First time on Amtrak - any pointers?
 

Greetings from Australia, folks.

First time on Amtrak (long haul, that is) later this year (November), going from Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight. Travelling alone, so going for the Standard Bedroom.

Need some pointers - anything you can offer would be good. (Note, have travelled extensively in Australia by train, including the four-day/three-night Indian-Pacific, so can well and truely cope with long distances on the train).

Standard Bedroom - is it best to go upstairs or down?

Meals - what can I expect? (They are included in the fare, of course). Do you "dress" for dinner?

Tipping - definitely NOT the norm in Australia, what is the go here? Car attendant, dinind staff, lounge staff, etc., etc., etc.?

Lounge car - on long-distance trains in Australia, you quite often just grab a seat in the lounge car and it can be your for the morning/afternoon (basically, between meal sessions). You can wander back and forth to the bar to replenish your drink, but the whole point of it is basically a "lazy Sunday afternoon" (on any day of the week), watching the scenery and enjoying the company.

I have heard stories about pressure being put upon passengers to vacate lounge car seating after a certain period, to allow others to use it. Is this true?

And any other pointers you can give me would be great.

Dave

Please fly instead. I am serious

I would second the MSP opinion. long haul train service in the US is just not worth it. I would personally not suggest taking Amtrak anywhere that takes more then 4 hours.

I agree. Flying might well end up being cheaper in the end, too. Plus, if FF miles are any consideration, AS will allow you to credit mileage to many of the OW alliance airlines, including AA, QF, LA, CX, and BA. Unfortunately, train travel in the U.S. isn't what it is elsewhere in the world.

Nah, I am a rail enthusiast, I actually *like* train travel. I want to get out and see some of the scenery, but I do not wish to stay sober enough to be able to drive (besides, you all drive on the wrong side of the road).

The train is the go for me, and I have done it before (but in AUstralia, not in the US).

So, some pointers please.

Dave

Wow... I'm amazed that everyone responding to this post ignored the posters questions completely. Perhaps we're not all looking to get down the coast in 2 hours, cramped into an economy flight with a single beverage service to entertain us.

I took the Coast Starlight from L.A. to Seattle last year in a standard bedroom, and will be redoing the trip from Salinas to Portland in a deluxe bedroom in August.

I'd definitly try to get a bedroom on the East side of the train, since you will be exposed to the coastline and a bit more scenary.

I'd also stay upstairs... you'll hear more track noise downstairs, as well as more sound of people moving (toilets are downstairs).

Meals are so-so. The best part of the Coast Starlight is the wine and cheese service at 2pm... I make a meal out of that. The dining car meals are a bit sparse.. the main courses were good in my opinion, but the salads were awful. The breakfasts were pretty good as I recall.

For the full L.A. to Seattle run, I tipped our attendant $20. I'm sure most people tip nothing, but some tip more. I my case, our attendant was very sweet, and when asked, told me she only gets about 3 hours of sleep during the entire 34 hour run. I thought that was worth something.

As for the lounge, the Coast Starlight hosts the Pacfic Parlour car, which is a step above the standard lounge cars. Unfortunately, when I took the trip last year, the car was being serviced, so we got one of the standard lounges. I spent most of my day in the lounge, and have never heard about being asked to vacate. There is a separate lounge for sleeper passengers.. maybe overcrowding is more of a problem in the coach lounge.

Search the internet a bit and you'll find some mile-by-mile scenary guides for this route. I printed one out last time and it was very helpful.

Enjoy the trip.. the scenery is fantastic.. And to all you others recommending flying instead: you stick to planes, I'll take a train. When we're both dead and gone, I'll have seen some of this world.

The left coast ain't on the East side http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif goin' North you wanna be on the left (West) side. Other then that it's pretty good advice. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Heh... thanks for catching that... West side.

Meals -

the rule of thumb I've heard for meals per person per day (from Florida trains) is:
$1 breakfast
$2 lunch
$3 dinner

The menu does not vary from day to day (at least not on the East coast), but the food is reasonably good. Save room for dessert!

Do not dress for dinner, especially on the West Coast where everything is more casual.

Attendant: $5 per person per day

Go forth with your train plans. I'm a 1K, Million Mile Flyer on UA but always take the train when possible.

Get the sleeper, much more pleasant than sitting in coach. I like the upstairs accommodation.

