When planning First Class Travel Check all Room fares

[Rod]

I was just check room rates for planned trip PHL to SEA and noted price for the family bedroom cheaper than the roomette... Save some money and check all the room rates before final selection !

 

[AmtrakBlue]

But if you don't need the family bedroom, do you want to make it unavailable to a family that could use it? If your trip is in the near future, than maybe, but I think it would be unkind to deny a family the use of it. Maybe book a roomette first then closer to travel, check the family room price.

 

[rrdude]

But if you don't need the family bedroom, do you want to make it unavailable to a family that could use it? If your trip is in the near future, than maybe, but I think it would be unkind to deny a family the use of it. Maybe book a roomette first then closer to travel, check the family room price.

If the family room is available, FEEL FREE TO BOOK IT, regardless of whether you are one or a family......

 

[June the Coach Rider]

Remember if you do book the family room, that it is on the lower level of the superliners.

 

[FriskyFL]

And that the Family bedroom, unlike a regular bedroom, lacks the toilet & shower. Essentially a roomette on steroids.

 

[Texan Eagle]

But if you don't need the family bedroom, do you want to make it unavailable to a family that could use it? If your trip is in the near future, than maybe, but I think it would be unkind to deny a family the use of it. Maybe book a roomette first then closer to travel, check the family room price.

It's a purchase, not charity. If Amtrak offers me the option to book a Family Room at lower fare than roomette, sure as hell I will go ahead and book it even if I am traveling alone. If it is to be kept for families, it should be priced accordingly, or not offered as an option for single or couple travelers.

 

[dabrilloman]

I personally wouldn't book a family bedroom just for myself, but if it is not against the rules, I guess they are free to do it. I really don't think it would be that hard for Amtrak to program into the online reservation system that when booking the family bedroom you must click that you have at least 2 people on the reservation. Same with booking over the phone, you must have 2 people to book the family bedroom. Then at 2 weeks out, if the room has not sold, go ahead and open it for all just like the handicap room.

 

[rrdude]

Pros of Family Room: Quiet. Windows on both sides if train. Way bigger than roomette

Cons of Family Room: lower Level. No toilet or shower. (Just down the hall)

YMMV. Personally, the upper level bene of Superliner is lost on this route, due to paucity of scenery.

 

[rrdude]

I personally wouldn't book a family bedroom just for myself, but if it is not against the rules, I guess they are free to do it. I really don't think it would be that hard for Amtrak to program into the online reservation system that when booking the family bedroom you must click that you have at least 2 people on the reservation. Same with booking over the phone, you must have 2 people to book the family bedroom. Then at 2 weeks out, if the room has not sold, go ahead and open it for all just like the handicap room.

And if Amtrak did that, I wud have zero complaint. IMHO, Amtrak Shud have done that YEARS ago

 

[the_traveler]

The Family bedroom does have windows on both sides of the train, but be aware they are MUCH smaller than those found in a Roomette.

 

[Ryan]

But if you don't need the family bedroom, do you want to make it unavailable to a family that could use it? If your trip is in the near future, than maybe, but I think it would be unkind to deny a family the use of it. Maybe book a roomette first then closer to travel, check the family room price.

It's a purchase, not charity. If Amtrak offers me the option to book a Family Room at lower fare than roomette, sure as hell I will go ahead and book it even if I am traveling alone. If it is to be kept for families, it should be priced accordingly, or not offered as an option for single or couple travelers.

Amtrak shouldn't have to make a million rules to enforce "be a decent person".
I'd much prefer they didn't and people just be decent people, but I guess that's a fantasy.

If the Family Room is the only room available, go for it. If not, book the roomette and keep checking up on fares.

 

[rrdude]

Ryan, if you could get a penthouse suite, for the same or lower price than a standard room with a queen, at hotel X, wouldn't you?

Twice in the last ten-eleven years, I have voluntarily swapped my paid-in-cash bedroom, to a young family pf three who were booked into a roomette. I was traveling alone, so no biggie. I like to think I "made" their trip.

I have Always wondered why Amtrak did not enforce at least two or more in the family bedroom.

 

[the_traveler]

The Penthouse Suite is already taken by me! :giggle:

 

[Ryan]

Ryan, if you could get a penthouse suite, for the same or lower price than a standard room with a queen, at hotel X, wouldn't you?

That's not really a good comparison for two reasons:

1. Getting the Penthouse Suite in a hotel doesn't really increase the sleeping capacity. Family Bedroom does.

2. If I want a suite, and can't get one at the Hilton, I can look at other hotels in town. With Amtrak, there's one train a day and 2 (or 3) Family Bedrooms available.

So yeah, I'd probably take the Good Deal on the penthouse, but wouldn't book the family bedroom if I didn't need the space.

Disclaimer: I did take one once when it was just the 3 of us traveling. We'd never travelled in a sleeper before and took a Family Bedroom on the Auto Train one way and a regular bedroom the other way. Learned on that trip that we did just fine in a regular bedroom and have just booked them ever since.

 

[Texan Eagle]

2. If I want a suite, and can't get one at the Hilton, I can look at other hotels in town. With Amtrak, there's one train a day and 2 (or 3) Family Bedrooms available.

