Kramerica
Service Attendant
My wife and I took a trip to New Orleans a couple weeks ago. It was our second Amtrak trip (Here's the first) and our first in a sleeper. We got lots of great advice from this forum and I'd like to extend special thanks to MStrain for his PMs.
On Saturday June 7 we got dropped off at the MKE station. It is so nice in there with the new renovation. We waited for a bit until the Hiawatha was boarded. (We had six pieces of luggage - two main roller suitcases, two backpacks, one smaller bag for the overnight train, and a cooler) Getting on board with all that stuff was a pain, but there was plenty of storage space. The train left promptly at 1 PM and also arrived promptly in Chicago at 2:29 PM. I was happy with the comfort level on the train. It was less than half full. I've never been on the Hiawatha before and I hope to use it again in the future.
We went straight to the Metropolitan Lounge (kinda hard to find) and checked in. We were told to be back by 6:45 for boarding the CONO. We checked our bags and found the attendants to be pretty indifferent to our presence. Then we walked a few blocks to... Giordano's! Never ate at that location, and found it better than the one by Prudential Plaza. Same fantastic pizza though! Afterwards we went to the Sears Tower. I haven't been up there for over a decade. The waiting area seems the same though. But unfortunately by the time we got to the top it was raining a little bit. But it was still nice up there. Not as good of a view as the Hancock, though.
So by the time we were done with all that, it was around 6. We waited in the lounge, which was really nice. Comfy seats and nice TV. Saw a huge storm w/ tornado go just south of Chicagoland and over our tracks. Just before 7 we were called for boarding and went out the back door. We got to our car and were met by our attendant. (Tom, I think) He was giving out dining times and we got 7:30. I was a little disappointed by his first comment to us though. "Next time you should check your bags". Even though the chances of lost luggage are low, I know I can eliminate that particular problem by carrying the bags on ourselves. With the ample storage on the train, I'm happy to carry the bags at the start of our trip and didn't appreciate his comment. (A more friendly "did you know that you can check bags with Amtrak?" would have been much better) We got to our roomette (room 4 on car 32091) and had a little chuckle at how small it was. So we settled in for a little bit and then went to eat at 7:30.
Train consist of Engine, engine, trans dorm, sleeper, CCC, coach, coach/baggage, coach.
At dinner we sat in one of the three-person booths with a businessman. He's from Memphis and took the train for business to Rochester, NY. Across from us was a couple with their two young children (well behaved for 4 & 6) and they were from Baton Rouge. Talked to them a bit and they gave us some great tips for New Orleans, the best being Mardi Gras World. They were also trying the Family Bedroom for the first time, and ended up loving it.
We both had the flat iron steak. I ordered medium and she medium-well. Both were good, although more red than we expected. I had cheesecake for dessert and even got an ice cream too. The big disappointment with the meal was that the train doesn't leave until 8 PM, so most of it was in the dark train shed. But after we were done eating, no one else was coming to the diner, so we just stayed and enjoyed our ride out of Chicagoland. The wye operation after leaving the station was nice.
We retired to our room and were just talking and settling in. Around Kankakee the train came to a stop and the power went off. With the full moon on our side of the train (the roomettes were toward the engine) it was some nice scenery to look out over. Apparently we had run over some storm debris, but we were moving again within a few minutes. Shortly after we had the beds made and enjoyed our first night on the train. Sleeping horizontally was great, compared to last year's coach adventure.
I got up for good the next morning as we were going through Memphis. I went into the CCC to read and watch the scenery as my wife slept. As a sleeper passenger, the CCC worked out fine. (except that I couldn't be out of my room during mealtimes because there was no place to lounge) But I think it would stink as a coach passenger. The four tables at that end were ALWAYS in use. They definitely need to add a sightseer lounge, unstaffed.
