Well, I was supposed to take two train trips next year. One in January from ELT to Kissimmee and the other from Lakeland to ELT. I had to cancel because my major spinal surgery has been pushed back to January. Therefore, since I got all my points back for both trips, I decided to splurge and go for a Bedroom instead of a Roomette. I’m going Business Class on the Pennsylvanian with cash since I get extra points for being Select. Then I’m on the Meteor from PHL to Kissimmee. My trip is February 24-25. What is the difference between a Roomette and a Bedroom? I know the Bedroom is larger..
Bedroom vs. Roomette?
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Maglev
Conductor
A Bedroom is twice as big as a Roomette. A Bedroom has a nicer sink than a Viewliner Roomette, and has an enclosed toilet that also has a shower. The lower berth in a Bedroom is a full foot wider (3' 4" vs. 2' 4") than in a Roomette, and there is a nice sofa for use in the daytime in addition to a chair facing the opposite direction.
Maglev
Conductor
I think the 9710 car has to be oriented with the Bedrooms towards the diner, so you would be on the west side of the train. But who knows, maybe they'll turn the whole train around on the day you travel.
In my experience, the B room on the Silvers has the couch facing forward, which is a big plus. I agree that you likely will be facing west. Enjoy your trip to Central Florida.
I'm not sure the view is that great on either side of that run, but the couch facing forward is a plus. I've never had a problem with a roomette as a single traveler, but if you are not solo, the bedroom is a major plus. There are very good diagrams online, as well as you tube videos you can see that really show the differences well. Just keep in mind you need to look at viewliner not superliner.
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The bedroom has twice the square footage, but some of that is taken up by the toilet/shower unit. The couch is nice to stretch out on. Now if traveling on a viewliner with a companion, especially the opposite sex or a child, the roomette doesn’t offer the privacy required. Though it is pricey for the Bedroom, if traveling with one of my daughters or grandchildren, I always get the Bedroom. I do find the fold down chair not as comfortable and convenient as the opposite seats in the roomette. One benefit is the storage area over the bathroom for your bags.
tricia
Conductor
In the bedroom, you'll sleep head-to-toe oriented across the tracks. In a roomette, you'll be head-to-toe in same direction as the tracks. I find sleeping in a bedroom feels odd for this reason--but that's just personal preference.
cnpeters
Train Attendant
I just got off my first ever trip on Amtrak Sunday morning - and my wife and I went on a trip From Cleveland to Chicago to Portland to Sacramento to Chicago to Cleveland - We took Bedrooms the whole way, but on our very last leg after we woke up around Toledo - our cabin attendant asked us nicely if we could move to a roomette once we were because he had to get our bedroom flipped and ready to be used again by Alliance and was hoping for a few extra minutes for disinfecting -
So we had just about 45 minutes in a roomette at the end, but it was enough to gather a couple conclusions. We were in superliners the whole way, so I can't speak to viewliners.
Bedroom Advantages -
1) The bedroom is twice as big as the roomette. The extra space a chair that sort of folds up and buys you an extra square foot or so. This extra space is great for changing into clean underwear and socks. (mental note, those are the only things you need to pack a change of. You won't need to change clothes often on the train. DO NOT OVERPACK)
2) The lower bed folds up into a couch. It's nice.
3) There is a ledge over the fold up chair that can fit one carry on bag.
4) You can jam a purse or a backpack under that fold up chair.
5) The shower, while tight, is shockingly adequate. Water is hot and pressure is good and the bathroom dries out reasonably quickly which is good if you need to use the bathroom after a shower.
Roomette Advantages
1) The best places to sit are by the window, and the chair is just awful compared to the couch. The roomette has two comfortable seats facing each other by the windows. Much more comfortable for the majority of your day.
2) Yes, the bedroom is twice as big as the roomette but it feels only slightly bigger. The bathroom/Sink takes up over half of that extra space. The sink is useless once the bottom bed is down, you can't actually use it without climbing on the bed. So if you like to wash your hands after going pee at 4 AM? Tough.
3) You're not going to use the in-room bathroom to go #2 if you've got a roommate (and you like that roommate). No amount of glade helps that, and the whole room will smell like foul glade.
4) In the superliner, there's a little shelf to store things at the head of the bed.
5) The closet is twice as tall. We each only used the (tiny) closet to hold a sweatshirt and pants on a hanger, you could jam a dirty clothes bag in the bottom of the closet pretty easily in the roomette.
6) If you're travelling alone, you can always face the direction you want in a comfortable way.
