Texas Eagle to San Antonio

[rtv]

Our experience with Amtrak / Texas Eagle-Chicago to San Antionio

We thought it would be nice to take a train ride...something different, exciting etc. We have been on trains before but mostly short runs. I have done longer ones in europe and the middle east long ago (not luxurious in any way) The Amtrak websites and promotional material showed us the rooms and told us of the dining with tablecloths fresh cut flowers and CIA trained chefs. all wonderful sounding The rooms seemed small by their measurements but hey! it's a train! it will be cozy

and fun. Let's do it!!! We called the Amtrak folks on the phone and booked a full room ($617) and 2 tickets (150ish ea.) each way. The people on the phone were EXTREMELY helpful and nice.. (kinda shocking these days.. i'm not used to it!) Our journey began in Ann Arbor Mi. where we left for Chicago to change to the Texas Eagle.

The trip to Chicago was pleasant enough, the seats large and comfy enough for the relatively short ride. In Chi. we availed ourselves of the "Metro Lounge"

which was handy for holding bags for our 2 hr. wait for boarding. In the interim we looked for some food. When we returned to the lounge is was totally crammed with humanoids, no place to sit and little room to stand, and this is a Big place..I can only imagine how many were in there! They eventually called for boarding and we were led on a Ho Chi Min trail that seem like a mile dragging baggage and everything..it was amazingly noisy narrow and awkward but kinda funny and exciting.

We found our way up the stairs to room "A" and after a bit of packaging engineering we managed to find places for our 2 pieces of luggage and tried to settle in.

The room was well used and dirty but the size seemed to be ok. After a while, we were rolling and a guy stopped by to take reservations for dinner. he informed us of "the rules" wait for the announcements..don't come early..etc etc. we picked 7:30p and he disappeared. We did a little exploring then back to the room for a little wine that we picked up during the Chi. layover. well ...7:30 came and went ..8:30...we got nervous and went to "check on things" they told us they were having problems and just wait for a call. We were in no hurry as we normally eat late, we just didn't want to make any mistakes and miss this "nice dinner " on the train.

The call finally comes and we head down to the "dining room" only to be greeted by a bunch of amorphous shaped tables/booths made of plastic more akin to a bad McDonalds than a dining room..no...even a McDonalds molded seating is arranged in an efficient manner for seating. I can't even imagine what they were thinking!

This was about as far as you can get from the descriptions and pictures we had seen. No table cloths, no flowers , nothing even resembling a place for a nice dinner.

The dinners were as bad or worse than bad airline food served on plastic coated paper plates. The staff was inept...embarrassingly so! it was just awful. At one point the LSA came and sat down at our table and told us she was going to get off at the next stop and quit! My companion talked her out of it explaining to her that jobs are hard to come by these days and maybe that was not such a good idea. Feeling totally taken advantage of and lied to, we returned to or room where they had set up the beds for the evening. we figured we would just drown our sorrows in the remaining wine from earlier. We sat on the bed looking out the window and having a glass of wine..the room had gotten colder, quite a bit colder so we turned up the "heat knob" all the way. no change.. so we pulled the call button to ask if there was anything to be done. The attendant showed up and said he "would take care of it".. an hour goes by it's even colder (we are talking high 40's-low 50's)

we call again..he shows up and shrugs his shoulders. we are screwed. Before leaving i was researching the websites regarding train travel and some wise soul suggested taking a roll of duct tape along...not that i really understood why, but i did. It saved our Butt. I took the Tape and totally taped over the 1 sq ft. vent in the ceiling where most of the cold air seemed to be coming from. This maneuver allowed the room to reach 59 or 60 degrees. We asked for extra "blankets" and thought we would try to sleep. My other half pulls back her sheets to find not only dirty sheets but they were filled with peanuts etc. We call the guy again!

he shows and tell us that they hadn't been "made" and he would get new sheets, although it was not his job to made up the beds it was just to pull them down.

