When are reservations loaded into the computer?

[pennyk]

I hope to start a 2 week trip on August 26, 2010, which is 11 months from tomorrow. I am hoping to take some popular trains, one of which has sold out of bedrooms for 2 days during the week of August 20, 2010. I think I read on this forum that someone phoned an agent at 12:01 am on the day exactly 11 months prior to her reservation and was able to make a reservation. A couple of times this week I went on line just to see if I would have been able to book a reservation and they were not available that early.

I spoke to a very helpful agent this afternoon who told me that he did not know at what time the reservations are loaded into the computer. Does anyone have any experience with this?

My preference is not to stay up all night for several nights or to wake up every hour to try to make a reservation, but I have my heart set of my proposed itinerary.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Lots of times travel agents block out popular routes, just like they do with cruises and package tours, unless the pros know some secrets Id say you just have to keep checking, if I had to guess Id bet the Cardinal and the Zephyr or the Builder are the trains involved? Good luck, once youre on Amtrak.com rez you can change your dates pretty easy for the selected trains and upgrades, you may have to revise your trip based on the availability of the hard to get trains!

(maybe even ride in a family bedroom or roomette since IIRC you prefer deluxe bedrooms for your trips!)

 

[pennyk]

Lots of times travel agents block out popular routes, just like they do with cruises and package tours, unless the pros know some secrets Id say you just have to keep checking, if I had to guess Id bet the Cardinal and the Zephyr or the Builder are the trains involved? Good luck, once youre on Amtrak.com rez you can change your dates pretty easy for the selected trains and upgrades, you may have to revise your trip based on the availability of the hard to get trains!(maybe even ride in a family bedroom or roomette since IIRC you prefer deluxe bedrooms for your trips!)

Thanks.

Your guesses are correct. After taking the Silver Meteor to WAS, I hope to take the Cardinal to CHI, then the CZ to DEN. After that I am hoping to redeem AGR points from DEN to SEA, then taking the Empire Builder from SEA back to CHI with a stopover in West Glacier. The CZ from CHI to DEN is the train where the bedrooms were sold old. Also, I hope to be able to book a bedroom on the Cardinal, which I understand is difficult.

The agent informed me that travel agents often book a number of rooms with the hope to sell them, and if they don't they reserve them again, and if they are not sold by the travel agent, they go back to Amtrak inventory. I am a bit anxious and I am not sure I want to take the risk that the bedrooms will be available at a later date. But I guess I will have to do that, if I do not have a choice.

 

[AlanB]

With only 2 Bedrooms on the entire Cardinal, the odds aren't good.

 

[RailFanLNK]

I was in this very same situation last November for the AU Get Together in BOS. We tried to get a roomette on the LSL and booked at the exact minute 11 months out and the price we got was the low bucket price, then the reservation wouldn't take our CC #, then it wouldn't take it again like the system was locked down. Finally we rebooked the reservation and started from scratch (about 5 minutes had transpired) and the roomette we needed had jumped 2 buckets. Something fishy was going on and Amtrak even admitted that it was probably a travel agency. But why wouldn't our AGR cc work? We were froze out for about 5 minutes while someone else got to cherry pick the reservation system. Good luck!

 

[PetalumaLoco]

I was in this very same situation last November for the AU Get Together in BOS. We tried to get a roomette on the LSL and booked at the exact minute 11 months out and the price we got was the low bucket price, then the reservation wouldn't take our CC #, then it wouldn't take it again like the system was locked down. Finally we rebooked the reservation and started from scratch (about 5 minutes had transpired) and the roomette we needed had jumped 2 buckets. Something fishy was going on and Amtrak even admitted that it was probably a travel agency. But why wouldn't our AGR cc work? We were froze out for about 5 minutes while someone else got to cherry pick the reservation system. Good luck!

Could it be Yankee Holidays?

 

[RailFanLNK]

Probably, because I just made a dummy reservation from LNK to GSC (Glenwood Springs CO) for August 25th 2010 and the roomettes are all "sold out". Tried to make a rezzie for the 26th but the system wouldn't let me. Personally, I think this is crap. :angry: PennyK, I'm in the same situation as you with a mega fun and mega long trip on Amtrak 2010. I know I probably am going to get dinked around trying to redeem AGR points and may not get the travel dates that I need nor the accomodations I want.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

Probably, because I just made a dummy reservation from LNK to GSC (Glenwood Springs CO) for August 25th 2010 and the roomettes are all "sold out". Tried to make a rezzie for the 26th but the system wouldn't let me. Personally, I think this is crap. :angry: PennyK, I'm in the same situation as you with a mega fun and mega long trip on Amtrak 2010. I know I probably am going to get dinked around trying to redeem AGR points and may not get the travel dates that I need nor the accomodations I want.

