On kind of a whim I decided to take a trip to Florida in early Dec. in part to ride Brightline. I have a roomette from Philadelphia to Orlando on the 97 and then returning a few days later from Miami, also on the Meteor, although I would have preferred the Silver Star due to later departure but it was quite a bit more. I accepted the lowest fair options, which unfortunately placed me in the 11 car both ways, and as I read on this forum are VIs which I experienced one time previously on the Cardinal.
I called Amtrak (I prefer to make modifications on the phone) to see if I could switch to the 10 so that I could have my first VII experience. To make that change going south on the same train would be an upcharge of almost couple hundred, more than I want to spend, though the return change is a reasonable increase and I accepted that. Do they automatically charge more for VIIs? Question is, any strategies on when/how to check in to see if I can make that other switch for a more reasonable upcharge? I am even willing to adjust travel days. Thanks for any pro tips.