Coast Starlight trip

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[SIZE=14pt]Hello – suggestions, advice, or recommendations about Coast Starlight trip. This is the first time I’ve posted on this board.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]We’ re an active couple in our late 60’s, who would like to take this trip in about 6 months to a year from now, as a possible precursor to doing a coast to coast along the Canadian border. We have only taken Amtrak once before, from Irvine to San Diego. Our goal is to leave Los Angeles, and eventually arrive at Mt. Vernon Station, north of Seattle, where we will be meet by friends, who live in Anacortes, WA. We hope to have a compartment with a toilet and shower ( not sure the proper name for this). [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]From what we’ve learned so far, this train will arrive in Seattle station at about 8:40 PM, without a connecting train till next day to go farther north. We’re looking at other options to complete this trip on that day. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Car rentals seem to be closed by this time with the exception of the Airport at SEATAC.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Wondering if anyone knows of a simple way of making that trip to the airport from either the Portand or Seattle Amtrac station. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Or of a nice but not too expensive hotel in Seattle or Portland to stay the night before carrying on ?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Or any other transportation options we may have overlooked to get to the Mt. Vernon station or all the way to Anacortes, WA. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Any other comments to help increase our enjoyment factor would be appreciated.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Thank you.[/SIZE]
 
Don't know what to suggest. My wife and I just did the trip - LA to Seattle and back with an Alaskan cruise in between. We had a sleeper bedroom which was purchased with points from the Amtrak Guest Rewards program. Service was great, enjoyed the company of some interesting people in the diner. Although as sleeper passengers we could have had meals in the Pacific Parlour Car (PPC), we had our meals in the diner as my wife couldn't fit into the PPC seat/tables.

Both of our Sleeping Car Attendants (SCA) were very good responsive and helpful. We typically are very "low maintenance" with regard to sleeper accommodations (I would put the upper berth down when I was ready (late) and made very few requests of the SCAs. The dining car staffs were great as well.

On our most recent trips on the Coast Starlight, timekeeping was very good with somewhat early arrivals at the end points.
 
Although as sleeper passengers we could have had meals in the Pacific Parlour Car (PPC), we had our meals in the diner as my wife couldn't fit into the PPC seat/tables.

Both of our Sleeping Car Attendants (SCA) were very good responsive and helpful. We typically are very "low maintenance" with regard to sleeper accommodations (I would put the upper berth down when I was ready (late) and made very few requests of the SCAs. The dining car staffs were great as well.

On our most recent trips on the Coast Starlight, timekeeping was very good with somewhat early arrivals at the end points.

This is pretty spot on. The PPC reservations for dinner last night were full before they got to our sleeper. We had a couple of super SCAs (my sister & my mom were in the next car from me) Julio and Lupe. The scenery from PDX to SAC was amazing and the timekeeping was perfect with an on-time departure from PDX and we were in SAC about 20 minutes early. We're currently in SAC awaiting the CZ #6 headed back towards CHI.
 
I don't think I would pay $ 400-$500 extra to have a toilet and shower in my room. The shower downstairs is just fine and there is 1 toilet upstairs to compliment the 4 downstairs.

The roomette meets most couples needs.

My suggestion would be to take the Coast Starlight only to PDX (Portland Oregon) and rent a car downtown about 3:30 to 4PM for your drive up to Anacordes. Car rentals are cheaper downtown than out at the PDX airport. You can get out to the airport by riding the TriMet red line to the end if you miss the open time for downtown car rental.

I would wait for April to take this trip instead of February due to the risk of snow.
 
If you need to get to Anacortes that day, I agree with the suggestion to go to Portland and rent a car. If you can overnight, then I'd suggest going all the way to Seattle to get full enjoyment of the Starlight, then rent a car to get to Anacortes or take either 510 (morning) or 516 (afternoon) to Mt. Vernon. Not sure about the public transportation options out of Mt. Vernon to Anacortes, but there probably are some.

Roomettes can be quite tight for two adults who aren't expecting it. The entire room is about 3' x 6', and the upper bunk does not have any windows and doesn't have a lot of vertical clearance, so if you go with a roomette, be prepared for the tight space. Another alternative that I frequently suggest is TWO roomettes. Most of the time two roomettes is still cheaper than a bedroom. Both people have lowers, and you can reserve through the reservation line and arrange to have the roomettes across the hall from each other. That way you can visit, sit in either roomette, and have views available out of both sides of the train.
 
The bedroom (larger compartment with toilet and shower) is a great way to go, but two roomettes across from each other is also a good way to ride. One big advantage of the latter is that you are guaranteed to have a window on the scenic (western) side of the train no matter which direction your car is oriented. I would not recommend sharing a single roomette for your first long-distance trip in sleeper; as has been noted the rooms are very tiny and while you certainly can share them they are tight for two adults. If you take the trip with two roomettes and decide that sharing one is doable, then you can certainly make that arrangement for your next sleeper trip.

One note: If you want a Parlor Car seat for the very scenic run along the coast up to Santa Barbara, be sure that you grab it ASAP as you board because every other sleeper passenger on the train will have the same idea!

Getting from Seattle to Vancouver: The bus may be faster, but from the train you get some spectacular scenery and it's a very comfortable ride. You also bypass the highway backup at the border crossing (we saw it from the train...it was very congested; looked like an hour's wait at minimum). We took the day trip SEA-VAC-SEA and enjoyed it thoroughly. I recommend that you stay overnight in Seattle and catch the northbound Cascade the next morning. There are two good hotels very near the Amtrak station...the Best Western Pioneer Square and the Marriott Courtyard Downtown/Pioneer Square...but both of them are rather pricy. Invest in a $10 cab ride and you can stay overnight at the Mediterranean Inn north of downtown near the Space Needle; we found the hotel convenient, affordable and very clean.

