Cleveland to D.C. Baggage and Kid

[TravelingFamily]

I'm looking at traveling between Newport News, VA and Cleveland with my husband and our baby. We're planning to get a roomette between D.C. and Cleveland (we figure the baby can sleep on the bottom bunk with one of us). On the way there we only have a 2.5 hour layover in D.C. On the way back it's 5 hours though. My question is what to do with our baggage during that time. Can we check it in Cleveland and not have to worry about it again until Newport News? Or do we have to pick it up in D.C. for the second leg of our journey? We'd like to go walk around the city during that 5 hour layover and don't want to tote the bags.

I hope this is a fun family trip. We've never traveled by rail with a kid or gotten a room. The biggest issue seems to be the train's middle of the night arrival and departure in Cleveland. Any other issues I'm not thinking of?

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

I am not sure about the checked baggage issue, someone else will be sure to know that. If you buy a roomette ticket, this entitles you to use the special "1st class" waiting lounge facilities with coffee, etc, gratis, in Washington station. If it transpires that you do need to transfer your baggage yourselves, then you can leave it (free of charge) in that lounge, where there is always someone on duty to watch over it.

Ed

 

[Lakeshore]

Newport News has no checked baggage service, so you would have to check them between DC and Cleveland. On the regional, you would just bring them with you on the train.

You need to check them 45 minutes before the train leaves on the way out. But, you can wait to pick up your bags from the baggage claim until closer to the time the regional train departs on the way home. They don't make you claim them right away.

As said above, use the First Class lounge, and spend some time in the Sightseer car on the Capitol Limited. You dinner is included with your roomette as well, for both of you. So enjoy your dinner and have a relaxing time.

 

[Guest ALX]

There is no checked baggage to Newport News that I can tell from a brief check of Amtrak's website. You would be allowed to use the Club lounge since you have a sleeper ticket though and there is free baggage storage in there. There is also a paid baggage storage place if you don't like the free one for some reason, but it is pretty pricey. I have personally used the lounge at DC and left my luggage there and I don't see any glaring issues with it. The only people allowed in the lounge have either a sleeper ticket or a first class ticket. While it is certainly possible that someone would pay $300 for a ticket to root around in your luggage, it is unlikely.

You don't say how old your child is, but you may want to be careful with the child in bed with one of you if it is very small. I've done the Capitol Limited with a 6 week old and we just had her sleep in her car seat, but we also had a bedroom with more floor space. Unless you are very thin, there is not a lot of room on the bed to lay side by side with even a small child. I've not measured it, but the narrow bunks don't seem more than 2.5-3 feet wide at best. I would say it is comparable to sleeping on a couch. I personally, would be concerned about rolling or shifting onto the child. If you are a light sleeper and the kid is going to lay on your chest you may be ok, but I personally would still be nervous about it. We've also traveled with our child when she was closer to a year old again in a bedroom and she did ok on the bottom bed, which is wider than the one in a roomette, with one of us. If you are comfortable sleeping on the couch with your kid then you would be ok I would guess. You could also consider just trying to sleep in the chair and have the child sleep in the car seat on the other chair.

When she was 6 weeks old, my kid barely woke up the entire trip out and back from Chicago on the train. I don't know if it was the swaying or what, but she was gone. In fact, it was the first time she slept entirely through the night and she kept doing it from there out. When she was older, we were unlucky that she was teething during the trip, so she was miserable at night regardless of being on the train.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm looking at traveling between Newport News, VA and Cleveland with my husband and our baby. We're planning to get a roomette between D.C. and Cleveland (we figure the baby can sleep on the bottom bunk with one of us). On the way there we only have a 2.5 hour layover in D.C. On the way back it's 5 hours though. My question is what to do with our baggage during that time. Can we check it in Cleveland and not have to worry about it again until Newport News? Or do we have to pick it up in D.C. for the second leg of our journey? We'd like to go walk around the city during that 5 hour layover and don't want to tote the bags.

I hope this is a fun family trip. We've never traveled by rail with a kid or gotten a room. The biggest issue seems to be the train's middle of the night arrival and departure in Cleveland. Any other issues I'm not thinking of?

First of all, the middle of night times can be a very big issue at CLE becuase the station is not that comfortable. Just "hold out" until you get on the train, and you'll have a great time.

About other issues, please expectyt delays since this is a long-distance train. The Capitol Limited (CL) which you'll be on is usually quite on-time but track work may cause problems. Don't know if the track work will be going on when you travel but I've heard about schedule charges caused by it.

Since you seem to not have booked your ticket yet you can use www.amsnag.net to check for cheaper fares. Remember that you should be able to fit your whole group in one roomette, but you ca get two if you wish. You could also buy tickets by phone or at the station, at least five months in advance, of course, though this one could be doable with four months.

