# Coast Starlight Bedroom Suite turns to Bustitution



## ChrisRice (May 21, 2014)

We have an AGR trip coming up in a few days as follows:

Leg 1

NBN to CHI via CONO

CHI to SEA via EB

Leg 2

SEA to LAX via CS

LAX to FLG via SWC

Leg 3

FLG to SFC via SWC/CS/Bus

Leg 4

SFC to CHI via Bus/CZ

CHI to NBN via CONO

These four legs were booked on one reservation using AGR points. There are three of us traveling so I booked two Roomettes across the hall from each other on each train. Since the original booking I have accumulated enough points to upgrade the trip so I have been watching for bedroom availability. Yesterday I upgraded Leg 2 from two roomettes to two bedrooms (bedroom suite). I thought this would be a good change for the wife and daughter given the number of hours we will be on a train. I could not get two bedrooms on Leg 1 or 4 which would have been preferred. I was very proud of the bedroom suite and told the wife and daughter how much they would enjoy the change.

Today I get a recorded call from Amtrak telling me that due to scheduled track work portions of the CS trip on Leg 2 would be "alternate transportation". I called and was informed that we would be bused from Portland to Eugene, about 123 miles, from 1:50 pm to 5:10: pm. I understand these issues can and will come up and we will roll with the flow but what luck, the day after a 20,000 point upgrade and now we are on a bus. I'm just a little disappointed and hope this is not a sign of things to come.

What will we miss between Portland and Eugene in terms of scenery?

Any luggage issues with a bustitution? Since we will be traveling for two weeks we have the maximum carry on luggage+.

Should we get a voucher for something like this?

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum. It has been a lot of help and entertaining as well.

ChrisR


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## amamba (May 21, 2014)

Do you have an overnight in SEA???

Do you have any flexibility in your dates? I was faced with a similar bustitution on an AGR trip on the CS in March and I went a day early to stay in the train. It's only a two hour bus ride but yeah it still sucks.


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## ChrisRice (May 21, 2014)

Amamba,

Yes, we are staying in SEA two nights. I checked and the bustitution is also scheduled for the day before our trip. Because of tours and other reservations in SEA and LAX probably better to just take the bus ride and consider it an "adventure".

Thanks, ChrisR


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## Palmetto (May 21, 2014)

So between Eugene and Portland, you'lll be be I-5 instead of the UP Brooklyn Sub. Having lived in Eugene, and gone to PDX both ways, you're not going to miss much not taking the train. You'll still see the Coburg Hills to the east, and the Coastal Range to the west. You'll cross the Willamette a few times, but just in different places.


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## CHamilton (May 21, 2014)

I've done the bustitution from Eugene to Portland (the opposite way that you'll be going). It shouldn't be too bad, as you'll be getting out of Portland before rush hour, and Eugene doesn't have much in the way of traffic. I-5 is boring, but you'll be seeing essentially the same scenery that you'd be seeing from the train: the Willamette Valley, which is quite green and lush this time of year. Don't know about the luggage, but you might want to ask whether you would be better off checking anything you won't need immediate access to.

Yes, you should definitely ask for a voucher. A bus is a real come-down from the CS and the Pacific Parlour Car. But I think you're right to go with the flow and enjoy the adventure. Enjoy your trip; the whole thing sounds like fun!


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## Shanghai (May 21, 2014)

Chris,

I have taken the Ambus from SFC to SBA, then the Pacific Surfliner to LAX. The bus (coach) was very comfortable and enjoyable.

It has a restroom, comfortable seats and wifi. The bus was about one-half full of only Amtrak passengers. If you are lucky enough,

you may have transport like this, although it is not as comfortable as a sleeper on the Coast Starlight. I assume you will be on the

SWC going from LAX to FLG. You should get all of your bedroom points returned to your AGR account. Happy Traveling.


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## ChrisRice (May 21, 2014)

Thanks Guys,

I feel a better knowing we will not miss any scenery and we are glad the bustitution it is not in the middle of the night. We will roll with the flow and have a great time!

