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It's been a mixed bag in my experience, depending on who answers. Agreed most are probably okay if you stick to their script, but they can't really do much that you couldn't do yourself except for specific rooms assignments. The last call I made to them a few days ago was about as useless and...

Just to put a bow on my fare manipulation odyssey, both those fares that I tried to book and unknowingly caused to spike during the booking process, well they've both receded to the original cost, confirming my suspicion that merely attempting to book them drove up my own price. And no, I'm not...

Now that is some next-level strategizing! Personally I would rather either book a room for the entire trip or just not go. Something about settling in and then just chilling out. But I appreciate the creativity. Good advice. I should have specified - the first call was an attempt to ask an...

Yes I understand and accept the reality of demand-based pricing. What was just ridiculous was the cumbersome nature of the booking process that resulted in me driving up my own fare. Twice. The first attempt was me clicking on a link about trip insurance. I was merely curious about it, but...

Totally concur. The point of my post was to two-fold: 1. illustrate both the unethical dissipation of point value when combining points with partial payment. And... 2. Highlight the infuriating fare manipulation Amtrak employs simply for showing an interest in a fare. I had been looking...

That's the only way using points makes sense. The entire booking system is set up to frustrate and piss people off, not make them want to travel on Amtrak.

Amtrak excels at alienating customers, but this was a new low. I tried to book the Coast Starlight LAX to SEA in January - the best time to travel for low fares. I tried to book on a day where the cost was just under $1200 for a bedroom. I initially called on the phone because I wanted to...

Yes there was a Waldenbooks on the first floor which I guess went the way of the dinosaurs. There is a newly reopened Hudson bookstore at the street level entrance on Madison. I was there 3 weeks ago anyway.

One interesting place if you have a spare hour or so which was briefly mentioned in a previous post: There's a food court kind of place called "The French Market" less than a 10 minute walk away. It's located below the Metra track platforms at the Ogilvie Transportation Center. It is NOT...

You got me! I'm obsessed with looking at a simple concise summary printed on paper that I can circle things, scribble notes on, and compare times at a glance. Maybe even hold two of them together to easily work out connection times and cross-reference other information. Guilty as charged.

That is pretty wild. I rode the SWC back in March and I was in the front of the second sleeper car on the left side. You get used to the cadence of the long, long, short, long each individual engineer uses for grade crossings. I'm just staring out the window coming down the back of the Raton...

Good to know. Looks like seatmaps is the way to go.

I would suggest you check out "SeatGuru". You can pull up specific pitch and width dimensions for specific airlines and their various aircraft, and if you know your actual aircraft model once you've chosen a flight, you can see which specific seats have advantages or potential disadvantages.

I agree completely. While not an actual government agency, it may as well be since that's where the subsidies come from, not to mention the Board of Directors is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate because ... well ... because they're all rail experts themselves that's why...

Amtrak has a huge opportunity here. The choices they make now will define the brand for decades. Do they want to cheap out or do they want to grab the brass ring? Amtrak can't compete with other modes of overland transportation for convenience (cars) or destination selection, frequency, and...

I don't understand why anyone in charge of Amtrak coach designs would consider an airline cabin as their competition. That would completely negate the most valuable inherent advantages of a train coach, namely the lack of weight restrictions and the luxury of space. Need more room? Add...

Is it just me or are the Venture cars a huge leap backwards? Why would they take a relatively comfortable ride and make it worse? Do the people who make these decisions ever actually have to use their product? It's like most modern packaging these days. I often wonder if the family of one of...

Just to put an additional perspective on your comments: I'm a recently retired commercial pilot. In 2021 I got covid real bad - 16 days hospital, pneumonia, DVT, the works. After release I had long covid symptoms for months. Long story short, I'm (mostly) fully recovered, although it took 8...

Yikes that's awful! The CZ is a bucket list trip that I hope to take just once. I would be done with Amtrak after something like that unless they either issued a full refund or a comped ticket on an identical accommodation. Still it doesn't adequately make up for an extended unpleasant...

So there seems to be conflicting information on this thread. How can you determine which sleeper car you are booking in advance and what its priority is in the consist hierarchy?