Amtrak Coast Starlight LA to Portland
Mar 10, 2003, 6:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Flyover Country, USA, NW Silver, Hilton Gold
Posts: 518
Amtrak Coast Starlight LA to Portland
Never thought about posting train trips until I read some others so here goes.
This was a memorable leg of our circle trip from MSP leaving 2/10, returning 3/1.
There is a Budget rental car return at Union Station which worked well for us after picking up at LAX.
We boarded the sleeper car and found our upper "standard sleeper". Shocked at how little it looked, I thought there was a mistake. No mistake, but everything proved clean, modern and efficient. After stowing our bag in the sleeper, we claimed a swivel seat in the first class "parlour car" and enjoyed the buffet of fruit, sweet rolls, juice and coffee awaiting us. The train departed beautiful, historic LA Union Station on schedule at 10:15 am.
Richard, the parlour car attendant, had "Chattanoga Choo Choo" and other 40's songs playing softly in the background which added to the mood. He presented the day's agenda and said that he was part of one of ten crews assigned to the Starlight. A lot of us passengers felt lucky to have Richard. His agenda included a narration of the remotely and largely unvisited area of California coastline near a military base. He generously shared his knowledge of this route he has traveled for years. I was lucky enough to see a whale spouting way out from the coast. The scenery was gorgeous.
First class tickets include meals and non alcoholic beverages and I took too much advantage of this. The vegetable lasagna (mediocre) was my lunch choice finished off with cheesecake (very good). A highlight of the trip was meeting and visiting with whomever happened to be seated with us in the dining car.
After lunch it was back to the parlour car for more conversation and wine tasting.
Even though I am not much of a wine drinker, I appreciated Richard's knowledge of California wines. He told us how to taste the wine to enhance the flavor of the food and what wine characteristics to look for. His method did enhance the flavor of the cheeses for me.
After a short nap and some reading, it was dinnertime. I tried the salmon and it was very good. My husband enjoyed his filet mignon also. For dessert we shared the "Amtrak Signature Dessert"--a chocolate mousse pyramid beautifully presented with tiny scoops of ice cream alternated with scoops of whipping cream and drizzled with chocolate and cherry sauces. I was in chocolate heaven.
The evening entertainment, besides the regular movie feature "Sweet Home Alabama", Richard provided a 20 minute short 1930s film about train history and a 60 minute film about Streamliners.
When we returned to our sleeper after leaving Emeryville, our beds were made up for us. The top bunk (shelf) was mine this night and I didn't like it much. There is no window up there but there is a reading light. You can ask for a ladder or just use the shelves to climb up. We had one night sleeping on the Coast Starlight and then transferred in Portland to the Empire Builder for two nights sleeper. After that first night I learned to stay up later than my husband so he would climb up there.
The shower compartment was in the basement and similar to an RV shower. There was one small toilet/sink room on our level and several more in the basement. I think the upper level was quieter than the lower level as there was a family bedroom and a handicapped room down below also. Some people spoke of a hearing a baby crying down there. Supposedly the lower rooms aren't as affected by rocking but I wasn't bothered by that upstairs either.
We had a 1.5 hr bus from a stop in Oregon to Portland in order to catch the Empire Builder. This was because the tracks were being worked on by UP crews.
Although I was skeptical about Amtrak, this was a great experience and a bargain with their B1G1F sale. We traveled from MSP to Chicago, Chicago to KC, LA to Portland, Portland to MSP with 3 nights sleeper and meals for $539 for two. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks for reading.
This was a memorable leg of our circle trip from MSP leaving 2/10, returning 3/1.
There is a Budget rental car return at Union Station which worked well for us after picking up at LAX.
We boarded the sleeper car and found our upper "standard sleeper". Shocked at how little it looked, I thought there was a mistake. No mistake, but everything proved clean, modern and efficient. After stowing our bag in the sleeper, we claimed a swivel seat in the first class "parlour car" and enjoyed the buffet of fruit, sweet rolls, juice and coffee awaiting us. The train departed beautiful, historic LA Union Station on schedule at 10:15 am.
