Are there Crying Kids in Roomettes?

[Jon]

I am traveling a long journey on Amtrak next week (Chicago to Reno), and have paid extra for my own Roomette. My questions are-

1. Do a lot of kids also end up in the private rooms? I don't want to have spent all this money, and wind up next to crying brats. If that is the case, I might as well paid for a coach seat. Are the rooms well insulated from noise once you close the doors? Any advice would be much appreciated.

2. Can I have the train attendant deliver my meals to my room? I don't want to go to the public dining car- sitting with strangers isn't my cup of tea since I am doing this journey to get away from people. I'm a nice guy, just trying to be to myself.

3. How hard is it to turn your seats into a bed? I heard the attendant does this when you're at breakfast in the morning- what if I want to sleep in? Is there a Do Not Disturb sign I put on my door? Thanks for the tips!

 

[fairviewroad]

1. Definitely a lower rate of young children in sleeping cars than in coach. However, the adults who pass through the hallways at all hours

of the night are plenty capable of providing a high level of noise/irritation. If you expect silence, you'll be disappointed.

2. Yes, the sleeping car attendant will deliver meals to your room on request. An extra gratuity is common but not required.

3. You can lock your door from the inside. No one will force you to turn your bed back into a seat. That said, many attendants will turn your

bed into a seat when you leave for breakfast, whether or not you ask them to. You could always leave a note on the bed if you want to

keep it as a bed.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

1) There might be kids. They might cry. They might run up and down the aisle making noise. However, I have found the rooms to be fairly well insulated. Kids, at least in my opinion, are only really annoying during the day if you have your door open.

2) Yes, the attendant will deliver meals to your room. Most suggest that this will happen more promptly if you tip your car attendant generously for this.

3) The attendant is not going to wake you up unless it's your stop. Your room locks from the inside, so no one can open the door except you. So, feel free to sleep in as long as you'd like, but you might miss breakfast. Either way, a prompt attendant will hopefully make up your room while you're at a meal, regardless of when that is, but you might need to track them down. It isn't very difficult to make up the bed, especially if you're the only one in the roomette & you're sleeping on the lower bunk, but you might want to watch the attendant do it first to get the idea.

 

[SarahK]

I have only been in the sleeping cars on Amtrak a few times. On my most recent trip from NYP to Chicago, I had the opposite experience. ALL of the passengers in the roomette car were old senior citizens. (old as in 80 or above) During dinner, I saw with a couple. The husband was 92 and the wife was 80. Compare to the rest of them, I was a baby.(half their age) I wonder how they saw me...

Kids are everywhere. The worst time are around school holiday and summer vacation. I cashed in some of my miles last summer and flew from LA to Sydney. The were 22 young kids in business class. The youngest was probably 4 or 5, while the oldest was about 12. Their parents just left them in business class. The parents flew in first class. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience, considering how many miles I had to use for the business class seat. I got zero sleep during the 15-hour nonstop flight. Earplugs was no help. The kid basically just ran around the cabin during the entire flight.

 

[roadman3313]

1. Depends on the train. If you are on the lower level next to the family bedroom then there is a higher possibility. I had bedroom A and yes... Had a baby and mom with me... He got a little fussy but not loud crying. We usually pick A as it is at the end of the car and has the least sound impact. I have heard crying too and it isn't fun. Everyone paid the price for private space so unfortunately it is what it is and is open to all who pay. Room sound insulation... I'd say I haven't been able to hear people talking in the room next to me but I could hear footsteps in the hallway or people moving things around next door.

2. The car attendant should deliver the meal to you upon request. Just note that it is generally delivered when they have time to deliver it to you between stops and outside of their break times. You can try asking for a particular time but there are no guarantees.

3. You can let them know you will sleep it an keep the door locked but it depends on their schedule, when you are getting off, and if they need to turn the room for another passenger. You can stay in the room, is just let them know first to avoid knocking. Turning the bed just requires getting the mattress pad down from the upper bunk, pushing the marked lever on the seats, and sliding them together. Restoring it to seats would be the opposite. Not rocket science but can require some maneuvering depending.