Don't dress for meals, but you will likely be sitting with other sleeper passengers. I have traveled Amtrak mostly on the East coast of the US and the trains there are pretty comfortable and the stewards helpful and friendly. It's not the "Blue Train" but most enjoyable. Food is satisfactory.

I don't know anything about the lounge car. Ask the attendant for advice.

My family (2 adults & 2 grown children) had a great trip a few years ago on the Orient Express from Budapest to Paris - does not compare to Amtrak!!

Good Luck and enjoy your trip.

Here's the latest menu from the choo-choo geeks over at the Amtrak Unlimited Forums. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The train from SEA to LAX is very picturesque. If you're in no hurry and don't mind a SLOOOW train, it can't be beat.

Outside of the Northeast corridor, AMTRAK is for ****S. Really.

Amtrak does not own rail lines outside of the BOS-WAS area so freight trains have priority.

If you have ever waited in a junction for a freight train to pass in the middle of nowhere USA, you know what I mean.

Thanks for the info folks - have just booked the sleepers, and looking forward to the trip.

Dave

Check out trainweb.com under the amtrak forum as it's loaded with information. You should find lots of travelogues doing a google search of coast starlight. I've been reading about some delays of 12 or more hours lately due to track repairs.

I recently did the Coast Starlight from LA to Portland and it was great. (Although we did have to detrain and take the bus to Portland to make our connection.) You have picked the best of Amtrak IMHO.

Call me a lunatic but I actually enjoy Amtrak loghaul service. I have gone Philadelphia to Phoenix via New Orleans, Chicago to Seattle and Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale, FL.

With the Superliners, definetly get a reservation on the upper floor. Meals aren't gourmet but better than coach airline meals. A $10 tip before the journey beginss for your sleeping attendant is a good idea. Have a great time!

------------------
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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).]

Thanks for the info, EIPremier - as I mentioned in my original post, I have travelled by train extensively in Australia (Indian-Pacific, 3 nights/4 days, The Ghan, 2 nights/3 days, The Queenslander, 1 night/2 days) so know what I am getting myself in for.

I have, however, heard horror stories about the lounge car.

On Australian long distance trains, you basically set yourself up in the lounge car for the day - you grab a bottle of wine and proceed to consume it whilst undertaking two activities - observing the scenery and conversing/interacting with your fellow travellers (it is AMAZING how relaxing this is, as well as how educational it can be).

The stories that I have heard is that you get chased out of your seat in the lounge car after a certain period, although I cannot see how this can be true.

Thanks for the pointers on the dining car though, our trains work the same way, and is one of the reasons why I am foresaking flying (and the FF points which go with it) to catch the train. As long as the people at my table are locals rather than tourists.

Thanks once again.

Dave

This has not been my experience at all; on most trips, I basically live in the lounge and am surprised how few fellow passengers ever leave their assigned spaces. Never been asked to leave, except for when we are nearing the final station and they are closing out the car. The first class lounge on the Starlight may change the dynamic, but that doesn't sound like it should be a problem based on the other posts.

In the worst case if you do feel pressured, I suppose you could migrate down to the standard class lounge for a bit - the view should be the same or better (slightly larger windows, I think; more than slightly pedestrian decor) - and then come back to the first class section. You'd be remiss to not have explored the entire train at some point over the course of the trip, anyway.

Thanks for that.

I like to take trips throughout the entire train anyway, so will indeed be going for a wander throughout the entire length of the train - if for no other reason that exercise.

On another matter, what is the situation with cab rides? I have had no problem getting a ride in the locomotive on Australian trains (once they have confirmed I have a ticket on said train), BUT I understand you guys in the United States are a tad sensitive at the moment (overly-sensitive, but I 110% understand why) with regard to security, etc.

Would this be a problem?

If it can be arranged in advance, how would I do so?

Dave

*bumped up to the top*

Dave

We just got back from our first train trip in a sleeper car from NYC-Orlando. All in all it was a pretty good experience, but did seem really slow.

The room (deluxe sleeper) was okay, but the shower/bathroom took up way too much space that I would have rather had for the room. We didn't even bother taking showers because it was only one night, and because if you do, then your toilet and bathroom floor are wet for the rest of the trip.

