What's Amtrak like? And....POM to which station?

[gkrnjlr]

We've never taken the train but we have found that for 5 of us we can take the train for a really great price! We will coming from the Port of Miami and the train leaves there at 11:50 am. If we choose Hollywood, FL though it leaves at 12:14 pm. Not much of a difference....

 

How early do you suggest getting to the train station? And how long does it usually take from arrival until we're on the train? The website says at least 30 minutes before departure.

 

Is there anything we should know for first timers that are wanting to try a train ride?

 

Thanks for any help or insight!

[crewsweeper]

Distance wise/travel time by taxi/Uber/Lyft from POM, is about the same. don't know if fare is different, but if it were me, I'd choose the Hollywood station. Probably the same train and you have some cushion, assuming you left the port at the same time. 30 minutes before departure is probably fine. Trains aren't like planes and once they open for boarding you just head to your car.

 

I have heard that some sleeper cars have the toilet in the same room, that can be useful or not so pleasant , or infringe on space. But probably better than an open car if you're going a long ways. While some trains may have wifi, bring a thick book. These aren't high speed trains like in Europe or Japan, so they can be a slow plod home.

[gkrnjlr]

Thank you! This helps!

 

We'd be taking the train to Jacksonville, FL and it says it's a 10 hour train ride. Are we allowed to bring food on the train with us?

 

Wow that is fast for boarding. A lot faster than airlines! I assume we'll still have to go through security, etc. I hope....

[crewsweeper]

10 hours for a 6 hour easy drive? Might be cheaper to rent a car.

 

Can't answer ? about food. But do know that on the commuter Amtrak trains in North East Corridors, it's not an issue.

[gkrnjlr]

10 hours for a 6 hour easy drive? Might be cheaper to rent a car.

 

Can't answer ? about food. But do know that on the commuter Amtrak trains in North East Corridors, it's not an issue.

 

Crossed my mind - but the drop fee for the one way rental makes it expensive. We have been eyeing Jet Blue but the price has gone up a LOT (hopefully it'll come back down, but if not we're going the Amtrak route). Jet Blue wouldn't get us back to JAX until 10pm ish (same as Amtrak).

[VideoTech]

Crossed my mind - but the drop fee for the one way rental makes it expensive. We have been eyeing Jet Blue but the price has gone up a LOT (hopefully it'll come back down, but if not we're going the Amtrak route). Jet Blue wouldn't get us back to JAX until 10pm ish (same as Amtrak).

 

It's been a while since I've ridden Amtrak, but here's what I can tell you: First, the posted schedule is one thing, but the actual schedule can be something else again. This is for two reasons: One, Amtrak trains do not have priority over freight trains and thus can be side-tracked and held for freight trains. Two, Amtrak's equipment is notoriously old and poorly maintained, except in the NE corridor where there is heavy ridership. So breakdowns can happen, and when they do, you are put on a bus to continue your trip.

 

As for the train itself: There are 3 kinds of train cars used. First is a traditional coach, filled with seats, 2 seats on each side of a central aisle. Seats are larger than an airplane and much more comfortable. There is a shared restroom at the end of each coach car. Second is what used to be called a roomette, which is a odd little space in which two seats face each other, and are closed off from the corridor by walls and door. The seats are turned into lie flat bunk beds on overnight trips. Again, a shared restroom at the the end of he car. Finally, there are bedrooms and bedroom suites, which are more like what people used to think of for train travel..a closed cabin, with a couch that turns into a bed, and drop down bunk overhead. Some of them have private bathrooms & showers.

 

Food: Depending on the train, you may or may not have a dining car. Either way, you'll usually have a "cafe" car which is where you can buy stale pre-packaged sandwiches, sodas, beer and wine, and other packaged snacks.

 

So - is it worth it? Train travel can be interesting, particularly if you aren't on a tight schedule and can tolerate the delays. You will meet all kinds of people on trains, and some of them can be very interesting. You will definitely see some interesting sights that you won't see from 30,000 feet.

 

Personally, I wish this country had better train travel available. It's a great way to travel, but we just don't do it well here in the U.S.

[zdcatc12]

Thank you! This helps!

 

We'd be taking the train to Jacksonville, FL and it says it's a 10 hour train ride. Are we allowed to bring food on the train with us?

 

Wow that is fast for boarding. A lot faster than airlines! I assume we'll still have to go through security, etc. I hope....

 

Yes, you can bring food on the train. They also will have either a dining car or a snack car depending on which train that you take. Also about boarding--usually these Florida trains are not open seating, i.e. take any seat in any car, especially over the holidays. You will probably have your seat assigned as you board by the Conductor. No, there is no security check for the train.

