hhdl

Edit: inaccurate, see below

hhdl

hhdl

I do hope my train is "gently MXd" over in Sunnyside so that I may partake.

Mr. BoH

Beer, wine, and cocktails are being served today. Not free, but prices reasonable by NYC standards.

The lounge in general is an enormous upgrade from the old dungeon lounge at Penn.

DCA writer

Strong NYC-area beer selection. Does an Amtrak credit card get the same rebate as it would in a cafe car?

WeekendTraveler

Does the Metropolitan Lounge have food and drinks to go?

A Long Island Iced Tea would help full the hunger pangs from Flexible Dining.

rittenhousesq

I don't know about the alcoholic drinks, but the current food offerings are all pre-packaged, so very easy to stick into your bag for the upcoming train trip. The sodas are in glass bottles, so also easy to bring with you.

beltway

gone gone

WeekendTraveler

I think I saw taps.

The lounge is fantastic. Food is a step up from the Admirals Club, it’s beautiful and the people who work there (today at around 1:15pm) are incredibly nice.

This outdoes the Admirals Club and it equals Brightline. If the drinks were free it would be better than Brightline.

The cocktails are Cutwater brand, which I’d never heard of, but which are good (and strong).

I commute once every week or two about 600 miles. The trip from my office to the train station- with this lounge- is certainly better than the trip to LaGuardia. This lounge certainly is great marketing for Amtrak and makes me want to take it more.

The only odd thing was boarding. An announcement was made to “head to track — for your usher”. So I darted out of the lounge right when the announcement was made. The announcement for general boarding was made when I was on the ground floor of Moynihan Train Hall, so a line had formed when I got to the track. So I boarded last, and the escalator leading to the platform was at the other end of the train from the sleeping cars. That’s like being in Group 9 on an airline, I guess.

How is boarding from the Metropolitan Lounge supposed to work?

musicalbox

I don't know how it's supposed to work but I can tell you from multiple trips that what you experienced is definitely how it works in practice. The track is announced a mere seconds before it is to the general population, thus ensuring there will be a long queue winding around the hall before you arrive. People on the main floor are adept at seeing the clues and knowing where the train will board (I'm guessing the "usher" is the Amtrak personnel at the top of the stairs and that's the signal to pretty much everyone that boarding is about to happen). I don't especially care because of assigned seating but there's no such thing as priority boarding and in fact, as you have seen, folks coming from the Met lounge are effectively the last to board. I only go there when I am on the Acela or in Regional BC for this reason. When I'm on the Regional in coach, I board downstairs at Penn and can snag a quiet car seat before anyone except the redcap passengers have arrived.

It's kind of funny but I used to use the lounge as a means to board first and now I use it only when I know my seat number in advance and have a few minutes to grab a free snack before boarding. Things change!

rittenhousesq

If you are in Acela first you might be able to request a Red Cap escort. On one trip a few months ago I was traveling in Acela first with a friend who qualified for Red Cap service as a person with a disability. When we were paged in the lounge for the escort well ahead of general boarding, there were several others who joined us and a few had no luggage or other obvious reason for the escort other than traveling in first class.

truncated

The timing of the track announcement in the lounge (and if there even is an announcement at all) is very much dependent on the attendant at the front desk — when I was there last month they announced all the tracks at least 2-3 min before the tracks appeared on the displays in the main hall / were announced to everyone else (which is how it should be), so I had plenty of time to head down and beat all the crowds. But there have been reports where the attendant doesn't even bother to announce tracks in the lounge as well, so YMMV each time.

physioprof

There is no requirement to "qualify" for Red Cap escort to your train, Acela First or otherwise. All you need to do is request a Red Cap when you check in at the front desk & you will get one.

footballfanatic

This looks great
theoretical: downtown chicago loop area to NYP area - fly via ORD to LGA, vs LSL roomette now considering Moynihan? time not an issue.

WeekendTraveler

I prefer to avoid the trip between Manhattan and LGA, so that weighs in favor of the train.

Moynihan is beautiful, but if you're getting off there, you're in it for maybe 5 minutes?

If price is equal, I'd take the train; if price of the train is only a bit higher, I'd take the train to avoid the trip to LGA.