of a parade. We ended up walking most of the way back to the hotel and back again before finding some way to cross it, and then the remaining distance to the station.
There's approximately bugger all in the station - it only sees three trains a day, so there's nothing to do but sit around until boarding. Sleeper passengers get to board first; passengers in the cheap seats don't even get reservations, so their queue formed early, and made it a bit tricky to work out where the priority boarders were meant to stand in the melée.
We'd booked a 'roomette' - a pair of facing seats next to a window, which convert into a bed, and with an upper bunk that folds down from the wall. There were around a dozen of these compartments in our part of the train, with a central aisle. Elsewhere in the carriage are larger rooms for three people, and downstairs, toilets, showers, and larger rooms with en-suite showers.
Amtrak Superliner Roomette
Sleeper tickets include meals, and as our 19-hour journey left at 2pm, that meant dinner and breakfast. The conductor came round to check tickets and mentioned that the dining car host would be around at 4pm to take dinner reservations, so in the meantime we bought some lunch from the cafe car. I had a turkey and swiss sandwich; my notes here say it was 'horrible'.
Sightseeing car. Presumably there's more to see on sunnier days - we had torrential rain and thunderstorms.
The sittings for dinner started fairly early, at 5pm. We asked for something later, and were offered 7.45pm, but were told that it might mean that some choices would have sold out. We were also told that "it's community seating, so you'll be sitting with some Amtrak friends”, which is a wonderfully American turn of phrase.
This being Flyertalk, you'll probably want to know the menu - Amtrak helpfully have a
PDF of it online. We both ordered the crab cakes - but they were, indeed, sold out, so had the catch of the day instead, which was sea bass. I had some ice cream for dessert; my girlfriend had the cheesecake - and we were very satisfied all round.
Converting the seats into beds was a little confusing, but the sleeping car host cheerfully did it for us. I slept pretty soundly, though woke up a little earlier than I'd have liked, possibly because of some station stops. Breakfast was served from 6am - 7.15, and they only made one call, shortly before 7. The (otherwise friendly) dining car hosts were quite strict about enforcing the 7.15 cut-off, and turned a few people away as I was enjoying my French toast.
The shower was better than I'd been expecting, and it was the first time I'd taken one on a moving vehicle. I think I may have accidentally given another passenger an eyeful by forgetting to lock the door, though. (Incidentally, unlike sleeper cars I've been on in Europe, the berths could only be locked from the inside - so there's a bit of trust in your fellow passengers when leaving it for other parts of the train).
The train arrived in Chicago more or less on time. Getting into the station requires an odd three-point-turn manoeuvre to reverse into the train shed, and they seemed fairly keen that passengers stayed in their seats while that was taking place. It struck me as being not unlike the seatbelt sign being on for landing.
I felt well looked-after on the journey. The staff all seemed like they enjoyed what they were doing, despite their shifts appearing to last the whole length of the journey. The seats were comfortable - and even wide enough for us to both sit on, side-by-side. After converting the lower seat to a bed, there's a mattress for it too, so it's even more comfortable to sleep on. And it was good value for money too - at $320, it was cheaper than flying, never mind a hotel room. If you're not in a hurry, I'd definitely recommend it.