Sheets are changed on her bed and i decide to just sleep in my clothes wrapped in the "blankets" on top of the sheets. A really rough night.

I won't bother you with the following "breakfast" . Now I must say the little bathroom/shower in our room looked bizarrely small but turned out to be the best part of the adventure!! the water was hot and plentiful (much better than most hotels these days). an interesting acquired skill taking a shower on a moving train and rough tracks. We decided to bail in Dallas and rent a car. San Antonio was 4hrs by car and 10 hrs on the train. We had had enough. Even after all this we thought

that we would still take the train back...what are the odds of all the same bad things happening on a different train with different people? (and just to prove we are not wussies). after our few days in San Antonio we decided to check in with amtrak to make sure all was well for our return the next day. they told us the tracks had been washed out and we would be on a bus to Little Rock Ark.!! thats it!!!!! cancel the whole thing !! drove back to Dallas flew back to MI first class (which cost less than the train). Don't know how to wrap this tale up other than to say I have learned these things:

1. If you seek adventure it can be found on Amtrak

2. it is WAY wacky expensive for what you get. (over $600 a night will get you a Jr.suite @ the Four Seasons and a great dinner)

3.Amtrak should be sued for false advertising

4. I'll probably try train travel again..it can't be this bad everywhere? can it? maybe Canada next

one last thing... THANKS!!! TO Whoever suggested taking the duct tape!

 

[GG-1]

Our experience with Amtrak / Texas Eagle-Chicago to San Antionio

Aloha

And wow my trip from Lansing MI, through Chicago to LA on the TE was just the opposite to San Antonio. So much beter that when the changed SCA in San Antonio My reaction was how bad the new car attendant was, but this was only by comparison. She did do what was required.

May I suggest you try the Empire Builder od Coast Starlight, these trains have excellent reputations.

The track washout well we all know "Its not nice to fool with mother nature"

 

[Bob Dylan]

First sorry yalls trip was sucha bummer! The Sleeping car attendant was the exception ,not the rule, I hope you'll call and write Amtrak Customer Relations (call 1-800-USA-RAIL/ when Julie comes on ask for Agent, then when a real person comes on ask to be connected to a Customer Relations agent. Tell them exactly what happened on your trip, have the dates/train number etc. ready, I assure you theyll be polite and do something, you should get a voucher for most if not all of your fare and room charges for future travel! They do take complaints and concerns seriously here, best I've seen!

For your next trip may I suggest the Western Trains (in the Spring or fall is best, summer is very crowded and pricey on these gems!). California Zephyr from CHI-Bay Area/Coast Starlight from Bay Area to Portland or Seattle, then the Empire Builder from Portland or Seattle back to Chicago. These are the pride of Amtrak, special menus, the best staff and equipment and scenery that can't be beat!

The Texas Eagle gets older/well used equipment as does the City of New Orleans but in the perhaps 25 times Ive taken this trip Ive only had 2 experiences similar to yours!The earlier you book your trips (up to 11 months in advance is possible, the better chance of getting the lowest prices ! (known as the lowest bucket, ie tier pricing like the airlines)

For example prices for rooms can run from $92 to $250 for the same room/trip, not a real price(includes all meals for up to 2 as you know)and there are various discounts and specials all the time not to mention Amrtrak Guest Rewards and the AGR Master Card from CHASE which is good for free travel and other perks!

I hope yall dont let this "adventure to hell trip" stop you from future trips on the Long Distance trains, I promise there are what Amtrak advertises and we talk about on this forum trips and trains rolling everyday! Please let us know what you find out from Customer Relations! :unsure:

 

[the_traveler]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on your trip! But let me explain a few things.

You said you saw promotion films and pictures with tablecloths and fresh flowers. Except for some trains, no Amtrak train have had them for years! Most use tablecloths, but they are actually paper.

