Bedroom or roomette, if single and the cost is not an issue?

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spinnaker

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Mar 23, 2018
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419
On my recent CZ trip I had a roomette. I have had roomettes on other trips and always found them pretty comfortable ( I am a sailor so I am pretty used to small cabins
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). Maybe I have been lucky but I have always found the roomettes to be pretty darn quiet.

On this recent trip I was in room 11. As you know that is near the family room. The kiddies were getting all excited as kids do. Didn't bother me one bit. I was actually getting a kick out of how excited these kids were over the upcoming adventure. It was during the day and the kids were doing what kids do. They actually weren't being that loud.

But I was also impressed with mom and the kids listening to mom. She came and told the kids there were others near by and they needed to be quiet. They got quiet immediately. That was the last I heard from them.

That was the worst (and I really didn't consider it a problem at all) with noise in any of the roomettes I have been in. Over all pretty darn quiet.

On this trip our AC went out in our part of the car. Our SCA moved us to a different car. We got to chose whatever we wanted. It was only going to be a few hours as we were approaching Chicago.

I asked if I could try out a bedroom. The SCAs had no problem with my choice. Super roomy and the in cabin toilet and shower is a nice perk. But because of the toilet, my neighbor had one too. . Every hour or so woosh. And I am sure they had to put up with my woosh a couple of times.
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But just lots of noise in general coming from the other room. No big deal I was only there during the day and I was just glad to get out of the broken AC in my car. Just a sharp contrast, noise wise, to my experience in a roomette.

So if cost is not an issue and it was just you in the room. Would you go with a bedroom or roomette? For me, based on my experience, I would stick with the roomette simply because it was so quiet. Sharing a shower and a toilet is not a big deal for me. I don't think the shower was occupied on any of my trips when I went to use it and a toilet is almost always available.

So bedroom or roomette? And is my reasoning with noise for my choice sound? Or have I just been lucky in the roomettes?
 
Love the room that a Bedroom provides as a solo traveler, but a Roomette is quite satisfactory for me. The shower in the restroom of the Bedroom is more convenient than using the other shower. But, once one has used the shower, until the SCA services the area, it is an unpleasant place to again visit. I have never noticed any noise from the flushing of the commode in a neighboring Bedroom.

I have booked upper level and lower level Roomettes and I really do prefer the lower level ones. I try to book #11 or #12.
 
Love the room that a Bedroom provides as a solo traveler, but a Roomette is quite satisfactory for me. The shower in the restroom of the Bedroom is more convenient than using the other shower. But, once one has used the shower, until the SCA services the area, it is an unpleasant place to again visit. I have never noticed any noise from the flushing of the commode in a neighboring Bedroom.

I have booked upper level and lower level Roomettes and I really do prefer the lower level ones. I try to book #11 or #12.
The showers in the bedrooms are much better than the ones usually found on boats where you need to pump the water yourself. And because of the way it works. No TP down the head (usually) so talk about "unpleasant"
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. And there is no SCA so service the head after your shower.
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If cost is not an issue and it's just me, I think I'd have to go with a bedroom, especially on Superliners. On Viewliners, all the routes are one night and roomettes have a sink, toilet, plenty of headroom in the top bunk, two windows, and a storage "cubby" that can easily fit a couple suitcases, so the only real benefits of the Bedroom are the wider lower bunk, shower, and extra floor space. I'd still take it over a roomette, but not by that much.

Meanwhile on Superliners, roomettes don't have any space for a suitcase, any bathroom "fixings," a cramped top bunk with very little space, etc. A bedroom is just vastly better, and for a cross country trip, it's easily worth another couple hundred bucks. Honestly, the Family Bedroom is my favorite of them all, because it has so much space, you can keep the beds down and still have a sitting area, and the ample room for luggage.

TLDR: On Viewliners, it's a close one, but I'd go with the Bedroom. On Superliners, I'd take a Bedroom over a roomette in a heartbeat and be incredibly grateful for it, and even more so for a Family Bedroom.
 
Some folks sleep better perpendicular to the travel direction (bedroom). Others, paralle to the travel direction (roomette). If traveling alone, I happy with the roomette. If traveling with another party, I would prefer the bedroom.

Too bad no more compartments, which had one bed perpendicular, the second bed parallel to the direction of travel.
 
As a single traveler, the viewliner roomette works very well, since the upper bunk comes down straight and can be used to lay out things or for storage. Or optionally, leep up there and leave the lower in day mode. In the VL you get a windows and headroom up top which you would not in a SL. When you say cost is not an obstacle, that sort of takes the "value equation" off the table. Clearly a bedroom is usually too pricey for a single.
 
Interesting question. Having just traveled in a bedroom this spring for the first time in a long time, I found myself a little disappointed in the use of space in the room - for example, the way that folding down the bottom bunk blocks the doorway into the room. The design of the roomette feels a lot more efficient and logical to me, and it feels like it's a lot bigger than half the size of a bedroom. In addition, the in-room bathroom seemed to have some ventilation issues (not sure if this is a general thing or a problem with our room), and as a result certain smells tended to linger.

On top of that, I'm one of those who prefers sleeping parallel to the direction of travel - and lying in bed and looking out the window. Add it all up, and I think I actually prefer the roomette, unless by some quirk of the buckets the bedroom is actually significantly cheaper.
 
What about a noise comparison?

Maybe I was getting an unfair comparison for the bedroom since we were stopped in a corn field most of the time and there was no ambient train noise to cover the sound of the neighbors?
 
