Mrsceethen and I just completed an AS Mileage Plan reward (code V2AF) consisting of FC air from SEA to LAX, and return on the Coast Starlight. In short, we had a blast. This reward included a deluxe bedroom, all meals, etc.— for 70k AS miles which IMO was a great deal. The train left LA’s Union Station at 10:00am and rolled into Seattle at 10:30 pm the following evening—about 3 hours late. The food was really quite good and you have the option of eating all meals in the dining car or having it delivered to your room. Dinner in the dining car is by reservation but they start the list by walking through the sleeper cars first.

You are correct, there is a theater car in the lower section of the parlor car that showed “Snow Dogs” and some other kid’s movie. At around 2:00 pm both days the adults enjoyed wine tasting in the parlor car—but get there early as it fills up fast.

Our deluxe bedroom had two foldout beds that were surprisingly comfortable and it didn’t take long for us to drift off to sleep. The shower/toilet combo was similar to what you’d find in an RV, and the water pressure was good and the temperature nice and hot. Having that hot shower the next morning was a real bonus.

We didn’t leave the train to do any sightseeing, just to stretch our legs at various stops along the way. The scenery during the trip is often spectacular—much of the time we found ourselves just gazing out the window. However, if you have the time you can’t go wrong with a side trip to the Oregon Coast, Portland, the Puget Sound area or connecting to the Amtrak Cascades in Seattle and on to Vancouver, BC.

In the course of its 1400 mile journey, the Coast Starlight often becomes late, so if you plan on boarding somewhere other than near the originating points (SoCal heading northbound or Seattle or Portland southbound) be prepared to wait at the station. But in a way, that tardiness is part of the “charm” of rail travel. Since we were returning home, it just extended our vacation a couple of hours.