booked on train from Penn station to florida few questions

[vic]

I signed up a username but couldn't start a new topic?

anyway,

I booked a roomette for me and the wife from penn Station to Ft. Lauderdal on March 4th. booked the son and girlfriend (19 and 20 years old) in the regular seats. so I have a few question I'm hoping somebody can answer?

>

Hear the meals are included with me and the wife.. what exactly is included? Is there a generic menu somewhere I can see before I go?? online?

also, will the kids in coach be able to come back to the room? we have some games ect we want to play.. its a long trip. if not, will we be able to go see them in the coach section? or somewhere on the train??

also, Is there any advise I can go from somebody that may have made this trip prior, or that knows something about it??

thanks in advance, I appreciate it..

 

[MrFSS]

I signed up a username but couldn't start a new topic?

anyway,

I booked a roomette for me and the wife from penn Station to Ft. Lauderdale on March 4th. booked the son and girlfriend (19 and 20 years old) in the regular seats. so I have a few question I'm hoping somebody can answer?

Hear the meals are included with me and the wife.. what exactly is included? Is there a generic menu somewhere I can see before I go?? online?

also, will the kids in coach be able to come back to the room? we have some games etc we want to play.. its a long trip. if not, will we be able to go see them in the coach section? or somewhere on the train??

Also, Is there any advise I can go from somebody that may have made this trip prior, or that knows something about it??

thanks in advance, I appreciate it..

You couldn't log in and reply as your registration hadn't been approved. I just approved it so try again.

Now others will see this message of yours and supply the answers you need.

Thanks!!

 

[CTVIC]

thx,

all set actually posted the message again if you could delete one.

 

[MrFSS]

thx,

all set actually posted the message again if you could delete one.

Done

 

[Tumbleweed]

I signed up a username but couldn't start a new topic?

anyway,

I booked a roomette for me and the wife from penn Station to Ft. Lauderdal on March 4th. booked the son and girlfriend (19 and 20 years old) in the regular seats. so I have a few question I'm hoping somebody can answer?

>

Hear the meals are included with me and the wife.. what exactly is included? Is there a generic menu somewhere I can see before I go?? online?

Breakfast, dinner and supper are included\with the roomette, including dessert and non-alcoholic drinks...sample menus are here.... http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1248539581465

also, will the kids in coach be able to come back to the room? we have some games ect we want to play.. its a long trip. if not, will we be able to go see them in the coach section? or somewhere on the train??

A roomette would not be large enough to accommodate 4 people, and the SCA may frown upon it anyway....however, if you meet in the observation car, you would have a table and plenty of room to play games, etc....

also, Is there any advise I can go from somebody that may have made this trip prior, or that knows something about it??

We rode from WAS to WPB a few weeks ago in a roomette and thoroughly enjoyed it....

thanks in advance, I appreciate it..

 

[Tumbleweed]

You should be able to meet in the diner for meals......but be sure and explain to the attendant that you would like to do so.....

 

[zephyr17]

When they come to take your reservation for lunch or dinner, just give them your total party size. Then meet up before the meal and go to the diner together. Sleeper pax will get their meals "free" and the coach pax will have to pay, but no reason you can't eat together!

The diner serves full meals only. The sleeper car passengers have the meal, dessert, "breakfast meats" at breakfast (bacon, sausage. Extra item for coach passengers)and non-alcoholic beverage included.

Nothing in the cafe car is included, only diner meals.

As to being together at other times, the obvious answer is the lounge car even though the lounge cars on the single level Eastern trains suck. Your sleeping car attendant may or may not allow the coach members of your party into the room, and in any case 4 adults in a roomette is a very tight squeeze without spilling out into the narrow hallway (which is annoying to the other passengers). You can go back to coach freely, but are not entitled to a seat there, although if a seat isn't taken (either with a person there, OR a seat check in the rack over the seat) most attendants will allow you to sit there.

 

[guest]

>>even though the lounge cars on the single level Eastern trains suck<<

I disagree - they have tables, coffee, and the same cross-section of humanity you see anywhere else. I'm not saying they are luxurious - but why would we characterize them so harshly to someone who has never even seen one?

 

[Tony]

also, will the kids in coach be able to come back to the room? we have some games ect we want to play.. its a long trip. if not, will we be able to go see them in the coach section? or somewhere on the train??

Only passengers who have in their possession a sleeper ticket (stub), are allowed into the sleeper car. So, are you really asking if your kids will get caught or not. To go from the coach cars to the sleeper cars, you have to walk thru a service car like the diner, and the staff in there is pretty good at knowing who are their "first class" sleeper passengers, and who therefore is not.

If this was an airplane instead of a train, would you really be asking if your kids can all come from coach, and hang out with you in the first class cabin for the flight?