You know that as a railfan, does a normal Amtrak passenger buying tickets know this? If Family Bedroom is a rare commodity, Amtrak should specify it as such. It does not take rocket science to add a one line recommendation on the booking page that Family Bedrooms are limited and should be preferably left for families if someone tries to book it for a single or two adult passengers. Ideally it should at that point immediately do a price match and offer "Would you rather take a roomette at the same price?"

If the booking engine did this, I would gladly take up a roomette. But in the absence of any communication whatsoever from Amtrak about rarity of family bedroom, there is nothing wrong or "indecent" for me as a single passenger to book Family Bedroom if it is cheaper than roomette. I value my money, if Amtrak values their Family Bedrooms, they should take the effort for it.

 

[CoachSlumber]

And that the Family bedroom, unlike a regular bedroom, lacks the toilet & shower. Essentially a roomette on steroids.

With a nice bed and windows (albeit small one) on both sides.

 

[me_little_me]

But if you don't need the family bedroom, do you want to make it unavailable to a family that could use it? If your trip is in the near future, than maybe, but I think it would be unkind to deny a family the use of it. Maybe book a roomette first then closer to travel, check the family room price.

It's a purchase, not charity. If Amtrak offers me the option to book a Family Room at lower fare than roomette, sure as hell I will go ahead and book it even if I am traveling alone. If it is to be kept for families, it should be priced accordingly, or not offered as an option for single or couple travelers.

Amtrak shouldn't have to make a million rules to enforce "be a decent person".
I'd much prefer they didn't and people just be decent people, but I guess that's a fantasy.

Amtrak SHOULD NOT price a roomette more than the Family Room. Downright outrageous. Apparently their software is not sophisticated enough to always keep a roomette price lower than BR or FBR (or keep those higher than a roomette). It is not being "decent" to spend more for a roomette than a FBR; it is being sensible.

 

[Ryan]

2. If I want a suite, and can't get one at the Hilton, I can look at other hotels in town. With Amtrak, there's one train a day and 2 (or 3) Family Bedrooms available.

You know that as a railfan, does a normal Amtrak passenger buying tickets know this? If Family Bedroom is a rare commodity, Amtrak should specify it as such. It does not take rocket science to add a one line recommendation on the booking page that Family Bedrooms are limited and should be preferably left for families if someone tries to book it for a single or two adult passengers. Ideally it should at that point immediately do a price match and offer "Would you rather take a roomette at the same price?"

If the booking engine did this, I would gladly take up a roomette. But in the absence of any communication whatsoever from Amtrak about rarity of family bedroom, there is nothing wrong or "indecent" for me as a single passenger to book Family Bedroom if it is cheaper than roomette. I value my money, if Amtrak values their Family Bedrooms, they should take the effort for it.

It doesn't matter what the average person knows. You know it and I know it.

You can't just "play dumb" because Amtrak doesn't do what you want.

 

[Texan Eagle]

It doesn't matter what the average person knows. You know it and I know it.

You can't just "play dumb" because Amtrak doesn't do what you want.

It's not called playing dumb. Its called saving my hard earned money. I don't have money growing on trees, if I find Family Bedroom priced cheaper than roomette, I will book it. It's the sensible thing to do. I am not going to spend extra money just so that some imaginary family can take advantage of Family Room. If there are folks like yourself who are so worried about the families who'd be willing to pay me the difference in cost between Family BR and roomette, please go ahead, I will book a roomette then.

 

[Ispolkom]

I'm in Texan Eagle's camp. I'd forego booking a family bedroom if I had any assurance that my forbearance meant that a family was able to book the room. Since there isn't any such assurance, because anyone can book the room, I don't see any reason to be so scrupulous.

Come to think of it, the first time I ever booked anything other than a roomette was a trip six years ago from St. Paul to Portland, where the family bedroom was cheaper than a roomette. I discovered this forum while doing research to find out what the catch was with the family bedroom.

Given the generally much higher prices for deluxe bedrooms and family bedrooms, I'm surprised that even a high-bucket roomette can be more expensive than the family bedroom.

 

[amamba]

I totally agree with Ispolkom on this one. While I agree that it would be nice to reserve the family bedrooms for families, amtrak has no such policy currently in place. Since there is no guarantee that if I pass up the cheap FBR that it will go to a family, I might as well save a few dollars and take the cheaper accommodation.

Do we complain when single people take regular bedrooms even though those could technically fit THREE people? Nope.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

What is it that makes someone believe it's acceptable to guilt trip single travelers because they may be purchasing the same services that some johnny-come-lately family might want in the future? I tend to avoid taking rooms that are larger than my needs, but that doesn't change the basic truth that families are no better and no worse than any other group, whether it's one person or ten. It surprises me this still needs to be said here in 2014.

 

[Ryan]

I never said that families (or groups) were any better than anyone else.

If I'm a single, there are 20 rooms per car that suit my needs.

If I'm a family of 4, there's 1 room per car that suits my needs.

I don't think that it's too much to ask to be considerate and not take that one room if other accommodations on the train will work for you.

But God forbid I suggest that people use a little bit of thoughtfulness towards others. That's not the American way. Take what you want and screw the other guy.

 

[amamba]

But being thoughtful and passing up the cheap family room doesn't guarantee that it goes to a family. It just guarantees that the person who passes it up ends up paying more for a roomette.

 

[Ryan]

It also guarantees that the room *won't* go to a family.

Yeah, some other single may come along and snag it, but maybe not.