I've taken the Coast Starlight (the SEA-LAX train) five times and have enjoyed each experience. The scenery is terrific and the train itself is well-appointed.

The standard "bedroom" is cozy, but I would say it's comfortable enough for single occupancy. I would suggest sitting on the upper-level for enhanced viewing of the scenery. Also, the lower-level sometimes has "toilet odor" problems.

The First Class lounge car (Pacific Parlour Car) features panoramic windows, a bar, and three different types of seating upstairs (including well-cushioned swiveling arm chairs). The lower-level of the car is a movie theatre. As mentioned, there's a continental breakfast in the morning and a wine/cheese tasting in the afternoon. There should also be some current periodicals and newspapers available. I wouldn't worry about anyone asking you to vacate your seat.

In the dining car, they try to seat four to a table, so you'll get a chance to meet three perfect strangers at every meal. Personally, I really enjoy this experience. The food is generally tasty and reasonably healthy, but haute cuisine it's not. They require reservations for dinner (but not breakfast or lunch), so you may need to be proactive in tracking down the dining car stewart in case you aren't in your compartment at the time he/she comes through.

Tipping is a courtesy, but not a neccessity. I usually leave $2 dollars tip with each meal, but many people don't. I doubt many people tip the sleeping car attendants, but since you are travelling overnight, I would probably give a $10 at the end of the journey for "doing the job" and perhaps $20 if the attendant went above and beyond.

November isn't a bad time to travel, because you'll see some fall color and you should also see some snow in the Cascades. My favorite part of the trip is the section along the coast between San Luis Obispo and Oxnard. For those who haven't travelled the route before, it's quite breathtaking.



[This message has been edited by EIPremier (edited 04-28-2003).]