Three Adults in a Family Room

[jis]

Sorry, I was there. My original ticket was unchanged. My granddaughter's ticket was notated and had the room designation on it. My ticket for the two of us was unchanged. Our original fare remained the same. There was a fare collection for my granddaughter's ticket, which had a different locator number as stated before.

Did you ask them whether it was an open sleeper ticket or not? If not, you have no idea whether it was an open sleeper ticket that you got

 

[drdumont]

Well thanks all for your advice and suggestions! I am HAPPY to say we called the Battle Creek Amtrak station directly this morning and the phone was answered almost immediately. The agent asked for our reservation number (it was already paid for), looked it up and immediately said YES, come to our station and I can print this ticket for you. He had the voice of an experienced ticket agent.
So we drove to Battle Creek--a pleasant and scenic route through several interesting towns. We arrived at the station and saw a large dedicated and windowed staffed office area. We told the agent we were here to pick up the open sleeper ticket. He said this is such a rare transaction I still remember your reservation number. He typed it in and we had the ticket in our hands in less than one minute. He was clearly knew what he was doing. He said again how rare this kind of ticket is and he knew almost all agents were unfamiliar with it.
And the ticket is exactly what I hoped for! All identifying details are present for the conductor to view when we board.
I am very glad we went to Battle Creek. Yes, it would have been easy print it in Chicago (baring any unforseen circumstances) but it was totally worth it for us. It was a pleasant drive and we even stopped for lunch.
Thanks again! Looking forward to our train trip. All's well that ends well!

Wonderful! Be sure you get a compliment about this agent to AMTRAK. They really seem to like getting attaboys. We complimented our CSA (we got the same one up and back DAL-CHI), and she said she had gotten recognition from management.

 

[drdumont]

Did you ask them whether it was an open sleeper ticket or not? If not, you have no idea whether it was an open sleeper ticket that you got

It was a lower fare than coach. The ticket referenced our room. I don't remember the terminology used at the time, other than it was not a coach ticket, she was added as a pax in our room and was granted meal (if you can call tha crap a meal) privileges.
Call it what you wish.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Sorry, I was there. My original ticket was unchanged. My granddaughter's ticket was notated and had the room designation on it. My ticket for the two of us was unchanged. Our original fare remained the same. There was a fare collection for my granddaughter's ticket, which had a different locator number as stated before.

Open sleeper tickets are card stock paper tickets that must be mailed or picked up in a station. They are treated just like cash, so don't lose them.

 

[jis]

It was a lower fare than coach. The ticket referenced our room. I don't remember the terminology used at the time, other than it was not a coach ticket, she was added as a pax in our room and was granted meal (if you can call tha crap a meal) privileges.
Call it what you wish.

Since they were able to issue it as a PDF document it was an e-ticket and not an open sleeper ticket. It is not a question of me wishing to call it whatever.

 

[jebr]

Since they were able to issue it as a PDF document it was an e-ticket and not an open sleeper ticket. It is not a question of me wishing to call it whatever.

Agreed. Knowing more details about the ticket and what its terminology was considered would be useful in knowing exactly what happened. Based on the information given, it sounds like it wasn't simply a coach ticket, and if neither ticket had both passengers' full information on it and they were separate PNRs it doesn't sound like they just modified the ticket, but it's also not just an open sleeper ticket (which, as this thread shows, is still sold and ticketed as a paper ticket instead of an eTicket.)

Now if the ticket in the app showed the full information, it sounds like the ticket was just modified (perhaps to a lower bucket which accounted for some of the fare difference, otherwise the same bucket but coach was higher-priced that day) and the conductor pulled up the modified (or possibly cancelled/rebooked on the back end) reservation without issue. That works fine if the room is at a same or lower bucket, but wouldn't resolve the need for an open sleeper or a way for agents to modify the ticket in a way to add a passenger without repricing the entire reservation at current pricing.

 

[pennyk]

And the ticket is exactly what I hoped for! All identifying details are present for the conductor to view when we board.
I am very glad we went to Battle Creek. Yes, it would have been easy to print it in Chicago (baring any unforseen circumstances) but it was totally worth it for us. It was a pleasant drive and we even stopped for lunch.

I am happy that it turned out well for you and that the agent in Battle Creek knew what he was doing since open sleeper tickets are rare and are often confused with other types of tickets. Enjoy your trip.

 

[river]

Our open sleeper ticket rail fare was more expensive than coach fare. That's how I knew it had to be the correct open sleeper ticket. It's not priced at the lower coach fare.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Our open sleeper ticket rail fare was more expensive than coach fare. That's how I knew it had to be the correct open sleeper ticket. It's not priced at the lower coach fare.

I’m guessing the lower coach fare was a saver fare.

 

[jebr]

I’m guessing the lower coach fare was a saver fare.

Not necessarily. The rail fare charged for a second person in a sleeper is now the second-lowest Value fare bucket, not the lowest Value fare bucket. The upcharge for a second person in a room is $94 from MSP-CHI. Saver fare on the same route is $58, and the low-bucket Value fare is $72. $94 is the second-lowest Value bucket (at least from what I can tell - I haven't seen seats sold between $72 and $94 on this route.) I think Amtrak changed it a year or two ago.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I’m guessing the lower coach fare was a saver fare.

