Superliner roomette bottom berth configurations

I'll be taking the CZ solo from Chicago to EMY in November and it's my first time in a roomette. I've done it years before in coach and while I loved the ride, I didn't like the constant in and out of people boarding in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to having a bit more private space this time (and better meals!).

My question is - can the bottom bunk/berth be configured so that one seat is fully reclined/down while the other is not? Is there enough room to sit in the other seat in that case? I searched the forums but could not find anything on this. It's a bit odd, but I ask since I like to sit with my feet either elevated or crosslegged instead of down on the ground, but would like that option still available for the other seat if possible.

Alternately, is it comfortable to sit if I just have the SCA leave the bed made the whole trip? That headrest/wall situation doesn't look too comfortable but perhaps the pillows will be adequate? I'm also not sure if that would change the tipping situation...

iomarch said:

I'll be taking the CZ solo from Chicago to EMY in November and it's my first time in a roomette. I've done it years before in coach and while I loved the ride, I didn't like the constant in and out of people boarding in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to having a bit more private space this time (and better meals!).

My question is - can the bottom bunk/berth be configured so that one seat is fully reclined/down while the other is not? Is there enough room to sit in the other seat in that case? I searched the forums but could not find anything on this. It's a bit odd, but I ask since I like to sit with my feet either elevated or crosslegged instead of down on the ground, but would like that option still available for the other seat if possible.

Alternately, is it comfortable to sit if I just have the SCA leave the bed made the whole trip? That headrest/wall situation doesn't look too comfortable but perhaps the pillows will be adequate? I'm also not sure if that would change the tipping situation...

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I'm not totally clear about what you are asking. But, for what it is worth, I will offer my experience.

Even without one of the seats in a recline position, I am able to prop my legs/feet up on the opposite seat in the Superliner Roomette. To have one of the seats in a recline position and the other one not, there ought to be plenty of room for one to sit crosslegged.

To keep the Roomette in a night state, the situation with the headrest, even with pillows behind you, would become very uncomfortable very quickly in my opinion.

I hope this helps.

Trying to prop yourself up on pillows while the bottom bunk is in the nighttime position is wicked uncomfortable due to that headrest. I just sit up in bed and put my legs in the criss-cross-applesauce position. When I decide it's time to read myself to sleep, I lay down.

You really shouldn't need to put one seat down in order to keep your legs elevated. I'm 5'5", and I'm able to prop my feet up on the other seat when they're both in daytime mode. I like to scoot down a little, bend my knees, and put my feet against the edge of the other seat. (When I do this, I take my shoes off so I don't get the seat dirty.) If you're my height or even a bit shorter, you should be fine. My ex-boyfriend is 5'9", and he was able to rest his legs on one side of my seat while I propped my feet up on the other side of his seat. His feet weren't even close to touching the back of my seat. In fact, I have a friend who also rests his legs on the other seat, and he's about 6'0".

Since you are traveling alone, you do have a couple of options:

1) You can ask the SCA to keep the chairs in "daytime" mode and make up the top bunk for sleeping. That gives you more room to move around while getting dressed in the morning, and you can sit and read until you are ready to sleep. They will often take the mattress for the bottom bunk and put it on the top bunk for extra cushioning. If you are claustrophobic, you will hate the top bunk, which leads us to Option 2.

2) Ask the SCA to leave the top bunk in "daytime" mode. This allows for better air flow in the room and gives you more room to move around and get dressed. I either get dressed while kneeling/sitting on the bottom bunk, or I stand next to the bottom bunk. Either way, it prevents you from knocking your head and shoulders against the top bunk while trying to get ready and makes the room feel a bit bigger in general.

Sometimes I use the top bunk for storage. If I do that, I take my suitcase and stuff down in the morning, raise/shove the top bunk back to the "daytime" position, and then get dressed.

I found that with two extra pillows, it was comfortable to sit up in the bed. At least four pillows are needed to fill the space under the headrest, but only two are provided in Superliner Roomettes. Since extra pillows might not be available from the SCA, you might want to bring these. For daytime lounging, I have the SCA remove the bedding and then recline one of the seats slightly and put my feet up on the other seat.