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On top of that, I'm one of those who prefers sleeping parallel to the direction of travel - and lying in bed and looking out the window. Add it all up, and I think I actually prefer the roomette, unless by some quirk of the buckets the bedroom is actually significantly cheaper.

Can this happen? I didn't think to check. If it can happen then it would be a good tip to add the bedroom to your amsnag.
 
The lower berth in a Bedroom is a full foot wider than the lower berth in a Roomette, and I really appreciate that. (I also like the wide lower berth in a Family Bedroom, but do not like the small windows). For a long-distance journey early next year, I have booked mostly Roomettes but have a Bedroom for the three nights on the Texas Eagle.
 
If traveling solo I prefer bedrooms on superliners for the added space. I like to lay on the couch and watch the scenery. My trips are cross country. Bedrooms can be noisy on both superliners and viewliners. Most will say "no thanks" but I get bedroom A on superliners as there is no partition between the next room and less noise.

I prefer viewliner roomettes when traveling the east coast for both cost and quiet.
 
I’ve had both bedroom and roomettes on both Viewliners and Superliners as a solo traveler. Although the extra room is nice, I still prefer the roomettes.

On a Superliners, even though the bedrooms include a shower, I still use the community shower. For one thing, it is bigger. But the main reason is that the bathroom floor and toilet will be wet!
 
Super roomy and the in cabin toilet and shower is a nice perk. But because of the toilet, my neighbor had one too. . Every hour or so woosh. And I am sure they had to put up with my woosh a couple of times. But just lots of noise in general coming from the other room.
On many cruise ships you will hear the "woosh" from your neighboring cabin as well!
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On the AT 6-8 times-a-year. Only the Bedroom now. Two adjoining and open the wall when the niece comes, otherwise, like the privacy of an end unit (A or N - no connecting/opening wall. A hair smaller, configured a bit different, but you don't hear the people next door thru the retractable wall, and their flushing next door!
 
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I'd go with a roomette if I'm traveling by myself. I figure it would be enough space for one person without feeling cramped. Like a few others, I would prefer the room to be in the direction of travel. I'd go crazy trying to relax with the knowledge that I was riding "backwards".
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As long as you're by yourself, every Bedroom has at least one forward facing seat. It may not be overly big, but it's there.

Edit To Add: For me, Roomette. I'm just too cheap to pay the Bedroom upcharge when I'm solo; it took me nearly twenty years just to pay the Roomette room charge when I was solo! Now, if I had multiple billions of dollars, then I might splurge for a Bedroom...in my own Private Varnish!
 
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I like roomettes. I haven't had a desire to do a bedroom. Now, a trip i'm looking at, there are no roomettes available on one leg, so I have the choice of the family bedroom or a regular bedroom. I'm actually thinking of doing coach, overnight, on that leg (and that thought was already in my head before I saw the room offerings for that leg).
 
As a single traveler, the viewliner roomette works very well, since the upper bunk comes down straight and can be used to lay out things or for storage. Or optionally, leep up there and leave the lower in day mode. In the VL you get a windows and headroom up top which you would not in a SL. When you say cost is not an obstacle, that sort of takes the "value equation" off the table. Clearly a bedroom is usually too pricey for a single.
Agreed! As a single traveler on a Viewliner, I would easily take a Roomette over a Bedroom if the Bedroom were even $50 more expensive. If price is absolutely no object, I'd go for a Bedroom. On Superliners, however, it's not even remotely close.
 
On top of that, I'm one of those who prefers sleeping parallel to the direction of travel - and lying in bed and looking out the window. Add it all up, and I think I actually prefer the roomette, unless by some quirk of the buckets the bedroom is actually significantly cheaper.

Can this happen? I didn't think to check. If it can happen then it would be a good tip to add the bedroom to your amsnag.
It's theoretically possible whenever the highest roomette bucket is higher than the lowest bedroom bucket, since (as I understand it) the room categories are priced and sold independently. It's rare to see it "in the wild," but just for fun I did some poking around: On the CONO leaving tomorrow night out of Chicago, the current bedroom price (for one person) is $444, and the current roomette price is $459.
 
On top of that, I'm one of those who prefers sleeping parallel to the direction of travel - and lying in bed and looking out the window. Add it all up, and I think I actually prefer the roomette, unless by some quirk of the buckets the bedroom is actually significantly cheaper.

Can this happen? I didn't think to check. If it can happen then it would be a good tip to add the bedroom to your amsnag.
It 100% can happen, and I've seen it. Some of the buckets will sometimes overlap, so under the right circumstances, it is possible, and it's far from unheard of. However, if you can't afford a low bucket Bedroom anyway, it doesn't exactly help that a Roomette is more expensive.
 
With the exception of the CS and Silvers, low bucket Bedrooms are lower than high bucket Roomettes by anywhere from $58 to $212. Low bucket Family Bedrooms are lower than high bucket Roomettes on those trains having both by anywhere from $151 to $307. But I've no idea how often such fares are offered on the same day and train.
 
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On Viewliners I'll take the Roomette over the Bedrooms except when the H Room is available, which is the Best way to roll on Amtrak!

When traveling alone on Superliners, Rooms #3-#6 are my faves,but if another person Bedrooms are the way to go. As with others, I prefer to use the Downstairs Shower and Bathrooms over those in Bedrooms.

Worst choice is the H Room on Superliners!
 
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Worst choice is the H Room on Superliners!
Amen! The Superliner H room is a sad sad place. A curtained off bathroom without a shower combined with tiny windows and a roomette bed module? No thank you! Unless you have a wheelchair (which granted is kind of the point), it's pretty much pointless.
 
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