 

Crossed my mind - but the drop fee for the one way rental makes it expensive. We have been eyeing Jet Blue but the price has gone up a LOT (hopefully it'll come back down, but if not we're going the Amtrak route). Jet Blue wouldn't get us back to JAX until 10pm ish (same as Amtrak).

 

There is no drop fee for intra-Florida rentals. I actually just priced your car for after your cruise and it ranges from $50 and up. Also, if you rent from one of the Enterprise companies, i.e. Enterprise, National or Alamo, they run a free shuttle from the port to the airport to pick up your car. I believe Thrifty or someone else does too, but I'm not positive about that.

 

With that being said, if you have never done a train trip, it is really a nice way to travel, very relaxing and you see stuff that you normally wouldn't see.

[gkrnjlr]

It's been a while since I've ridden Amtrak, but here's what I can tell you: First, the posted schedule is one thing, but the actual schedule can be something else again. This is for two reasons: One, Amtrak trains do not have priority over freight trains and thus can be side-tracked and held for freight trains. Two, Amtrak's equipment is notoriously old and poorly maintained, except in the NE corridor where there is heavy ridership. So breakdowns can happen, and when they do, you are put on a bus to continue your trip.

 

As for the train itself: There are 3 kinds of train cars used. First is a traditional coach, filled with seats, 2 seats on each side of a central aisle. Seats are larger than an airplane and much more comfortable. There is a shared restroom at the end of each coach car. Second is what used to be called a roomette, which is a odd little space in which two seats face each other, and are closed off from the corridor by walls and door. The seats are turned into lie flat bunk beds on overnight trips. Again, a shared restroom at the the end of he car. Finally, there are bedrooms and bedroom suites, which are more like what people used to think of for train travel..a closed cabin, with a couch that turns into a bed, and drop down bunk overhead. Some of them have private bathrooms & showers.

 

Food: Depending on the train, you may or may not have a dining car. Either way, you'll usually have a "cafe" car which is where you can buy stale pre-packaged sandwiches, sodas, beer and wine, and other packaged snacks.

 

So - is it worth it? Train travel can be interesting, particularly if you aren't on a tight schedule and can tolerate the delays. You will meet all kinds of people on trains, and some of them can be very interesting. You will definitely see some interesting sights that you won't see from 30,000 feet.

 

Personally, I wish this country had better train travel available. It's a great way to travel, but we just don't do it well here in the U.S.

 

Interesting.....so don't expect plush and fast.

Thanks for this info!

[gkrnjlr]

There is no drop fee for intra-Florida rentals. I actually just priced your car for after your cruise and it ranges from $50 and up. Also, if you rent from one of the Enterprise companies, i.e. Enterprise, National or Alamo, they run a free shuttle from the port to the airport to pick up your car. I believe Thrifty or someone else does too, but I'm not positive about that.

 

With that being said, if you have never done a train trip, it is really a nice way to travel, very relaxing and you see stuff that you normally wouldn't see.

 

I did not know that about no drop fee.....hmm..

I think I'm still leaning towards the train, but it does help to know this. Thanks!

[lovescarborough]

Amtrak. Hmmm. A couple of years ago we took the train overnight from Chicago to Memphis and then the day train from Memphis to New Orleans. We weren't sure what to expect being from across the pond but we kind of thought it might be similar to the Eurostar service from London to Paris but with a bedroom thrown in. What we got was worse than our local train service. We paid extra for the bedroom which basically means you get your own small, very, very small toilet which doubles as a shower, except you have to sit on the toilet to use it. You then have a small bed and bunk above but it doesn't really matter that it's so uncomfortable because the train rocks from side to side so badly you can't sleep anyway. Add to that you also have the hooter going at every crossing. Daytime is better as you can look out the window but we were delayed over an hour waiting for a broken down goods train to be moved. Food is pretty bad too. We laugh about it now as it was certainly an experience but would definitely not be repeating it ! Flying might be a pain but it's by far the best and much quicker.

[VideoTech]

Amtrak. ....similar to the Eurostar service from London to Paris but with a bedroom thrown in. ...

 

Couldn't resist....that's just too funny when it comes to U.S. train travel. We have nothing like Eurostar here, even the much vaunted Acela "high speed" service in the NE Corridor rarely runs at true high speeds. The cars on the Acela are much like Eurostar coach cars, but that's about as close as it gets.

 

It's truly sad that we don't have Eurostar-like train travel in this country. I wish we did.

[bessinfl]

I have to disagree with the poster above who had bad experiences with Amtrak. I've taken the roundtrip train from Orlando to D.C. and to NY several times. I've never had trouble with delays, although I understand they do exist. I also have never experienced cars rocking back and forth or whistles blowing all night. I sleep very well on the train.

