Three Adults in a Family Room

[river]

I've read that Amtrak will allow 3 adults in a family room if you call Amtrak, as you can't do this online. They need override their system to do it. I would like to add my adult daughter to my spouse's and my sleeper room. I called Amtrak this morning and explained what I wanted and the agent said he could do that. I gave him the information. That was amazingly easy it seemed. But when I got the confirmation email, it just said my daughter was assigned a coach seat.
So I called back and got another agent to check the reservation and see if my daughter was in fact assigned to our family room. She checked and said no and that it wasn't allowed. She also went to talk to someone and returned and said no, not allowed.
So now what. My daughter has a coach ticket and really wants to join us in the family bedroom. The second agent said call customer service on Tuesday and ask them. Would that be the best thing for me to do?

 

[OBS]

Daytime or overnight trip?

 

[PVD]

unless I'm reading the chart wrong it is indeed allowed, and you should be able to get this fixed. Berth service/chart 3
comfort for sleeping is another story.....

 

[joelkfla]

unless I'm reading the chart wrong it is indeed allowed, and you should be able to get this fixed. Berth service/chart 3

Where's the chart? Is it online?

ETA: Found it:
https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...rain-service-accounting-procedures-081219.pdf

 

[river]

This is a 2 night trip. Family emergency across the country to California trip. I thankfully was able to cancel her coach seat. That isn't going to work for her. It's on short notice so all the roomettes are sold out on this trip.
I told second agent it is indeed allowed by Amtrak and she said no it wasn't. So that's that.

 

[tgstubbs1]

This is a 2 night trip. Family emergency across the country to California trip. I thankfully was able to cancel her coach seat. That isn't going to work for her. It's on short notice so all the roomettes are sold out on this trip.
I told second agent it is indeed allowed by Amtrak and she said no it wasn't. So that's that.

Is this a case where you have to call an agent then get second level customer service, a manager or something? The chart clearly states '"3 Adults."

 

[joelkfla]

This is a 2 night trip. Family emergency across the country to California trip. I thankfully was able to cancel her coach seat. That isn't going to work for her. It's on short notice so all the roomettes are sold out on this trip.
I told second agent it is indeed allowed by Amtrak and she said no it wasn't. So that's that.

Looks like they should also allow it in a regular bedroom. I think they're assuming that 2 adults will cozy up in the lower bunk, which is 40" wide.

The family bedroom lower child berth is only 4'9" long.

 

[river]

Yes, those child berths are short, but we all talked about how we'd make it work. We've done several sleeper trips and know what to expect. I'll call customer service if they are the ones who can actually make the adjustment. (Not sure it they just listen and respond or have access to the computer to make the requested changes then and there.)

And the agent who said no to adding my daughter put me on hold and said she talked to a supervisor type person who also said no.

 

[tgstubbs1]

was able to cancel her coach seat

You know she will need a coach ticket, right?

 

[Ryan]

No, she won’t need a coach ticket.

The OP needs to call back and have someone with a clue book her into the room. Since you are adding someone to an existing reservation, I think this is a case where the mythical “open sleeper“ ticket is used.

 

[river]

Wondering if calling customer service a good idea. Will customer service know about an open sleeper ticket and be able to process this transaction? (Or is customer service actually the same agents who answer when you call Amtrak.)

 

[river]

i just read a recent similar thread on this forum where the customer had success calling Amtrak guest rewards. Apparently they knew what to do.

 

[joelkfla]

i just read a recent similar thread on this forum where the customer had success calling Amtrak guest rewards. Apparently they knew what to do.

If you are an AGR member, you definitely should call their number for any and all booking needs. They have more experienced agents, plus the wait time is usually less than the main number.

If you're not a member, you should sign up posthaste.

 

[river]

Yes I have a Guest Rewards card--but never use it! So I will try tomorrow if they work on a holiday.
Thanks for the encouragement to call them.

