Good move.
When is Sleeping Car returning to WAS-BOS overnight train?
- Thread starter Tlcooper44
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Danib62
Service Attendant
Now let's see if we survive 18+ hours in a roomette together on the coast starlight from PDX-EMY... Bedrooms were exorbitant and I was using AGR points and didn't have enough...
More likely to survive than 18 hours in coach.
You have a Sightseer Lounge and a Diner, so except for Sleeping, yallwont be Prisoners in your Room.
Remember your Face Coverings!
Danib62
Service Attendant
I figure we'll spend much of our awake time in the sightseer lounge and we'll bring some card games. I have a lot riding on this as it's our first overnight train trip together (her first since she took the Twilight Shoreliner once as a child) and I would like for there to be more in the future...
She's either a foamer or she isn't. Amtrak isn't for the faint of heart.
Danib62
Service Attendant
She’s willing to humor me within reason though.
Sounds like you found a good one!
Let's hope it's running! That bridge looks to be in rough shape...
Danib62
Service Attendant
The pricing for a second passenger on this trip continues to perplex me. Using AGR points a roomette for one (in the lowest bucket) is a reasonable 10,260 points but adding a second passenger cranks the cost up to 15,620! For comparison sake I was able to book a trip on the Coast Starlight for two from PDX to SFC for 14,698 (though it sadly got cancelled due to the fires).
Danib62
Service Attendant
Has the NER sleeper been getting the "updated" bedding?
yes, and I have to say, it’s really nice...
Compared to what was offered before, I found it to be night and day. I experienced the old bedding on the silver meteor a month ago. Kind of sad.
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A friend who is a long time rail passenger told me about his recent trip on the sleeper on No. 66.
When sleeping car passengers went to board the car in DC, they could not do so and were held on the platform. The conductor subsequently explained that the problem was that when the train arrived in DC from Newport News, it was discovered that the sleeping car had not been "made up." (I do not know where this car is supposed to be serviced and cleaned from the previous trip). Apparently, the attendant was in the process of franticly trying to get the car ready to receive passengers. After some time, the conductor told the sleeping car passengers to board one of the coaches and they could go to the sleeper when the car was ready. My friend reported that this was very inconvenient for some sleeper passengers who were traveling with a child and for some older passengers who had luggage. The family traveling with their child indicated that their earlier trip in sleeper on 67 from Boston to DC had gone smoothly.
My friend reported that his bedroom in the sleeper wasn't ready until 11 p.m. He noticed that the carpet in the bedroom was filthy and needed to be steam cleaned.
The positive aspects of the trip were that the train was on time and at some points early, that patronage appeared to be good in coach and sleeper, that no intercom announcements were made between Baltimore and Kingston, R.I. and that no one had died.
When sleeping car passengers went to board the car in DC, they could not do so and were held on the platform. The conductor subsequently explained that the problem was that when the train arrived in DC from Newport News, it was discovered that the sleeping car had not been "made up." (I do not know where this car is supposed to be serviced and cleaned from the previous trip). Apparently, the attendant was in the process of franticly trying to get the car ready to receive passengers. After some time, the conductor told the sleeping car passengers to board one of the coaches and they could go to the sleeper when the car was ready. My friend reported that this was very inconvenient for some sleeper passengers who were traveling with a child and for some older passengers who had luggage. The family traveling with their child indicated that their earlier trip in sleeper on 67 from Boston to DC had gone smoothly.
My friend reported that his bedroom in the sleeper wasn't ready until 11 p.m. He noticed that the carpet in the bedroom was filthy and needed to be steam cleaned.
The positive aspects of the trip were that the train was on time and at some points early, that patronage appeared to be good in coach and sleeper, that no intercom announcements were made between Baltimore and Kingston, R.I. and that no one had died.
Hopefully your friend notified Amtrak about this experience.
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Danib62
Service Attendant
I’m taking train 67 this coming Wednesday night and have a bedroom booked. Will definitely post my impressions here. I assume we’re still dealing with a Viewliner I on the route? Excited, this is only my second trip in sleeping accommodations and my first on a Viewliner.
I've gotten Acela First Class between Boston and Baltimore for 12,000 points, on average. Adding 5,000 points for the extra coach fare doesn't seem out of line to me.
Danib62
Service Attendant
Acela is a notoriously bad point value. You should never book an Acela ticket with points.
Danib62
Service Attendant
So just got back from my trip on 67 from BBY-WAS. Here are my quick impressions:
- The "soft" product was really good! We had snack boxes waiting for us in our rooms. The SCA was very friendly and helpful and made sure we knew we could go get some adult beverages in the cafe car. He was able to accommodate my wife getting off early at BWI and made sure we knew when our stops were coming. We were able to get breakfast in the cafe car in the morning with no issues. Both cafe car attendants were friendly and courteous.
- The "hard" product is awful. The V-Is are in desperate need of a refurbishment. They are utterly grungy. I almost felt embarrassed that this was my wife's first overnight Amtrak trip. Every little nook and cranny is just coated in grime. The safety instruction card was literally stuck on the fold out table with who knows what. The shower ran out of hot water within the first 20 seconds of starting it (this happened both before bed when I showered, and in the morning when my wife showered). The sink was pretty terrible to use. The curtains, cushions, and carpeting just all look and feel dirty.
- Announcements were made over the PA multiple times while approaching, laying over at, and departing NYP. This is inexcusable. The cafe care reopening doesn't need it's own announcement blasted to sleeper passengers at 3am. Thankfully these were the only the announcements during quiet hours in the sleeper car (and yes our speaker was turned all the way down).
So disappointing.
This is more or less what I encountered in my first trip on April 5.
It is absolutely inexcusable that announcements were made in the sleeper car. Not that the center of excellence is worth bothering with, but perhaps if enough of us write, it will somehow get through their thick skulls.
My next trips were better, until the 4th one being pretty much satisfactory.
The other Viewliner they use, along with the new bedding, provided an experience that I felt was much better the subsequent times I took the train. I think the “New River” VI car is a little newer and cleaner. It made for a much more enjoyable trip.
Danib62
Service Attendant
No announcements should be made on any car on trains 65/66/67 between 10p and 6a period (unless there's an emergency). This pissed me off to no end during one trip I took on 67 in coach before they brought the sleeper back. The BOS based conductors announced there would be no announcements after 10p so set an alarm if you're getting off before 6a. As soon as we got to NYP the new crew got on the PA was just blasting everyone with useless announcements for the rest of the trip (as well as making a racket and yakking when moving through the coaches). I filed a complaint and I'm still waiting for a response.
Agreed, though I find announcements in the sleeper car particularly egregious. It is far more unlikely that anyone in the sleeper car will get off at NYP than some place in the morning.
And the SCA should know the few who are getting off early and can knock them up separately. As someone who had gotten off a lot at Todelo at 4 or 5 AM, I know they do that on other trains.
Danib62
Service Attendant
I'm trying to leave feedback through amtrak.com and you can't select a travel date after August 28... You can't make this stuff up.
