Sleeper Car Advice Wanted
Jun 19, 2015, 10:16 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 858
Figured to update: based on the excellent advice we received in this thread, and advice I read here and there, we've finally booked a trip on the Coast Starlight from LA Union Station to Seattle in March of 2016. We ended up choosing the bedroom suite, even though it was a fair number of points (10K difference vs. Bedroom & Roomette combination).
Our thought was this would offer the greatest comfort, and we wanted comfort, and a bit of our own space (kids with kids, adults with adults).
Many thanks to everyone who posted.
Our thought was this would offer the greatest comfort, and we wanted comfort, and a bit of our own space (kids with kids, adults with adults).
Many thanks to everyone who posted.
Apr 3, 2016, 10:19 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 858
I'm reporting back, having ridden the Coast Starlight to Seattle last week.
We redeemed 50K AGR miles for a bedroom suite, which in hindsight we thought was a good decision. It permitted the kids to have their own space and us to have our own space, but at the same time we were able to keep an eye on them. We closed the door at night and held it in place with a suitcase. Maybe if they were older, I would have opted for a roomette plus a bedroom, but after eyeballing the roomettes, etc., we were convinced that we chose wisely for this trip.
I can't imagine a better time of year to make this trip, as we got beautiful ocean scenery in Vandenberg, green hills when we moved away from the coast, and beautiful snow-covered trees in the mountains of Oregon as we headed into Eugene.
Our car attendant seemed to be interested in doing as little as possible, but apart from that the other staffers on the train were great, and we had no complaints. The food was generally decent, and the wife was pretty happy that meals were included, as it meant a holiday from cooking.
I brought earplugs and slept pretty well. Prior to the trip I had a busy week, and I only got between 3-4 hours of sleep the night before we departed, so I was very tired when I went to bed. My one regret was sleeping as we passed Shasta, but it was around 5 a.m. and I needed the rest.
Would we do this again? Hard to say... redeeming 50K points meant I got about $0.05/AGR point from the redemption, and it is a lot more points now. Too, part of the allure was the potential of riding the pullman car, which was out of service on this train. All they had was a modern equivalent, which was comfortable enough, but not quite the golden age of rail experience I was anticipating.
The train arrived on schedule, I believe, and we took an Uber to our hotel. Everyone was dying for a shower, since we opted not to bother on the train. The showers in the suite seemed like too much hassle, but otherwise the train portion of the trip was memorable and helped us to slow down and relax a bit.
Sorry, no pictures. I've wearied of at least one moderator here on FT deleting images I've posted, even though they were hosted elsewhere. So I don't bother to post pictures anymore.
We redeemed 50K AGR miles for a bedroom suite, which in hindsight we thought was a good decision. It permitted the kids to have their own space and us to have our own space, but at the same time we were able to keep an eye on them. We closed the door at night and held it in place with a suitcase. Maybe if they were older, I would have opted for a roomette plus a bedroom, but after eyeballing the roomettes, etc., we were convinced that we chose wisely for this trip.
I can't imagine a better time of year to make this trip, as we got beautiful ocean scenery in Vandenberg, green hills when we moved away from the coast, and beautiful snow-covered trees in the mountains of Oregon as we headed into Eugene.
Our car attendant seemed to be interested in doing as little as possible, but apart from that the other staffers on the train were great, and we had no complaints. The food was generally decent, and the wife was pretty happy that meals were included, as it meant a holiday from cooking.
I brought earplugs and slept pretty well. Prior to the trip I had a busy week, and I only got between 3-4 hours of sleep the night before we departed, so I was very tired when I went to bed. My one regret was sleeping as we passed Shasta, but it was around 5 a.m. and I needed the rest.
Would we do this again? Hard to say... redeeming 50K points meant I got about $0.05/AGR point from the redemption, and it is a lot more points now. Too, part of the allure was the potential of riding the pullman car, which was out of service on this train. All they had was a modern equivalent, which was comfortable enough, but not quite the golden age of rail experience I was anticipating.
The train arrived on schedule, I believe, and we took an Uber to our hotel. Everyone was dying for a shower, since we opted not to bother on the train. The showers in the suite seemed like too much hassle, but otherwise the train portion of the trip was memorable and helped us to slow down and relax a bit.
Sorry, no pictures. I've wearied of at least one moderator here on FT deleting images I've posted, even though they were hosted elsewhere. So I don't bother to post pictures anymore.
Jun 11, 2018, 5:09 pm
#19
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: AA PPro, UA Silver, MR Plat, HH Gold, Amtrak Select, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 65
Reviving this old threat to ask some advice regarding bedrooms and suites on the Empire Builder (Superliner): Portland (OR) to East Glacier Park (MT).
We booked two bedrooms (using points) and were assigned rooms B and C. Should I call to make sure they configure the rooms as a suite (connected), or can we ask the attendant on the day of travel?
We booked two bedrooms (using points) and were assigned rooms B and C. Should I call to make sure they configure the rooms as a suite (connected), or can we ask the attendant on the day of travel?
Jun 11, 2018, 6:20 pm
#20
In Memoriam
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: HH Diamond, Amtrak Exec
Posts: 3,262
You can certainly call and ask that a note be put on the reservation; but don't be shocked if the sliding door isn't open when you board. But without regard to whether you call or not, the attendant can open the door for you. So as you board, make sure that you chat with them about it.
Jun 11, 2018, 8:50 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: PHL
Programs: AA(PPro), UA, AGR, BW(Plat), HH, WoH, MB(S)
Posts: 778
Reviving this old threat to ask some advice regarding bedrooms and suites on the Empire Builder (Superliner): Portland (OR) to East Glacier Park (MT).
We booked two bedrooms (using points) and were assigned rooms B and C. Should I call to make sure they configure the rooms as a suite (connected), or can we ask the attendant on the day of travel?
We booked two bedrooms (using points) and were assigned rooms B and C. Should I call to make sure they configure the rooms as a suite (connected), or can we ask the attendant on the day of travel?
Make sure it latches open. I did a connencted bedroom trip a couple of months ago, and the door was opened but was not latched. First curve, and the door slammed shut. The attendant could not get it to latch and finally pulled a roll of duct tape out of his bag of tricks and taped it open. Not elegant, but it worked.
