# 2 Cabins for 1 or A Cabin for 2?



## lyke99 (Dec 22, 2013)

Taking an informal poll and soliciting opinions on accommodations as the wife and I are planning to ride The Canadian this summer for the entire route. We are deciding between getting two roommettes (cabins for 1) or a bedroom (cabin for two). I am an early riser and she is a late sleeper - as such we are leaning toward two roommettes.


----------



## SubwayNut (Dec 22, 2013)

The total price would probably be the same and the Roomette's on the Canadian have just one single seat so being social with each other (in your rooms, granted when I road the Canadian I spent nearly the entire ride when I was awake in the domes, I was in an open section, upper birth, and had seat mates 3/4 nights) would be hard.


----------



## Blackwolf (Dec 23, 2013)

I would weigh several factors in making your decision.

Mobility, and the ability of climbing a small ladder up into a top bunk. In the Cabin for 2 (bedroom) you would have two roughly twin-sized beds in bunk format when set up for sleeping. It makes for tight quarters at night, and there is almost no way (tried it with my wife, and failed) to sleep two people on one bed together. But you are able to be more social during the day with your two movable chairs and share a private space.

In a Cabin for 1 (roomette) there are no bunks, and thus no climbing a ladder. I recall in the Cabin for 1 that you can pull your bed down or put it away without needing to call for the attendant, where-as with the Cabin for 2 there is no way to do it yourself because a Pullman key is required. A downside with the Cabin for 1 is you have to put your bed away to use the head at night.


----------



## yarrow (Dec 24, 2013)

depending on how much privacy you need, consider a section(both upper and lower berths). also if you have significantly different schedules it could interfere with taking your meals together in the dining car


----------



## tricia (Dec 25, 2013)

About the early/late riser issue: There's enough head room in the bunks of the cabin for 2 that it's quite comfortable to sit up and read in either one (while your mate is sleeping). Only the lower bunk has a view out the window, though. However it's easy to slip quietly out of the room and head to the park car or other dome car to enjoy the early morning scenery. Attendant generally sets out fresh coffee there around 6AM.

And to clarify Blackwolf's post: the "tight quarters" are in the bunk itself, if you try to fit two in one bunk. There's a fair amount of floor space in the cabin for 2, even with the bunks set up for sleeping. Toilet in the cabin for 2 is VERY small--something of an advantage if either of you have balance problems. My dad (with whom I took this train last summer) noted that it's pretty much impossible to fall in such a small space. ^_^ Shared toilets in the hall are quite spacious.

There's just about NO floor space in the cabin for 1 when it's in its sleeping set-up.

As noted above, there are pros and cons to each option. I recently booked tix for three elderly relatives and myself, for February, Toronto to Vancouver. Climbing up to an upper bunk was a decisive "no" for all three. Having a private bathroom was a big plus for my dad, with whom I'll share a cabin for 2. My other two travel companions chose cabins for 1. None of us thought the price difference (during a half-price sale) justified the berths' lack of privacy for daytime naps.


----------



## tricia (Dec 25, 2013)

Oh, and if you do book a cabin for 2, you might want to ask for the "F" bedroom if it's available. It has a little more room than the others.


----------



## lyke99 (Jan 27, 2014)

Thanks for the advice everyone. We booked 2 roomettes in the 221 car, which as far as I can tell is situated between the second diner and the Park car.


----------



## phk (Feb 3, 2014)

We just returned from a VIA trip from Vancouver to Toronto. For 2 of us, we chose the "cabin for 2" and found it preferable to the other options after seeing them. There's no privacy at all in the berth during the day unless you want to keep the bed in place with the curtains, which I saw some people do. The roomette is tiny compared with the Amtrak roomette. We sleep on slightly different schedules and that was really no problem. The overall level of service was stellar compared with Amtrak, and those Budd built cars with new electric heat were comfortable even when most of the trip was well below zero outside.

Highly recommended, even in January.


----------



## chakk (Feb 12, 2014)

Blackwolf said:


> In a Cabin for 1 (roomette) there are no bunks, and thus no climbing a ladder. I recall in the Cabin for 1 that you can pull your bed down or put it away without needing to call for the attendant, where-as with the Cabin for 2 there is no way to do it yourself because a Pullman key is required. A downside with the Cabin for 1 is you have to put your bed away to use the head at night.


If you are resourceful like Eve Kendall in "North by Northwest", you could "borrow" a Pullman key to stuff your friend/partner into the closed upper berth in the Cabin for 2 for when the cops come looking.


----------