I've been watching the EB for a few weeks. Bedrooms seem to be snapped up on the departures I'm looking at 11 months out, but it's like a matter of days and they're freed up. Perhaps the agencies can't afford to float the cost of tickets very long in this financial climate.

 

[printman2000]

I have done this for two years in a row. Both years it was not 11 months exactly. I was able to get it a few days BEFORE 11 months. I just kept watching and seeing what days opened when and when my date opened I booked first thing in the morning.

Just check it first thing on the day it opens. That is the best you can do. If it is not there then, it will probably not be there early in the morning when it opens.

 

[pennyk]

Thanks for your responses. I was successful in booking the first segment of my trip, but am very sleepy right now. I first tried at midnight and was unable to book ORL-CHI leaving ORL on 9/26. The agent told me to try again at 3:20am because that is when the reservations would be loaded. I tried again at that time and the agent was unable to book that segment. The agent said the reason was that she was on the west coast. I also tried on-line at that atime and was not able to book.

Then I tried again at 6:30am eastern time and after waiting several minutes to speak to an agent, I was able to book train 98 to WAS and then 51 (Cardinal) with a bedroom to CHI. My next chore is to add DEN on the CZ. I guess I will be waking up very early tomorrow morning also. Hopefully, travel agents will not be doing the same thing.

 

[sky12065]

I hope to start a 2 week trip on August 26, 2010, which is 11 months from tomorrow. I am hoping to take some popular trains, one of which has sold out of bedrooms for 2 days during the week of August 20, 2010. I think I read on this forum that someone phoned an agent at 12:01 am on the day exactly 11 months prior to her reservation and was able to make a reservation. A couple of times this week I went on line just to see if I would have been able to book a reservation and they were not available that early.
I spoke to a very helpful agent this afternoon who told me that he did not know at what time the reservations are loaded into the computer. Does anyone have any experience with this?

My preference is not to stay up all night for several nights or to wake up every hour to try to make a reservation, but I have my heart set of my proposed itinerary.

Thanks.

Penny,

I am going to give you an actual reservation I made for my travel next year on the AutoTrain. I'm also going to show the method (or should I say steps) that I used to calculate the earliest I could possibly make the reservation along with a little more info:

Travel Departure Date Desired: July 13, 2010

Advance Departure Date By One MONTH: August 13, 2010

Deduct One DAY From Dep. Date: August 12, 2010

Deduct One YEAR From Dep. Date: August 12, 2009 (date to make reservation for 7/13/10)

Confirmation Email Was Time Stamped: August 12, 2009 at 8:06AM

So as far as I can figure I made my reservation about 8 hours into the first day possible. Can I guarantee this was the first day available. Not really! There could be factors that might have influenced what that date might have been. i.e. number of days in month(s)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a real live perspective on the subject! I hope this helps you with your figuring things out.

 

[pennyk]

I hope to start a 2 week trip on August 26, 2010, which is 11 months from tomorrow. I am hoping to take some popular trains, one of which has sold out of bedrooms for 2 days during the week of August 20, 2010. I think I read on this forum that someone phoned an agent at 12:01 am on the day exactly 11 months prior to her reservation and was able to make a reservation. A couple of times this week I went on line just to see if I would have been able to book a reservation and they were not available that early.
I spoke to a very helpful agent this afternoon who told me that he did not know at what time the reservations are loaded into the computer. Does anyone have any experience with this?

My preference is not to stay up all night for several nights or to wake up every hour to try to make a reservation, but I have my heart set of my proposed itinerary.

Thanks.

Penny,

I am going to give you an actual reservation I made for my travel next year on the AutoTrain. I'm also going to show the method (or should I say steps) that I used to calculate the earliest I could possibly make the reservation along with a little more info:

Travel Departure Date Desired: July 13, 2010

Advance Departure Date By One MONTH: August 13, 2010

Deduct One DAY From Dep. Date: August 12, 2010

Deduct One YEAR From Dep. Date: August 12, 2009 (date to make reservation for 7/13/10)

Confirmation Email Was Time Stamped: August 12, 2009 at 8:06AM

So as far as I can figure I made my reservation about 8 hours into the first day possible. Can I guarantee this was the first day available. Not really! There could be factors that might have influenced what that date might have been. i.e. number of days in month(s)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a real live perspective on the subject! I hope this helps you with your figuring things out.

Thank you so much for sharing your actual situation. So far, I have been successful in getting the reservations that I desire, however, it involved a couple of sleepless nights, which I cannot continue.

The Amtrak computer system was down from 3am to 6am this morning for maintenance, which I did not know in advance when my alarm awoke me at 4am.

So far, I have reservations from Orlando to Denver, including bedroom B on the Cardinal and bedroom E on the CZ to Denver.

My next challenge is reserve from Denver to Seattle on August 30, 2010 using AGR points for bedrooms. I will try on August 29.

Thanks again.