Doing it differently....Amtrak

[ILoveScotland]

I love Amtrak!

In the past 18 months, I've logged almost 20,000 miles on Amtrak, most of them in coach and all of it was leisure/fun travel.

I haven't had a bad experience yet or met a nasty employee either, ymmv.

 

In fact, I decided to start cruising again because I can take the City of New Orleans from Chicago to NOLA.

 

I dragged my husband along at the end of Jan. and booked a bedroom roundtrip on the CONO to take a cruise on Elation and now I'm totally hooked.

 

The train was the land cruise part of my vacation and will be for all of my future cruises from my adopted home port of New Orleans.

 

20,000 miles? I am utterly green with envy!! :D

[loribeth220]

Hi Loribeth, Looks like we are neighbors. I am in Jackson as well.

 

We are thinking of taking Amtrak to Baltimore this summer for our Pride cruise. How did you handle luggage in Trenton? Amtrak's site says there is no checked baggage offered. Also, if you don't mind one more question. If I book a 1pm return trip and disembark runs long can I take a later train?

 

Thanks!

 

Sorry, I just saw this when I was looking back at my old postings. There wasn't any luggage issue leaving out of Trenton, the platform is even with the train car so once you leave the waiting area, head down the elevator to the platform, find your car number, you just walk and wheel right on. Once on there is plenty of room in the overhead area for whatever you have. Just keep in mind that you have to lift your bags over your head and back down again, so don't make them really heavy.

 

I don't know how the station is in Baltimore, but in Orlando we had to carry our bags down the train stairs and try to lift them up each step again when we were leaving. The Amtrak employees are VERY helpful in lending a hand if needed. Quite a few times I saw them taking people's luggage to their seat for them.

 

I was going to book the early train for the trip home but something told me to book the later train, just in case we ran late because of fog or something. As it turned out they literally threw us off the ship by 7:30am, we were the first ones to get a rental car at Enterprise that day and we drove around site seeing in Orlando until almost 4pm. After we returned the car, we took a taxi to the train station and hung out there for almost 3 hours. I could have booked the 1pm train but decided to play it safe. I don't think you can just take a later train since your names are assigned to certain seats. They will tell you either in the station or while you are waiting to board which train car and which seat numbers are yours. Also, before our trip, I went to do a fake booking to check on prices and our train had sold out.

[Soupernerd]

I took an Amtrak autotrain to Florida from Virginia once. I would definitely recommend spending the extra money on a private room as the regular seating doesn't recline much and is very uncomfortable. I got no sleep and was on the upper level by the stairs so people walked by all night and there is a very bright light in your face so people don't fall downstairs. The bathrooms were small little stalls and I wish I would have had a private one.

[SoCalKJ]

Back in 2005 when Carnival sailed out of San Diego...it was about 4 1/2 hours down the Pacific Coast. We arrived a little after noon and only had to walk about 1/2 mile to the port.

 

Still wish Carnival went out of San Diego...that option was awesome!

[wmowan8485]

Was this wintertime or summertime?

 

At one point, Amtrak stated in their travel info that bringing along a blanket was a good idea, especially in summer, which can only mean that their onboard air conditioning REALLLY rocks. :)

 

 

 

It's pretty much the way of the world. (I'm not a smoker, but a fairly tolerant non-smoker.)

 

Amtrak DOES allow you to step off the train at some stations to have a smoke as long as you can be ready to re-board immediately. You can ask your car's steward or the Chief of Onboard Services (fancy title for 'Conductor' :) ) for details. Generally this will be at larger cities where a 10-15 min. stop -- typically for checked baggage or express mail handling -- is already scheduled.

 

I remember taking Amtrak from Philly to Orlando when my daughter was smaller and the A/C was crazy at night... So please do bring those extra blankets ;)

[ch27088]

We have bought Amtrak tickets from Memphis to New Orleans. Cost for 2 people for a private room was $390. This includes meals. Private room includes 2 recliners, bed, and private bath with a great window view. Airline tickets were $800 for 2, plus cost of any food, etc. That's over $400 in savings. That gives us an additional couple of days in New Orleans and we get to see some of this wonderful country! Has anyone else travelled to their port by train?