ChrisR


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## oregon pioneer (May 21, 2014)

Chris,

Last December, Hubby and I were bustituted on the EB from PDX to SPK (on a two-zone roomette trip to SPG). After the trip was over, I called Customer Relations and received a voucher for $150, good for one year from the date the voucher was issued. I did not receive any points refund.


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## ChrisRice (May 21, 2014)

Oregon pioneer,

That's great to know. That's almost a round trip to New Orleans for next year!

Thanks, Chris


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## the_traveler (May 21, 2014)

All luggage, including any carry on luggage, will be carried in the bus luggage compartment under the bus.


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## chakk (May 21, 2014)

I think the biggest thing you MIGHT miss with the bustitution from PDX to EUG would be the wine and cheese tasting in the Pacific Parlour Car, which I believe usually occurs shortly after leaving Portland on the southbound train. But now with so many amenities being eliminated on Amtrak trains, perhaps there wouldn't be a wine and cheese tasting to miss on your date of travel anyway.


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## oregon pioneer (May 21, 2014)

oregon pioneer said:


> Chris,
> 
> Last December, Hubby and I were bustituted on the EB from PDX to SPK (on a two-zone roomette trip to SPG). After the trip was over, I called Customer Relations and received a voucher for $150, good for one year from the date the voucher was issued. I did not receive any points refund.


Of course, that was a six-hour bus trip :angry: . Maybe eight hours. It seemed like forever, anyway.

But then again, you have a bedroom, so that's a higher-grade accommodation you're missing for the two hours.

Anyway, from what I've seen, it's kind of a crap shoot what they offer you. Good luck!


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## amamba (May 21, 2014)

chakk said:


> I think the biggest thing you MIGHT miss with the bustitution from PDX to EUG would be the wine and cheese tasting in the Pacific Parlour Car, which I believe usually occurs shortly after leaving Portland on the southbound train. But now with so many amenities being eliminated on Amtrak trains, perhaps there wouldn't be a wine and cheese tasting to miss on your date of travel anyway.


Wine and cheese tasting was already eliminated on April 1 on the CS.


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## amamba (May 21, 2014)

I don't know what work they are doing but it appears that Amtrak is getting short notice of the track work bc I also got the notice about a week before my trip.


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## SP&S (May 21, 2014)

Living in PDX I'm partial to the Willamette valley but it is not spectacular. Just a route through a very pleasant agricultural area. I've taken the CS a number of times and driven I5 to EUG more times than I'd care to remember. In terms of scenery, I'd prefer the train but no big loss.


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## shelzp (May 22, 2014)

You've got a great trip planned and like others have mentioned I definitely think you should ask for a voucher!


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## Guest (May 22, 2014)

Same thing happened to me and my family in late March, northbound. Although it's never much fun to get off a passenger train, the bus ride seemed short and wasn't at all unpleasant. I sat up front for the view and pretended I was in the front row of a Vista-Dome! When that didn't work after a few minutes, I read a book. The northbound interruption also allowed me to enjoy a half-hour in the elegant first class lounge of the Portland station, and enjoy reboarding the train again to continue on. Just about any other segment of the whole Denver-Seattle trip would've been more unfortunate, missing more scenery or taking up too much time.


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## guest (May 28, 2014)

shelzp said:


> You've got a great trip planned and like others have mentioned I definitely think you should ask for a voucher!


When you have booked a sleeper using points and then for whatever reason don't get your sleeper, does AGR never refund any of your points? It seems they would refund your points at least proportionally to the distance that you were deprived of your sleeper accommodations. In such a case you've paid in additional points for upgraded accommodations that you did not receive.


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## oregon pioneer (May 28, 2014)

Didn't happen that way for me. I guess the logic is that I *GOT *my two-zone sleeper (from SPK to CHI), I just got a bus from PDX to SPK and deserved a voucher for that inconvenience (whether I can use the voucher within the year, or not, is another question...). That's the system, and that's the way they worked it for me.

Now if they cancelled your *WHOLE *trip, I believe they would refund your points, just like they refunded our entire original purchase price the time they did that to us.


