Switching from sleeper to coach mid-ride

[highfalutin]

Hi,

I'm sure this question has been asked before but I wasn't able to find a thread that addressed it.

I've traveled on Amtrak several times, mostly in coach, once in a roomette. For an upcoming trip on a LD route, I'd like to be in a sleeper, but the price is so gosh darned high that I'm wondering: what if I just did the sleeper for one night, then switched to coach? To be clear, this would be on the same train; the switch would happen mid-ride.

I can imagine Amtrak discourages this kind of thing, but I just don't think I can afford the sleeper fare for the whole route. By booking a roomette part way, and a coach seat the rest of the way, I'd reduce the cost by over 20% even on a 1-night trip.

Please tell me:

• Does anyone have experience with class-switching mid-ride?
• Logistically, I could just leave my roomette at the designated stop and walk through the dining car into coach, where the conductor would scan my coach ticket. Right?
• Or, if I arrange for the switch to happen at a stretch/smoke stop, I could actually get off the train, walk down the platform to coach and get back on. Is this better in some way?
• Will the train crew give me hell for doing this?

Thanks!

 

[ehbowen]

Yes, but so far it has been switching from coach to sleeper. You could tell that the conductor wasn't happy about processing the paperwork (this was back when upgrades were handled entirely on board), but as soon as he had my payment he told the dining car crew to feed me and at the next semi-major stop I carried my luggage from my old coach to my new sleeper. No problem, and nothing out of the ordinary for anyone concerned.
Now, while you can't do an onboard downgrade (for anything less than a bad-order sleeping car), you can book two separate tickets back-to-back, one sleeper and one coach, and ask to have them linked. When you board in, say, Longview, tell the car attendant or conductor that you'll be with him as far as St. Louis, say, but that you'll be continuing on to Chicago in Coach. Sometime at or before St. Louis you carry your luggage back to coach and take your seat and have your second ticket lifted upon departure. Routine muddle from there.

 

[highfalutin]

Thanks @ehbowen. I'm glad to hear it's not a big deal. I understand "book two separate tickets back-to-back, one sleeper and one coach," ― that's what I plan to do! ― but what do you mean "ask to have them linked?"

 

[ehbowen]

Thanks @ehbowen. I'm glad to hear it's not a big deal. I understand "book two separate tickets back-to-back, one sleeper and one coach," ― that's what I plan to do! ― but what do you mean "ask to have them linked?"

Amtrak can "link" tickets in their system to show that they're part of the same trip, which (supposedly) means that if a disruption happens which affects part of the trip they will protect the linked ticket as well. Just as an example, suppose your're booked the full length of the California Zephyr, Chicago to Oakland, with a sleeper leg as far as Glenwood and coach from Glenwood west to Oakland. However, your first night there's a major freight derailment which blocks the line and no alternate route is available. Amtrak makes the decision to turn the eastbound Zephyr in Salt Lake City, bus through passengers to meet it, and bustitute passengers for intermediate points directly to their destinations. If the reservations weren't linked you would probably be put on a bus for Glenwood, and if you weren't present at the station there at the time the bus left for SLC (which might be hours before you arrived) your ticket wouldn't be lifted and your trip would be canceled. If the reservations were linked they would know to put you on the bus to Salt Lake and, while you'd still miss the Rockies from Glenwood Canyon, you'd get the Sierra Nevada as a consolation prize.

 

[highfalutin]

Amtrak can "link" tickets in their system to show that they're part of the same trip, which (supposedly) means that if a disruption happens which affects part of the trip they will protect the linked ticket as well.

Priceless information, thanks! And your example really explains it.

So I imagine the only way to get tickets "linked" is to talk with an agent over the phone. Sounds like I might as well just skip the website altogether and call AGR to book AND link my tickets.

