Amtrac

[capnpugwash]

Gari, she would be so proud. I think you will be very comfortable unless you are taller than 5 '3". The third arm will be useful to stop the stacked baggage falling on you. And before you ask, the stacked baggage is not someone who I have ever met and she may or may not be an Amtrak employee

[bobnatt]

 

P.S. Bob, Give me the tip on tipping on a railway train, who and how much (by that I mean how much a normal person would tip) we don't do that in the UK. Well I don't anyway.

 

 

 

G

 

 

Actually I have no idea what to tip on AMTRAK...never used it for a vacation trip with checked luggage...

[garigoun]

Actually I have no idea what to tip on AMTRAK...never used it for a vacation trip with checked luggage...

 

Oh Bob you disappoint me I've always considered you to be the global authority on tipping. An idol with feet of clay Sigh...

Gari

[Jim Avery]

Gari:

You will have a good time on the train. The food is not too bad (enjoyable) and the bar car is fun. The only slight problem with US passenger trains is that if the schedule calls for 31 hours, do not be surprised if it is closer to 40. Train stops a lot in the middle of nowhere as freight trains have priority over here:eek:. If the lack of real schedule is not an issue, just relax, have a Bourbon and Branch Water or three and enjoy the view out the window. Once you are south of New Jersey, it gets better.

All the best,

Jim.

[garigoun]

Gari:

You will have a good time on the train. The food is not too bad (enjoyable) and the bar car is fun. The only slight problem with US passenger trains is that if the schedule calls for 31 hours, do not be surprised if it is closer to 40. Train stops a lot in the middle of nowhere as freight trains have priority over here:eek:. If the lack of real schedule is not an issue, just relax, have a Bourbon and Branch Water or three and enjoy the view out the window. Once you are south of New Jersey, it gets better.

All the best,

Jim.

 

Ah thank you Jim a glimmer of sunshine to relieve the unrelenting gloom.

The schedule is not of the essence but we would like to get a night's sleep in Miami before joining the ship next day. If it takes 40 hours it may be pushing it somewhat. We haven't got the full timetable yet but going from Amtrak's site the train leaves Penn St. approx 5pm on the 4th.

31 hours takes us up to midnight on the 5th and we join the 'Jewel sometime on the 6th. 40 hours will take us up to 9am on the 6th so just time to check in have a shower and breakfast and find our way down to the docks. Not been to Miami before so was hoping for a whirlwind tour before joining the boat. Anyway we'll see, all part of the warp and weft of life's vibrant tapestry.

A Fatalistic Gari

[Finch]

Best wishes, Gari, on your trip. Thanks to all- I've really enjoyed this thread!

[Upshur]

1. Shower & WC

2. More space

3. 1st class service

 

Don't forget 375 of Tatt

cheese and choclate

and of course WINE!

 

Meals are include in rate but not the tip!

We tip on what the meal woul have

cost if we purchased. Enjoy!

[garigoun]

Gari--if there is no baggage car, the attendants are very good at finding space on board. After all, they wouldn't be able to set up the bunks for sleeping if there's too many cases in the way. Just bear in mind that if the suitcases you check are even half a pound over the weight limit (50lb) they will NOT accept them, and you'll have to take care of them yourself...

 

 

NdP many thanks for the pix, much appreciated. Looks like we are in for a SNUG time.

Gari

[MI1083]

Hi Gari, I rarely post on here but only wish you to have a nice travel experience on your Amtrak trip. I have 25 years experience with Amtrak. The train you will be riding on will be either the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star, they both are long distance overnight trains serving between NYC and Miami. Which train depends on your itenerary. They each are identical in consist, each fetaure a full service dining car as well as a lounge club car for lighter fare. Each train also has 4 Amfleet style coaches and only 2 Viewliner style sleepers. According to your post, you are reserved in a Roomette. The larger room would be the Bedroom. There are only 3 of them on each train and one of those is the Handicap accessible room. Therefore, the Bedrooms tend to book up far in advance. As your trip nears, please remind us again, I may be able to assist you with an upgrade to the Bedroom on that train. Reservations do cancel out from time to time as the date approaches and I would like to see you get the larger room if possible. As others have stated, luggage storage is sparse in the rooms so you will want to check all but your overnight bags to the baggage car. Your train runs terminal to terminal NYC to end point Miami so there is slim chance your bags will stray. Unfortunately, Amtrak as America's national rail system remains a political hot potato year to year when it comes to funding issues. Your trip will be what you make to be as long as you keep your expectations reasonable. I have read your post time to time, I think with your adventurous outlook, you will look back on it as an adventure. The dining cars do at this time still serve hot cooked meals with waiter service. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is included with the price of your sleeping car upgrade. Of course, with funding issues, the food service can be subject to change in the far distance of your travel date but at this time, things are looking very optimistic for improvements. Yes, these long distance overnight trains cover a lot of distance and utilize freight train owned trackage so delays are a reality as much as an on-time arrival. I do hope that you enjoy your train ride and do let me know if I can help in any other way. So go ahead and have fun, bring along your dinner jacket and make your own nostalgia in the dining car. No one else will be dressed out but you can have fun. These Amtrak diners are vintage 1950's era, modernized somewhat but still have some of the old art deco touches left from the Pullman era.

