Taking my first trip: A bunch of questions

[cpotisch]

Oh, that's disappointing. But I guess that's true, not really going out West or anything.

Is it mostly all flat terrain or are there long parts over water or anything?

The Meteor passes over or next to the occasional pretty lake or river, but for the most part, it’s just trees and farmland. Nice at first, but gets pretty boring after a while.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm not surprised to hear the Meteor's scenery looks pretty boring to East coasters, but seeing lush greenery was unusual for me, even if it's predominantly found in the form of kudzu invading large swaths of waterlogged swampland.

 

[pennyk]

 Also, Meteor is an AM departure vs. PM, which is nice, though I guess I'll pass by the best part of the trip at night.

Others may disagree with me, but I do not get bored with the Meteor scenery.  I have taken the Meteor from Florida to the Northeast and back countless times and I think the scenery is different each time.  I love crossing the St. Johns River numerous times (in Florida), I like looking at the fern farms (also in Florida), I like waking up and seeing the Potomac River.  I also find the NE corridor interesting between WAS and NYP.   Unless you are late, you will pass through the center of town in Ashland, VA.  I always enjoy seeing that quaint town and the campus of Randolph Macon College.  

There is plenty to enjoy.

 

[trnzone]

All booked! Looks like I got assigned roomette 001 lol. Maybe that's why the bucket was so low. Yikes.

Is that $17 protection thing worthwhile, and can I add that after the fact? Looks like simply for potential cancellation it might be worth it if it's not otherwise refundable.

Also, I assume I can create and add an Amtrak rewards number after the fact, too?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Bob Dylan]

All booked! Looks like I got assigned roomette 001 lol. Maybe that's why the bucket was so low. Yikes.

Is that $17 protection thing worthwhile, and can I add that after the fact? Looks like simply for potential cancellation it might be worth it if it's not otherwise refundable.

Also, I assume I can create and add an Amtrak rewards number after the fact, too?

Thanks everyone!

Room #01 on a Viewliner is a good Room. Om Superliners it's the SCAs Room.

Most of us don't use the Amtrak Protection plan, it's not really all that great unless you're spending several hundred or thousand of Dollars on a trip.

You can add your AGR # after the trip or anytime before departure by Calling, not on- line.

 

[trnzone]

Most of us don't use the Amtrak Protection plan, it's not really all that great unless you're spending several hundred or thousand of Dollars on a trip.

Does it include a 100% refund on cancellation vs. 0%? If so, I think it would be worthwhile just for that considering the roomette is a few hundred dollars .... plus the lost luggage protection. 

What is SCA?

 

[cpotisch]

All booked! Looks like I got assigned roomette 001 lol. Maybe that's why the bucket was so low. Yikes.

Pricing has no connection to the room number. Room 1 is a very nice one, since it’s right in the middle of the car, giving it a nice and smooth and quiet ride.

What car are you in? The Meteor has three sleepers, with 9810 in front (right next to the dining car), followed by 9811 and finally 97/9812. I recommend 9810 for the convenience of being so close to the diner (which also often helps when seating times, since they usually start with the first sleeper when taking reservations).

Is that $17 protection thing worthwhile, and can I add that after the fact? Looks like simply for potential cancellation it might be worth it if it's not otherwise refundable.

It’s really not worth it. It only covers cancellation if you can’t go for certain reasons, such as losing your job, getting really sick, or dealing with a death. I don’t know if you can add it after the fact, but again, I don’t think you should.

Also, I assume I can create and add an Amtrak rewards number after the fact, too?

Indeed you can (just has to be before the trip).

Thanks everyone!

No prob.

 

[cpotisch]

You can add your AGR # after the trip or anytime before departure by Calling, not on- line.

Are you sure you can add it after the trip? I though I heard otherwise here. :wacko:

 

[Bob Dylan]

You've always been able to do it in the past according to what I've read on AU. Perhaps Thirdrail or another Amtrak person knows the latest on this, I haven't had to do it myself???