 

[guest]

>>Only passengers who have in their possession a sleeper ticket (stub), are allowed into the sleeper car<<

My son and I were sharing a roomette on the CZ one time, and our sleeping car attendant allowed us to invite a friend we had met in the lounge back to the sleeper with us to have a drink. It was no problem (except a little cramped - )

We kept the door open, and did nothing to disturb the peace - it was quite pleasant to "entertain" a guest in our roomette.

 

[Guest]

My son and I were sharing a roomette on the CZ one time, and our sleeping car attendant allowed us to invite a friend we had met in the lounge back to the sleeper with us to have a drink. It was no problem (except a little cramped - )

Well, just because you got away with breaking the rule, doesn't by itself change the rule.

The bottom line, your coach-class friend from the lounge was stealing, by enjoying "first class" even though he/she didn't pay for it. If nothing else, its a pretty clear way of judging someone's character.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

>>even though the lounge cars on the single level Eastern trains suck<<

I disagree - they have tables, coffee, and the same cross-section of humanity you see anywhere else. I'm not saying they are luxurious - but why would we characterize them so harshly to someone who has never even seen one?

One of the bigger drawbacks of the "eastern" lounge/cafe cars is the unfortunate reality that train crews can treat the car like it is their own personal office space. This can create an environment that feels unwelcoming. On trains where crews have this attitude, I've found it discourages people from wanting to spend much time in the cafe car. This is especially true for single travelers and couples, but larger groups - like a party of four - can have a good time. I've seen crews that are so overbearing that nobody wants to be in the car, but they are rare.

 

[guest]

>>train crews can treat the car like it is their own personal office space. This can create an environment that feels unwelcoming. <<

I agree with that one - it can be annoying, especially if two tables are taken up by one crew member each - I guess they have no other space to spread out their paperwork sometimes? I once asked a crew member who had lots of extra space (and there were no other tables free) if I could join, and she said yes - we ended up having a nice conversation - so it's not always bad ...

 

[CTVIC]

thx for the advise...

I was actually hoping that the kids could go to the sleeper, and we go to the coach car for awhile if they wanted to lay down or watch a movie ect. on my laptop.

but I;m guessing that will be up to the staff on the train. I paid for the room, and only 2 people will be in it at one time, so hopefully that is ok?

 

[AlanB]

thx for the advise...

I was actually hoping that the kids could go to the sleeper, and we go to the coach car for awhile if they wanted to lay down or watch a movie ect. on my laptop.

but I;m guessing that will be up to the staff on the train. I paid for the room, and only 2 people will be in it at one time, so hopefully that is ok?

Talk with your sleeping car attendant first, before you do anything. But generally, most crews will allow what you're talking about provided that it's not disturbing other passengers and that you're not trying to get free things that you're not entitled. to.

 

[guestWell - it looks like]

Well it looks like there might be room for more than one point of view here:

>>Talk with your sleeping car attendant first, before you do anything. But generally, most crews will allow what you're talking about provided that it's not disturbing other passengers and that you're not trying to get free things that you're not entitled to. << (From AlanB)

>>Well, just because you got away with breaking the rule, doesn't by itself change the rule.

The bottom line, your coach-class friend from the lounge was stealing, by enjoying "first class" even though he/she didn't pay for it. If nothing else, its a pretty clear way of judging someone's character. << (From a guest)

The whole story of our "theft" is this - we invited the friend back to our roomette, we went there and sat for a while. No one said anything to us on the way in. Then at the next smoke stop, the three of us got off and walked around, went back to re-board, at which point our SCA, (who had really nice all along) stopped us and said "Wait, who's this??" We said oh he's a friend we invited to our room - sorry if that's against the rules." She said, "Well, you ARE allowed to have guests - but next time, ask me first, ok?"

As to character judgement - I myself prefer to wait for more information before I go calling anyone a thief.

 

[TVRM610]

The lounge car will be your best bet to spend time together. The single level lounge cars are actually quite nice to hang out in. True, not AS nice as the SighSeer Cars on the Western trains, but they are quite nice none the less. The entire lounge car consists of booth style tables with a "cafe" bar in the middle. Grab one of these tables and you all can play games, chat, etc.

If you have a Roomette, please know that they are very small. There is no way that 4 people could fit comfortably in a roomette even for a short time.

 

[zephyr17]

>>even though the lounge cars on the single level Eastern trains suck<<

I disagree - they have tables, coffee, and the same cross-section of humanity you see anywhere else. I'm not saying they are luxurious - but why would we characterize them so harshly to someone who has never even seen one?

Because they do.

 

[dlagrua]

Once you have boarded advise your son and his girl to ask if a sleeper is available. If it is, they can travel at the low bucket fare. If you deduct the cost of your meals it may end up costing just a little bit more than the meals (which are not cheap). Dinner for two can easily cost $50 , lunch $30 and breakfast $25. For about $125 ( $20 more) they can enjoy a private roomette that includes all meals and coffee 24/7.

 

[CTVIC]

thx, I will have them check into an upgrade on the train. but they were expensive to book. $500 per room pre-board