Any recent Coast Starlight Business Class reviews?

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NativeSon5859

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I'll be taking Business Class from EMY to SEA in about two weeks. Has anyone tried out this service recently and if so, would you say it's a better experience that regular coach? I've ridden in Business Class on the Crescent twice, and about the only truly positive thing that I can say was that I was basically guaranteed a pair of seats to myself. Assuming that to be the case here, but who knows?

Thanks!
 
I rode the Business Class car returning from the Gathering from Portland to San Luis Obispo in early October. It was essentially the same car as a regular coach, but I did have two seats to myself ( don’t believe that is guaranteed, though ), the car was neat and clean, and the young lady who was the attendant was very sweet. As an overnight in coach goes, it was a pleasant trip.

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I asked that question back in January, the response was that it's inconsistent. It can be very pleasant or it can be meh.
 
IMHO it's only worthwhile if each passenger has two seats to themselves. If it fills up to the point that singles are moved around to accommodate families then it's not worth the supplement.

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I'll be taking Business Class from EMY to SEA in about two weeks. Has anyone tried out this service recently and if so, would you say it's a better experience that regular coach? I've ridden in Business Class on the Crescent twice, and about the only truly positive thing that I can say was that I was basically guaranteed a pair of seats to myself. Assuming that to be the case here, but who knows?

Thanks!
I didn't take business class but I was on the Coast Starlight in December. We ate twice with passengers who were traveling in business class. Both the ladies said it was better than coach. I've got one or two pictures of the car and seats from the trip here: http://seat38a.com/amtrak-coast-starlight-in-roomette-day-2/

The seats are essentially same as coach but leather. I did notice that the business class car was much more crowded when the route overlaps with the corridor train like the Surfliner. You may have a situation where you have two seats to yourself except between PDX and SEA.
 
So, a fully leather-seated BC Superliner does exist...

I'm interested in knowing how many of these cars were converted in such a manner. My two experiences with Coast Starlight Business Class had me in a normal Superliner coach (normal coach seating on both levels) on one trip and a split-converted coach (leather seats on lower level, normal cloth coach seats upstairs) on the second trip.

Like everything on Amtrak, the only consistent thing you can count on is inconsistency.
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Aside from the possibility of getting a single seat or a double seat to yourself, and minimal other perks, the best thing -- this is really important to me -- BC is rarely occupied by noisy kids of any age.
 
So, a fully leather-seated BC Superliner does exist...

I'm interested in knowing how many of these cars were converted in such a manner. My two experiences with Coast Starlight Business Class had me in a normal Superliner coach (normal coach seating on both levels) on one trip and a split-converted coach (leather seats on lower level, normal cloth coach seats upstairs) on the second trip.

Like everything on Amtrak, the only consistent thing you can count on is inconsistency.
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Inconsistency, like during the heritage era which I think most of us celebrated if we were around then. LOL
 
There are actually pretty good reasons why BC varies so much. In many cases, it is a product of what is agreed on for a state supported route, Amtrak is not the sole decision maker. What would be nice would be a little grid chart that lists the routes, and the equipment and amenities normally associated with that service.
 
For an overnight journey, I would definitely choose business coach over coach on the CS. But first preference would remain a sleeping room.

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There are actually pretty good reasons why BC varies so much. In many cases, it is a product of what is agreed on for a state supported route, Amtrak is not the sole decision maker. What would be nice would be a little grid chart that lists the routes, and the equipment and amenities normally associated with that service.
The Coast Starlight is not state-supported although, part of its route is the same as the state-supported Pacific Surfliner. Eugene to Seattle, the route is the same as the state(s) supported Cascades.
 
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Even on Amtraks LD trains they can't decide what Business Class includes...

Coast Starlight = 2 bottles of water and credit for food and beverage

Crescent = "complimentary non-alcaholic beverages" - whatever that means

Cardinal = "a complimentary non-alcaholic beverage"
 
Like I said, in many cases (not all) A simple chart would be a big help, and pretty simple to implement.
No... You said it varies because of state involvement... Clearly that's not the only problem as Amtrak can't decide what their own LD trains should provide in BC.

Don't forget Amtrak also chooses to advertise Acela Coach as Business Class even though Acela passengers receive no benefits.
 
I had one business class trip on the CS and it was hell, and that was mainly due to the staff member who was responsible for the business class car. The number of passengers who didn't complain could be counted on one hand.

Anyway, that aside, I decided that for future trips from Sacramento to Los Angeles I would pay the premium and have a roomette. The increase in comfort plus the fact that all three meals are included made it almost a wash in terms of cost.
 
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