 

I have always booked a roomette, which does have a private toilet and sink. The showers are down the hall. But I assume that on a 10-hour trip you'll just get regular seats. I'd recommend taking your own food because the snack-bar food is pretty bad, and you can have a pretty njce picnic if you plan ahead. You can take along any food or drink you want.

 

Trains are wonderfully relaxing, especially for the people who don't have drive! I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[gkrnjlr]

We are leaning towards the train! I appreciate everyone's input here!

I see on the Amtrak website that they have the option for promo codes. Does anyone know any tricks for getting a promo code?

 

Thanks!

[DaveOKC]

Just on a 4 hour Amtrak trip last week. A couple of comments:

 

Amtrak runs a special each week and I think it comes out on Tuesday. Reduced fares for many routes, but I think only the basic class of service. Check out the website for details.

 

The seats we had were very roomy and comfortable (we had leather ones for some reason). The food was very basic, but you can bring your own (we did some Subways). We boarded the train about 30 minutes before departure (in our case, we were assigned a specific car just prior to boarding, but had open seating.

 

You might consider boarding at Miami, unless you have assigned seating (we did not on our train). This way you get a better choice in were to sit - especially import for us since we had a group of 4 and also wanted seats with good window views (and perhaps sitting forward vs backward, depending again on your train).

 

All in all, we enjoyed the ride and it sure beat driving (for the driver especially).

 

DO some Internet research on your train and route to get specifics before your book (like which class of seats your train has, one or two levels, business class?, how busy are the trains?, any stops along the way?). SOme routes have a dining car, some just a cafe section in one of the cars.

Edited July 5, 2017 by DaveOKC

[BlueHerons]

I absolutely LOVE taking the train and highly recommend this. Yes, I usually take wine and snacks with me. Tons of room.

 

I would also suggest boarding in Miami and not Hollywood. You'll have to pay to get to Hollywood and you will have first choice of seats in Miami because it is the first stop on the route.

[gkrnjlr]

I absolutely LOVE taking the train and highly recommend this. Yes, I usually take wine and snacks with me. Tons of room.

 

I would also suggest boarding in Miami and not Hollywood. You'll have to pay to get to Hollywood and you will have first choice of seats in Miami because it is the first stop on the route.

 

I can take wine???:hearteyes:

How would you recommend getting from POM to the Miami Amtrak station?

 

Thanks!

[BlueHerons]

I can take wine???:hearteyes:

How would you recommend getting from POM to the Miami Amtrak station?

 

Thanks!

 

I take an entire cooler. Not just some small sided thing but a full on wheelie.

 

Take a cab or Uber.

[jon46]

I am planning on taking Amtrak from Albany NY to Miami in January of 2019. Amtrak has a good app that you can track trains. You put in train number and station it will tell you when it arrives and leaves. Also how late its running. It will take about 30 hours. The 97 and 98 Silver meteor do have wifi, but it could be spotty in places. I'm traveling in coach as the roomettes are very expense. The seats in coach are roomy and have a leg rest that comes up so you can lay back. My wife cannot sleep good at night, (light sleeper) lots of snoreing and the whistle will blow a few times.plan on leaving on Thursday and getting in on Friday evening for a Cruise on Saturday.

[jon46]

Was planning on renting a car at MIA and drop it off at Orlando. Then taking Amtrak back home from there. But all the car rental places are charging an extra $100 to drop off in another town. Just on the one day rental! So now just plan on returning from Miami Amtrak.

[zdcatc12]

Was planning on renting a car at MIA and drop it off at Orlando. Then taking Amtrak back home from there. But all the car rental places are charging an extra $100 to drop off in another town. Just on the one day rental!

 

They shouldn't. I have never seen a rental agency in Florida charge for a one-way drop off within the state. Keep looking. I am doing a one-way rental from MIA-MLB in April and there is no one-way fee. Not sure when you are going in January, but I just checked for the 15th and a car for one day is $50 picking up in MIA and dropping off at MCO.

Edited July 12, 2017 by zdcatc12
Added dates.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Was planning on renting a car at MIA and drop it off at Orlando. Then taking Amtrak back home from there. But all the car rental places are charging an extra $100 to drop off in another town. Just on the one day rental! So now just plan on returning from Miami Amtrak.

 

I do one way rentals from Miami all the time up to Orlando and have done it to Jacksonville. I never pay an extra $100 to drop it off. I just did this in the beginning of June again.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I take an entire cooler. Not just some small sided thing but a full on wheelie.

 

Take a cab or Uber.

 

 

Ok, I'm going on the train with you!!!

[AnyShip4Me]

See new thread titled Amtrak 2018

Edited May 25, 2018 by AnyShip4Me
double post

[Langoustine]

I agree with Blue Herons about boarding in Miami. There are no reserved seats, and you stand a much better chance of sitting together if you board there rather than in Hollywood.