We got to the Memphis stop early and left it 20-30 minutes late. Lots of dinking around there. And with the large gravel, it wasn't pleasant to walk around in my slippers. (my standard footwear on the train)
Breakfast was nice. RR French Toast. Afterwards I took a shower. Interesting experience. Then Becky and I enjoyed our morning reading and playing cribbage.
Lunch was burgers, which weren't very good. And I was disappointed that they had run out of dessert. I was also disappointed at the fact that the last call for lunch was at 12:45 or so. I wanted to eat around 1:30 because of our later breakfast and because I thought we'd be eating later on in the evening in NOL. But they clearly wanted to get everyone out of the diner so they could clean up.
We played cribbage some more, and right after Hammond I went to the CCC to enjoy the swamps (this was our first time in Louisiana) and going through New Orleans. There was also a Rails & Trails guide on board who was interesting.
We arrived in NOL early, at 3 PM. Took a cab to our hotel in the French Quarter. Enjoyed three days in NOL, two in Houston, one in Galveston, and then a couple driving back to NOL along the Gulf Coast.
On Monday June 16 we left our hotel in Metarie and did a couple things around town. I dropped Becky and the bags off at Union Station around noon, then dropped off the car at Budget. I walked the ten blocks back to the station and "enjoyed" the last of the high humidity. We don't miss that!
Boy, was the Magnolia Room quite a difference from the Metropolitan Lounge. Both in size and comfort. A few people did come in and turn around because there was no more room. No free soda either like in Chicago. Nor leather furniture. Fortunately we were only there for a little while until we boarded. Also, this time we checked our two big pieces of luggage, because if they did get lost it was no big deal.
On our trip down, the roomettes were not all used, and a couple bedrooms were open as well. We decided to try to upgrade onboard to a bedroom on the way back if possible. We talked to the conductor, and unfortunately all the bedrooms were spoken for. In fact, they had even sold some roomettes in the transition sleeper. The consist was the same as the way down, except for the second engine. It was one of the real old Amtrak engines. Our sleeper had the bedrooms toward the engines, which disappointed me. I had booked room 4 both ways, figuring there was a good chance we'd have different sides of the train each way. But no such luck.
The train left at 1:45 sharp. I spent most of the time to Hammond in the CCC enjoying the scenery. After that we played a lot of cribbage. Dinner was at 6:30. We had the steaks again and ordered medium well and well, because of our experience on the way down. But of course this is a different cook and they were too well done, although still juicy and tasty. My veggies were fantastic and the best part of the meal. That's saying a lot, coming from a carnivore like me. The spices were excellent. I had the red velvet cake, which was very good. The waiter was a fun guy.
We were in car 32030, with attendant Dan. He was OK.
On this leg of the jouney, I took the bottom bunk while my wife was up top, opposite of our ride down. I loved having the window, but I stayed up too late watching Memphis go by, and because I didn't want to miss anything I left the shades open, which helped me get a bad night's sleep. But oh well.
I don't know which was which, but one way we had a Superliner I and the other a Superliner II. We liked the open closet a lot better than the enclosed closet. We were able to get our train bag in there, but not the closed closet.
We ate breakfast around 7 AM and were kicked out quickly so they could clean it up. Not very friendly if you ask me. The last seating for breakfast was 7:15 with a 9 AM scheduled arrival. I wasn't pleased with that.
We got into Chicago a few minutes late because of a frieght around Peotone. But no big deal.
Becky and I had thought of maybe staying in Chicago and eating pizza at Lou Malnotti's. But it doesn't open until 11 AM and we just wanted to get home. So we waited in the lounge for our 10:20 AM Hiawatha. We used the extremely slow computer in the lounge.
It was at this point we saw how lucky we were that the CONO wasn't impacted by the flooding. The Empire Builder was truncated to MSP, the trains to St. Louis were cancelled, the Texas Eagle was a bus, etc. Many unhappy people being attended to in the lounge.
The ride back on the Hiawatha was good. We did have some signal problems in Milwaukee, which the crew was quick to point out was the host RR's problem. We got in a few minutes late and got our baggage and our ride home.
