Viewliner Sleepers on the Crescent

[benjibear]

I was just doing some research on a possible future trip aboard the Crescent from BAL to NOL for me and my wife. I was looking at sleeper accommodations. We are both larger people. Not sure how comfortable two large people would be in sleeper accommodations which is where some of my questions come from.



First a question about the bedroom in the vieliner cars: Are they arranged so the long seat goes in the forward direction in one room and the adjacent room you have to ride backwards? We would like to ride backwards for any length of time (we got a little sick when we wnet from Philadelphia to New York on the Keystone backwards-didn't realize to stay forward facing you need to change seats in Philadelphia). I guess this question would also be true in the accessible room, do you have to ride backwards.



Second has to do with pricing: It looks like the low bucket for a bedroom is $480 and a roomette is $177. It seems to me that we could both have our own roomette and it will be cheaper than having one room to share. The only advantage of a bedroom is the private toilet and bath which looks like it would be way too small for us to really use and the room is larger. Is there anything I am missing here?



Third question has to do with the roomettes: The width of the lower berth states it is 2’4”(28”), is this also the width of the seat when it is not a bed?



Fourth question: Does anyone know how wide the aisle is in the sleeper car? I assume it would be as wide as an aisle in coach.



Final Questions (I think): Is there anywhere that you can go to “preview” what the rooms are like? I was wondering if they have a sleeping car on display at Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington on National Train Day.



Any final comments or recommendations for a 6’3” tall man that weights slightly over 300 lbs and his 5’8” wife that won’t disclose her weight.

 

[PerRock]

You can get s 3D tour of a Viewliner Car from the Amtrak Website here:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241267361982

Just click the button saying "Viewliner 3D Tour Launch Now >>"

Sorry I can't help much more then that. But I'm sure there are others here that can!

peter

 

[me_little_me]

Second has to do with pricing: It looks like the low bucket for a bedroom is $480 and a roomette is $177. It seems to me that we could both have our own roomette and it will be cheaper than having one room to share. The only advantage of a bedroom is the private toilet and bath which looks like it would be way too small for us to really use and the room is larger. Is there anything I am missing here?

I will leave it to others to take first crack the other questions but we did precisely what you are looking at doing on a previous Crescent trip - we took 2 roomettes.

Advantages of 2 roomettes:

• Price - quite often two roomettes are cheaper than a BR. Check amsnag for prices on different days.
• Toilet use - For large people the enclosed toilet can be a problem. In a roomette, the toilet is in the room and the separate rooms give you privacy w/o the other having to take a walk.
• Upper bunk - no need to use the upper bunk if you can't climb the short ladder. In addition, if you can use the upper bunk, having separate rooms and sleeping in the upper bunk means you can sit down on the lower seat while dressing or if you just can't fall asleep right away.

Advantages of BR

Room - More room together in the compartment. You can sit side by side. Or one can sit across and the other can stretch out for a nap.

Shower - in enclosed in the room. Note that for large people, it can be a problem so you might end up using the shower down the hall like the roomette passengers have to do. We've done that even in BRs because of shower size.

NOTE: If you take the roomettes, be sure to

Make reservations through an Amtrak agent and get rooms across from one another OR make online reservations then immediately call agent and have the agent change your room to be across if available. We did the latter on numerous trips.

If you did not snag low bucket, check amsnag at least once a day for price drops then call agent to get the lowered price. Best to make separate reservations in case only one low-bucket price is available.

WARNING: There are no "public" toilets in any sleeper, in diner or in lounge/cafe car so if you can't use the one in your room, you have a long walk to a coach car.

 

[Ryan]

I'm 6'3" and somewhere around 275, and think that you'll be just fine in either accommodation. If 2 roomettes are cheaper and you can get them across the hall from each other, I think that would be better than a bedroom.

The Viewliners have toilets in the roomettes, so the only thing you miss out on is a private shower. I was able to use the toilet in a roomette, but it was a bit of a tight squeeze, so you may find it a little more difficult, being just a bit larger than I am.

 

[hello]

We always do the same as "me_little_me" .... 2 roomettes across from each other ... much more comfortable, and no one has to climb into the top bunk!

 

[dlagrua]

On the Crescent going South; in the A bedroom the sofa faces forward, In the B bedroom the sofa faces to the rear. On the return trip North I remember it being exactly the same. In a roomette you have two chairs one facing each way.

 

[benjibear]

Thanks for all the responses. I have used the 3D as well as several videos and pictures I found online. I would still like to test one out sometime before we decide on a trip.

 

[Golden grrl]

I was just doing some research on a possible future trip aboard the Crescent from BAL to NOL for me and my wife. I was looking at sleeper accommodations. We are both larger people. Not sure how comfortable two large people would be in sleeper accommodations which is where some of my questions come from.

