Crescent alternative to NOL; roomette questions

[margo]

We live in Lake Charles, LA. We're planning a trip to New York on the Crescent. We really don't want to spend the night in NOL, so we're thinking about driving to catch the Crescent in MS. Any suggestions on doing this and where to leave our car for a week.
Also, does the Crescent roomette have a sink and toilet in the room?
Thank you.

 

[GaSteve]

Meridian might be a good place, but you'd have to check with locals about your car. Maybe Picayune, depending on timing. Frankly, given the driving time involved, I don't see any advantage to catching the train in MS vs NOL.
Yes and yes.

 

[niemi24s]

I think Meridian is the closest stop to New Orleans that has checked baggage service. But if dragging your own bags onto the train is not a problem for you, Slidell is only a tiny bit farther (about 10 miles) from you than NOL and has a fairly large parking lot adjacent to the station.

 

[DonNewcomb]

Several years ago we took the Crescent to and from DC starting in Hattiesburg. Driving from the MS Gulf Coast, we left the car for a week in the free parking lot at the Hattiesburg Amtrak station. We had to leave the Gulf Coast at oh-dark-thirty to make the train in H'burg. You'd have to leave Lake Charles about 3 AM. The roomette had a sink and commode.

 

[drdumont]

I have done similar, but left my car in a lower cost remote parking lot at the airport. Secure and economical, then a quick cab or LYFT to Union Station works well. On the return trip, you can LYFT or taxi directly to the remote lot.

 

[joelkfla]

Also, does the Crescent roomette have a sink and toilet in the room?
Thank you.

As of yesterday, it was running VL I sleepers, which have both sink & toilet in the Roomettes.

 

[cassie225]

I don’t know the reason but a few years ago when a friend and I left from Slidell instead of NO going to ATL in a roomette- they said they didn’t check bags. Maybe it was just to NO but it was my friends first time and she had two huge bags. Miserable trip, very claustrophobic-We came back on coach from ATL

 

[niemi24s]

Dummy bookings will give up-to-date information (see Details) about which stations provide checked baggage service. The RPA has aftermarket timetables for all the routes, such as this one for the Crescent: https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/20928/crescent_1_9_23.pdf

This shows the four stations between New Orleans and Meridian do not provide checked baggage service. Perhaps they never did for Amtrak.

 

[margo]

Thank you all for your advice. We are trying to avoid spending the night in New Orleans, as we have some bad experiences there. Also, it would add 2 days to our trip. It looks like New Orleans is the only place with secured parking, so I guess we will drive there. We don't check our bags and getting up early is not a problem. Thank you, again.

 

[niemi24s]

It looks like New Orleans is the only place with secured parking, so I guess we will drive there.

Secure parking? What lot is this?

 

[manchacrr]

We live in Lake Charles, LA. We're planning a trip to New York on the Crescent. We really don't want to spend the night in NOL, so we're thinking about driving to catch the Crescent in MS. Any suggestions on doing this and where to leave our car for a week.
Also, does the Crescent roomette have a sink and toilet in the room?
Thank you.

If you live in Lake Charles, why not have a friend or family member drop you off at the Lake Charles Amtrak Station and take the Sunset Limited to New Orleans a day or two before your Crescent trip and back home to Lake Charles after your trip?

 

[railiner]

If you live in Lake Charles, why not have a friend or family member drop you off at the Lake Charles Amtrak Station and take the Sunset Limited to New Orleans a day or two before your Crescent trip and back home to Lake Charles after your trip?

The OP stated they did not want to spend a couple of extra days in New Orleans…