Amenity kit on LSL and CL?

[chrsjrcj]

This was supposed to be an added bonus for sleeping car passengers, once the full service diner was replaced with boxed lunches. I have now taken the Capitol Limited twice and Lakeshore Limited once this year and have yet to see an amenity kits. They may have quietly disappeared?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I got one in the early days. It was a waste as far as I was concerned...nothing that I would have used.

 

[basketmaker]

Remember back in better days a couple decades ago. I got a nice little amenity kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shower cap, etc) and a Starlight logo Totes umbrella on the Coast Starlight. Still carry it in the car and use it though we get minimal rain.

 

[PVD]

At first, the idea of a set of little toiletries didn't do anything for me, I always had an ample supply from most hotels. Now, hotels(even nicer ones)
are shifting to larger refillable bottles, having them might not seem so unimportant to me.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

They are most likely sitting in a warehouse somewhere, you usually don’t buy those things a few hundred at a time. They most likely already paid for them but the employees are too lazy to put them out.

I thought they were a nice touch when they used to have them on the empire builder and starlight.

 

[jis]

On each of my LSL and CL rides since the change, I have actually had one of the those toiletries packets in my room when I boarded. Have they stopped putting them there?

The little overnight pack that the airlines give in B or F is very useful since one can do a quick brush up and get ready for disembarkation without having to unpack stuff from ones carry on.

Truth be told, even more useful is the Arrivals Lounge at the few airports where they are available. AFAIK only the Chicago Met Lounge on the Amtrak system provides similar facilities.

 

[AG1]

I just did 3 sleeper segments on the LSL last week and received a plastic container with with 3 lotions leaving BOS. Nothing boarding at CLE or ALB. I suspect that the lotions are received as free advertising samples to be passed out by Amtrak .

 

[cocojacoby]

Still have this souvenir from our family trip to the Grand Canyon in the 80s.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

Remember back in better days a couple decades ago. I got a nice little amenity kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shower cap, etc) and a Starlight logo Totes umbrella on the Coast Starlight. Still carry it in the car and use it though we get minimal rain.

And don’t forget the champagne bottles that came with it.

Although having the free drink in the lounge is a better trade off now for the 2 trains concerned at this point.

 

[jis]

I just did 3 sleeper segments on the LSL last week and received a plastic container with with 3 lotions leaving BOS. Nothing boarding at CLE or ALB. I suspect that the lotions are received as free advertising samples to be passed out by Amtrak .

At least in case of one airline that I use often in BC they have a long term contract with Cowshed for the toiletry content of their overnight satchel as well as for toiletries used in the plane toilets on all their international flights. They also have a contract with Macy's for all the bedding provided on board international BC.

It is likely that Amtrak has a contract like that with whoever provides those packages.

 

[Bex]

Had a roommette on the LSL last week from NYP to CHI and got nada.

 

[jis]

Had a roommette on the LSL last week from NYP to CHI and got nada.

I guess the alleged propellerhead is facing an uphill battle at Amtrak even trying to institute some marginally better things from airline practices

 

[dogbert617]

And don’t forget the champagne bottles that came with it.

Although having the free drink in the lounge is a better trade off now for the 2 trains concerned at this point.

For CL and LSL, is this a free drink you pick up in the cafe car area? Or from whatever area on the CL and LSL, you pick up the contemporary dining meal at? I remember hearing about this change somewhere, around the time contemporary was introduced on those 2 trains.

And as for this amenity kit, I didn't realize that was briefly distributed to passengers, when contemporary was first introduced on both the CL and LSL.

 

[jimmrl]

I received my bag on the LSL in late May. Just your standard hotel type things. Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, and Body Lotion tubes. Plus a box with a finger nail file, two q-tips with cotton balls and face cleaning pads.

Nothing special, but it was nice to get.

 

[Sauve850]

I received amenities kit last summer on CL and will be on the CL in Sept. For me its a waste of money.

 

[NYP2NFL01]

Way back in 1997 when the Viewliner Equipment still had the "new car scent", I had a Roomette on LSL, boarding in Toledo, OH in the middle of the night. I received a very nice 1998 date planner with the LSL Logo on the front cover. I also received a pack of Oreo Cookies as a late night snack. I'm boarding the CL tomorrow afternoon in DC. If I receive an amenity kit I'll update this post.

 

[PaTrainFan]

I was on the Capitol Limited in late May from Pittsburgh to Chicago and return a week and a half later and I did not receive an "amenity kit."

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Last time I rode the Cap ( PGH-CHI)in May I received the Kit, but did not receive one on the Lake Shore ( CHI-NYP).

 

[user 14106]

Perhaps they dropped the amenity kit on one of the two “refreshes” of the program. It seems that people were only getting the kit when they first introduced this program and all the meals were chilled and they had the cold breakfast box....then came refresh one which switched one of the cold meals to a single hot one, then came the more substantial second refresh where they added additional hot meals and dropped the breakfast box in favor of the the continental spread plus eggs/sandwiches.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I've received dozens of amenity kits over the years but it's rare for me to actually use or save anything. Most of the products seem geared toward women travelers and the few things I might actually use are so tiny they're almost trial sized for toddlers. I do take a look just to see what some accountant came up with as they bean counted this and bullet pointed that. In the end it's often the bag itself that represents most of the value and the contents end up in a trash somewhere. No offense or criticism toward the OP though; if amenity kits are your thing I hope you find one in your room.

 

[tim49424]

I’ll be on the LSL in three weeks and then the following Sunday and I expect nothing.

 

[NYP2NFL01]

I traveled on Capitol Limited Monday 8/19/19 from DC to Toledo. I received no Amenity Kit. Instead the train was over 4 hours late into Toledo!

 

[chrsjrcj]

I've received dozens of amenity kits over the years but it's rare for me to actually use or save anything. Most of the products seem geared toward women travelers and the few things I might actually use are so tiny they're almost trial sized for toddlers. I do take a look just to see what some accountant came up with as they bean counted this and bullet pointed that. In the end it's often the bag itself that represents most of the value and the contents end up in a trash somewhere. No offense or criticism toward the OP though; if amenity kits are your thing I hope you find one in your room.

I actual couldn't care less about the amenity kit either, since I bring my own soap. I just found it interesting that this was supposed to be an added amenity for sleeping car passengers when the full dining service went away.

 

[Rasputin]

I will trade an amenity kit for a dining car steak anytime. And I must have just missed the amenity kit era on the Lake Shore. I wonder when that was - what it before or after the Boston checked baggage era, or the Diner-lite era, or the stub train due to Albany yard construction era, or the cold meal box era, or the no New York Section Lake Shore era?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I actual couldn't care less about the amenity kit either, since I bring my own soap. I just found it interesting that this was supposed to be an added amenity for sleeping car passengers when the full dining service went away.

I vaguely remember what you're talking about but I guess it didn't last very long and was quickly swept under the rub before anyone got used to it. I personally think that supplying amenity kits on long trips isn't a bad idea in and of itself, especially when you end up with an unexpected delay or your luggage goes missing, it's just that in actual practice they rarely lived up to the hype.