Overall it was a great trip. We're now spoiled and I don't think we'd travel coach overnight again. And thanks again to everyone who gave us great tips!
On Saturday June 7 we got dropped off at the MKE station. It is so nice in there with the new renovation. We waited for a bit until the Hiawatha was boarded. (We had six pieces of luggage - two main roller suitcases, two backpacks, one smaller bag for the overnight train, and a cooler) Getting on board with all that stuff was a pain, but there was plenty of storage space. The train left promptly at 1 PM and also arrived promptly in Chicago at 2:29 PM. I was happy with the comfort level on the train. It was less than half full. I've never been on the Hiawatha before and I hope to use it again in the future.
We went straight to the Metropolitan Lounge (kinda hard to find) and checked in. We were told to be back by 6:45 for boarding the CONO. We checked our bags and found the attendants to be pretty indifferent to our presence. Then we walked a few blocks to... Giordano's! Never ate at that location, and found it better than the one by Prudential Plaza. Same fantastic pizza though! Afterwards we went to the Sears Tower. I haven't been up there for over a decade. The waiting area seems the same though. But unfortunately by the time we got to the top it was raining a little bit. But it was still nice up there. Not as good of a view as the Hancock, though.
So by the time we were done with all that, it was around 6. We waited in the lounge, which was really nice. Comfy seats and nice TV. Saw a huge storm w/ tornado go just south of Chicagoland and over our tracks. Just before 7 we were called for boarding and went out the back door. We got to our car and were met by our attendant. (Tom, I think) He was giving out dining times and we got 7:30. I was a little disappointed by his first comment to us though. "Next time you should check your bags". Even though the chances of lost luggage are low, I know I can eliminate that particular problem by carrying the bags on ourselves. With the ample storage on the train, I'm happy to carry the bags at the start of our trip and didn't appreciate his comment. (A more friendly "did you know that you can check bags with Amtrak?" would have been much better) We got to our roomette (room 4 on car 32091) and had a little chuckle at how small it was. So we settled in for a little bit and then went to eat at 7:30.
Train consist of Engine, engine, trans dorm, sleeper, CCC, coach, coach/baggage, coach.
At dinner we sat in one of the three-person booths with a businessman. He's from Memphis and took the train for business to Rochester, NY. Across from us was a couple with their two young children (well behaved for 4 & 6) and they were from Baton Rouge. Talked to them a bit and they gave us some great tips for New Orleans, the best being Mardi Gras World. They were also trying the Family Bedroom for the first time, and ended up loving it.
We both had the flat iron steak. I ordered medium and she medium-well. Both were good, although more red than we expected. I had cheesecake for dessert and even got an ice cream too. The big disappointment with the meal was that the train doesn't leave until 8 PM, so most of it was in the dark train shed. But after we were done eating, no one else was coming to the diner, so we just stayed and enjoyed our ride out of Chicagoland. The wye operation after leaving the station was nice.
We retired to our room and were just talking and settling in. Around Kankakee the train came to a stop and the power went off. With the full moon on our side of the train (the roomettes were toward the engine) it was some nice scenery to look out over. Apparently we had run over some storm debris, but we were moving again within a few minutes. Shortly after we had the beds made and enjoyed our first night on the train. Sleeping horizontally was great, compared to last year's coach adventure.
I got up for good the next morning as we were going through Memphis. I went into the CCC to read and watch the scenery as my wife slept. As a sleeper passenger, the CCC worked out fine. (except that I couldn't be out of my room during mealtimes because there was no place to lounge) But I think it would stink as a coach passenger. The four tables at that end were ALWAYS in use. They definitely need to add a sightseer lounge, unstaffed.
We got to the Memphis stop early and left it 20-30 minutes late. Lots of dinking around there. And with the large gravel, it wasn't pleasant to walk around in my slippers. (my standard footwear on the train)
Breakfast was nice. RR French Toast. Afterwards I took a shower. Interesting experience. Then Becky and I enjoyed our morning reading and playing cribbage.
