Amtrak - Going BIG!

[Beachcomber]

We took the Western Canada tour with Tauck and really enjoyed it.We toured Butchart Gardens.
We took VIA rail from Vancouver to Jasper, along the same route the Rocky Mountaineer runs, for less $$$.
I have attached a link our story.
http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/westerncanada2015.pdf

Well done, and good move on the VIA rail! Our train didn't have sleeping cars, but stopped in towns with nearby hotels. We enjoyed our stay at the Lake Louise Lodge. This was not a Tauck Tour, however.

We did a Tauck Tour of Ireland and I must say, that was first class - in every respect.

It would be great if Amtrack offered a similar experience.

 

[Beachcomber]

That site makes you register before they show you any of their tours.

Sorry, try this:

https://www.tauck.com/tours-and-cruises/whats-new

 

[EastWest Gal]

There are some nice hotels in Emeryville near the train station. Much safer than SF. And not too far from BART either.

 

[Koolau]

There are some nice hotels in Emeryville near the train station. Much safer than SF. And not too far from BART either.

Has SF been an issue in terms of safety? My bucket list is to visit one last time. It's been almost 30 years and I loved SF. Always felt safe there - letting my gut be my guide (no forays into the Tenderloin at midnight, etc.)

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I took the California Zephyr in Feb of this year and really enjoyed it. I had a bedroom (has the toilet/shower combo in the room). I was lucky as when we pulled into Emeryville we were only 3 hours late and that was after leaving Chicago 2 hours late. So not bad at all. The scenery between Denver and Sacramento is the best on the Empire builder.

Here are some things you should pack for your train trips:

1. Comfortable overnight clothes
3. Sandals for going from your room to the toilet/shower/coffee machine. (Cheap ones like Hotel slippers)
4. Snacks high in fiber. (eating Amtrak food for a long time may back you up). I also brought prunes with me.
6. Wipes to sanitize your sleeping compartment
7. Hand sanitizer
8. Easy on/off shoes
10. Tape and a piece of cardboard to stop any rattling in your compartment may have.
11. Also you can order food to be delivered at a long stop if you get tired of the food on the train. But I have found that the food now on Amtrak is better than pre-covid. It is basically one step up from food you would get on first class on a flight. (avoid the lounge car food)
12. A USB hub with a long power cord (or bring a small extension cord) as there is only 1 plug in Roomette. I brought a GoPro camera/cell phone and laptop and it made my life so much easier as the plugs in the rooms/roomettes are not located in optimal locations.
13. Just remember you are in no rush and sit back and relax. You will more than likely meet someone you get along with and take most of your meal with them. I met a guy from Argentina and learned so much about his country during the trip.
14. Download an app like "speedometer" on your phone so you can see how fast the train is moving.
15. You can track updates to your arrival times and train locations when you have cell service on site: https://asm.transitdocs.com/
16. Take some amazing photos/videos from the last car on the train. Especially cool when going over bridges.
17. A typical tip for the sleeping car attendant is $20/day.
18. Go ahead and download offline google maps for areas you will be traveling though so you can still see where you are when you are out of cell service range (which is often).


I also took the Empire Builder in 2019 and made a video of my trip if you are interested:

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

Have a great trip, take lots of photos, and we look forward to hearing about your journey!

I finally got around to watching your Empire Builder video. Very nicely done. I really like your video editing skills/style.

 

[newchapter]

Were you able to take the trip, and if so, how was it?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Were you able to take the trip, and if so, how was it?

Perfect timing! I did take the trip and I just returned home yesterday afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip on the California Zephyr, Coast Starlight and Empire Builder. The scenery was beautiful, without a doubt. However, you also see a lot of not-so-pretty parts of America. But ignore those. The ”experience” is different and may not be for everyone. This was a long trip, even without delays. But add to that, a lot of time is spent chugging along at low speeds of 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. miles per hour. The max speed was about 80, but probably less than 10% of the trip is done at full speed. There are even times where you may have to sit and wait for periods of time. So you need to be prepared for that. There is a lot of coordination of train traffic moving in both directions. I had seen enough YouTubes to know this prior to my trip.

Food was adequate to good. Everyone will have their perspective. I never went hungry. It is not a large menu. Just a few options for each meal. And they sometimes didn’t have everything on the menu. If you do not pay for a sleeper car, you currently do not get served in the dining car. Coach passengers bring their own food or live off the snack bar food.

Service: Generally I was very happy with the services provided. I had very good and friendly people who took care of our needs in the sleeper car. The waitresses in the dining car were very efficient at their jobs but often lacked friendliness. They were very busy doing their jobs, but a little more friendly interaction with the passengers would have gone a long way. Still, they got me my food fast and accurately for the most part.

One night on the Zephyr, the AC was not working in the dining car or kitchen, so they announced they would not be cooking and serving dinner. Instead, they had KFC 2-piece meals delivered to the train at a stop and we all got that or a bowl of vegetarian chili to take back to our rooms for dinner. While not a big fan of KFC, it actually hit the spot that night — even though it didn’t come with Cole slaw! Who does that??

Moving around the train can be interesting at times. There is a lot of back and forth movement and the occasional up and down bumps to throw you around. Bring Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness. I never felt the need for it, but I was happy I had it when I overheard a passenger asking a crew member for it for his wife. Crew does not provide that, so I was happy to help out. I ran into his wife a couple hours later and she was already feeling much better.

