bedroom reservation on Empire Builder

Taking Empire Builder from Wisconsin to Glacier National Park.

Quick question - if your reservation is for a bedroom, are you expected to remain in the bedroom, or does the reservation include a coach seat?

Thanks.

Your receipt will show a rail fare in addition to the fare for the bedroom.

The rail fare is a coach fare, however that does not mean you are guaranteed a seat in a coach car.

But they won't mind at all if you sit in an un-occupied coach seat from time to time.

Most sleeper passengers wanting to sit somewhere outside their sleeper accommodation sit in the SSL (Sightseer Lounge) car because it has bigger windows.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Amtrak+sightseer+lounge+car&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS553US553&oq=Amtrak+sightseer+lounge+car&aqs=chrome..69i57.16225j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Having a sleeper berth allows you access to every car behind the baggage car so you are free to move around.

Seating in the SSL car is first come/first served, and leaving something in the seat while you go elsewhere, like to the bathroom, does not 'hold' the seat for you.

But common sense applies. If I see a man and woman obviously traveling together and one of them gets up to go to the bathroom or the Café, I'm not going to sit in the vacated seat.

Thank you KmH!

A little more information - we would be a party of 3, but one of the 3 would just have a coach reservation (the other 2 would have a bedroom). Wondering if all 3 of us would have any problem sitting together, either in the SSL or a regular coach car.

In the SSL, no problem. But again, seating is first come, first served. However most times you won't have any problem.

In a coach seat, you may have a problem finding 3 seats together. Another option is to invite the 3rd person to sit with you in your bedroom. (Be sure to let your Sleeping Car Attendant [sCA] know what's going on. Coach passengers are normally not allowed to roam around in the sleeping cars. Some SCA's will not allow this, but many will. Especially if it's for a short time. You may need to "escort" them to your room.)

the_traveler said:

Another option is to invite the 3rd person to sit with you in your bedroom. (Be sure to let your Sleeping Car Attendant [sCA] know what's going on. Coach passengers are normally not allowed to roam around in the sleeping cars. Some SCA's will not allow this, but many will. Especially if it's for a short time. You may need to "escort" them to your room.)

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That's the reason I said to let the SCA know and that you may have to escort them!

Mostly the Amtrak staff are fairly ok with you having a visitor to your sleeping accomodation, if you explain the situation. Otherwise you can sit in the viewing lounge/cafe car together. If seats are unused in the coach section, you can also sit there. Folk tend to spread out in coach, so finding 3 seats together may not be so easy.

Pretty much repeating what others have said... but don't be too put off by the "rules and regulations" brigade...

Ed.

https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Accommodation_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241210576259

Our Superliner Bedroom is ideal for two passengers, but can accommodate three (two passengers must share the lower berth

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The coach ticket can be changed to an "Open Sleeper" ticket - for no additional charge - and added to your Bedroom reservation, also at no additional charge.

Call Amtrak to "Modify" (say Modify, not change) your reservation

Plus, doing so would include other sleeper passenger perks, like use of the shower in the bedroom or the shower on the lower level, and meals in the dining car for the 3rd person as part of the original Bedroom accommodation charge.

Then there would be no question regarding the 3 of you being together in your Bedroom accommodation.

The 3rd person could sleep in an unoccupied coach seat instead of in the Bedroom, if desired.

the_traveler said:

In the SSL, no problem. But again, seating is first come, first served. However most times you won't have any problem.

In a coach seat, you may have a problem finding 3 seats together. Another option is to invite the 3rd person to sit with you in your bedroom. (Be sure to let your Sleeping Car Attendant [sCA] know what's going on. Coach passengers are normally not allowed to roam around in the sleeping cars. Some SCA's will not allow this, but many will. Especially if it's for a short time. You may need to "escort" them to your room.)

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Does this answer change at all if the 2 passengers w/ sleeper berths are in a family bedroom? For some reason, the family bedroom is less expensive than the bedroom on the train I'm looking at.

Thanks.

The answer is the same regardless of room type. You get a room, not a coach seat. Non-sleeper passengers aren't allowed in the sleeping cars, regardless of what type of room they claim to be visiting.

Visit together in the SSL, or ticket the third person for your room.