And SCA is the resident  Slerping Car attendant on your Sleeper.

 

[pennyk]

From the AGR terms and conditions:

1. Except as provided in this Section, Members who provide their Membership Number at the time of ticket purchase will earn 2 points for every $1 spent on Amtrak travel. Members will earn an additional 25% point bonus for qualifying Business class travel and an additional 50% point bonus for qualifying Acela First class travel. If a free One-Class Upgrade coupon is applied to a reservation, Member will be eligible for the point bonus associated with the original class of service, not the upgraded service. To receive points for Amtrak travel, the Member must provide his/her Membership Number at the time of making reservations and the passenger name must match the Member name. For travel on Amtrak that occurs prior to a Member's enrollment date, points will be awarded, upon request, only for travel that occurs within 21 days prior to the Member's enrollment date. Members may earn points for one train ticket used on a single train or individual train number on a single day. Additional tickets for the same train or individual train number, on the same day, will not earn points.
   

https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/info/terms

 

[JRR]

Others may disagree with me, but I do not get bored with the Meteor scenery.  I have taken the Meteor from Florida to the Northeast and back countless times and I think the scenery is different each time.  I love crossing the St. Johns River numerous times (in Florida), I like looking at the fern farms (also in Florida), I like waking up and seeing the Potomac River.  I also find the NE corridor interesting between WAS and NYP.   Unless you are late, you will pass through the center of town in Ashland, VA.  I always enjoy seeing that quaint town and the campus of Randolph Macon College.  
There is plenty to enjoy.
 

Most of the really boring scenery (I.e. the tunnel of trees in S.C. , N.C. and southern Virginia) is done at night. Try driving I 95 and you'll appreciate getting to sleep through this section. I agree with Penny about the Florida scenery and also the Northern Va. to New York Penn Station scenery.

 

[MARC Rider]

I'm not surprised to hear the Meteor's scenery looks pretty boring to East coasters, but seeing lush greenery was unusual for me, even if it's predominantly found in the form of kudzu invading large swaths of waterlogged swampland.

I also like seeing the vegetation gradually change the further south you get until finally, somewhere south of Jacksonville, you start seeing palm trees.

.Also, go in February and there are oranges on the orange trees.

 

[cpotisch]

I also like seeing the vegetation gradually change the further south you get until finally, somewhere south of Jacksonville, you start seeing palm trees.

.Also, go in February and there are oranges on the orange trees.

This. Seeing the landscape gradually change like that as you relax in a berth is an experience completely unique to train travel. Even if the scenery itself (IMHO) isn’t particularly amazing, the overall effect of it whizzing by and gradually changing, is pretty spectacular.

And I saw a hell of a lot of oranges on 98 two weeks ago. Like probably millions, at this one massive orchard. We were going 70 mph, yet it literally took multiple minutes to fully pass those trees. A LOT OF ORANGES.

 

[trnzone]

Pricing has no connection to the room number. Room 1 is a very nice one, since it’s right in the middle of the car, giving it a nice and smooth and quiet ride.

What car are you in? The Meteor has three sleepers, with 9810 in front (right next to the dining car), followed by 9811 and finally 97/9812. I recommend 9810 for the convenience of being so close to the diner (which also often helps when seating times, since they usually start with the first sleeper when taking reservations).

Ah I thought 001 might be the first overall room and they might be assigned in order (hence me being the only one to buy one so far). Guess that was a bad assumption.

Looks like 9812 for me. Don't mind that. 

 

[PVD]

One of the things you sometimes see in Florida is an "orange train", a seemingly endless freight made up of carloads of oranges on their way to the juicers......

 

[pennyk]

One of the things you sometimes see in Florida is an "orange train", a seemingly endless freight made up of carloads of oranges on their way to the juicers......