I'm riding on an Open Sleeper Ticket on #422 from Austin to Dallas on Fri, and the Rail Fare is $38 which is, as Jeb said, the 2nd Lowest Value Fare,but the AGR Agent that booked it for me gave me the 10% Senior Discount

 

[river]

Follow up:
And my trip to California on the Southwest Chief is complete! Zero issues with the open sleeper ticket. No one batted an eyelash at it. We settled in our Family Bedroom and it was the RIGHT decision. It was comfortable seating for 3 of us. We are average size. I'm 5 ft 6 in. At bedtime we made up the two adult berths and the lower child berth, which I slept on. I bent my knees and it was surprisingly comfortable. That is the way I often sleep. When I wanted to straighten out my legs I positioned myself somewhat at a diagonal so my feet were resting on the foot end of the lower adult berth. There was room for that.
I kept the lower child berth down the whole trip and enjoyed sitting on it and looking out at the scenery with my legs laying straight on the bed. We used the upper child berth to hold our luggage.
We enjoyed our trip so much and we all agreed we would do 3 adults in a family bedroom again! For the trip home our 3rd person flew home and my spouse and I shared a bedroom upstairs. We enjoyed all our meals together and sat in the sightseer car at intervals too. And being on lower level was not a problem at all. We enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the train just fine nearer to the tracks.

 

[Ryan]

Give yourself a gold star for coming back to follow up.

 

[jaimetz]

I know this is an old thread, and I understand all of the concerns regarding coach guests in bedrooms. The reason I have this question, however, I think makes sense. I want to take a 36-hour trip from Seattle to LA with my wife and 18-year-old son. I thought I could book a family room since it has 4 beds in it. Unfortunately, they are making me book 2 rooms because, I guess, my son is an adult. It just doesn't make sense to spend nearly twice as much for 2 bedrooms when 1 family room should be able to accommodate the 3 of us.

 

[Maglev]

I know this is an old thread, and I understand all of the concerns regarding coach guests in bedrooms. The reason I have this question, however, I think makes sense. I want to take a 36-hour trip from Seattle to LA with my wife and 18-year-old son. I thought I could book a family room since it has 4 beds in it. Unfortunately, they are making me book 2 rooms because, I guess, my son is an adult. It just doesn't make sense to spend nearly twice as much for 2 bedrooms when 1 family room should be able to accommodate the 3 of us.

Two of the beds in the Family Bedroom only accommodate children (the kids' berths are 4' 7" and 4' 9" long).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I know this is an old thread, and I understand all of the concerns regarding coach guests in bedrooms. The reason I have this question, however, I think makes sense. I want to take a 36-hour trip from Seattle to LA with my wife and 18-year-old son. I thought I could book a family room since it has 4 beds in it. Unfortunately, they are making me book 2 rooms because, I guess, my son is an adult. It just doesn't make sense to spend nearly twice as much for 2 bedrooms when 1 family room should be able to accommodate the 3 of us.

Unless one of you is short, the family room is not for you. As maglev says, two of the beds are for kids. You could book two roomettes or a bedroom and a roomette - whatever is less expensive. You'll want to call to do that if you want the rooms next to each other (best if roomettes are across from each other so you have view on both sides.

 

[pennyk]

I know this is an old thread, and I understand all of the concerns regarding coach guests in bedrooms. The reason I have this question, however, I think makes sense. I want to take a 36-hour trip from Seattle to LA with my wife and 18-year-old son. I thought I could book a family room since it has 4 beds in it. Unfortunately, they are making me book 2 rooms because, I guess, my son is an adult. It just doesn't make sense to spend nearly twice as much for 2 bedrooms when 1 family room should be able to accommodate the 3 of us.

It may work if 2 of the adults share one of the larger beds. Were you told by a telephone agent that you were not able to sleep 3 adults in a family bedroom or did you only try online?
FYI, coach passengers are not permitted to visit sleepers.

 

[PVD]

Unless one of you is short, the family room is not for you. As maglev says, two of the beds are for kids. You could book two roomettes or a bedroom and a roomette - whatever is less expensive. You'll want to call to do that if you want the rooms next to each other (best if roomettes are across from each other so you have view on both sides.

As far as I know, per Amtrak documentation, 3 adults is a permissible booking for berth service in a family bedroom, although all of the points you mentioned are certainly valid/. Probably would require a phone call to accomplish.

 

[joelkfla]

I know this is an old thread, and I understand all of the concerns regarding coach guests in bedrooms. The reason I have this question, however, I think makes sense. I want to take a 36-hour trip from Seattle to LA with my wife and 18-year-old son. I thought I could book a family room since it has 4 beds in it. Unfortunately, they are making me book 2 rooms because, I guess, my son is an adult. It just doesn't make sense to spend nearly twice as much for 2 bedrooms when 1 family room should be able to accommodate the 3 of us.

Call again, & if they refuse, ask to speak to a supervisor. If the supervisor refuses, tell them that the "Train Service Accounting Procedures User Guide,
Effective 12:01am, August 12, 2019," says that 3 Adults can occupy a Superliner Family Bedroom or Superliner Bedroom for berth service.

Read the post linked below and the following for more info:
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/three-adults-in-a-family-room.81234/post-945760

 

[Shanson]

My younger son (28 y.o.) went with my wife and myself last summer on a trip to visit the Nevada Northern Railway (yes, we saw Dirt, and our deboarding was in Winnemucca). On most of the legs, we shared a bedroom, as my wife and I are slender and sleep together on the lower. On one leg, we were in the Family Bedroom and our son slept on the lower child's berth, as he sleeps curled up anyway. Reserved through AGR call. No problems (other than a 12-hour late arrival into Denver).

 

[jaimetz]

Here's an update. Amtrak does allow a third adult in both the bedroom and family bedroom. It's just not published on the website. I was able to book us in a bedroom on the Coast Starlight. You have to talk to an agent.