Lunch was burgers, which weren't very good. And I was disappointed that they had run out of dessert. I was also disappointed at the fact that the last call for lunch was at 12:45 or so. I wanted to eat around 1:30 because of our later breakfast and because I thought we'd be eating later on in the evening in NOL. But they clearly wanted to get everyone out of the diner so they could clean up.
We played cribbage some more, and right after Hammond I went to the CCC to enjoy the swamps (this was our first time in Louisiana) and going through New Orleans. There was also a Rails & Trails guide on board who was interesting.
We arrived in NOL early, at 3 PM. Took a cab to our hotel in the French Quarter. Enjoyed three days in NOL, two in Houston, one in Galveston, and then a couple driving back to NOL along the Gulf Coast.
On Monday June 16 we left our hotel in Metarie and did a couple things around town. I dropped Becky and the bags off at Union Station around noon, then dropped off the car at Budget. I walked the ten blocks back to the station and "enjoyed" the last of the high humidity. We don't miss that!
Boy, was the Magnolia Room quite a difference from the Metropolitan Lounge. Both in size and comfort. A few people did come in and turn around because there was no more room. No free soda either like in Chicago. Nor leather furniture. Fortunately we were only there for a little while until we boarded. Also, this time we checked our two big pieces of luggage, because if they did get lost it was no big deal.
On our trip down, the roomettes were not all used, and a couple bedrooms were open as well. We decided to try to upgrade onboard to a bedroom on the way back if possible. We talked to the conductor, and unfortunately all the bedrooms were spoken for. In fact, they had even sold some roomettes in the transition sleeper. The consist was the same as the way down, except for the second engine. It was one of the real old Amtrak engines. Our sleeper had the bedrooms toward the engines, which disappointed me. I had booked room 4 both ways, figuring there was a good chance we'd have different sides of the train each way. But no such luck.
The train left at 1:45 sharp. I spent most of the time to Hammond in the CCC enjoying the scenery. After that we played a lot of cribbage. Dinner was at 6:30. We had the steaks again and ordered medium well and well, because of our experience on the way down. But of course this is a different cook and they were too well done, although still juicy and tasty. My veggies were fantastic and the best part of the meal. That's saying a lot, coming from a carnivore like me. The spices were excellent. I had the red velvet cake, which was very good. The waiter was a fun guy.
We were in car 32030, with attendant Dan. He was OK.
On this leg of the jouney, I took the bottom bunk while my wife was up top, opposite of our ride down. I loved having the window, but I stayed up too late watching Memphis go by, and because I didn't want to miss anything I left the shades open, which helped me get a bad night's sleep. But oh well.
I don't know which was which, but one way we had a Superliner I and the other a Superliner II. We liked the open closet a lot better than the enclosed closet. We were able to get our train bag in there, but not the closed closet.
We ate breakfast around 7 AM and were kicked out quickly so they could clean it up. Not very friendly if you ask me. The last seating for breakfast was 7:15 with a 9 AM scheduled arrival. I wasn't pleased with that.
We got into Chicago a few minutes late because of a frieght around Peotone. But no big deal.
Becky and I had thought of maybe staying in Chicago and eating pizza at Lou Malnotti's. But it doesn't open until 11 AM and we just wanted to get home. So we waited in the lounge for our 10:20 AM Hiawatha. We used the extremely slow computer in the lounge.
It was at this point we saw how lucky we were that the CONO wasn't impacted by the flooding. The Empire Builder was truncated to MSP, the trains to St. Louis were cancelled, the Texas Eagle was a bus, etc. Many unhappy people being attended to in the lounge.
The ride back on the Hiawatha was good. We did have some signal problems in Milwaukee, which the crew was quick to point out was the host RR's problem. We got in a few minutes late and got our baggage and our ride home.
Overall it was a great trip. We're now spoiled and I don't think we'd travel coach overnight again. And thanks again to everyone who gave us great tips!