Third question has to do with the roomettes: The width of the lower berth states it is 2'4"(28"), is this also the width of the seat when it is not a bed?

Any final comments or recommendations for a 6'3" tall man that weights slightly over 300 lbs and his 5'8" wife that won't disclose her weight.

I'm a female 5'10" and won't disclose my weight, though most people tell me I am trim for my age, which also will remain undisclosed].

I had no problem on the lower berth on a Crescent viewliner roomette last month. My spouse, who is slightly taller and heavier, had no difficultly with the upper berth. If you have no need for sleeping on that upper berth, it makes a great place to store all your carry-on baggage out of your way.

Am not sure about the width of the lower berth - it is wider on one end and narrower on the end where the toilet, sink, and steps to upper berth and upper storage area are. The roomette seats [which are lowered to form the sleeping berth] are of different widths, and if you are unlucky, the narrower one will be facing the wrong way [hard to say which way the narrow one will face until you board the train].

For part of my last trip, a guy who was 6'3" and somewhere north of 300 [say, 320] was in the roomette next to us, but that was on a Superliner, where the roomettes are configured differently and do not have the in-roomette toilet. He seemed to fare fine with the lower berth in that roomette and with the seats [which, again, I haven't measured, but they do seem a couple of inches wider than the widest one on the viewliner roomette]. His wife was smaller than me; she did fine in the upper berth (as I did, too, on that segment of the trip).

One pointer. When you board the train, ask your sleeping car attendant for an extra pillow. Your shoulders and neck will thank you.

 

[pennyk]

On the Crescent going South; in the A bedroom the sofa faces forward, In the B bedroom the sofa faces to the rear. On the return trip North I remember it being exactly the same. In a roomette you have two chairs one facing each way.

When i was on the crescent, the sofa in bedroom B was facing forward.

 

[pennyk]

I think the "biggest" issue for larger passengers is the size of the booths in the dining car. I have not had a problem since I am pretty small, but I have empathy for those pax who appear to be extremely uncomfortable in the dining car with the table virtually hitting them in the gut. I have heard that some pax request room service to avoid the incomfortable booths.

(I traveled on VIA Rail last month and was pleased to see that the dining car used tables and heavy chairs rather than booths)

 

[benjibear]

I have been on the Cresent before but I was in coach. While in the diner, the booth was a little tight and there would be no way for somebody else to sit on the same side as me. I know my wife would probably have more problems. That was one reason to consider a sleaper. I have heard that Amtrak will serve you in Coach but was thinking that may be embarressing because we are fat.

 

[AlanB]

Third question has to do with the roomettes: The width of the lower berth states it is 2’4”(28”), is this also the width of the seat when it is not a bed?

One seat is indeed that width. However the other seat, next to the toilet will be smaller. And the way that the sleeping car is set up, if you get rooms that are opposite one another, then you are guaranteed to have one room with the larger seat facing forward and one room with the larger seat facing backwards.

Fourth question: Does anyone know how wide the aisle is in the sleeper car? I assume it would be as wide as an aisle in coach.

I never measured things, but I would say that it's certainly close.

Final Questions (I think): Is there anywhere that you can go to “preview” what the rooms are like? I was wondering if they have a sleeping car on display at Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington on National Train Day.

Baltimore will not have anything on display. DC usually has Superliner cars on display, which would have the same aisle widths, but the rooms are different. Philly will most likely have a Viewliner on display, but no guarantees.

One final thought on the Bedroom; I'm 5'11" and while I'll use the in room toilet in the Bedroom, I almost never use the shower in the room. I find myself bashing my elbows into the walls of the very small stall that holds the combo shower/toilet. So I generally walk down the hall to the public shower, regardless of whether I'm in a Superliner Bedroom or a Viewliner Bedroom.

 

[Honeymooner]

I'm looking at the same trip in April but the price quoted for the bedroom was $706 + the $280 one way for two adults. How did you get so much lower fares?

 

[dlagrua]

On the Crescent going South; in the A bedroom the sofa faces forward, In the B bedroom the sofa faces to the rear. On the return trip North I remember it being exactly the same. In a roomette you have two chairs one facing each way.

When i was on the crescent, the sofa in bedroom B was facing forward.

I stand corrected. The sofa in the B bedroom on the Crescent does face forward. So does the one in the H bedroom. I believe two large people would be more comfortable in the H room mainly due to the large bathroom.

 

[Acela150]

I'm looking at the same trip in April but the price quoted for the bedroom was $706 + the $280 one way for two adults. How did you get so much lower fares?

The sooner you book. The Cheaper the fare. The demand is high for the rooms. So the price goes up. The lower prices seen here are most likely what is referred to as a "low bucket" meaning the cheapest fare possible to get. Also look into Amsnag. Their's sometimes a difference in prices on there then through Amtrak.