I have not seen a "Tropicana" train on the Meteor route in years.  Once the Florida Department of Transportation purchased the tracks in Central Florida for SunRail, the daytime freight traffic was diverted.  However, one may see such train south of Kissimmee, where CSX still owns the tracks.  Years ago, I recall driving to Sarasota from Orlando many times and getting stuck at crossings in Southwest Central Florida for up to 15 minutes waiting for the Tropicana Train to pass.  

 

[Triley]

I have not seen a "Tropicana" train on the Meteor route in years.  Once the Florida Department of Transportation purchased the tracks in Central Florida for SunRail, the daytime freight traffic was diverted.  However, one may see such train south of Kissimmee, where CSX still owns the tracks.  Years ago, I recall driving to Sarasota from Orlando many times and getting stuck at crossings in Southwest Central Florida for up to 15 minutes waiting for the Tropicana Train to pass.  

I'm assuming you mean on the Meteor route in Florida. I got held up on 67 waiting for it several times.

 

[pennyk]

I have not seen a "Tropicana" train on the Meteor route in years.  Once the Florida Department of Transportation purchased the tracks in Central Florida for SunRail, the daytime freight traffic was diverted.  However, one may see such train south of Kissimmee, where CSX still owns the tracks.  Years ago, I recall driving to Sarasota from Orlando many times and getting stuck at crossings in Southwest Central Florida for up to 15 minutes waiting for the Tropicana Train to pass.  

I'm assuming you mean on the Meteor route in Florida. I got held up on 67 waiting for it several times.

I did.  Sorry for not being specific.  The train is pretty cool to look at, but not so cool if it is causing you a major delay.

 

[Triley]

I did.  Sorry for not being specific.  The train is pretty cool to look at, but not so cool if it is causing you a major delay.
 

You got that right! That job is already 17 hours on duty, so I certainly wasn't happy about sitting so long, less than 2 hours from the end of the trip.

 

[VTTrain]

Ah I thought 001 might be the first overall room and they might be assigned in order (hence me being the only one to buy one so far). Guess that was a bad assumption.

This is an anecdote, but I recently booked two Viewliner sleeper trips on or about the first day that you could book.  In each case the online system assigned roomette #2.  And in each case roomette #1 was available.  I was able to be moved in roomette #1 on one of the trips, but had to settle for roomette #3 on the other trip  because the agent insisted that I had to pay extra to be assigned roomette #1.

 

[cpotisch]

the agent insisted that I had to pay extra to be assigned roomette #1.

Well that’s definitely not correct. Did you try calling back for a different agent? Because there isn’t supposed to be any extra charge when switching to a different room or car.

1@trnzone[/USER] Why not just call USA-RAIL and see if you can be put in 9810?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

One of the things you sometimes see in Florida is an "orange train", a seemingly endless freight made up of carloads of oranges on their way to the juicers......

&

I have not seen a "Tropicana" train on the Meteor route in years.

I believe that in the case of the Tropicana train those cars are carrying processed and packaged juice pallets rather than fresh oranges.

 

[pennyk]

Well that’s definitely not correct. Did you try calling back for a different agent? Because there isn’t supposed to be any extra charge when switching to a different room or car.

Sometimes it happens when there is only one room left in a bucket and the agent had not previously released the previously selected room.  Some agents know how to make the switch without charging the higher bucket fare, and others do not.

 

[PVD]

On the orange train subject, the last train I saw, which is some years ago, was carrying the oranges to a processing plant. I would imagine that there are also trains carrying post processed juice pallets coming from the same plant. Since Tropicana also buys foreign juice, they also have tank cars to their sites.

 

[VTTrain]

Well that’s definitely not correct. Did you try calling back for a different agent? Because there isn’t supposed to be any extra charge when switching to a different room or car.

Oh, I know that it isn't correct.  But, while I preferred roomette #1, I didn't have a strong objection to being assigned roomette #3.  My primary goal was to be on that side of the car.  It wasn't worth dealing with the hassle to switch to #1.