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## atm79 (May 28, 2014)

Hopefully I'll have a positive data point to add to this. Was on a 6 hour late SWC a few days ago so I missed the CS out of LAX. Unfortunately I got in with enough time to be put on the bus to BFD (a packed bus that I would not call particularly comfortable) connecting to a San Joaquin. That train turned out to be nearly 2 hours late causing the CS to leave SAC over 90 minutes late (no complaints about the CS delay - I was on the train and had a bed, that's all I cared about at that point). I've already written Amtrak regarding this situation (primarily the lack of a customer service agent boarding the SWC prior to arrival in LAX to advise folks of what the plan was, the complete lack of communication in BFD regarding the delay, the failure of the mobile website and app to provide any kind of accurate ETD information and the lunch, dinner and PPC I missed by not being on the CS). I didn't specifically ask for any compensation but I feel that some sort of service recovery gesture is warranted. We'll see what they say.


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## amamba (May 28, 2014)

guest said:


> shelzp said:
> 
> 
> > You've got a great trip planned and like others have mentioned I definitely think you should ask for a voucher!
> ...


I have never heard of people getting points refunds. However I have heard of generous vouchers received from customer relations in cases of bustitution, long delays etc. 
I had a 30 hour delay to a derailment on the EB while on an AGR bedroom trip. I was given a very generous voucher.


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## JayPea (May 28, 2014)

I did get a partial refund of points once. On that occasion I had planned a Chicago-Sacramento-Seattle trip via the CZ and the CS. This was in 2011, when record flooding played havoc with Amtrak schedules. The CZ was cancelled one day before our trip. My uncle and I had a bedroom from Chicago to Sacramento, and after a lengthy telephone conversation with AGR, we were able to secure coach tickets on the SWC, and a bedroom from Los Angeles to Seattle. I got a refund of 10,000 points for that and a voucher.


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## oregon pioneer (May 28, 2014)

JayPea said:


> I did get a partial refund of points once. On that occasion I had planned a Chicago-Sacramento-Seattle trip via the CZ and the CS. This was in 2011, when record flooding played havoc with Amtrak schedules. The CZ was cancelled one day before our trip. My uncle and I had a bedroom from Chicago to Sacramento, and after a lengthy telephone conversation with AGR, we were able to secure coach tickets on the SWC, and a bedroom from Los Angeles to Seattle. I got a refund of 10,000 points for that and a voucher.


That's nice -- sounds like it was an actual cancellation and re-booking, though, and a compromise on the points. Probably required a special dispensation from a supervisor-god to accomplish the points compromise.


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## JayPea (May 28, 2014)

It was a cancellation and re-booking. They were reluctant to give me any compensation at all, either points or voucher, but relented.


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## fairviewroad (May 29, 2014)

I think it's patently obvious that the OP should get some sort of compensation. The OP redeemed points for bedroom accommodations and will not be receiving them for a portion of the journey where such accommodations are normally offered. The overall inconvenience is minimal, since if the bus bridge happens as planned the OP will not miss an on-board meal and will not be delayed to the final destination. However, it's an inconvenience and a downgrade nonetheless.

The question is how much compensation and in what form. Well, the form is pretty easy--a partial refund of the AGR points spent on this leg.

As far as how much, the straight-forward answer is to divide the overall length of the redemption by the missing section (PDX-EUG). Unfortunately for the OP, this would

probably yield a minimal refund...a couple of hundred points at most. The sensible thing would be to round up to 1000 points and call it good.

Of course, that's only my theory of what _should_ happen.


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## jersey42 (May 29, 2014)

In December, we had a roomette from ABQ to NYP via the Southwest Chief and the Cardinal. This was a 2 zone, 20,000 point trip. Due to a freight derailment, we were held up in Kansas City for 5 hours, then we were bussed to Galesburg. The bus made several wrong turns and it took more than 7 hours. We then took a waiting train to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago way after the Cardinal departed. Amtrak put us up overnight. We then ended up renting a car, and drove home.

Amtrak credited us 5,000 points, because we only traveled one zone. They also issued a $500 voucher which was supposed to be to cover a relatively low bucket future trip from Chicago to New York.


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## amamba (May 29, 2014)

Personally I would rather get a voucher than points refund. My H used the voucher for his monthly commuting passes for three months plus I got a roundtrip to NYC in acela FC. I had already spent the points and I accumulate them quickly.


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