 

[mlanoue]

Yes, when i did a sleeper-to-coach trip a few years back, I called AGR and they handled it for me. Everything worked out fine, but In the end, I was so bummed out about giving up my sleeper for a crowded coach that I haven't tried it again. I'll just ride in coach the whole way, so I have a better chance at a good seat, or i'll do the sleeper the whole way. Prices are pretty outrageous now, though, so I get it.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I did precisely that one time - took a sleeper on the eastbound Cardinal as far as CIN, then switched to coach at the awful hour of 5am, because it cost too much to continue all the way to BAL in my sleeper. I didn't mind a bit, because I was determined to be awake for every minute of the New River Gorge.

The agent (yes, I called AGR on this one) booked me two separate tickets and then linked them. I paid for the sleeper portion with points, and the coach portion with cash. No problem.

When the time came to change, I was asked to put my bags in the vestibule a few minutes ahead of time, so my attendant could get to work making up the FIVE rooms he had to change over during the short dwell-time in CIN! I was amazed how cheerful he was about the whole thing, and he had been great, so he got a good tip. I had checked in advance, and the proper way to switch is to disembark ad walk down the outside of the train, NOT through the train. The new attendant and conductor will both be expecting you to do that.

I expect that if you make the switch at a stop where there is a least a 5-minute scheduled dwell-time, it will be both cheaper and easier. That's because empty roomettes don't earn revenue, and accommodations are more likely to be booked from major stops. Of course, you could get lucky at almost any stop, and find a roomette that is turning over.

Good luck with the trip, and I hope you let us know how it all turns out!

 

[Sidney]

I usually do it on the Texas Eagle to LA. Coach from Chicago to Bloomington,about a three hour ride and sleeper to LA. Saves $139.

 

[justinslot]

I put "switching from roomette to coach on the same trip" in the search box and this thread was the top result and it actually answers my question!

See, I want to go from LAX to NOL but there are no rooms from LAX to NOL on the Sunset on the day I want to go. There is a room from LAX to SAS on the Texas Eagle, but then you have to switch to coach on the Sunset. 15 hours in coach is too much for me. Playing around with the website, it turns out it is the SAS to HOS leg that is the issue, apparently a bunch of people are going from LA to Houston in roomettes. HOS to NOL has rooms! So apparently I can book as separate back-to-back-to-back tickets:

LAX to SAS in a roomette
SAS to HOS in coach
HOS to NOL in a roomette

--and Amtrak will not mind me doing this, if I understand this thread correctly.

 

[joelkfla]

Question for the peanut gallery:

Nobody has mentioned a Multi-City booking in this thread. Can that be done, and would the segments automatically be linked?

 

[Ryan]

It's not like they're going to physically pick you up and put you on the bus to the wrong destination. Just get on the bus that's going where you're going and if someone questions it show them your ticket. IIRC, this mythical "linking" is nothing more than a note in the reservation that nobody's going to look at anyways. I would expend approximately zero stress over it.

--and Amtrak will not mind me doing this, if I understand this thread correctly.

I'm also not sure why people keep ascribing feelings to Amtrak. Purchase what they offer and don't worry about a corporations feelings on the matter.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In the past linking segments has been important for things like broken connections, checked luggage, and booking some buses. Many of those rules have changed over the years but may still be important for situations like booking the Lamy shuttle in the low season. Some members travel all the time and have a sixth sense about what is important and what can be ignored, but if you're a new or infrequent traveler it makes sense to ask what might happen when you change something.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

When I’ve don’t it, it was always on a “zone” boundary back with the old guest reward zones. Those were always major Station stops so I would just get off the train and then reboard as if I was a new passenger.

I don’t believe it’s particularly uncommon and I’ve heard passengers say the sca let them stay in their room longer if it was empty so you may get some extra time if you’re lucky

 

[marcoloco]

There's nothing at all wrong with this. On the Sunset Limited, sleeping car space is so scare, the Amtrak system will actually plan some trips that way (when sleeper isn't available ALL the way). They will book you in sleeper part of the way and coach the rest of the way (or vice versa, that is you start out in the coach and make the rest of your trip in the sleeper.