C
ciship
Guest
Took the SWC from KC to Fullerton, CA. First off, all our arrivals and departures were on time....yeah!! I had read on these boards about the rough ride through western Kansas and you ain't kiddin......it was ridiculous! My daughter was on the top bunk in a roommette and the safety net caught her quite a few times. There was a little girl about 10 years old next to our room in the sleeper car and she screamed for over an hour at a full pitch scream. She kept begging grandma to take her home. I have taken this same route three other times, and I never remember it being so rough during ANY portion of the trip.
Food was very good.....there and back. We had Moses, Joseph, and Sandy as our dining attendants and with just a few exceptions....they did a good job.
Sleeper car attendants were Paul on the way there and Fred on the way back. Both did their jobs, but lacked a LOT of personality unfortunately.
I noticed very little tipping in the dining car. Most of our tablemates never tipped at all. In fact, they looked at me like I was strange when I laid money on the table. Only one other couple tipped for dining the whole trip.
I tipped the sleeper car attendant when arriving in Fullerton, but noticed that no one else did?? Same with arriving back in KC. I was really surprised.
Ok.....I know the pillows have always been lousy....but COME ON.....they really need to make a change. I asked for an extra pillow, but it still didnt feel like I had a whole pillow!!
Air conditioning on the way there was ok at best. Was really great on the way back!
There were barely a smattering of vendors at the Albuquerque stop. Last time I came through there, there were dozens of vendors selling stuff on the platform. I was really disappointed.
Must have been some kind of rowdy party back in coach, because the snack bar attendant shut down all sales of alcohol and refused to give out anymore ice. They also made an annoucement about the observation car and that people couldnt sleep there and that you were only allowed to be in there 30 minutes.
Had great conversation with a lot of "train" folks except on our last dinner night. The couple who sat with us at dinner complained the whole time about the train and how expensive it was and how much they hated it and couldnt wait to get home.
All in all.....another great trip on Amtrak!
Food was very good.....there and back. We had Moses, Joseph, and Sandy as our dining attendants and with just a few exceptions....they did a good job.
Sleeper car attendants were Paul on the way there and Fred on the way back. Both did their jobs, but lacked a LOT of personality unfortunately.
I noticed very little tipping in the dining car. Most of our tablemates never tipped at all. In fact, they looked at me like I was strange when I laid money on the table. Only one other couple tipped for dining the whole trip.
I tipped the sleeper car attendant when arriving in Fullerton, but noticed that no one else did?? Same with arriving back in KC. I was really surprised.
Ok.....I know the pillows have always been lousy....but COME ON.....they really need to make a change. I asked for an extra pillow, but it still didnt feel like I had a whole pillow!!
Air conditioning on the way there was ok at best. Was really great on the way back!
There were barely a smattering of vendors at the Albuquerque stop. Last time I came through there, there were dozens of vendors selling stuff on the platform. I was really disappointed.
Must have been some kind of rowdy party back in coach, because the snack bar attendant shut down all sales of alcohol and refused to give out anymore ice. They also made an annoucement about the observation car and that people couldnt sleep there and that you were only allowed to be in there 30 minutes.
Had great conversation with a lot of "train" folks except on our last dinner night. The couple who sat with us at dinner complained the whole time about the train and how expensive it was and how much they hated it and couldnt wait to get home.
All in all.....another great trip on Amtrak!
