Re: fares.
We have found that booking two roomettes is almost always cheaper than booking a full bedroom and sometimes cheaper than the family bedroom because our second roomette is about 2/3 the price of the first one. Is that because we are seniors or is that true for everyone?
Re: comfort.
While we prefer to have 2 roomettes directly across from each other, we happily sit together in one roomette most of the day and then sleep separately on the lower bunks at night. We do want the rooms on opposite sides of the car, of course. For daytime sitting we pick the room with the best viewing and may actually move from one to the other for the occasional waterfall or other special view. We do not find the sitting in one room uncomfortable but of course we are not bound to our seats as on an airplane or a bus or in the car. When there is a view car we take advantage of it as well.
We bring only one multi-tap extension and keep our devices charged all day so that when separating for the night we each have a fully charged tablet and cell phone.
I appreciate that it's a long way in the future and that fare buckets will change, on the random dates that I've looked at, for 2 people, I'm getting for the CS $1730 for 2 roomettes, $2006 for a bedroom & $1632 for a family bedroom, with me currently leaning towardsa family bedroom for the extra space (not interested in the ensuite facilities of a bedroom), for the SWC its $1298 for 2 x roomettes (which seems like cracking value), $1911 for a bedroom and $2144 for a family bedroom, so 2 x roomettes look like they acould be a winner.
How do you price up 2 x roomettes on a simple search on the amtrak wesbite ? When I look, it prices up 2 people in a single roomette, which isn't what we're looking for (I'm a big unit and my son is even bigger)
The Empire Builder from Seattle does not go through the Columbia Gorge. The Baby Builder leg from Portland does, but it leaves going eastbound late in the afternoon. So, in winter you would miss most of that experience due to the shorter days. In summer, it is spectacular.
For this, and the risk of weather related snafus, I wouldn't recommend the northern route in winter.
The northbound Coast Starlight from LA is a wonderful ride, still my favorite of Amtrak trains. If you can make it work with one of the southern cross-country routes, I would do that even if you have to spend an extra night.
I really fancy a trip on the EB, but sadly with me currently restricted to the short days of January, I don't think that it will be this year.
If i do take the SWC followed by the CS, I'll probably take the Pacific Surfliner South, away from LA (maybe to San Diego), spend a night away and then come back in time for the CS the next morning. The 6am from San Diego would do this nicely.
Once all of the airlines have released their fares for the whole of January, it'll probably be time to jump in. From another thread that I've found on here, the roomettes for the SWC may already be in the cheapest bucket, so nothing to be gained by hanging on. For the CS, all the fares seem to be in the higher bucket, so booking the SWC for now then calling Amtrak later to modify the booking may be a good approach.
As a happy related aside, Icelandair are currently have well timed and well priced flights, plus it's a country I've never been to before.
