48 Chicago to New York Penn. departed on time June 5

[Steve4031]

We arrived nyp 18 minutes late. Penn was desolate and some areas were blocked off. Some exits were closed off. We walked to the renaissance midtown hotel. We had booked that ahead of time. When we arrived they told us we were civilians and would not accept are reservation. This was poor form imho. Call us and tell us before we get there.

Called hgi Chelsea and they said they would take us. I booked through the app and we took a GroundLink car to the hgi. It appears that lyft was not working.

We successfully ordered pizza through grub hub. That arrived promptly. It is difficult determining what’s open and not open. We thought for a moment we would not get dinner because we f the curfew.

The train ride was enjoyable. Based on my experience if you plan to travel call and check on every detail. Don’t make any assumptions.

Some pictures of the ride along the Hudson and the pizza. It was good.

 

[pennyk]

I am glad you were able to stay at the HGI (which is my favorite). Too bad about the other hotel. Kevin has been keeping me posted. We were both worried about you guys. Be safe and be careful (and eat more pizza-lol).

 

[Bob Dylan]

Wow, I've never heard of a NYC Hotel turning away Business! What's with the Civilian thing, are they only putting up Cops and National Guard or what??

Glad your trip went well, are you going back on #49??? Stay safe in the Big Apple!

 

[PVD]

Lots of hotels are closed and some are being used for special purposes like housing people who need to quarantine but have other people at home, or first responders who can't expose people at home, or to house the very large number of folks from out of town that are assisting (doctors, nurses, emt and medics, etc) I don't know if they are still here, but there were almost 800 out of town EMTs and medics that FEMA sent to bolster our FDNY EMS when they were at the breaking point. But that notwithstanding, there is no excuse for them (the hotel) not telling a customer if they would not be available, Monday is set for Phase 1 reopen, Manhattan will be quite a bit busier, tom'w will probably still look like a ghost town.

 

[Steve4031]

We are ok. Imho 3 months into this pandemic all major hotel companies should have coherent policy in place to deal with common scenarios. Granted we probably should have not been traveling. But there are legitimate reasons for non essential workers to travel. Those types of travelers would have gotten the same treatment.

Hilton’s apps shows unavailable hotels as sold out. The Waldorf Astoria in Chicago is an example of this. The clerk at the hgi noted that the other hotel could have called.

I believe sharing my experience will help others as they venture out.

NYC is supposed to open up more starting Monday. So conditions will change again.

The food delivery apps have worked well. And google maps has provided accurate information about what is dine and or carry out or delivery.

For example, Indiana restaurant dining rooms are open and Illinois restaurant dining rooms are not. So some drive across the border to eat.

 

[Steve4031]

Breakfast was accomplished with nyc efficiency. I ordered from Murray’s Bagels in Chelsea. The food arrived 20 minutes later via door dash with the delivery person riding a motorcycle. Food was delicious.

Hotel check out is at noon. Our ride to the airport is at 12:30. Perfect.

 

[Steve4031]

Lunch at LaGuardia. Flying out the f the new terminal. There is a shake shack there and that was lunch.

 

[Dakota 400]

there is no excuse for them (the hotel) not telling a customer if they would not be available,

A letter to Customer Service at Marriott International in Washington, D. C. is warranted. Mail it as a certified letter with return receipt requested with a cc to Mr. Marriott as well as the CEO might be worth your effort. Be specific in what compensation you would like: a gazillion Marriott Rewards points or a free night or two voucher, etc.

 

[jiml]

A letter to Customer Service at Marriott International in Washington, D. C. is warranted. Mail it as a certified letter with return receipt requested with a cc to Mr. Marriott as well as the CEO might be worth your effort. Be specific in what compensation you would like: a gazillion Marriott Rewards points or a free night or two voucher, etc.

You took the words right out of my mouth - especially if @Steve4031 has any status with Marriott. Even if not, a confirmed reservation is a confirmed reservation and he was not "walked" officially by the hotel (which would have paid for the other hotel at the very least). It is unfortunate that a growing number of companies are using the current situation as an excuse for poor customer service - something Marriott was demonstrating well before Covid19.

 

[pennyk]

A letter to Customer Service at Marriott International in Washington, D. C. is warranted. Mail it as a certified letter with return receipt requested with a cc to Mr. Marriott as well as the CEO might be worth your effort. Be specific in what compensation you would like: a gazillion Marriott Rewards points or a free night or two voucher, etc.

Steve, if the reservation was in your name, I would take further action. If it was not in your name, I would not pursue.