 

[pennyk]

Yes I have a Guest Rewards card--but never use it! So I will try tomorrow if they work on a holiday.
Thanks for the encouragement to call them.

you could call AGR now. Last time I checked, they were open until 8pm eastern.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

You know she will need a coach ticket, right?

They will need to pay a coach fare but will not need a coach ticket.

Wondering if calling customer service a good idea. Will customer service know about an open sleeper ticket and be able to process this transaction? (Or is customer service actually the same agents who answer when you call Amtrak.)

To the best of my understanding "Customer Service" is the same people who normally answer the call. "Customer Relations" is the term used for special help that is mainly used afterward for credits and refunds. So long as everyone is boarding and disembarking at the same stops open sleeper tickets are not required. In theory anyone who works with reservations should be able to put three adults in a bedroom with a warning that it will be very tight. That said some clerks do not know how to do this and others will simply refuse no matter what anyone says. Best of luck.

 

[Ryan]

So long as everyone is boarding and disembarking at the same stops open sleeper tickets are not required.

Not always the case, I've been required to use one when adding someone to an already-existing reservation (even between the same endpoints).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Not always the case, I've been required to use one when adding someone to an already-existing reservation (even between the same endpoints).

I'm only saying that Family Bedrooms do not require open sleeper tickets for three adults between the same stops. If a clerk insisted on using an open sleeper ticket I would not argue with them but I would not take their declaration too seriously. Staff confusion and indifference is how we get threads like this in the first place. If it were me I'd word this request in a way that could be interpreted as two adults adding a child and let the confusion work in my favor.

 

[river]

I am optimistic calling Guest Rewards worked! I just got off the phone with an agent.
I told the agent what I think I need is an open sleeper ticket. I told her I wanted to add another adult to our room. She said she could do it. It took maybe 5 min on hold and she came back and did charge me the higher rail fare for the 3rd person that I expected for a sleeper accomodation. (The original agent charged me the lower amount coach seat fare.) It is a paper ticket and I need to go to an Amtrak station and use their machine to retrieve it. She wanted to know when I was going to pick it up so I told her. I confirmed that this means this 3rd person would be able to be in our family bedroom. She said yes. I asked if the 3rd person would be eligible for the dining car meals and she said yes. I said so all the 3rd person has to do is show the conductor this ticket. She said yes. A little anxious about all this, can't you tell!
I explained to her that other agents I dealt with today did not know how to do this transaction and she said a lot are new and don't know how to do it.
So I am hoping that when I pick up the ticket tomorrow at the station, it will clearly state the 3rd person is eligible to be in the family bedroom with us. Yay!
I will come back let you know tomorrow!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I am optimistic calling Guest Rewards worked! I just got off the phone with an agent.
I told the agent what I think I need is an open sleeper ticket. I told her I wanted to add another adult to our room. She said she could do it. It took maybe 5 min on hold and she came back and did charge me the higher rail fare for the 3rd person that I expected for a sleeper accomodation. (The original agent charged me the lower amount coach seat fare.) It is a paper ticket and I need to go to an Amtrak station and use their machine to retrieve it. She wanted to know when I was going to pick it up so I told her. I confirmed that this means this 3rd person would be able to be in our family bedroom. She said yes. I asked if the 3rd person would be eligible for the dining car meals and she said yes. I said so all the 3rd person has to do is show the conductor this ticket. She said yes. A little anxious about all this, can't you tell!
I explained to her that other agents I dealt with today did not know how to do this transaction and she said a lot are new and don't know how to do it.
So I am hoping that when I pick up the ticket tomorrow at the station, it will clearly state the 3rd person is eligible to be in the family bedroom with us. Yay!
I will come back let you know tomorrow!

I've done Open Sleeper tickets several times and never have had a problem.( always booked with AGR, not "Julie's" Agents.

I'm traveling from Austin-Dallas on the Texas Eagle Friday on one ( it is a Paper Ticket picked up from an Agent as you said).
,
Dooing 3 in a Bedroom with Friends traveling from LA to Illinois, well have Breakfast and Lunch in the Diner.( unfortunately it's still Flex Food!)