 

[TravelingFamily]

Thanks everybody! He'll be 9-10 months old and we're tiny people so I think we can make the bed work, but we'll figure it out when we get there. I sure hope he sleeps well! I don't want to disturb the other passengers.

That's good information about the first class lounge. That sounds like a good option for baggage storage. Checking them and then just not retrieving them for a few hours could work too. Although in either instance I'm surprised with security as it is in D.C. you can just leave a bag unattended these days.

 

[Nathanael]

The roomettes are genuinely small; we're also tiny people and I would be uncomfortable trying to add a baby in along with two people and luggage, if you're trying to sleep. (It should be fine in the "daytime" position.) Have you checked out the "virtual tour" which Amtrak has of Superliner roomettes?

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

All shades of opinion are found here on Amtrak Unlimited. I am 6'2", aged 60, my son is around 6' tall, and we find the roomettes to be fine. We travel light, and like most folk, we would leave huge cases in the luggage racks outide the room. Sleeping with a tiny baby won't take up that much extra space, so for my two pence worth (oops, I meant two cents worth :lol: ) I imagine you will be fine too.

Ed

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm well into the six foot plus group and I've slept in every bed Amtrak has. That being said, I would not be able to sleep well with a baby in the same bed. Besides, isn't that a little dangerous?

 

[jb64]

Hi,

All shades of opinion are found here on Amtrak Unlimited. I am 6'2", aged 60, my son is around 6' tall, and we find the roomettes to be fine. We travel light, and like most folk, we would leave huge cases in the luggage racks outide the room. Sleeping with a tiny baby won't take up that much extra space, so for my two pence worth (oops, I meant two cents worth :lol: ) I imagine you will be fine too.

Ed

I'm with Ed on this one. You'll make do and be fine. A 9-10 month old is far different from a newborn and he will be fine too.

 

[George Harris]

I'm well into the six foot plus group and I've slept in every bed Amtrak has. That being said, I would not be able to sleep well with a baby in the same bed. Besides, isn't that a little dangerous?

Not if you are sober, or unless you sleep like the truly dead. We did a lot of baby in the middle sleeping. No danger of the kid falling off if in the middle. Sometimes daddy did. Easy nursing without having to get too waked up. Who knows? By now with all the big brotherisms, it may even be illegal. For us the statute of limitions has surely made it unnecessary to keep the secret any longer, and thankfully the Constitution prohibits ex post facto charges.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The roomettes are genuinely small; we're also tiny people and I would be uncomfortable trying to add a baby in along with two people and luggage, if you're trying to sleep. (It should be fine in the "daytime" position.) Have you checked out the "virtual tour" which Amtrak has of Superliner roomettes?

Please note that the virtual tour may make the roomette look bigger than it actually is. Using the virtual tour on www.seat61.com or the extensive pictures on www.trainweb.org may be a better option.

 

[PaulM]

I'm well into the six foot plus group and I've slept in every bed Amtrak has. That being said, I would not be able to sleep well with a baby in the same bed. Besides, isn't that a little dangerous?

Not if you are sober, or unless you sleep like the truly dead. We did a lot of baby in the middle sleeping. No danger of the kid falling off if in the middle. Sometimes daddy did. Easy nursing without having to get too waked up. Who knows? By now with all the big brotherisms, it may even be illegal. For us the statute of limitions has surely made it unnecessary to keep the secret any longer, and thankfully the Constitution prohibits ex post facto charges.

Interesting. I would not have pegged Texas Sunset as a nervous nelly type. That being said, I have no business offering advice here since my oldest child is 30.

 

[TravelingFamily]

Thanks again folks. I checked out the virtual room tours. I hadn't realized there was a difference between the Viewliner roomette I'd been in before and the Superliner roomette for the trip to Cleveland. It won't be roomy, but I'm still feeling ok about the bed. It's the middle of the night ride to/from the Cleveland train station I'm still sorting out now. Hopefully leaving the luggage in the lounge works out for the D.C. layover.

 

[Notelvis]

I've never had an issue leaving luggage for the day in the 1st class lounge storage room in either DC or Chicago. That service is one of the real perks in spending extra money to travel in sleeper.

 

[NW cannonball]

I've never had an issue leaving luggage for the day in the 1st class lounge storage room in either DC or Chicago. That service is one of the real perks in spending extra money to travel in sleeper.

Me neither (ever had a problem with luggage at DC or CHI sleeper passenger lounge)

Did CHI-SEA several years ago with 18 month old in lower roomette berth with mom and me in upper -- worked real well for us. None of us real big for our age.