My sleeper roomette was more than adequate for one person but would be tight for 2 larger people. But people make it work. They are cozy. I liked mine for just me. There are larger bedrooms too (for a price).

The train was very full given the summer travel season. The observation car has great views from both sides of the train but only holds so many people. And the coach passengers tend to camp out there rather than sit in their own seats. Add in a lot of people/families from the sleeper cars and the net result is that it can be tough at times to get a seat in the observation car. So I spent the majority of my days in my roomette where I had large windows but only looking out one side of the train. When I wanted pictures from the other side, I started using a window in the stairwell of my sleeper car. It was nearby and had good views. I just had to stand rather than sit for a while. It was all good.

Overall, I had a great time. I have already booked a similar-length trip for the fall on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA. Then the Coast Starlight from LA to SF. And then the Zephyr, going in the opposite direction from the trip I just finished, back to Chicago.

I’m happy to answer specific questions if anyone has them.

 

[newchapter]

Great to hear it went well and you had a good time. Funny to hear about the KFC being delivered. The one thing I find I really like is that you get to just relax and not worry about having to do something else. Glad you didn't run into any delays! I look forward to hearing about your trip on the Southwest Chief as I have been keeping an eye out on the prices for a bedroom as they will dip sometimes. Nothing against kids, but I bet it is a little more enjoyable once school is back in and you will have more seating in the observation car. I did have one question, is the menu the same on all routes?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Great to hear it went well and you had a good time. Funny to hear about the KFC being delivered. The one thing I find I really like is that you get to just relax and not worry about having to do something else. Glad you didn't run into any delays! I look forward to hearing about your trip on the Southwest Chief as I have been keeping an eye out on the prices for a bedroom as they will dip sometimes. Nothing against kids, but I bet it is a little more enjoyable once school is back in and you will have more seating in the observation car. I did have one question, is the menu the same on all routes?

Thanks. My trip on the Zephyr was actually about 4 hours late getting into San Francisco. But I didn’t really care since I wasn’t connecting to another immediate train and I had made no plans for when I got there. The other legs were just about on time.

The menus for the western routes are all the same. You can find the menu here:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/dining-car.html

Most of the eastern routes are still on “flex dining” due to Covid, which means a selection of microwave meals. You can find menus for those here:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/flexible-dining.html

I snagged my tickets for the next trip by repeatedly searching for dates that had fares at the low price point for each leg that also allowed me to do them back to back to back. The various possible price points are documented by internet experts. So, if you need me to point you to the pricing info, let me know.

Edited to add: I just noticed that Amtrak hasn’t put their new menus on their website yet. The Traditional Dining menu was changed a little in June. Some items are the same, but some were replaced. But it still is the same menu on all western routes.

 

[newchapter]

Thanks. My trip on the Zephyr was actually about 4 hours late getting into San Francisco. But I didn’t really care since I wasn’t connecting to another immediate train and I had made no plans for when I got there. The other legs were just about on time.

The menus for the western routes are all the same. You can find the menu here:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/dining-car.html

Most of the eastern routes are still on “flex dining” due to Covid, which means a selection of microwave meals. You can find menus for those here:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/flexible-dining.html

I snagged my tickets for the next trip by repeatedly searching for dates that had fares at the low price point for each leg that also allowed me to do them back to back to back. The various possible price points are documented by internet experts. So, if you need me to point you to the pricing info, let me know.

Edited to add: I just noticed that Amtrak hasn’t put their new menus on their website yet. The Traditional Dining menu was changed a little in June. Some items are the same, but some were replaced. But it still is the same menu on all western routes.

Thanks! I was 4 hours delayed on the CZ too, but like you, it didn't bother me as I wasn't in a rush. And yes, I would love to see those price points!

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Thanks! I was 4 hours delayed on the CZ too, but like you, it didn't bother me as I wasn't in a rush. And yes, I would love to see those price points!

Look at Post #112 on this thread on amtraktrains.com. It contains a hand written chart of the price buckets for each of the Amtrak routes.

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/long-distance-train-coach-sleeper-fares-buckets.77062/page-5

For example, If you locate the letters “CZ”, that is for the California Zephyr. To the right of that are 4 columns of up to 6 numbers. The column abbreviations (C, R, FB, and B) stand for Coach, Roomette, Family Bedroom, and Bedroom). The numbers below each of those are the current price point buckets for that route’s ENTIRE distance. If you only want a partial route you would pay a prorated amount of the current bucket price for the entire route (I think).

There is a similar section for each route (SWC for Southwest Chief, etc).

So currently, the lowest price you will ever find the CZ from Chicago to Emeryville is $563 for a Roomette. The most they currently charge is $1052 for that Roomette. Amtrak will move the price between the various bucket prices based on supply and demand or whatever reason they may choose to. You may see a low bucket price for one day and then a middle bucket price the next day.

So when trying to determine the best time to buy a ticket on a particular date, you want to look for a lowest or second lowest bucket. It won’t go lower than the lowest bucket. I was able to find lowest price bucket tickets for my late October trip on the SW Chief, Coast Starlight, and CZ. So I nabbed them before they raised the rate.

Let me know if you have any questions.