Why So Many Snobby "Roomette" People on Here?

[Ryan]

Everyone needs to know that "Aunty Gail" who started several other controversial topics which have been hidden/locked is the person who started this topic. If this one goes down hill, it will also be locked!

Well that certainly explains a lot.

 

[TVRM610]

I travel in roomettes cause I just can't sleep comfortably in coach. I've tried it... I just can't do it. I travel in coach all the time for day trips though and would never pay for business class. So I hardy think coach is beneath me!

It should be noted that if you are a coffee drinker like me, free coffee saves a bit here and there too... And I usually am not able to pack waters to take with me so the bottled waters and coffee usually save me about $10 per trip as well as the meals.

 

[ScottC4746]

Not to be rude, but I have been reading through a lot of posts on here with posters giving advice. I am apalled at how many of you see fit to look down upon riding in Coach. I have read countless bloggers saying "Well, back in my poor college days when I rode coach...", "On the ONE time I rode Coach", "We book sleepers only"- seriously? I guess you would never know the economy was as bad as they say it is if you come on here- everyone must be super rich.
There is nothing wrong with riding in Coach on Amtrak- it still beats flying. And I find it very interesting that so many of you have thousands of dollars to just blow away on a room for 2 days. Seriously, the average cost of a roomette alone is $500 for an overnight. And the Bedrooms are three times as much.

It's okay if you have the means to do it, but stop downplaying Coach and the people who ride in it. I am not ranting - just observing what I have read on here.

I do not consider myself a snobby roomette person. If I am taking an overnight train end to end, 1 -3 nights I will take a sleeper for comfort at night. I have been known to go coach or shorter trips, depending on how busy I anticipate a route to be, such as Saturday travel on Pacific Surfliner, I will go business to have a guranteed seat. Basic rule of thumb, I may be in a sleeper, but I also rub elbows with those in coach either in the diner or lounge car.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Since I have to fly from Nashville to an Amtrak origination point such as Chicago or Los Angeles, all of my Amtrak trips have been the full distance of the LD trains. I always travel on these trips in Sleeper Car. In 2010 I splurged for Bedrooms on the SWC and TE/SL but this year I will be traveling in Roomettes on the CS, EB, SWC in July/August and the CZ and CS in October. I pay to do this because the train trip IS MY VACATION. Incidentally, I am traveling coach from Portland to Seattle on the Cascades. As far as "snobbery", I never notice and almost always have sat with coach passengers in the dining car and had pleasant conversations. Of course, I am not one to expect the SCA wait on me and deliver meals, etc,, to my room. My basic expectation and is generally always met if for the SCA to assist me with bed setup at night and made up for daytime in the morning. Also, I obtain coffee and water, etc. wherever the SCA has it available. Most of my interaction with the SCA is alongside the train car when we have long station stops when I get off the get a little walking in. As most AU members, I simply love trains and traveling on trains. As a teenager and young adult I began traveling on the Kansas City Southern's Southern Belle between my hometown Minden, LA, and Baton Rouge or New Orleans mostly in coach. My first long distance train trip in 1965 was New Orleans to Chicago on the IC's City of New Orleans and Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder and I did feel a touch of "snobbery" as a Pullman passenger sitting in the red velvet sofa chairs on the full length dome car exclusively for sleeping car passengers.

 

[the Other Mike]

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

 

[roomette]

Everyone needs to know that "Aunty Gail" who started several other controversial topics which have been hidden/locked is the person who started this topic. If this one goes down hill, it will also be locked!

Everyone also needs to know that although it's entirely possible Aunty Gail is the author, another person at the same IP address might be responsible.

There may be an AU Mafia at work here operating out of some non-air conditioned boiler room. XD

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

Hello Mike, and welcome to sleepers anonymous. Before we get started would you mind telling us a little about yourself?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

Welcome to SSA (Sleeper Snobs Anonymous). :hi:

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

Hello Mike, and welcome to sleepers anonymous. Before we get started would you mind telling us a little about yourself?

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

Welcome to SSA (Sleeper Snobs Anonymous). :hi:

Egads! DA and I had the same thought! (I did not see DA's post before typing mine).

 

[the Other Mike]

Hello, my name is mike and I'm a sleeper snob :hi:

Hello Mike, and welcome to sleepers anonymous. Before we get started would you mind telling us a little about yourself?

I'm on my 8th step of sleepers anonymous and looking for the coffe pot at the top of the stairs. I remember the dark days when I rode coach with the great unwashed and complained about not being able to take my dog with me.

I always tip the "porter" when I board the sleepers as a bribe. Sometimes I eat in the diner, but sometimes I have eaten in my room. I bring full bottles of wine on my travels but only a "flask" of scotch

I love when boarding they yell out "First Class" and I get to ride the golf cart to my sleeper and I wave as I pass the people walking to their coach

I love the fact that my meals are included in my sleeper charge. I relish the moments when I figure out that between using Amsnag and eating the most expensive meals on the menue I end up paying less than $50 for for a room and celebrate with a nice long shower.

ALL ABOARD

 

[MrFSS]

Everyone needs to know that "Aunty Gail" who started several other controversial topics which have been hidden/locked is the person who started this topic. If this one goes down hill, it will also be locked!

Well that certainly explains a lot.

Yet people keep responding!

 

[Nathanael]

I've done Bedrooms once or twice with Cash, on the EB a few months ago the Bedroom was not even $70 more expensive than the roomette. It was at the lowest possible bucket and since I knew we'd be on the train for 2 nights it was very much worth it.

Well, at that price I'd get a Bedroom too! That doesn't usually happen when I look at the prices. Maybe I'll get lucky someday.

 

[amamba]

Everyone needs to know that "Aunty Gail" who started several other controversial topics which have been hidden/locked is the person who started this topic. If this one goes down hill, it will also be locked!

Well that certainly explains a lot.

Yet people keep responding!

Well I've reached the end of the internet so I need something to amuse me.

 

[TimePeace]

Even if the OP is the same person as the "10 Tips" laughable post, the original point in this thread is well taken.

I too ride sleeper sometimes, and coach sometimes. Nothing wrong with riding sleeper, and no one needs to justify doing so. If you can afford it, go for it.

Still, there IS snobbiness and contentiousness among some users here and I have noticed it for a long time. I've seen plenty of comments about "the great unwashed" etc. There are always those that feel the need to be "elite", and by gosh if ya can't feel elite when riding in "First Class" then when can you.

No need to explain why we like sleeper travel - an explanation is needed from those who need to feel superior to others. The ones least likely to offer an intelligent answer.

 

[ozbuc]

I'm certainly not one of those snobs. When I refer to the good people in coach to my wife I always refer to them as those good folks back in steerage.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I too think that Tom got it right, a Troll by any Other Name! I agree with the Posters on this Thread, Snobs are everywhere, Ive met wonderful people on LD Trains in Both Coach and Sleepers and Id say my Amtrak Trips are mostly in Coach but sure Love the Sleeping Cars and Dinner in the Diner which are Mostly AGR Award Trips due to Financial Circumstances! !

 

[EMDF9A]

When I am an overnight passenger, I HAVE to be in a sleeper. AMTRAK wont let me book an overnight trip in coach. I snore louder than a P42 climbing Marias Pass. To this day if I book a trip & give my AGR number they will direct me to a roomette. I had a conductor on the EB once move me from coach to a sleeper one night when too many people complained. That was in 1990. From that trip forward its a roomette.

 

[sunchaser]

I guess I'm SSA too! All kidding aside, our story is a little more complex. Coach would work if-

I could curtain off for privacy. Nobody wants to see me sleeping!

Everyone had earplugs. We snore!

If the chairs were completely flat. (Backs need flat beds.)

It took 3 years to get us on the train. Hubby wanted to go visit relatives he hadn't seen in 30 years. We paid full price for Bedrooms, two trains both ways. We saved the money up to go. Six weeks before we left, my only brother died of cancer. We took a plane out to help bury him, and that really, brought home how we really wanted ride the train instead. Our first trip was an 'okay' experience, with some issues and I really had to convince him to go again. It took another 3 years of saving AGR points. That was last year. This January, our middle daughter died of leukemia. She wanted us to take her child last year on our trip. I wanted to wait in case she got sick again while we were gone. This time, we are taking one of her children with us, using AGR points. We would not be able to afford any trips any other way. Still waiting for the 'hot tub car' and 'smoking lounge'! Yes, I'm a Sleeper Snob!

I have friends & relatives that think I'm a snob just for taking the train!!!!

 

[SarahZ]

How come Mike gets a golf cart?

I want a golf cart!

Is that a super special AGR award, or is it only for super cool people like Mike?

I want to be like Mike and ride in a golf cart so I can swill my champagne sooner and gallivant about the SSL before heading to my jacuzzi tub.

 

[sunchaser]

How come Mike gets a golf cart?
I want a golf cart!

Is that a super special AGR award, or is it only for super cool people like Mike?

I want to be like Mike and ride in a golf cart so I can swill my champagne sooner and gallivant about the SSL before heading to my jacuzzi tub.

We can all have a golf cart, sweetie. It's called a 'RedCap". Save some champagne for me... :lol:

 

[the Other Mike]

How come Mike gets a golf cart?
I want a golf cart!

Is that a super special AGR award, or is it only for super cool people like Mike?

I want to be like Mike and ride in a golf cart so I can swill my champagne sooner and gallivant about the SSL before heading to my jacuzzi tub.

The only time I got the golf cart was for the Sunset, never got it for the Crescent or CONO. I didn't even ask for it. Maybe they thought it would take me too long to walk to the front of the train ?

As for traveling by sleeper, I use a Cpap ( set at 19 ) and really need to be in a room so people don't kill me in the middle of the night for snoring without the machine.

 

[SarahZ]

I was just messing around. I thought you were joking and meant an actual golf cart, not the Red Cap cart.

 

[white rabbitt]

in a roomette u get unplanned music concerts

 

[the Other Mike]

I was just messing around. I thought you were joking and meant an actual golf cart, not the Red Cap cart.

uhhhhh, well, maybe it was the red cap "cart" but it was operated by someone in a tie and vest so I "thought" it was ..sumptin sthepical just for me, (like the Wells Fargo Wagon) (( wonder how many people will actually get that )) :unsure:

 

[the Other Mike]

in a roomette u get unplanned music concrts

Now THATS almost as good as the "sing alongs" in coach