Devil's Advocate
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Curious how the world's most critical Amtrak traveler felt about his most recent trip? Well read on!
First lets get the basics out of the way...
Reservation: Originally I ran into several problems with securing a reservation for this trip on the days I wanted. I’m still not sure why some days worked and other days did not. All trains ran daily and my origin and destination never changed. The AGR staff was unable to explain any of this and was unwilling to make any changes to whatever the computer spit out. I found this lack of resolution or explanation annoying. All I could get was the verbal version of shrugged shoulders. After several attempts I eventually I managed to find a day that worked for AGR about a week before departure.
Ticketing: I had read some stories about people losing their AGR reservations. I’m not sure how accurate or widespread this may or may not be, but I decided to print my tickets ahead of time just to be safe. The QuikTrak was unable to find my reservation. I ended up going to the counter and a rather subdued clerk got me my tickets. He wasn’t exactly friendly but he was competent and got me my tickets.
Boarding: Normally I show up for the Texas Eagle just a few minutes before departure. However, this time I managed to arrive nearly half an hour before departure. On the Sunset Limited you can pretty much board anytime you want so long as you’re in a sleeper. That may not be the official policy, but it’s worked many times for me. Turns out that doesn’t fly with the Eagle in San Antonio. Everyone has to wait until fifteen minutes before departure with no exceptions. I went ahead and just boarded the train anyway. I do not recommend this tactic for new travelers.
h34r:
More to follow.
First lets get the basics out of the way...
Reservation: Originally I ran into several problems with securing a reservation for this trip on the days I wanted. I’m still not sure why some days worked and other days did not. All trains ran daily and my origin and destination never changed. The AGR staff was unable to explain any of this and was unwilling to make any changes to whatever the computer spit out. I found this lack of resolution or explanation annoying. All I could get was the verbal version of shrugged shoulders. After several attempts I eventually I managed to find a day that worked for AGR about a week before departure.
Ticketing: I had read some stories about people losing their AGR reservations. I’m not sure how accurate or widespread this may or may not be, but I decided to print my tickets ahead of time just to be safe. The QuikTrak was unable to find my reservation. I ended up going to the counter and a rather subdued clerk got me my tickets. He wasn’t exactly friendly but he was competent and got me my tickets.
Boarding: Normally I show up for the Texas Eagle just a few minutes before departure. However, this time I managed to arrive nearly half an hour before departure. On the Sunset Limited you can pretty much board anytime you want so long as you’re in a sleeper. That may not be the official policy, but it’s worked many times for me. Turns out that doesn’t fly with the Eagle in San Antonio. Everyone has to wait until fifteen minutes before departure with no exceptions. I went ahead and just boarded the train anyway. I do not recommend this tactic for new travelers.
h34r:More to follow.