 

[Ryan]

Off topic: Congrats, Mr. Dylan. That's quite a lot of posts (edit to add: on your birthday, no less!):

 

[jebr]

I've done Open Sleeper tickets several times and never have had a problem.( always booked with AGR, not "Julie's" Agents.

I'm traveling from Austin-Dallas on the Texas Eagle Friday on one ( it is a Paper Ticket picked up from an Agent as you said).
,
Dooing 3 in a Bedroom with Friends traveling from LA to Illinois, well have Breakfast and Lunch in the Diner.( unfortunately it's still Flex Food!)

On the plus side, you'll get traditional dining from LA to San Antonio!

I am optimistic calling Guest Rewards worked! I just got off the phone with an agent.
I told the agent what I think I need is an open sleeper ticket. I told her I wanted to add another adult to our room. She said she could do it. It took maybe 5 min on hold and she came back and did charge me the higher rail fare for the 3rd person that I expected for a sleeper accomodation. (The original agent charged me the lower amount coach seat fare.) It is a paper ticket and I need to go to an Amtrak station and use their machine to retrieve it. She wanted to know when I was going to pick it up so I told her. I confirmed that this means this 3rd person would be able to be in our family bedroom. She said yes. I asked if the 3rd person would be eligible for the dining car meals and she said yes. I said so all the 3rd person has to do is show the conductor this ticket. She said yes. A little anxious about all this, can't you tell!

This sounds exactly like what I would expect for an open sleeper ticket. It's a separate ticket entirely but noted on the back end (which you won't see on the ticket) to be used for a specific room. It's also one of the few paper tickets left - which, btw, do not lose it as it cannot be easily reprinted! Back in the day they'd say to treat it like cash - when I had a big trip back in the day of paper tickets I'd keep it in my lock box at home.

The somewhat higher fare also makes sense - within the past couple of years Amtrak has changed the fare used to calculate the "rail fare" component of a room to be equal to a higher bucket than they used to (it used to be the lowest "value" fare, now I think it's the 2nd level "value" fare which isn't typically displayed online.)

 

[river]

New roadblock: So I go to our Amtrak station to use the kiosk to print the open sleeper ticket. The machine would not print it. Is said 'unable to process' each time I tried to scan the bar code and then said 'for assistance call Amtrak'. There were no agents there on duty when I got there. The station is only open 2 hours a day. Not even sure the Amtrak workers on duty could help with ticketing. Amtrak workers seem to be there to assist only with the train departure and arrivals. So I called AGR to ask what I should do next and they are closed today for the holiday.
Wonder if the machine is broken? It did some processes fine, but never got a print ticket message. When I typed in the reservation number it said it didn't recognize it.
I plan to call AGR again tomorrow.
But any ideas why my bar code didn't scan and the machine didn't print?

 

[pennyk]

New roadblock: So I go to our Amtrak station to use the kiosk to print the open sleeper ticket. The machine would not print it. Is said 'unable to process' each time I tried to scan the bar code and then said 'for assistance call Amtrak'. There were no agents there on duty when I got there. The station is only open 2 hours a day. Not even sure the Amtrak workers on duty could help with ticketing. Amtrak workers seem to be there to assist only with the train departure and arrivals. So I called AGR to ask what I should do next and they are closed today for the holiday.
Wonder if the machine is broken? It did some processes fine, but never got a print ticket message. When I typed in the reservation number it said it didn't recognize it.
I plan to call AGR again tomorrow.
But any ideas why my bar code didn't scan and the machine didn't print?

I think you need to have an actual agent print the ticket

 

[river]

It says on the paperwork that I can scan the barcode at a kiosk to receive the ticket. Reading (after the fact, now that I'm home) on Amtrak's website it says you activate it with a credit card. I didn't put in my credit card as I didn't realize it for identification purposes. I thought I don't need to pay anything so why put in the credit card. Maybe that's the problem, ha! It would have helped if the kiosk said credit card for identification purposes , not just insert credit card here.
Am now assuming that's a crucial step for printing off a ticket?