The dining car you saw is called a Cross Country Cafe (CCC), and was instituted as a cost saving method. Many passengers (including me) do not like them. Especially the 3 seat (curved seating) tables. These cars are only regularly assigned to the Texas Eagle and the City of New Orleans - but sometimes show up on other routes too.

The car attendant said "It's not my job" to a request to change the sheets? That's his or her job! If a passenger departs in (say) Little Rock, and a new passenger boards in (say) Marshall, the attendant has to reset the bed, clean the room AND CHANGE THE SHEETS before the new passenger can use the room! And before the attendant can leave the train at the end of the run, he or she again has to do the above - including changing the sheets!

IMHO, Bedroom A is the worst bedroom in the car!

I hope you notified Customer Service of your experience. But please do not give up on Amtrak! Not all train experiences are like the one you had!

 

[rtv]

no...we didn't call to complain. we were just happy they refunded our return trip ticket that we didn't use. You mention that you think room A is the worst of them, it appears slightly smaller on the footprint drawings but I really didn't have any problem

with the size of the room just it's lack of heat and cleanliness. why do you think it's the worst room? it seems that is always the last room to book up.

 

[the_traveler]

why do you think it's the worst room? it seems that is always the last room to book up.

I feel that Bedroom A is the worst bedroom, because with the layout of the car, needing to angle the hallway so you can pass to the next car, the room is smaller, and the sink had to be placed in a way that with the lower berth set, there is no place to stand at the sink - except seated on the bed! And the ladder for the upper berth that makes it hard to open the bathroom door - for either person!

At least Bedrooms B-E have more room, and the bathroom door and ladder are toward the window side of the room! I think that's why people book Bedrooms B-E first.

 

[AlanB]

At least Bedrooms B-E have more room, and the bathroom door and ladder are toward the window side of the room! I think that's why people book Bedrooms B-E first.

People book bedrooms B-E first, or more accurately, E through B first, because that's how Amtrak sells them and more importantly prices them. The E rooms will always be the lowest priced rooms available on that train. Note: I didn't say the lowest possible bucket, but it will always have the lowest price available. And the A rooms will always be the highest priced rooms on the train.

As a general rule I find that it's pretty rare that people call up Amtrak and ask for the highest priced room. :lol:

 

[the_traveler]

As a general rule I find that it's pretty rare that people call up Amtrak and ask for the highest priced room. :lol:

I ask for the lowest of the lowest prices - $-0-!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Long Train Runnin']

As a general rule I find that it's pretty rare that people call up Amtrak and ask for the highest priced room. :lol:

I ask for the lowest of the lowest prices - $-0-!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Then you must have been transferred to AGR :lol: !

 

[amtrakwolverine]

that was a trip from hell even for the dinning car employee who said she was going to get off at the next stop and quit. call and complan about the trip. the sleeping car attendent should be fired for being a lazy S.O.B. dirty sheets with peanut shells "its not my job to clean them" uhh then whos job is it.

 

[CNW]

I rode first class on the Texas Eagle with my son last year from LRK to LAX and back as well. Quite a distance but I do ride as much as I can. Of course departing it was 2 hours late but that was a plus because the previous night it had been 8 hours late. As soon as it got full light we discovered it was impossible to see anything because of mud on the windows. I asked about this and was told there could be no cleaning until we reached possibly FTW. We ate on the train and that was fine although the staff seemed pretty grumpy and most of us were a bit intimidated and didn't want to "do anything wrong". One poor lady asked if she could have her ice cream before she finished her meal, I presume to let it thaw a bit, and was told quite abrubtly that NO she could NOT! We passed the night in SAS and in the morning we had breakfast on the Sunset Limited and the difference was very noticable-"fresh batteries" my son said. I have just come back from a combined trip on the Southwest Chief and the Coast Starlight both of which were great. Of course the CS is superior to all other. When I was a little girl we lived on a spur of the CNW when steam engines were just being phased out and I have always had a fascination with trains, so it really doesn't matter to me how I am treated, of course I would rather be well treated, but I just want to be on the train!