As a non-train traveler before last week, it took a few days to get used to what the most efficient train life would be. We had it down by the end. Once you get it down, there's no question the bedroom is superior to the roomette, but if there was a price difference we wouldn't hesitate to do the roomettes next time, especially for a one-night trip. If you're in the roomette you can feel confident knowing 1) you don't feel much more cramped than you would in the bedroom - the extra space doesn't make it feel HUGE or anything, it's just there, and 2) If both of you are sitting by a window, your second passenger is sitting much more comfortably than they would be in a bedroom.
So we had just about 45 minutes in a roomette at the end, but it was enough to gather a couple conclusions. We were in superliners the whole way, so I can't speak to viewliners.
Bedroom Advantages -
1) The bedroom is twice as big as the roomette. The extra space a chair that sort of folds up and buys you an extra square foot or so. This extra space is great for changing into clean underwear and socks. (mental note, those are the only things you need to pack a change of. You won't need to change clothes often on the train. DO NOT OVERPACK)
2) The lower bed folds up into a couch. It's nice.
3) There is a ledge over the fold up chair that can fit one carry on bag.
4) You can jam a purse or a backpack under that fold up chair.
5) The shower, while tight, is shockingly adequate. Water is hot and pressure is good and the bathroom dries out reasonably quickly which is good if you need to use the bathroom after a shower.
Roomette Advantages
1) The best places to sit are by the window, and the chair is just awful compared to the couch. The roomette has two comfortable seats facing each other by the windows. Much more comfortable for the majority of your day.
2) Yes, the bedroom is twice as big as the roomette but it feels only slightly bigger. The bathroom/Sink takes up over half of that extra space. The sink is useless once the bottom bed is down, you can't actually use it without climbing on the bed. So if you like to wash your hands after going pee at 4 AM? Tough.
3) You're not going to use the in-room bathroom to go #2 if you've got a roommate (and you like that roommate). No amount of glade helps that, and the whole room will smell like foul glade.
4) In the superliner, there's a little shelf to store things at the head of the bed.
5) The closet is twice as tall. We each only used the (tiny) closet to hold a sweatshirt and pants on a hanger, you could jam a dirty clothes bag in the bottom of the closet pretty easily in the roomette.
6) If you're travelling alone, you can always face the direction you want in a comfortable way.
As a non-train traveler before last week, it took a few days to get used to what the most efficient train life would be. We had it down by the end. Once you get it down, there's no question the bedroom is superior to the roomette, but if there was a price difference we wouldn't hesitate to do the roomettes next time, especially for a one-night trip. If you're in the roomette you can feel confident knowing 1) you don't feel much more cramped than you would in the bedroom - the extra space doesn't make it feel HUGE or anything, it's just there, and 2) If both of you are sitting by a window, your second passenger is sitting much more comfortably than they would be in a bedroom.
We had no trouble using the bedroom sink with the bed down, and there is no sink, toilet or shower at all in the roomette on a Superliner, and we had to go downstairs to go to the bathroom at night or anytime, as the one public restroom on the upper level was in use or out of service, but all exiting of the roomette requires appropriate attire.
cnpeters
Train Attendant
Really? Wow - I thought it was 4-6 inches (and it felt like less) between the lower bunk and sink, but I didn’t measure or anything. I guess your mileage may vary on that one.
I was sleeping in a t-shirt and ragged shorts on the train, so I never thought about appropriate attire going to the bathroom. I guess you’d need slippers handy as well. I perhaps took for granted being able to do things like brush your teeth in the cabin as well.
I was sleeping in a t-shirt and ragged shorts on the train, so I never thought about appropriate attire going to the bathroom. I guess you’d need slippers handy as well. I perhaps took for granted being able to do things like brush your teeth in the cabin as well.
I am a small person and I think the distance between the sink and the bed (when down) is very small. However, even if I have to sit on the bed or stand to the side when using the sink, it is much much much more convenient than dressing in the middle of the night and walking down the hall or down the stairs to use the restroom. (and possibly having to clean the public restroom prior to using).
cnpeters
Train Attendant
Perhaps I had an unusually clean trip on the EB and CZ, but the public bathrooms were never anything but clean and tidy all trip, particularly the one upstairs, which we used most often
caravanman
Engineer
For a first train trip, your jaunt was very impressive!
Did you spend much time off the trains, or was it pretty much a continual train trip?
What was your overall impression of the food and the service on Amtrak?
Did you spend much time off the trains, or was it pretty much a continual train trip?
What was your overall impression of the food and the service on Amtrak?
Cho Cho Charlie
Engineer
We share a bathroom at home. Sharing the roomette with my kid wasn't all that bad. Plus, as required, one of us could easily go for a walk; check out the other views, check out the other cars.
