Amtrak dining and cafe service

[tim49424]

That's the smallest Amtrak Steak I've ever seen, but the picture still looks delicious!

It was not really all that small to be honest but I posted that pic for you to see the shrimp…..or what was left of it. Sadly, I only was able to have it on two trips before they replaced it with the crab cakes.

 

[bms]

I’m always surprised people still want this. I’ve been tethering my laptop to my iPhone for years now. It’s way more reliable than any public WiFi.

By the way the Pacific Parlour Car had WiFi available so it certainly can be done.

yeah, it seems like very few people do hotspot or tethering. People who are relatively affluent normally have the capabilities, but just don't know that it's possible.

 

[bms]

It was not really all that small to be honest but I posted that pic for you to see the shrimp…..or what was left of it. Sadly, I only was able to have it on two trips before they replaced it with the crab cakes.

It still got me hungry! I actually don't think I ever had a bad meal in an Amtrak Dining Car. And with the resumption of daily service, I'm thinking I need to work my butt off 60 hours a week so that I can afford next summer's vacations!

 

[tim49424]

It still got me hungry! I actually don't think I ever had a bad meal in an Amtrak Dining Car. And with the resumption of daily service, I'm thinking I need to work my butt off 60 hours a week so that I can afford next summer's vacations!

Being that I’m fully vaccinated, I’m going to play with dates and places for my first trip since February of last year. I have a dear friend who is a conductor on the Empire Builder that’s retiring later this year and I want at least one more time to travel with him. I likely will head to Seattle and back, possibly as early as mid July. I’m hoping that traditional dining has returned by then.

 

[Cal]

My favorite part of any Western trip is the parts without cell service - a few hour window where no one could rely on me to solve their problems

Agreed. Relaxing in the SSL while seeing the country roll past you... nothing better! The train has (or nearly has) rocked me to sleep in the SSL multiple times

 

[tim49424]

My favorite part of any Western trip is the parts without cell service - a few hour window where no one could rely on me to solve their problems

I try to sleep in Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana because it’s so remote and there’s not really much to see except the foothills, which don’t interest me much. I’m not usually successful because I don’t sleep well sitting up.

 

[Palmetto]

I try to sleep in Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana because it’s so remote and there’s not really much to see except the foothills, which don’t interest me much. I’m not usually successful because I don’t sleep well sitting up.

Which brings up a question: does the SCA get ticked if a passenger asks for the bed to be lowered during the day in order to take a nap. [My impression is, though, that it's not that difficult to do oneself.]

 

[SteveSFL]

....I likely will head to Seattle and back, possibly as early as mid July. I’m hoping that traditional dining has returned by then.

And to quote your reply to my post hoping traditional dining would be back for my trip:

“Your best bet is not to obsess over such things. Nobody knows the answer to the date of return of traditional dining on any LD train. I've heard so many different rumors, theories, guesses, news from "reliable sources" on AU that it makes my head spin. I decided to ignore it all until we get first hand accounts of it actually happening.”

 

[railiner]

And to quote your reply to my post hoping traditional dining would be back for my trip:

“Your best bet is not to obsess over such things. Nobody knows the answer to the date of return of traditional dining on any LD train. I've heard so many different rumors, theories, guesses, news from "reliable sources" on AU that it makes my head spin. I decided to ignore it all until we get first hand accounts of it actually happening.”

To quote myself:
"That's not the AU way"....

 

[tricia]

My favorite part of any Western trip is the parts without cell service - a few hour window where no one could rely on me to solve their problems

When I'm traveling on Amtrak, I stretch the truth a bit and let people know that phone/internet can't be relied upon. I promise to check voice and emails once a day, and consider myself off the hook. Lack of cell/internet service is a much-loved feature of Amtrak as far as I'm concerned.

 

[tim49424]

Which brings up a question: does the SCA get ticked if a passenger asks for the bed to be lowered during the day in order to take a nap. [My impression is, though, that it's not that difficult to do oneself.]

Frankly, I've never asked for mine to be turned down and I've made over 15 LD trips. I don't know why I don't, especially on the Empire Builder, because I know the route I've ridden the most and I know where the scenery gets boring to me.

 

[Cal]

Which brings up a question: does the SCA get ticked if a passenger asks for the bed to be lowered during the day in order to take a nap. [My impression is, though, that it's not that difficult to do oneself.]

I would think it depends on the SCA.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I try to sleep in Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana because it’s so remote and there’s not really much to see except the foothills, which don’t interest me much.