Richard, the parlour car attendant, had "Chattanoga Choo Choo" and other 40's songs playing softly in the background which added to the mood. He presented the day's agenda and said that he was part of one of ten crews assigned to the Starlight. A lot of us passengers felt lucky to have Richard. His agenda included a narration of the remotely and largely unvisited area of California coastline near a military base. He generously shared his knowledge of this route he has traveled for years. I was lucky enough to see a whale spouting way out from the coast. The scenery was gorgeous.
First class tickets include meals and non alcoholic beverages and I took too much advantage of this. The vegetable lasagna (mediocre) was my lunch choice finished off with cheesecake (very good). A highlight of the trip was meeting and visiting with whomever happened to be seated with us in the dining car.
After lunch it was back to the parlour car for more conversation and wine tasting.
Even though I am not much of a wine drinker, I appreciated Richard's knowledge of California wines. He told us how to taste the wine to enhance the flavor of the food and what wine characteristics to look for. His method did enhance the flavor of the cheeses for me.
After a short nap and some reading, it was dinnertime. I tried the salmon and it was very good. My husband enjoyed his filet mignon also. For dessert we shared the "Amtrak Signature Dessert"--a chocolate mousse pyramid beautifully presented with tiny scoops of ice cream alternated with scoops of whipping cream and drizzled with chocolate and cherry sauces. I was in chocolate heaven.
The evening entertainment, besides the regular movie feature "Sweet Home Alabama", Richard provided a 20 minute short 1930s film about train history and a 60 minute film about Streamliners.
When we returned to our sleeper after leaving Emeryville, our beds were made up for us. The top bunk (shelf) was mine this night and I didn't like it much. There is no window up there but there is a reading light. You can ask for a ladder or just use the shelves to climb up. We had one night sleeping on the Coast Starlight and then transferred in Portland to the Empire Builder for two nights sleeper. After that first night I learned to stay up later than my husband so he would climb up there.
The shower compartment was in the basement and similar to an RV shower. There was one small toilet/sink room on our level and several more in the basement. I think the upper level was quieter than the lower level as there was a family bedroom and a handicapped room down below also. Some people spoke of a hearing a baby crying down there. Supposedly the lower rooms aren't as affected by rocking but I wasn't bothered by that upstairs either.
We had a 1.5 hr bus from a stop in Oregon to Portland in order to catch the Empire Builder. This was because the tracks were being worked on by UP crews.
Although I was skeptical about Amtrak, this was a great experience and a bargain with their B1G1F sale. We traveled from MSP to Chicago, Chicago to KC, LA to Portland, Portland to MSP with 3 nights sleeper and meals for $539 for two. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks for reading.
Mar 10, 2003, 7:57 pm
#2
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 1999
Location: PVD
Posts: 1,560
We have done this trip many times ourselves, usually Olympia, WA, to Santa Barbara, CA, but in January we went all the way to LA. It used to be much better, as they are gradually removing many of the perks they had and the food used to be better. For example, on the second day they actually had champagne tasting rather than the wine tasting. There would be fresh floweres in the room, a free gift when you got off, onboard entertainment like a magician, and so on. Anyway, for every trip we have used a mere 30,000 Alaska miles for both of us in a sleeper. It is still the most amazing deal and so relaxing.
[This message has been edited by TravelWeary (edited 03-10-2003).]
[This message has been edited by TravelWeary (edited 03-10-2003).]
Mar 10, 2003, 8:38 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: AS MVP, Elevate, AAdvantage, Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,992
I also took this trip (only as far as San Jose) in Jan '03, and IMHO, the service hasn't diminished too much. I first rode the CS in '96, and then again in '98, '00 and '02. The service was probably best on the '98 trip, but even still, the cutbacks aren't too significant. We still had the fresh flowers in the rooms, and the food quality seemed no worse (if not better) than previous trips.
The scenery along the California Coastline is stunning, especially on a sunny winter's day!
The scenery along the California Coastline is stunning, especially on a sunny winter's day!