PS Bit of Cunard nostaligia: One of the on-board supervisors on your train, who just retired was a 25 year Cunard veteran employee. His last postition was Cruise Director on the QE2. He left many years ago and joined Amtrak, choosing to live and work in sunny Miami.

 

Here is a link to an Amtrak Roomette spec.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Accommodations_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1080080553861&ssid=142

[garigoun]

Hi Gari, I rarely post on here but only wish you to have a nice travel experience on your Amtrak trip. I have 25 years experience with Amtrak. The train you will be riding on will be either the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star, they both are long distance overnight trains serving between NYC and Miami. Your trip will be what you make to be as long as you keep your expectations reasonable. I have read your post time to time, I think with your adventurous outlook, you will look back on it as an adventure. as much as an on-time arrival. I do hope that you enjoy your train ride and do let me know if I can help in any other way. So go ahead and have fun, bring along your dinner jacket and make your own nostalgia in the dining car. No one else will be dressed out but you can have fun. These Amtrak diners are vintage 1950's era, modernized somewhat but still have some of the old art deco touches left from the Pullman era.

Here is a link to an Amtrak Roomette spec.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Accommodations_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1080080553861&ssid=142

 

What a kind, thoughtful and useful reply, many, many thanks I really appreciate you taking the time. Don't be surprised if I take advantage of your expertise as the trip gets nearer.

Gari

[WriteAtSea]

Our trip in October is the first time we will NOT use Amtrak to get to NY for a Cunard trip. And we're sorry circimstances will not allow this time.

 

Our experience with Amrtak, on the runs to NY and on two RT cross-country trips has been uniformly positive. Not PERFECT, but positive. The food has been good, the service has been acceptable to good, the accomodations (there are several options) have been pleasant and the adventure of it has been great! Certainly, interesting things can happen but that is part of the fun of the trip.

 

The only caution is time. Never count on Amtrak to be on time. When they are, enjoy the fact. But if you are taking a cross-country trip taking days instead of hours, time is not really an issue.

 

One thing you might NOT expect from a train trip is the joy of meeting pleasant people. So you have that to look forward to as well.

 

Hi Gari, I rarely post on here but only wish you to have a nice travel experience on your Amtrak trip. I have 25 years experience with Amtrak. The train you will be riding on will be either the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star, they both are long distance overnight trains serving between NYC and Miami. Which train depends on your itenerary. They each are identical in consist, each fetaure a full service dining car as well as a lounge club car for lighter fare. Each train also has 4 Amfleet style coaches and only 2 Viewliner style sleepers. According to your post, you are reserved in a Roomette. The larger room would be the Bedroom. There are only 3 of them on each train and one of those is the Handicap accessible room. Therefore, the Bedrooms tend to book up far in advance. As your trip nears, please remind us again, I may be able to assist you with an upgrade to the Bedroom on that train. Reservations do cancel out from time to time as the date approaches and I would like to see you get the larger room if possible. As others have stated, luggage storage is sparse in the rooms so you will want to check all but your overnight bags to the baggage car. Your train runs terminal to terminal NYC to end point Miami so there is slim chance your bags will stray. Unfortunately, Amtrak as America's national rail system remains a political hot potato year to year when it comes to funding issues. Your trip will be what you make to be as long as you keep your expectations reasonable. I have read your post time to time, I think with your adventurous outlook, you will look back on it as an adventure. The dining cars do at this time still serve hot cooked meals with waiter service. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is included with the price of your sleeping car upgrade. Of course, with funding issues, the food service can be subject to change in the far distance of your travel date but at this time, things are looking very optimistic for improvements. Yes, these long distance overnight trains cover a lot of distance and utilize freight train owned trackage so delays are a reality as much as an on-time arrival. I do hope that you enjoy your train ride and do let me know if I can help in any other way. So go ahead and have fun, bring along your dinner jacket and make your own nostalgia in the dining car. No one else will be dressed out but you can have fun. These Amtrak diners are vintage 1950's era, modernized somewhat but still have some of the old art deco touches left from the Pullman era.

PS Bit of Cunard nostaligia: One of the on-board supervisors on your train, who just retired was a 25 year Cunard veteran employee. His last postition was Cruise Director on the QE2. He left many years ago and joined Amtrak, choosing to live and work in sunny Miami.

 

Here is a link to an Amtrak Roomette spec.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Accommodations_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1080080553861&ssid=142

[garigoun]

Our trip in October is the first time we will NOT use Amtrak to get to NY for a Cunard trip. And we're sorry circimstances will not allow this time.

 

Our experience with Amrtak, on the runs to NY and on two RT cross-country trips has been uniformly positive. Not PERFECT, but positive. The food has been good, the service has been acceptable to good, the accomodations (there are several options) have been pleasant and the adventure of it has been great! Certainly, interesting things can happen but that is part of the fun of the trip.

 

The only caution is time. Never count on Amtrak to be on time. When they are, enjoy the fact. But if you are taking a cross-country trip taking days instead of hours, time is not really an issue.

 

One thing you might NOT expect from a train trip is the joy of meeting pleasant people. So you have that to look forward to as well.

 

Hey Hey Hey, it's getting better all the time. Thanks for that Write at Sea

I'm starting to look forward to the trip now.

An Adventurous Gari

[cinta]

Gari, I love trains, and have done overnight trips on Amtrak. I would agree that you should avoid a roomette and upgrade to a proper bedroom. We did a roomette once, and although the price was right, the facilities were not.

 

This is a link to photos of our most recent train trip:

 

http://gallery.me.com/lesleyblake#100346&bgcolor=black&view=grid

 

and I would say that it would be all that you would desire for your trip. Alas, it was not on Amtrak.

 

WOW!! Those photos are amazing. What a trip.

That's how I imagine the Orient Express would be, but like Gari I would probably be disappointed.

[cinta]

I will look forward to your review Gari!!

Have fun

[hcrane]

In view of the less than enthusiastic response to my post I’ve changed our travel plans. We are now going for a week in Clacton** in January.

‘NO! NO!’ I can hear my old grey haired mother saying from beyond the veil. ‘Remember the Goun family motto.’ Said motto is ‘Animus in Adversum’ which she loosely but succinctly rendered as ‘ Shutup whining and get on with it you mardy little bugger’. So taking my courage in all three hands (I spent some time in Norfolk) I will brave the vicissitudes of the U.S. rail service with a good heart.

An Heroic Gari

** For our American readers Clacton is a seaside resort in the south of England somewhat like Coney Island but without the sophisticated ambiance and fine dining opportunities.

G

P.S. Bob, Give me the tip on tipping on a railway train, who and how much (by that I mean how much a normal person would tip) we don't do that in the UK. Well I don't anyway.

G

 

Hi Gari,

RE tipping on Amtrak I usually tio the dining room staff $3-4 per person for dinner (left on the table) and $2 per person for breakfast/lunch IF they have given good service. Have also not left tips in situations with very bad service.

 

Sleeping car attendant - $10 per night ($5 per person) - handed to the attendant as one leaves the train.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Best reagrds,

Crane

 

PS. Booked on the Autotrain 27OCT09 - Lorton, VA to Sanford FL (annual car move down south) then back to Boston to get ready for 11NOV TA/Caribbean on QM2

[garigoun]

Hi Gari,

RE tipping on Amtrak I usually tio the dining room staff $3-4 per person for dinner (left on the table) and $2 per person for breakfast/lunch IF they have given good service. Have also not left tips in situations with very bad service.

 

Sleeping car attendant - $10 per night ($5 per person) - handed to the attendant as one leaves the train.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Best reagrds,

Crane

 

PS. Booked on the Autotrain 27OCT09 - Lorton, VA to Sanford FL (annual car move down south) then back to Boston to get ready for 11NOV TA/Caribbean on QM2

 

Good stuff Crane Thanks

Gari

[JustinCornell]

What Dates are you in Bermuda ? I'll see if I'm around then and give you a tour !

 

Cheers

Justin

[garigoun]

What Dates are you in Bermuda ? I'll see if I'm around then and give you a tour !

 

Cheers

Justin

 

How extraordinairily kind Justin. Thankyou for the offer.We haven't any dates as yet apart from embarkation. I'll let you know as soon as I receive some more information.

Gari