 

[Old MM]

Really enjoying this report from the field!
And the pictures from the train.
Wish I could book a trip. With everything so uncertain the extended family gets very upset if I even mention travel.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

One if my Facebook friend from Amtrak posted that she helped prepare my train. My roomette is in good working order. Clean and comfortable. I woke up a couple of times at Toledo and we are now I. Sandusky.

Some nigh time photos.

How's the AC? i like it around 70F. Often too warm for me

 

[Steve4031]

I was traveling with a friend and we were attempting to stay and use his employee discount. He asked me not to follow through. He’s concerned that the confusion could cause him to lose his job.

The air conditioning worked well in my car with the door to my room open. With the door shut it was a bit warm. I was in the south side of the train and the sun was shining in most of the day.

 

[caravanman]

Interesting trip report, sounded similar to a war time account with scarce service options, etc.
Did you find that most passengers wore masks, or not many? Did any crew wear masks? How was your flight, is there any real "social distancing" on a plane?

Ed.

 

[Steve4031]

The crew wore and enforced wearing masks. Obviously when you eat or drink it comes off. I forgo my mask when I went to the lounge car in the Boston section. The lsa has a box of masks and gave me one. This was appreciated. I would have gone back and gotten my mask without complaining. I think most of the passengers Had masks or kept to themselves. The 4 coaches were had about 6 passengers total. Sleepers may have had more.

On southwest they sold only enough tickets to keep middle seat open. People and crew wore masks.

I would not want to equate my experience with war time conditions. I ate what I wanted. I did not really go without. I enjoyed an afternoon of listening to music on my headphones and looking out at the Mohawk River and Hudson River. This is pretty nice compared to what my father described as wartime conditions during WWII.

I’m hoping the full service diners return to the western long haul trains in July. If not I’ll probably do a trip anyway. I now know that lunch and dinner are issues. So if I took the chief I would order food delivered for dinner at Albuquerque and eat a cheeseburger for lunch in the snack car. I might pack some snacks.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The crew wore and enforced wearing masks. Obviously when you eat or drink it comes off. I forgo my mask when I went to the lounge car in the Boston section. The lsa has a box of masks and gave me one. This was appreciated. I would have gone back and gotten my mask without complaining. I think most of the passengers Had masks or kept to themselves. The 4 coaches were had about 6 passengers total. Sleepers may have had more.

On southwest they sold only enough tickets to keep middle seat open. People and crew wore masks.

I would not want to equate my experience with war time conditions. I ate what I wanted. I did not really go without. I enjoyed an afternoon of listening to music on my headphones and looking out at the Mohawk River and Hudson River. This is pretty nice compared to what my father described as wartime conditions during WWII.

I’m hoping the full service diners return to the western long haul trains in July. If not I’ll probably do a trip anyway. I now know that lunch and dinner are issues. So if I took the chief I would order food delivered for dinner at Albuquerque and eat a cheeseburger for lunch in the snack car. I might pack some snacks.

Dont think I'd want to ride #421 CHI-LAX( 3Days/3Nights) or any of the 2 Night Western Trains until the Full Service Diner Menu returns!

 

[Dakota 400]

Dont think I'd want to ride #421 CHI-LAX( 3Days/3Nights) until the Full Service Diner Menu returns!

And, the servers and the patrons don't have to wear masks. I would love to go out for dinner. But, the thought of being served by staff who had to wear a mask would spoil the ambiance, I think. Why spend the money for an experience that could be unsettling and disappointing?

 

[Steve4031]

And, the servers and the patrons don't have to wear masks. I would love to go out for dinner. But, the thought of being served by staff who had to wear a mask would spoil the ambiance, I think. Why spend the money for an experience that could be unsettling and disappointing?

I ate at a Texas Roadhouse with my girlfriend a week ago. Those dang rolls tasted just as good with the server wearing a mask vs not wearing a mask. Likewise with the steak and loaded bake potato.

Every time I wear the mask and go into some place I have to fight the urge to say “This is a stick up”.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

And, the servers and the patrons don't have to wear masks. I would love to go out for dinner. But, the thought of being served by staff who had to wear a mask would spoil the ambiance, I think. Why spend the money for an experience that could be unsettling and disappointing?

I think that staff wearing masks may be here to stay and will become a lot more common than before even if our little covidious friend goes away in flu season, etc.

Went up to Wisconsin over the weekend and it was pretty much business as usual albeit with more social distancing (other patrons stared at us when we walked through wearing masks) but all the staff wore jaunty restaurant branded masks (little local restaurant - great burgers).