 

DH and I are cruising out of New Orleans on the Sunshine next March and we booked on Amtrak from Birmingham to New Orleans. It is cheaper than flying, and I don't want to be in a car for that long, so that's why we are taking the train. The only problem I ran into is...because we get in the day before, I had a hard time finding a hotel. Finally got one for $159 at La Quinta. Then when we return, we are staying overnight because the train would have already left by the time we get off the ship. Now the hotels (the same one) is $399 (which I am not paying). Even booking a year out, the hotels are already booked and prices are sky high.

 

I look forward to the train ride to New Orleans, and hopefully no one else will have a problem with hotels.

[ch27088]

Someone else can answer definitively, but I believe Amtrak provides wheelchair accessible cars on all its trains. I know for a fact that some do, because the train my late DH and I took was from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. He was in a wheelchair, and there was a car accessible to him.

 

I grew up traveling from California to New York and I have seen several people in wheel chairs. However, you need to make sure that you contact Amtrak because there are several areas where the person would have climb up and down to get in/out of the train. Once their on the train I believe they are fine in the wheel chair. My mom rides the train all the time and gets wheel chair assistance. Yeah, give them a call, they are great!

[Athankfulheart]

We traveled from LA to NY Via Chicago in 1996 and loved it. It was my husband, myself and 3 children aged about 3.5,2 and almost 1 at the time. We had a used the family bedroom one way and the deluxe the other. We had two problems that wouldnt stop us from doing it again. There was a lengthy delay in Chicago due to a delrailed freight train in our path. We spent about 10 hours in the station waiting for our train to NY. Also, the agent who sold me the rooms stated that the bedroom from Chi to NY would be plenty of space for my family. Um...yea-no. We talked to them and they gave us a second room on the way back at no charge.

 

We havent traveled overnight by train since but not because we wouldnt like to. We moved to the midwest and are nowhere near a train station now. Its more cost effective to drive now that we are a family of 10.

 

At that time, there was only one attendant for the sleeping car, but he was very effective and service was good across the board.

[ladytravlr2]

Amtrak is my favorite way to NOLA from IL. I have had coach seats, lower level seats, and a roomette. I now prefer the lower level seats. They must be purchased fairly early as they go fast. The sections they are in, are very easily accessible to bathroom (almost a private bathroom it's so close), not many seats in each section, very quiet, much easier to sleep in. Your luggage is right there in front of you in an area you can see.

 

The roomette was okay, but I didn't think it was worth the money. One plus was that it included food though. If I had kids to take along, I would say yes, so they could have a good place to sleep though. The lower level seats seem to be a little more comfortable and spacious than regular coach...maybe not, but they seemed like it.

 

Coach is last resort, but not all that bad. For long distances (17 hours for me)...I prefer the lower level.

 

Best part of going Amtrak to port? Not having to deal with parking a car, not getting tired of driving, and napping when you want. The train station in NOLA is easy to use, cabs right out front, easy to get to your hotel. Return after cruise is just as easy.

 

I always go down the day before the cruise departs, stay at Harrah's, but go home on Amtrak the afternoon the cruise comes back in.

 

It's worth a try for anyone wanting to experience it.

 

I have gone Greyhound across half the country before....as someone said...it was the trip from H----! Never again! I didn't close my eyes in 14 hours...and clutched my belongings on my lap...was afraid to relax. The bus stations were something to be forgotten....didn't know what I was getting into...whew! I was thankful to make it home...no kidding!

[navybankerteacher]

After arriving Miami in November on a trans-Atlantic from England, my wife and I will take the Silver Meteor to New York, changing to Northeast Regional the next morning to a station within 5 miles of home. Spending the night in Miami and not having to do airports, then enjoying a sleeper compartment on the train is a much better way to end the trip.

[Treven]

When cruising out of SFO or So. CA I always take the train. Now that I'm retired the next time I cruise out of FLL I'd like to take the train. With a sleeper the cost from CA to FLL isn't much cheaper than flying, but I'd certainly enjoy the scenery going cross country, seeing parts of the country I've never seen. Being retired I don't have to be concerned about the time, as long as I factor in at least one more day to the expected travel time.

[jmf123]

I grew up traveling from California to New York and I have seen several people in wheel chairs. However, you need to make sure that you contact Amtrak because there are several areas where the person would have climb up and down to get in/out of the train. Once their on the train I believe they are fine in the wheel chair. My mom rides the train all the time and gets wheel chair assistance. Yeah, give them a call, they are great!