I took the EB to/from the Portland Gathering.

I live in the most densely populated state in the country, and for years I had thought how nice it must be to get away from lots of people and was looking forward to that stretch of fairly empty country.

It was so empty and different from what I’m used to that I actually found it a bit unnerving!

 

[tim49424]

It was so empty and different from what I’m used to that I actually found it a bit unnerving!

It's not unnerving to me.....it just makes my eyes glaze over. It just seems to go on forever. But as always, there's something down the line to look forward to. I'm not sure how people can live in that vast nothingness, but they do and actually enjoy it. I like solitude, but I also like to have the option to not be so isolated.

 

[Sidney]

I would think it depends on the SCA.

On some trips I leave the bed down all day. Easier for naps.

 

[Shortline]

Being that I’m fully vaccinated, I’m going to play with dates and places for my first trip since February of last year. I have a dear friend who is a conductor on the Empire Builder that’s retiring later this year and I want at least one more time to travel with him. I likely will head to Seattle and back, possibly as early as mid July. I’m hoping that traditional dining has returned by then.

I hope so-I just booked SEA-CHI in June, and it shows on the website, it has Flex Dining until May 21, then Traditional Dining beginning May 22......we'll see.

 

[Cal]

I hope so-I just booked SEA-CHI in June, and it shows on the website, it has Flex Dining until May 21, then Traditional Dining beginning May 22......we'll see.

Make sure to let us know!

 

[me_little_me]

My favorite part of any Western trip is the parts without cell service - a few hour window where no one could rely on me to solve their problems

Hah! Nobody relies on me for anything 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Why? Because I'm shiftless and lazy and don't do anything. An hour on one day? Peanuts! You should try my method.

 

[cocojacoby]

From Amtrak's Five Year Plan:

Build for the Future Amtrak customers traveling on Long Distance routes will notice a number of new changes to their experience in FY 2021. This begins with onboard dining. On routes in the west, traditional dining will be reimagined and reintroduced for both private room and coach customers. On routes in the east, menus for flexible dining and the café will be refreshed

. . . we are soliciting a vendor who can design modifications to our new Viewliner II dining cars to enable them to provide both Flexible Dining service and café/lounge service, which currently requires two separate cars. In addition to cost savings, providing food service in a modern car configured to accommodate our current food service model would improve customer service.

I love the way Amtrak proudly states everything they downgrade is an "improvement"

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...rak-Service-Line-Asset-Line-Plans-FY21-26.pdf

 

[me_little_me]

Uh! Oh! More Amtrak "improvements" coming. Lord, save us from Amtrak improvements.

 

[Sidney]

an "improvement" was made in June 2018 with the introduction of flexible dining on the LS and CL with expansion to all the Eastern trains over a year later. Possibly the most unpopular and dismal "improvement" Amtrak ever made.

 

[jis]

This taken together with the CRS document that I posted elsewhere does not bode well for the future of Long Distance trains yet. I think they are still on a path to getting eased out of existence eventually.

 

[Bob Dylan]

This taken together with the CRS document that I posted elsewhere does not bode well for the future of Long Distance trains yet. I think they are still on a path to getting eased out of existence eventually.

And the word "reimagined" doesnt bode well for Diner customers.

Also, turning the Viewliner Diners into CCCs doesnt seem like the best thought out idea, see the Cardinal with its Diner Lite where the Food Service Car serves as both the Diner and Cafe/ Lounge.( and dropping the Sightseer Lounges off the Eagle,Cono and Cap and moving the Cafe into the CCC sucks too!)

On the other hand it does say that Coach Passengers will be able to eat in the Diners on the Western Trains, but no.memtion of the Eastern Traind which will be " reimagining" their Flex Meals!.

 

[jis]

On the other hand it does say that Coach Passengers will be able to eat in the Diners on the Western Trains, but no.memtion of the Eastern Traind which will be " reimagining" their Flex Meals!.

Well if the CCC-fied Diner is the only food service car in the train, it kinda follows that Coach passengers will be able to get to it. It would be sight to behold how they will feed a full Silver Meteor out of a single var though. I think there is a certain level of fantasy involved in all this, and the program won;t survive in this shape for more than a year or two of fantasizing - not the first time such has happened at the relatively incompetent outfit like Amtrak, one might add.

It also implies that the Amfleet II replacement program will contain no Cafe cars, sort of.

 

[cocojacoby]

I just hope they don't badly butcher the Viewliner diners and keep all the pieces so they can put them all back together when saner minds take over.