First Time Taking A Train, A Couple of Questions

[guestlsa]

since i work on that train in the diner ......i can tell the food is good . we got ribs, overn bake southern style chicken...now eb was right it does get busy and since u be traveling alone u will be seated next some one...but who knows u might make lots of new friends.

also the times in the diner for dinner are 430,500, 520, 630,700,730,800 and last call is 830.

You will probably be seated with strangers but do not fear, that can be one of the most fun parts of the trip.

The dining car uses community seating in order to accommodate as many passengers as we can that wish to eat in the diner. It really is a nice aspect of dining on a train. It's the best way to meet some of your fellow passengers and engage in good conversation. It's rare but occasionally someone is very apprehensive about sitting with strangers and will ask to be seated alone. Unfortunately, most of the time we cannot accommodate that request. What's funny is that usually it's those apprehensive passengers who end up having the greatest time and in depth conversations with the people they just met. Sometimes we even need to scoot them out to seat the next guests.

LOL.

Yeah I was looking at the menu, since my trip is overnight, I'm defiantly going to get the dinner. How good are the meals btw?

I'll eat breakfast when I meet up with my people in ATL.

 

[supergrandmother]

I'm an older female and I have traveled on the Crescent several times. I've never felt uncomfortable or unsafe. The meals are good but when I took my grandson, I took lots of snacks because he is a human disposal. Be sure you take a blanket and a small pillow. If you don't get a roommette, you'll do fine in coach. I've slept there and it's not so bad. Have fun!

 

[ersrose3]

Thank you all for the extra responses. I had some other questions I wanted to ask, but can't think of them at the moment, but when they do come up, I will certainly ask.

Thanks again for the info, advice and tips.

 

[Zevzec]

A suggestion: when you leave your seat, especially if you will still be away from your seat when the train makes a stop, put something in your seat that is not very valuable (e.g., magazine, book, jacket you don't care about). That will help make it obvious to other passengers that the seat is taken. The staff will know because of the seat ticket above your seat, but many of the passengers won't.

 

[George Harris]

My limit is around $150 (not including anything extra), I did not find anything around that price, would this be possible?

The onboard upgrade price for a roomette is $120 from Washington to Atlanta so maybe $125-130 in Deleware. They pretty much never sell the roomettes before the train leaves at this price, but this price point does exist in the system. Don't even waste your time checking for this price as it is essentially only available for onboard upgrades. Do check to see if roomettes are available before you leave though so you can have an idea if some may be available, but the Crescent is a popular train so they do sell out very often. There also may be no shows that the conductor may sell to you as well so always ask. Lots of things working against you so its about like shooting the moon in hearts.

If you ask at Wilmington and told the sleeper is full, try again after leaving Washington, most likely it will have to be after Alexandria, as the distance and time between is so short. There may have been no-shows at Washington, so that a space they thought was sold is now open.

 

[Chris J.]

A suggestion: when you leave your seat, especially if you will still be away from your seat when the train makes a stop, put something in your seat that is not very valuable (e.g., magazine, book, jacket you don't care about). That will help make it obvious to other passengers that the seat is taken. The staff will know because of the seat ticket above your seat, but many of the passengers won't.

What is the 'protocol' when returning to your seat and finding it occupied? It happened to me once on a California service; the person moved but felt a bit bad about it because I was evidently more able to move than they were; but I also didn't want to give myself problems by sitting somewhere else and having the conductor throw me off! Would it have been okay to just take my seat check to another seat?

 

[AAARGH!]

A suggestion: when you leave your seat, especially if you will still be away from your seat when the train makes a stop, put something in your seat that is not very valuable (e.g., magazine, book, jacket you don't care about). That will help make it obvious to other passengers that the seat is taken. The staff will know because of the seat ticket above your seat, but many of the passengers won't.

What is the 'protocol' when returning to your seat and finding it occupied? It happened to me once on a California service; the person moved but felt a bit bad about it because I was evidently more able to move than they were; but I also didn't want to give myself problems by sitting somewhere else and having the conductor throw me off! Would it have been okay to just take my seat check to another seat?

Short answer, yes. I move seats at times and I take my seat check with me. However, if they are assigning seats, I ask the attendant first. If they are keeping people traveling to the same destinations in the same car, I try not to change cars.

IF you want to keep the seat that the person (inadvertantly) took, I would ask them first. If there is an issue, get the attendant or a conductor.

The only time I have seen this when it was an issue is when a single person took a couple's seat and told them to sit elsewhere when politely made aware of what he had done. There were no other open pairs, so they got the attendant involved. She threatened to bring the conductor and ensured the guy if he didn't move, he would be thrown off the train. He then moved and sat with a stranger.

 

[GAT]

If you like chicken, definately try the oven-roasted chicken for dinner. It's usually excellent. And if you like ice cream, consider bringing a small container of your favorite sauce so you can make a sundae out of your train-provided Haagen Daas. On the California Zephyr a couple of months ago, I bought a jar of local peach syrup at the Glenwood Springs store in the station and had the most scrumptious peach sundae for dinner that night. I couldn't stand the wistful looks in the eyes of the mother/daughter couple across from me, so we all had peach sundaes. Then, a good-hearted wise-crack from the dining car attendant earned him one too! I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you that, because I don't know if they are allowed to eat any of the dining car food. Maybe he paid for it out of the tip I left!