In the viewliner, one can pull down the upper, and still sit in the chairs. My kid used the upper as his daytime play area. Having a window up there, allowed him to check out the views too.
cnpeters
Train Attendant
Well, we spent two nights in Portland but otherwise it was lots of trains (and a looooooooong boring wait in Sacramento on Thanksgiving morning).
1) the food. Well... I went into it expecting the worst. I read a lot of, shall I say, less than kind assessments of the food. It wasn’t good, certainly - but I went in with such low expectations that they over shot them. I was thinking “banquet/on-cor/hungry man” quality microwave food, and what I got was more like average stouffers food. So I was pleasantly surprised, but it wasn’t pleasant, if that makes sense.
For free, and for a few meals, I survived. I made sure to eat other food wherever I could, Chicago, Minot, Portland, Sacramento, Denver, Chicago again... etc....
those free beers can be surprisingly filling.
2) the service - well, it was really good. With only one exception, everyone was sensational. From the ticket taker in Cleveland, to the cabin attendant on the Capitol (both times) to the cabin attendant and diner waiter on the empire builder, to the cabin attendant on the coast starlight, and the waiter and a random polish engineer on the Zephyr. Only the cabin attendant on the Zephyr wasn’t great, but he sure as hell tried to be. It was an unfortunate situation where there were one and a half cabin stewards for three sleeper cars.
I’m blown away how much they enjoyed their jobs- or at least how well they faked it. To the customer (or at least this customer) that difference doesn’t matter. They were exceptional, and I did my best to tip accordingly.
all in all it was a great experience, and quite frankly if it weren’t such a pain in the zephyr to book it out of Cleveland, I’d make it more of a primary form of travel.
cnpeters
Train Attendant
Hey, I’m happy to talk everyone’s ear off about my trip but I’d like to move it out of this persons room vs roomette thread... and into my thread which also kind of de-railed into talking about my trip
https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...d-empire-builder-coast-starlight-cz-cl.78012/
It’s not fair to this thread I think. I stand by my point of a roomette being pretty dang good, and while a sleeper is worth a little extra - not that much extra.
https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...d-empire-builder-coast-starlight-cz-cl.78012/
It’s not fair to this thread I think. I stand by my point of a roomette being pretty dang good, and while a sleeper is worth a little extra - not that much extra.
tricia
Conductor
It's not uncommon to be able to book two roomettes, across the hall from each other, for less than the cost of one bedroom.
Edit to add: Or at least it didn't use to be uncommon. I've done it several times in the past, not sure about current pricing.
That's the "go to" formula for those of us getting older and not wanting to climb into an upper bunk.
Doing this is always possible assuming the Roomettes are at low bucket. For the 16 LD trains with sleepers, 2 low bucket Roomettes with 1 adult in each is cheaper than 1 low bucket Bedroom with 2 adults on 12 of those trains. But the difference is only $1 for the TE and SWC, so that leaves only 2 trains where 2 Roomettes is significantly more than 1 Bedroom. And if Bedrooms are at #2 bucket, 2 Roomettes is always cheaper with the previously stated passenger loads.
Naturally all this changes if Roomettes are at #2 bucket. Refer to the bucket charts for current fares and to calculate the fare differences.
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Exvalley
Conductor
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If you are traveling solo, the only real advantage of a bedroom, IMHO, is the private bathroom and shower. Some people also like the bigger bed.
I agree with others that a bedroom doesn't feel a whole lot larger than a roomette since the bathroom takes up a good chunk of the extra space. And there is always the 50% chance that the sofa will be facing in the opposite direction of your preference.
I agree with others that a bedroom doesn't feel a whole lot larger than a roomette since the bathroom takes up a good chunk of the extra space. And there is always the 50% chance that the sofa will be facing in the opposite direction of your preference.
I think I have it figured out after going to the Amtrak Site. 
On the Auto Train last year I slept in the Accessible Bedroom with my wife and my WC. Watching her climb into the upper berth with her health issues was a Nightmare, for the both of us. I have balance issues and would have difficulties using and getting to public rooms. That leaves us with the Accessible Bedroom + Roomette or Family Bedroom (transport chair), "Holding it" for 17+ hours, or a Adult Diaper and jug. Does that sound right?
On the Auto Train last year I slept in the Accessible Bedroom with my wife and my WC. Watching her climb into the upper berth with her health issues was a Nightmare, for the both of us. I have balance issues and would have difficulties using and getting to public rooms. That leaves us with the Accessible Bedroom + Roomette or Family Bedroom (transport chair), "Holding it" for 17+ hours, or a Adult Diaper and jug. Does that sound right?Just to be clear, in your case, we are talking AutoTrain (superliners) whereas the OP was talking SM (viewliners) I want to make sure I'm not going off in the wrong direction if I try to make a suggestion, or throw out an idea that doesn't apply.
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