Ryan said:

The answer is the same regardless of room type. You get a room, not a coach seat. Non-sleeper passengers aren't allowed in the sleeping cars, regardless of what type of room they claim to be visiting.

Visit together in the SSL, or ticket the third person for your room.

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Can you explain what you mean by "ticket the third person for your room"? On the amtrak web site, you're only allowed 2 adults in a bedroom.

Thanks for all your help!

If you call, you can put a third person in the room.

Maximum room capacities available by phone (basically, they want to have the chance to say "hey, this room is really small, be warned!" before you book):



If you want to get crazy, you can also call up and ask for "non-berth service" - basically you promise to not put the beds down and just use the space as a private room with chairs. But, it'll let you put more into the room:

Jeff said:

Ryan said:

The answer is the same regardless of room type. You get a room, not a coach seat. Non-sleeper passengers aren't allowed in the sleeping cars, regardless of what type of room they claim to be visiting.

Visit together in the SSL, or ticket the third person for your room.

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Can you explain what you mean by "ticket the third person for your room"? On the amtrak web site, you're only allowed 2 adults in a bedroom.

Thanks for all your help!

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Post #8 explains how to "ticket the 3rd person for your room".
The family room has 2 adult size beds, 2 child size beds, but no bathroom/shower like a bedroom has.

The window in the Family room is half the size of the Bedroom and you are on the lower level. I would suggest keeping the bedroom and adding the third person to the room so they get their meals and all other sleeper amenities.

Lonestar648 said:

The window in the Family room is half the size of the Bedroom and you are on the lower level. I would suggest keeping the bedroom and adding the third person to the room so they get their meals and all other sleeper amenities.

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Good points, I should have mentioned.

Just keep in mind, since I'm not sure if it's clear in the previous posts: if you add a third person to your bedroom, that person no longer has a coach seat. Their "seat" is in the bedroom. That may work fine for a day trip, but it might be more cozy than you like at night.

Also, I've never had an issue with a coach-ticketed friend visiting me in a sleeper. Just give your sleeping car attendant the heads up early in the trip, be respectful of the other sleeper passengers, and when dining be crystal clear with the server who is ticketed for the sleeper and who is ticketed (and paying for their meal) in coach.

The person who might be visiting you in your bedroom, probably should not totally hang out in your room. One they should check back to their seat every so often just to keep track of their things. It is also a good reason to visit in your bedroom when the SSL lounge is full so there isn't space for the three of you to sit. Many SCA's will be agreeable, especially if your bedroom is close to the DC, meaning that your guest will not have to walk past many of the rooms.

Several years ago, my wife and I were traveling Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight. My sister and nephew were traveling with us as far as Portland, and I asked the SCA if they could stay in our Bedroom. He opened the partition and gave us a suite to use!

That is surprising he could do that since the EB almost always has the bedrooms sold out. Also, using unused revenue space, the conductor had to have known. I hope you tipped the SCA very well.

To the OP: When comparing the Family Room against a Superliner Bedroom, be aware that the adult berths in both rooms are virtually identical. The upper berth is 28" wide in both, while the lower berth is 40" wide, or an inch wider than a standard twin bed. If you have two traveling together who would be willing to share a single twin bed for a night (such as my then-12 year old nephew and 9 year old niece 5 years ago) and a third for the upper, no problem. The child berths in the Family Room are much too small for most adults; they're only 4'9" long. However, if one of your party is a very small adult and can curl up into a sub-5-foot-long berth, the Family Room would allow everyone to have their own berth.

If you can at all squeeze into either the Bedroom or the Family room without ruining the trip for one of your number, I think that you would all enjoy the trip better traveling together in the sleeper. However, if more than one of you is a 'person of size', the Amtrak coach seats are large and comfortable and it would be better to have one of you there than crowded into a less-than-restful situation.

To Maglev and Lonestar: Last September on our Railfan Madness Part II trip, our initial leg from Houston to New Orleans was booked in a day Bedroom. When we mentioned that my mother had slept poorly the night before and asked to have the upper berth made down so that she could rest, our sleeping car attendant opened up the empty adjacent bedroom and let her use it up until dinner time. Yes, we did tip him!