I certainly can rest my feet on the other chair in a Superliner roomette when it is set up in daytime and have on many, many occasions.

When I get up in the morning, I often pull one end of the bed into a chair and leave the other down to get dressed, not wanting to bother wrestling both seats, but wanting a place to stand. I then leave the full make-up into daytime mode to the service attendant. You have a bit of floor space if you do that, although I cannot see why you'd want to leave the room in that mode for a long period of time.

I usually sit up awhile after the bed is down with the pillows stuffed behind me. It isn't great, but it all right.

Let the SCA do his job and put the room in daytime mode in the daytime, and night mode at night. You'll be a lot more comfortable.

I rarely if ever "recline" (they don't that much) either seat, and can easily put my legs on the opposite seat. I'm 6'0", and even do this with 2 in the roomette. (Both just stretch out with their legs to the opposite side of the opposite seat.)

When the beds are set, the headrest when there are seats slides down to become part of the base of the bed. Thus, with the beds down, there is a "hole" between the bed and the permanent headrest on the wall. This makes it uncomfortable to sit up in bed.

When I have traveled alone, I never had a problem resting my legs on the seat across from me. The seat doers recline slightly. At night sitting up in the bed is normally very uncomfortable. I bring something like a sweatshirt or sweater, to put behind my pillows which I try to double over.

I have put my carry on bag in the gap left by lowering the seat back to make the bed and then put both pillows over my bag to create a comfortable way to sit up in the lower bunk. Lately, I have found that riding the train is so soothing that I fall asleep soon after having the bed made and then sitting up with the lights out. Always sleep well.

Both Superliner and Viewliner roomettes can be configured with the 'far' seat flat and the seat you are in reclined to the max, if desired. That'll leave about 5" gap between the two seats. I call it my 'chaise lounge' configuration. I can put my feet up or on the floor, as desired.

For what it's worth, due to stomach problems, I have to sleep with my body somewhat inclined, so the chaise lounge position is how I do it, plus a couple of 'roll up' (compressible) pillows I found on Amazon. For years, I just let the 2" 'mattress pad' slowly drop through the slot during the night. I finally hit upon the solution. I travel with a 21" rolling suitcase, until recently, a two-wheeled version. I now have a 4-wheel version. The key is that the 21" case will fit UNDER the seats in both types of cars. After I've removed all hangable clothing and whatever else I will want during the trip, I lay the case on the floor under the 'gap'. Then, using a combination of 3 inflatable pillows (also found on Amazon), 1 laid flat, the other two vertical, fill the 'gap'. The mattress pad goes on top. It works like a charm! And, for what it's worth, I generally leave the roomette in that configuration until about 60-90 minutes from my destination to give the attendant lots of time to make up the room before arrival.

Tennessee Traveler said:

I have put my carry on bag in the gap left by lowering the seat back to make the bed and then put both pillows over my bag to create a comfortable way to sit up in the lower bunk.

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I've done the same thing and can confirm it works well, at least for my purposes.

Bratkinson said:

Both Superliner and Viewliner roomettes can be configured with the 'far' seat flat and the seat you are in reclined to the max, if desired. That'll leave about 5" gap between the two seats. I call it my 'chaise lounge' configuration. I can put my feet up or on the floor, as desired.

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I do the chaise lounge thing sometimes.

While on the Crescent, I got cozy on my chaise lounge and started nodding off. As he walked by, one of the servers from the dining car popped his head in and said, "Oh, you put the seats in nap mode, huh?"

I thought I was going to get in trouble or something, but he said, "If you're going to nap like that, you need to do it properly." Then he (I kid you not) grabbed a couple extra pillows and used those and my two pillows to make a nest of sorts. He didn't touch me or act untoward, and I was highly amused that he was, basically, tucking me in for a nap. ^_^

It was pretty comfy. I should have had him take a picture so I could remember what he did.

One time on a long haul flight I fell asleep in regular seat mode and woke up tucked in bed mode. I have no idea how the attendant managed to accomplish that. I don't remember being bothered by it so much as confused as to what had happened and how. :blink: