I just recently found this board through the Amtrak Fans Group on Facebook. I've taken a number of long distance trips on Amtrak with my wife. We've taken the Sunset Limited between San Antonio and Los Angeles a few times, and used the Pacific Surfliner to get down to Oceanside.
Last year, we flew out to Burbank on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day boarded the Coast Starlight to head up to Seattle. After an overnight stay in Seattle, we boarded the Empire Builder to Chicago where we caught a plane back to San Antonio. Both of those journeys, as well as some of our Sunset Limited journeys, were in sleeper cars.
This past October we did a leaf peeping tour of "New England". We flew up to Niagara/Buffalo, and after a couple of days exploring the Falls and surrounding area, we took the Lakeshore Limited to the Albany station and rented a car. After doing a few days of exploring in the Hudson River Valley, including a ride on the Berkshire Scenic Railroad, we went back to Albany where we caught the Ethan Allen Express up to Rutland VT. We rented a car to explore Vermont and New Hampshire, and took a ride up Mount Washington on the Cogway Railroad. We eventually drove down the East Coast to catch a plane home in Boston.
A year ago, I decided to become a travel agent and signed up while aboard Amtrak. I've indicated one of my niche markets was rail travel, and that's led to a fair number of inquiries. Unfortunately, this is what my Host Agency has to say about booking with Amtrak:
"PLEASE NOTE: Due to an increase of significantly delayed commission payments, we are recommending that agents not book with Amtrak Rail until further notice. While bookings can still be made if necessary, please be aware that commissions may take 9 months or longer to come in."
That seems accurate enough as I'm still waiting for a commission from a trip completed months ago. Oh well, Amtrak is always an adventure!
Most of the leads that have contacted me (for travel well in to the future) are interested in National Parks. I've one that is interested in Italy to visit the Amalfi Coast, Rome and Cinque Terre; that I've suggested they move between locations by train.
Last year, we flew out to Burbank on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day boarded the Coast Starlight to head up to Seattle. After an overnight stay in Seattle, we boarded the Empire Builder to Chicago where we caught a plane back to San Antonio. Both of those journeys, as well as some of our Sunset Limited journeys, were in sleeper cars.
This past October we did a leaf peeping tour of "New England". We flew up to Niagara/Buffalo, and after a couple of days exploring the Falls and surrounding area, we took the Lakeshore Limited to the Albany station and rented a car. After doing a few days of exploring in the Hudson River Valley, including a ride on the Berkshire Scenic Railroad, we went back to Albany where we caught the Ethan Allen Express up to Rutland VT. We rented a car to explore Vermont and New Hampshire, and took a ride up Mount Washington on the Cogway Railroad. We eventually drove down the East Coast to catch a plane home in Boston.
A year ago, I decided to become a travel agent and signed up while aboard Amtrak. I've indicated one of my niche markets was rail travel, and that's led to a fair number of inquiries. Unfortunately, this is what my Host Agency has to say about booking with Amtrak:
"PLEASE NOTE: Due to an increase of significantly delayed commission payments, we are recommending that agents not book with Amtrak Rail until further notice. While bookings can still be made if necessary, please be aware that commissions may take 9 months or longer to come in."
That seems accurate enough as I'm still waiting for a commission from a trip completed months ago. Oh well, Amtrak is always an adventure!
Most of the leads that have contacted me (for travel well in to the future) are interested in National Parks. I've one that is interested in Italy to visit the Amalfi Coast, Rome and Cinque Terre; that I've suggested they move between locations by train.
