Hi Jay,
I just rode it for the first time on Saturday (overnight) and Sunday, eastbound from Chicago to Charlottesville, VA. There was much good, a little bit of bad, and no ugly.
First, let's get the bad (on this particular trip) out of the way. The Cardinal is a little different from most long distance trains in that it does not have a full dining car/kitchen or full lounge car, only a combo lounge/cafe car which does not have a griddle Therefore, the Card's menu is more limited, and the omelets and burgers aren't freshly prepared as they are on other trains. While many here have said the food is nevertheless OK, on our trip no one at our table of four liked or ate much of their dinner. The short ribs have been recommended, but they had sold out of those. Neither the salmon nor the pasta selection was very good on this particular day. I was the only one at our table who had the continental breakfast, and it was good. Hard to mess up packaged Special K, cup of Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and a croissant! The others said their breakfast was just so-so, but better than dinner had been. At lunch on Saturday, we all had the entree salad (which included some cubed white chicken), and it was good--as was the cheesecake. One of our tablemates had ordered the burger at an earlier meal, and said it was prepackaged and microwaved inside the plastic. They ran out of several things, including iced tea even on the first night (??), and some of the soft drink selections the next day We also had the poorest dining service of any of our four trains on the Cardinal. The Cardinal usually runs with only one sleeper car but had two this time. Therefore the dining car attendant had more passengers to serve, but he was very slow and not well organized. He never offered dessert and we all had to ask for that. Those of us who chose only water for our beverage were brought a small bottle of room temperature water and not offered any ice for it. (This level of service is not the norm in my experience on other trains.) We all thought he must be new, but then found out he'd worked Amtrak for 25 years. So if you want something, you might need to ask for it if you get this particular attendant. I will add that the Cardinal has a reputation for good service, so our experience may be the exception and not the rule. Regardless, it wasn't that big a deal to us.
I don't mean to be discouraging about the Cardinal at all, but depending on how picky an eater you are, you might want to bring some of your own food. I may have also read on the forum that coach passengers don't always get to order from the "dining" menu on this train? The "cafe" menu has more snack type food and lower prices. And ours might have just been a freaky trip. Others here take the Card often and enjoy the food.
Food is included with sleeper fare, but not with coach. Menu prices are a little high for the quality (about $17 for pasta, $11 for a burger, etc.) You will probably be seated with other passengers in the cafe car, which is usually fun and a way to get to know some of your fellow passengers. You can bring food and drinks aboard. Your own alcohol can only be consumed in a sleeper unit, however. They sell beer ($5), wine, and perhaps some other alcoholic drinks.
The two of us had a roomette, which is very small for two but we managed fine in it. I don't know if you need or want any advice on sleeping accommodations or coach.
What is very GOOD about the Cardinal is the scenery along the New River, if you are on the correct side of the train!
(We were, in an odd-numbered roomette going eastbound.) The Viewliner sleepers, IME, seem to run with the bedrooms forward most of the time, but this isn't guaranteed. We were on the right-hand side of the train as you face forward in the direction of travel. Our sleeping car attendant was satisfactory but not as personable as some of them are. This was not a problem. We enjoyed our Cardinal adventure and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Our train departed and left on time or about on time. There is some very rough track on the short, aptly-named
Buckingham stretch of track, but unless you have medical issues it shouldn't be a problem. Our drinks were just dancing across the table a bit as we were rockin' and rollin' along!
The coaches and sleepers have big windows so it's easy to see the scenery. You can sit in the lounge side of the cafe car if there is a vacant seat if you choose to do so.
In general, I think the keys to enjoying travel on Amtrak are to have realistic expectations, a fairly laid-back attitude, and not have to absolutely be at your destination on time. Late trains are not unusual. We had no issues on our trip. There is a lot of info about the route and equipment on amtrak.com. Amsnag.net is a good website for comparing prices and accommodations on different dates. Amtrak's prices vary a lot depending on what has already been sold for each date.
Also be aware that the Cardinal, unlike most, only runs three days a week. The sleepers can sell out early. I'm not sure if that's also true for the coach seats.
Coach on Amtrak is nothing like coach in a plane! The seats are big and you have enough leg room. There are restrooms in each car, but no shower for coach passengers. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)
I'm not sure if I've responded in a helpful way to your post. If you have specific questions, please just ask. There are many here who are much, much more knowledgeable than I am, and they are very helpful.
Looking at your avatar, I can't imagine that the Cardinal would dish out anything that you can't easily handle. LOL We are two retired second grade teachers, and we did fine and had lots of fun. (Wish I had a photo of Amanda standing on top of our toilet to put on her makeup.) Enjoy your trip!
(There have probably been other replies while I'm writing this--I've had distractions and taken a while. Sorry if I've repeated info.)