sitting together

Hi. I'm boarding the train tomorrow in St. Paul, going to St. Joe, MI. I'll be traveling with my two young children, together with my sister. I understand that our tickets for "reserved" coach seats on the train don't mean that we actually have our own assigned seats (like on an airplane). So I'm a little nervous about getting four seats together... an arrangement that would make things considerably easier for an 8-hour journey with small children. What should I expect? Any helpful hints? Thanks!

jmeldredge said:

Hi. I'm boarding the train tomorrow in St. Paul, going to St. Joe, MI. I'll be traveling with my two young children, together with my sister. I understand that our tickets for "reserved" coach seats on the train don't mean that we actually have our own assigned seats (like on an airplane). So I'm a little nervous about getting four seats together... an arrangement that would make things considerably easier for an 8-hour journey with small children. What should I expect? Any helpful hints? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Ususally the car attendants will reserve seats for together for families. I am pretty sure they will do their best to accomadate you.

printman2000 said:

jmeldredge said:

Hi. I'm boarding the train tomorrow in St. Paul, going to St. Joe, MI. I'll be traveling with my two young children, together with my sister. I understand that our tickets for "reserved" coach seats on the train don't mean that we actually have our own assigned seats (like on an airplane). So I'm a little nervous about getting four seats together... an arrangement that would make things considerably easier for an 8-hour journey with small children. What should I expect? Any helpful hints? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Ususally the car attendants will reserve seats for together for families. I am pretty sure they will do their best to accomadate you.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your help!

jmeldredge said:

Hi. I'm boarding the train tomorrow in St. Paul, going to St. Joe, MI. I'll be traveling with my two young children, together with my sister. I understand that our tickets for "reserved" coach seats on the train don't mean that we actually have our own assigned seats (like on an airplane). So I'm a little nervous about getting four seats together... an arrangement that would make things considerably easier for an 8-hour journey with small children. What should I expect? Any helpful hints? Thanks!

Click to expand...

While nothing is guaranteed until you actually sit down and have your tickets collected, you can throw the odds in your favor by calling Reservations today, give them your reservation number, and have them mark your reservation with a request to be seated together. If your coach attendant (kind of like a flight attendant) is on the ball, they will see that note when they review their paperwork and will probably block some seats off for you. It's not uncommon to see rows of seats blocked off with "Reserved for Families" signs on the train, and having a special note put on your reservation goes a long way toward making that happen.

Note that the above applies to the Empire Builder portion of your trip (St. Paul to Chicago). When you board your train to St. Joe (which will be the Pere Marquette), there won't be a coach attendant to block those seats off for you, unfortunately. You will have an advantage, however, by boarding in Chicago, the point of origin for that train, so if you're close to the front of the line for boarding, you should have your veritable pick of the litter when you get on board. If by some chance you don't get seats together on the Pere Marquette, the conductor is who you'll want to talk to to see if he can arrange some seat swapping.

-Rafi

Also, if you do not see 3 or 4 seats together, but you may see 2, if you ASK the person in that seat, they may move to allow a family to sit together. (Most people would. )

the_traveler said:

... if you ASK the person in that seat, they may move to allow a family to sit together. (Most people would. )

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Or just sit your two kids next to the people, and instruct the kids "to not bother the nice people too much, your aunt and I will be in the quiet car resting if you need us".

If these people haven't moved before, they certainly will now. h34r:

Walt said:

the_traveler said:

... if you ASK the person in that seat, they may move to allow a family to sit together. (Most people would. )

Click to expand...

Or just sit your two kids next to the people, and instruct the kids "to not bother the nice people too much, your aunt and I will be in the quiet car resting if you need us".

If these people haven't moved before, they certainly will now. h34r:

Click to expand...

Very good ideas! ;-D

I did call and put in a request to be seated together. It was good to know exactly what to ask for, as the agent was pretty abrupt and initially said it wasn't possible. It helped to say I know it's only a request, but I'd still like a note made -- just in case it is possible

Thanks so much!

Walt said:

the_traveler said:

... if you ASK the person in that seat, they may move to allow a family to sit together. (Most people would. )

Click to expand...

Or just sit your two kids next to the people, and instruct the kids "to not bother the nice people too much, your aunt and I will be in the quiet car resting if you need us".

If these people haven't moved before, they certainly will now. h34r:

Click to expand...

Sneaky! But Good!

jmeldredge said:

I did call and put in a request to be seated together. It was good to know exactly what to ask for, as the agent was pretty abrupt and initially said it wasn't possible. It helped to say I know it's only a request, but I'd still like a note made -- just in case it is possible

Click to expand...

Excellent! This is a good start. The next thing is to be sure you are near the front of the line for boarding, then when boarding tell the crew member that you would like to be seated together (if a crew member is assigning seats at boarding). Otherwise, first on gets first choice.

Often they ask for families with young children to board first, before the rest of the crowd. This would certainly help to put you at the front of the line for getting the seats you want.

Rafi said:

If your coach attendant (kind of like a flight attendant) is on the ball, they will see that note when they review their paperwork and will probably block some seats off for you. It's not uncommon to see rows of seats blocked off with "Reserved for Families" signs on the train, and having a special note put on your reservation goes a long way toward making that happen.

Click to expand...

I am surprised that simply having a group of tickets under the same reservation number, would not trigger something similar. I mean, it should be rather simple for the computer to automatically mark off such, on the paperwork.

BTW, back to the OP's concern, yea, I have had the same concern too. My last trip, there was only one group of seats left, in both directions. One group is enough, but that was too close for comfort.

Rafi said:

Note that the above applies to the Empire Builder portion of your trip (St. Paul to Chicago). When you board your train to St. Joe (which will be the Pere Marquette), there won't be a coach attendant to block those seats off for you, unfortunately. You will have an advantage, however, by boarding in Chicago, the point of origin for that train, so if you're close to the front of the line for boarding, you should have your veritable pick of the litter when you get on board. If by some chance you don't get seats together on the Pere Marquette, the conductor is who you'll want to talk to to see if he can arrange some seat swapping.

Click to expand...

Generally in Chicago, but not always, the will make an announcement just prior to the general boarding announcement for those with small children to come to the head of tjhe line. So that should help you to get seats together on the Pere Marquette.