Getting Nervous...

[Arabella1978]

Well tomorrow night I am leaving for my first ever trip on Amtrak....

I am travelling with my seven year old son on the EB from Minneapolis to Glacier National Park. My husband is staying home with our two year old..ack I'm nervous!!!

I don't know why I'm freaking out so much...I'm sure it will be fine. It's just kind of an unknown so I'm nervous!

I just have a couple more quick questions to ease my mind.

We are booked in a sleeper. Will someone be able to help me with the bags? Do I need to tip them? How much is a normal tip?

Also, I've seen from the floor plans that there is a luggage room in the sleeping car..will our stuff be accessible? Or do I need to make sure that my important stuff is with me in my tote? Also will my son's backpack fit in the closet in our sleeper? Or will that need to go in the luggage room too?

One last thing..will the room be in nighttime mode when we get on? (our train leaves at 10:50pm from Minneapolis.)

Kay, wish me luck, I hope we'll be okay! I've flown countless times solo, but for some reason this train trip has me chewing my nails!!

Arabella

 

[Buildy]

Although I am a relative newby,I`ll try to take a crack at easing your fears. Yes,a car attendent should help with your bags if you need it. You can tip a buck or two if you wish.

Your sleeper should be set up when you arrive as it is a night boarding.

I would keep the things you find most important close at hand in your tote if it were me.

Not sure about the backpack,as I don`t know the size of your room. We had a Roomette on the EB and were able to fit small suitcases under the seats,and actually kept all our luggage in the roomette with us. However,on the Cal Zephyr,we also had a roomette and the same suitcases wouldn`t fit so we left them in the luggage area of the Sleeper.

You should have a great time on the Empire Builder,as I found the service quite good,and the food fine in the dining car.

Try out the lounge car,it is a great place to meet interesting folks to chat with,and to watch the scenery roll by.

Oh,I would say regarding a tip,if your car attendent is attentive and helpful to your satisfaction,a tip of 10 dollars would not be out of line at the end of your trip. If the train is on time you will board at night and detrain before bedtime the next day,I believe.

I also tip several dollars if the service in the dining car is correct.

Have Fun!

 

[greatcats]

Yes, relax and enjoy your trip. Your fear of the unknown is understandable, but you are doing your son a favor by taking him on this great train trip. You would tip the dining car staff as you would in a restaurant, and a car attendant tip is appropriate too, unless that person does absolutely nothing to asist you.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

Well tomorrow night I am leaving for my first ever trip on Amtrak....
I am travelling with my seven year old son on the EB from Minneapolis to Glacier National Park. My husband is staying home with our two year old..ack I'm nervous!!!

I don't know why I'm freaking out so much...I'm sure it will be fine. It's just kind of an unknown so I'm nervous!

I just have a couple more quick questions to ease my mind.

We are booked in a sleeper. Will someone be able to help me with the bags? Do I need to tip them? How much is a normal tip?

Also, I've seen from the floor plans that there is a luggage room in the sleeping car..will our stuff be accessible? Or do I need to make sure that my important stuff is with me in my tote? Also will my son's backpack fit in the closet in our sleeper? Or will that need to go in the luggage room too?

One last thing..will the room be in nighttime mode when we get on? (our train leaves at 10:50pm from Minneapolis.)

Kay, wish me luck, I hope we'll be okay! I've flown countless times solo, but for some reason this train trip has me chewing my nails!!

Arabella

Ahhh.... that pre-trip anxiety!!! It never goes away for me! After years of riding trains followed by six years of working at Amtrak (riding one to two trips per week), I still have that "anxiety" all over me up until I get on the train and get settled! I have this anxiety a little when I fly or before I take a long car trip, too. I guess it's the fact we're letting down a little so we can "go away" for a little while, or get away from the norm!

OBS gone freight....

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Nervous about the first train trip, the first flight, the first ship, the first foregn country, even, for example, the first time to check into a hotel by oneself.just some examples.

Yep, all of that is uderstandable.

On my one and only trip to Euuope I was afraid about everything at frist and before hand. Fortunatley about one-third of the way through my visit I happened to realize, "Hey, this is going well.. I am actually having a good time"

It will be ok.

The most basic difference between the train and other travel is that iit is actually quite fun. You will be seated with strangers in the diner almost always---hey, that is ok, too! Some of my fondest train trip memories are the strangers I was seated with in the diner. It is necessary for logistic reasons to usually do that, you will see how that makes sense once on board. Both eating on the traini and sleeping on the train can be fun. Exploring your room can be interestng. There is more there than meets thte eye.

I have a story about fear I like to relate. When I was quite young I made a trip to Boston and New York City from my hometown of Chattanooga, TN. I was afraid of the crime and reputation of both of them. When I first hit the streets of the Big Apple I was sure everybody I saw was going to rob me or murder me.I even ducked into one bar or something because I thought I was about to be robbed or stabbed-and they promptly ran me back out!!--probably too young, or at least too young-looking, to be in there.

But guess what? Once I calmed down everything went well. But then I finally got legitimately afraid at the very end of the trip. What was that? It was when I was back in my own little old hometown of Chattanooga, waiting for the bus home. I was actually more afraid in that section of my hometown, when I got back to it, then I had been in big old bad Boston and big old bad NYC.

So---relax.

 

[Arabella1978]

Okay I'll try to relax!!

I just got off the phone with amtrak, and this is interesting..I asked them what would happen if the East Glacier Park station was evacuated...(There are wildfires within miles of east glacier, and they are on evacuation alert) and anyway, I asked about the possibility of extending my ticket to get off in West Glacier. Well at first the customer service rep was a little rude.. "Ma'am why in the world would you think the station would be evacuated?" to which I replied, "Well there are fires all over out there." So she put me on hold for a really LOOOOONG time and when she came back she asked for my reservation number. Then I was put on hold again for a really long time. When she came back she told me she could extend my ticket to West Glacier at no extra charge. I will board for my return from West Glacier as well. When I checked the online price, it was about 150 bucks...WHOA! I can't believe they jsut gave it to me for free! Weird huh? Anyway, I'm grateful and won't question it!

Emily

 

[Buildy]

She probably had to make sure no one else was booked to use that room between those two stops. If the room was going to be empty,it would not cause a problem to let you go to the next stop.

Glad they could help you out.

 

[RailFanLNK]

Ok, take the anxiety and "toss" it away and replace it with excitement! There is so much less stress with train travel than with an automobile (Mapquest, turn left drive 10 feet, go right 14 feet, go 1.2/3 and 1/4 mile go left...next thing you know you have 15 pages of directions to get to Aunt Sally's house) :lol: The thing in my opinion that will make or break your trip is this: ATTITUDE!!!!! Being in the service industry I also respect someone just a tad more when they use my first name. So when your boarding at night with your sleeper attendent, try real hard to remember his name. I usually will stow a shirt or two in the closet with a pair of shorts for the next day, I then take the smaller of the carryons and take it to the roomette with me and place it on the step up to the uppper bunk. Unless that person has to get up in the middle of the night, its usually a great place for the bag. I won't even get into the stress of airline travel. Have fun!

Al