The food was better than standard airline meals, but that's as much good as I can say about it. Compared to normal restaurant food it was relatively poor, and the wait staff was terrible. They must be in a union because any waiter that rude to customers would be fired in a day at any normal restaurant.

We had an exceptional porter on the way down that was like having our own butler. He was always there checking on us, getting us things, and did more than a few favors for us that were above and beyond his duties. But on the way back we had a lazy bad attitude porter that did little more than introduce himself and then vanish for the rest of the trip. I guess its a toss up what you get.

We had only one combined lounge car, but I sat in it for several hours as did others, and nobody was ever asked to leave.

I would say there is no possibility of getting into the engine car; we tried to get my 3 year old trainaholic nephew up there and were told no way since 9/11.

Summary- it was a little too slow, but a good trip in the end, especially for a total cost of 40k miles for 3 of us (and there are no taxes added to free tickets like with airlines)

I'd agree with most of underdunk's comments, except that I LIKE the sleepers on the bottom level. My reasons:

1) less side-to-side movement as they are closer to the middle of the car

2) like being able to access my luggage (while you can fit a small bag in the room with you, the bigger bags are stored on the lower level of each car)

3) no kids running by constantly (the only access between cars is on the upper level). Lot less noise.

4) different viewing perspective. Between the lounge car and the diner, you spend a lot of the day sitting upstairs. It is nice to get a lower view occasionally.

I'd recommend either room 13 or 14, which are slightly further back from the bathrooms than 11 and 12.

Regardless of which room you wind up in, you will enjoy the trip. The views are great, but I agree that the food leaves a bit to be desired.

Enjoy your time in the US! As someone who has visited your country twice, I think you will like it here. Americans have as big a fascination with Australia as Aussies do about the States. You will find lots of folks on the train who will want to talk! Have fun and be sure to post your post-trip comments here!

Forgot to mention tipping:

Cabin attendent: $5 or $10 at the end of the trip, depending on the service.

Dining car server: At a regular (sit-down) restaurant, most Americans will tip 15-18% of the bill. Since your meals are included with your room, go with $1 at breakfast and lunch, and $2 at dinner. (By the way: at "fast food" restaurants where you carry your food to the table, like McDonalds, tipping is not done at all.)

Lounge car attendent (which really means snack car attendent): anywhere from nothing to $1, depending on what you are buying. He'll have a tip jar on his counter; I usually just give him some of my change (a lot of people don't tip this guy at all -- he does deserve something).

If service is more than average, $5.00 per person, per day on a long haul route is not a bad guide. On my most recent trip, Portland-Chicago on the Empire Builder, the attendant was not the friendliest, but he kept the sodas & coffee stocked, made the room up punctually & gave us a couple of small bottles of wine at the end of the trip. $20.00 seemed more than reasonable. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

http://www.railforum.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/000653.html

I think we are saying about the same thing. I am assuming that our Aussie friend is traveling solo and the Coast Starlight is just a one night trip. Hence, either $5 or $10, depending on the quality of the service.

I took the coast starlight last week. I'll have more advice later, or I may write a trip report.

Since I've read the QF forum, I'll give some important advice:

Bring beer.

Not to sound like a college kid (10 years too late for that), but beers on the train are $4.50 + tip, so on a trip where I was trying not to spend anything above and beyond the price paid for the ticket (which was free http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )* , $5 can add up pretty every time you're, umm, "thirsty." You're going to feel guilty enough drinking american lager- you'd feel even more so for paying $5 to do so!

* except on tips, although there seemed to be plenty of people who had no problem stiffing the attendents and servers. 2 of us tipped $3-5 for every meal + $20 to the attendent at the end of the trip.

You can use the metal trash can in your standard sleeper as a cooler- the sleeping car attendant should leave ice out by the coffee maker in your sleeper down the hall.

[This message has been edited by landspeed (edited 07-02-2003).]

I just mop up the water with a towel and hand it onthe hook to dry. The remaining moisture in the bathroom evaporates in just a few minutes. The air in the train is really dry (note: drink lots of water).

That said, I usually hike downstairs to use the shower there. Much more room down there.

I would probably go for an upstairs berth (choosing more outside foot traffic vs. feeling like you're "in the basement"). It wasn't a big deal, but I would look into some motion sickness pills next time, as I had a bit of a headache for part of the trip that I attribute to the near-constant lateral sway in the top level. I guess I'm not used to bi-level trains!