OUR 1ST TRIP

[rbugs]

We are going to take our 1st trip across from Boston to Salt Lake City and have a few questions.

What is protocol for tipping stewards and wait staff in the dining car

Do the bedrooms have tv or radio

Is there electrical power in the bedrooms

Is there internet access

Any other help that would make the trip better would be appreciated

ROD

 

[Guest_guest]

My experience with the tipping is to tip as much (or as little) as you feel is necessary. Obviously, good service deserves something, and, likewise, poor service deserves nothing.

I know that the Superliner bedrooms do not have TV or radio; someone else will have to answer regarding the Viewliner bedrooms.

The last Superliner roomette I traveled in had one electrical outlet for use, not recessed, so that a laptop charger, phone charger, etc could plug directly into it. However, I would bring along a short extension cord just to be on the safe side.

Internet access is not available on the trains. You may be lucky enough to connect to an unsecured wireless network somewhere along the route, but, if you do so, you will lose it just as quickly as you got it.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

My experience with the tipping is to tip as much (or as little) as you feel is necessary. Obviously, good service deserves something, and, likewise, poor service deserves nothing. I know that the Superliner bedrooms do not have TV or radio; someone else will have to answer regarding the Viewliner bedrooms.

The last Superliner roomette I traveled in had one electrical outlet for use, not recessed, so that a laptop charger, phone charger, etc could plug directly into it. However, I would bring along a short extension cord just to be on the safe side.

Internet access is not available on the trains. You may be lucky enough to connect to an unsecured wireless network somewhere along the route, but, if you do so, you will lose it just as quickly as you got it.

Viewliners have no tv or radio those got taken out a while ago.

 

[yarrow]

no internet. bring an extension cord to plug into the outlet as they are hard to fit an adapter into. as far as tipping, i wondered about that before our first long distance trip but found that the level of service recieved(and seeing what others in the dining car tip)will dictate the tip. a lot of the amtrak people i have run into do a wonderfully professional job.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

First off, welcome to the forum rbugs. Second, give the "search" button a try at the bottom of the main page. You will find numerous discussions about all of the questions you have asked, especially about tipping and extra info.

 

[TransAtlantic]

re: tipping, for most meals, a tip of 1 or 2 dollars per diner is perfectly acceptable for your server - stewards are NOT tipped (and they know it!) when working the dining car; if the service is exceptional, or if the food is particularly good (the servers usually tip out the kitchen staff), you can go higher, particularly at dinner (a large beef entree with a cash value of 20 or so dollars should probably merit a 3 to 4 dollar tip per person, as long as it was served promptly and with professionalism); if you should have drinks or snacks in the lounge car (which are not included in your roomette cost), generally one should tip as in a bar, something like a dollar per order; also, especially if they keep you well informed and well taken care of, don't forget to tip your sleeper car attendants! those tips vary a lot, but think in terms of 10 to 20 dollars per night (less for indifferent service, more for outstanding); they should be keeping you supplied with coffee and other beverages, and should be making up your room reasonably promptly - also, they can bring meals to your room if you don't want to eat with strangers (and in this case, just add to your room tip rather than tipping at each meal period)

 

[RailFanLNK]

Welcome Rbugs. Do NOT plan to be on time. Its not Amtrak's fault but the fault of the "host" railroad that Amtrak is riding on. Take your watch and stick it in your luggage and be done with it until you get to SLC. I purposely carried small bills so that I would have "instantly" tipping money for the service employees. To me (this is only my opinion) Amtrak is a little "punk rock". Its not sleek, or fancy, its different, not a whole lot of people know much about it , but gosh its alot of fun!!!! (remember, the Ramones were punk and they were COOL!!!) I went on my first trip in March, and will be going from Lincoln NE to Glenwood Springs CO this upcoming weekend just for the "heck" of it. Do your homework! It sounds like you are already. A good book is Amtraking, The Guide To Enjoyable Train Travel by Mauris Emeka. You can get it used at Barnes and Noble.com.

 

[Guest]

We are going to take our 1st trip across from Boston to Salt Lake City and have a few questions.

Rod,

First, surf on over to On-track-on-line's Amtrak Travel Tips. Highly recommended for a newbie -- probably all of the questions you've mentioned are answered there.

Second: I agree with Railrookie. Take your watch, and stick it into the luggage until you hit SLC. Amtrak LD trains are chronically late, so much so that it's a pleasant surprise when you arrive on time. Relax. See America as you won't see it from the interstate highways. The train will get you There eventually. I wouldn't make any plans within the hour or two you're supposed to arrive. If family or friends are to meet you at the station, tell them to check on the train status by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL. This way, if your train is running hours late, they at least can sit at home instead of at the station. I wish I could be more positive, but if I were, I'd have to lie to you. As long as you don't set your expectations too high, or turn on those "Type A" personality traits, I think you'll have a good trip.

You may wish to head to Amtrak.com's "Train Status" feature on their homepage to begin to get a feel for just how the trains you're taking are running to schedule. Some days it's quite good; other day's it's not-so-good.

I tell many people who ask me about Amtrak service that it's "quirky." There are many, many dedicated Amtrak employees who honestly care about providing you with an excellent trip. At the same time, there are a few "bad apples", truly negative employees, who will give you the tendency to swear off intercity train travel in the USA permanently. Smile to the train crew whether they're nice or not-so-nice; try to get their names if possible, and after your trip, call 1-800-USA-RAIL to give the Customer Service folks some feedback, good or bad.

Also when you're done, please come back here and post how your trip went to the "Trip Reports" part of the forum. Everyone's report helps us keep track of just how well Amtrak LD trains are doing, service-wise.

 

[RailFanLNK]

I talked to a conductor at Amtrak before my first trip. His EXACT words were, "expect nothing from us, plan for the worse, plan to have everything go wrong, because we are like the airlines sometimes and have trips from ****, and if you do that, and nothing goes wrong, I think you will end up having a great time with us, you will love riding the rails and you will become a new regular customer." He couldn't have said it better. My girlfriend and I did just that and we ended up having a blast! BTW, I just got my new Amtrak t-shirt today via UPS. Can't wait to wear it!

 

[AmtrakFan]

Yes don't expect much expect Being LATE but enjoy the trip and always have fun!