 

Seeing the mention of wheelchairs here, I just wanted to relay an experience I had with a person in a 400 lb. motorized w/c on Amtrak. Years ago when I first began working as a TA, the agency owner 'gave' me a client with a unique situation. A client wanted to give her parents an Alaska cruise. The catch? Her mother doesn't fly and is in a motorized w/c, living in Wisconsin! I ended up booking them a private room on Amtrak, and a Princess Alaska cruise. This woman had the TIME OF HER LIFE! The train trip worked out perfect, and the cruise was amazing. She was treated like a queen on Princess.

 

The best part for me (besides hearing the positive trip report), was actually meeting the woman after her cruise. Her daughter (who had booked the trip), brought her to the agency in her handicap-accessible van. I went outside and met this smiling woman- with her brand new memories of an unforgettable vacation. :)

[Treven]

...

The best part for me (besides hearing the positive trip report), was actually meeting the woman after her cruise. Her daughter (who had booked the trip), brought her to the agency in her handicap-accessible van. I went outside and met this smiling woman- with her brand new memories of an unforgettable vacation. :)

Sweet!

[Love.II.Cruise]

We love Amtrak!

[RockeyBullwinkle]

We took Amtrak from Memphis to New Orleans a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We also did the sleeper car/roommette and it was really nice to have a quiet place to play cards, read and even take a nap.

 

I would love to do it again but unfortunately (well at least for me) they did away with the smoking car. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't hesitate to take Amtrak again.

 

and they wonder why they loose business.. put the smoking car last and none of the anti everything nut jobs would need to go in. add nice seats, a cash bar and big screen tv and the thing would be packed.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We took the Coast Starlight back in 2004, RT Oxnard to Seattle for our Alaskan cruise. I'm not great on plane travel so my hubby thought this might be interesting for our little one (she was 7 on that trip). I had previously done some train travel (LA to Kansas City, northern Missouri to Detroit, NYC to Washington DC) and hubby went on family trips as a kid between LA and Minnesota.

 

Our cruise started on a Sunday, and from my research, I can see that the train was more often late than on time, so we planned to arrive in Seattle by late Friday. Which was good planning as the 36 hour trip actually took 40 hours (and the same returning south). We also went up to Oxnard, instead of starting in downtown LA (at that time, those were the choices for taking on checked luggage).

 

We booked a family bedroom sleeper, which was not cheap. It included meals (if you booked a coach seat and wanted to purchase a meal, it was around $18, which I didn't think was worth it at all from the quality...many who were on for a shorter amount of time and booked a coach, brought on their own food). Unfortunately, there was a major plumbing problem -- very few working bathrooms, and an awful smell permeated the whole train. The train stopped for longer than planned in San Jose in an unsuccessful attempt to fix the problem.

[Ciyra]

We love Amtrak. I regularly take it up to San Francisco for baseball games.

 

On our cruise next year, we're taking it down to San Diego to get on the ship and then after we disembark in Miami we are taking it up to Orlando for some Walt Disney World time before we fly home. So we're going Fresno - San Diego - Miami (via Panama Canal) - Orlando - Fresno with only one flight home.

 

We always bring a six pack of craft beer and yummy take out on with us and it's a great way to start a vacation.

 

That being said, we're pretty laid back so delays usually don't bother us and we're highly amused by the colorful characters we come across on the train.

 

Also, to get the best deal - book at the 11 month mark. Trains are not like planes where the prices go up and down. There are a certain number of tickets at the lowest tier, when those sell out the next tier of tickets is slightly higher, once you get down to the last few tickets you're going to pay the highest tier. The exception to this is the 25% off deals that generally happen only on specific trains on specific days and are sold 2-3 weeks in advance. You can get lucky but if you've got a specific train you're looking for it can be a gamble.

[grandmacani]

We took the train from Seattle to San Francisco after our Hawaii cruise, loved it. We will be coming into New Orleans from a b2 b Europe/ transatlantic cruise in November. We were going to rent a car and drive back to Michigan. Then we decideded we really hate to drive, cost of rental car, cost of gas, hotel, food... We booked Amtrak with a room and private bath, meals and comfort. I knew I couldn't fly home since after 30 days away from home I know I will have many purchases made on my trip . I love Amtrak travel. Luckily for us we have time.