Enjoy your trip; I found the Coast Starlight to be spectacular.

ETA: Whoops, I missed your statement about staying with friends in Anacortes. It appears that, unless you're willing to stay overnight and catch the next day's Empire Builder to Everett, you should probably look at renting a car.
 
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ETA: Whoops, I missed your statement about staying with friends in Anacortes. It appears that, unless you're willing to stay overnight and catch the next day's Empire Builder to Everett, you should probably look at renting a car.
As the OP mentioned, Mt. Vernon is the more logical stop for Anacortes, and Mt. Vernon is served by 2 Cascades service trains each day in each direction, one morning and one afternoon.
 
As the OP seems to be aware, Amtrak Cascades train #510, leaving at 7:20am, stops in Mt. Vernon WA at 9:01am. From there, it looks like a couple of Skagit Transit buses, #615 from Mt Vernon to March's Point transit Center, and #410 from March's Point to Anacortes, will do the trick.

Yes, It takes longer by public transit, but I can see that the #615 bus takes the scenic route through historic and scenic La Conner, and some of us prefer to more relaxed approach to traveling that public transit provides. I LIKE leaving the driving to someone else so I can enjoy the view.

A couple of years ago, I arrived in Seattle via the Amtrak Cascades, then took a Community Transit (Snohomish County) bus to the Mukilteo ferry dock, the ferry to Whidbey Island, an Island Transit bus up the island, stayed with friends near Anacortes and got a ride next day (they were going that way anyway, so we could visit a business we both patronized) to where I coud catch Community Transit back into Seattle. You can get almost everywhere in the Puget Sound area by public transit if you want to. But it's up to you if you want to do it that way. Some people prefer to rent cars and drive (even Amtrak riders, LOL!), and some of us prefer to let someone else do the driving. I obviously belong in the latter group.

Sorry to get into such a long philosophical discussion, but the OP specifically asked about public transit, and so many of the responeses said "just rent a car."
 
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Your trip sounds wonderful!

I'm not familiar with the route and can only offer thoughts on the type of accommodations. I just traveled on my first Superliner (double-decker) train, the type you'll be on. We had a bedroom (the kind of sleeper unit that has its own small bathroom and shower). On our return trip, we had roomettes (smaller unit, no bathroom on Superliners), but ours were on the single level Viewliner trains.

I would agree that one roomette on either type of train is very tight for two adults, especially if this is your first experience with them. You'd only have a view out of one side of the train, and which side cannot be predicted. My friend, who is slender and fairly short, had some difficulty getting into the upper bunk, and she could not sit upright on the top bunk on the Superliner. There is no window up there, and very little headroom. (The upper bunk on the single level trains is much better and was fine, but that doesn't pertain to your trip.) Personally, I like having my own private bathroom in the unit, but two roomettes across the aisle from each other might be a better choice unless you are sure the upper bunk won't be a problem for one of you. Also, there is almost no available floor space in a roomette, especially when in nighttime configuration. They are small, but doable for most as long as you know what to expect.

With one bedroom unit, you do have some view out the opposite side of the train through the aisle windows, but two roomettes across from each other would give you closer views out either side, and you'd each have a lower bunk for sleeping. The downside is that you would not have your own bathroom or shower.

It would be helpful to go to amtrak.com and look at the pictures of each type of sleeping unit on the Superliner train, as well as the layout of each floor of the car. Having accurate expectations is probably the key. All of them are likely a little smaller than what most people might imagine. My friend and I had no real problems with them, though, and did fine in both types of accommodations.

Also, if your dates are at all flexible, amsnag.net is a great website for comparing fares and availability of different accommodations on different dates. Amtrak's prices vary a lot depending on how much space has already been sold. You can't book through that site, but it's a good way to compare prices for different dates. As you probably know, there is only one room charge which covers both passengers, but each passenger pays the lowest rail fare. There is a senior discount on the rail fares. All your meals in the dining car, except for alcohol, are included with your sleeper fare.

Others here can answer almost any questions you might have. Best wishes for a pleasant trip!
 
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Another vote for 2 roomettes. We have done the CS 7+ times. The first time was the bedroom, but from then on 2 roomettes. This way no one needs to sleep on the top bunk ... no climbing! As said, you have views from both sides of the train, but can still sit together when you like. The shower downstairs is much better than the bedroom shower, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, 2 of our northbound CS LAX-SEA arrived into SEA extremely late. Once after 130 AM and once after 1200 AM. I would also suggest getting off in Portland to spend the night. We have always been lucky with Priceline for hotels.
 
I'd probably recommend the "stay overnight" option, either in Portland or Seattle. Staying in Seattle would let you take the early train north and get to Mt. Vernon by 9 AM.

If you don't want to do that, however, "rent a car in downtown Portland" is a good option if you can stand the drive.

If that drive is too far for you, you can get from Seattle to SeaTac on Link Light Rail, but it's a bit of a backtrack. There's also the Sound Transit #574 bus from Tacoma to SeaTac. Your only other reasonable option for getting to SeaTac is a taxi.
 
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Thank you to all who responded to our question. The insightful comments were very much appreciated, and will be reflected when we make our reservations. You all have been very gracious !

Thanks again
 
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