Rail travel is nice but it isn't a hotel room or 4/5 star hotel service by any means. You have those who go above and beyond and those who do the bare minimum. And you also will be around different types of individuals as well. Sleepers tend to be more separated and have places you can sit and be alone with minimal disruption. Coach is more of a mixed bags depending. Not better or worse; just depends on your preferences.

 

[zephyr17]

Of course kids can end up in roomettes, but there are a lot fewer of them than in coach and many trips there are none. With that said, whether or not there are kids next to you is ENTIRELY out of your control. BTW - my daughter rode regularly with me in roomettes since she was 3. In my experience kids are less likely to have screaming fits on trains than on airplanes, since they have some room to spread out, move around and have their toys. They also can't kick the back of your seat in a roomette. Even though the rooms is little, so are little kids so it seems bigger to them than to you. The upper makes a fine play space for a 3 year old.

Yes you can have the attendent deliver the meals.

You can turn your seats into beds and back into seats if you like. Note that the bedding for the lower bed is stowed in the upper bunk. The mechanisms can be a bit balky sometimes and it takes a bit of muscle to do it. If you have trouble getting from bed mode into seat mode, pull up at the wall end while simultaneously pushing on the release lever. This can be a bit of a trick.

There are no do not disturb signs, but I've never seen an attendant try to get someone up unless they were due to get off and certainly not for breakfast. With that said, the activity audible in the car as folks awaken and move, along with the various PA announcements, will likely waken you. If that doesn't, the sound of the beds being pushed back up into seats and the uppers being closed will. They thunk and sometimes squeal.

 

[Jon]

Thank you everyone for the great advice!

I am on the California Zephyr- Train 5 and my Roomette is 008- on the upper level. I have been told by some that you should avoid getting rooms 9 and 10 since they are by the door and you hear it moving. I thought the back of the sleeping car was quieter, since you have to go forward and passed the bedroom roomettes to get to the diner. So isn't the back of the sleeper the end of the train so to speak? I hope room 8 is okay.

 

[Nathanael]

I am traveling a long journey on Amtrak next week (Chicago to Reno), and have paid extra for my own Roomette. My questions are-
1. Do a lot of kids also end up in the private rooms? I don't want to have spent all this money, and wind up next to crying brats.

Obviously, it happens. Kids are everywhere. You're going to get more noise from the people marching up and down the halls and even chatting in the hallway, though.

If that is the case, I might as well paid for a coach seat. Are the rooms well insulated from noise once you close the doors?

Yes. I've been able to hear sound from the hallway, but not generally from other rooms. Though once I could faintly hear, through the wall (not through the door or hallway), someone yakking very loudly on his cellphone. I have very sensitive hearing, mind you.
It was still far easier to sleep than with the cellphone yakkers in coach, who kept me awake most of the night once.

 

[zephyr17]

The amount of traffic will depend on the car, and how it is oriented. If you are the 532 car (or 533 if they are running 3 revenue sleepers) and the car is oriented so the bedrooms are forward, there will be almost no traffic because you are close to the very end of the train. That is assuming the CZ is still running with the sleepers at the end, unlike other Superliner trains. If you in the 531 car and the car is oriented with the roomettes forward, you will get a lot of traffic because you will be right next to the dining car. People can back up into the hall outside your room waiting to be seated.

There is no way to predict the orientation of the car, since they can and do run either facing either direction and their orientation in any consist is basically random. There is no "back of the car" you can predict in advance. You won't know until you see the train. You will know whether your car is next to the diner, as on CZ, 531 is closest to the diner, followed by 532 and 533 (if there is a 533).

 

[roadman3313]

The sleeping cars are placed on whichever direction requires the least shuffling around on the yard, generally speaking. Depends which sleeper you are in 531, 532, etc... And the orientation of the car. Unfortunately, the orientation of the car will not be know by most until it pulls up to the platform.

For example I'm in Bedroom A right now on a train. I'm on the north end and my "bench" is facing backwards. Last time in Bedroom A I was going south and facing forwards. With Roomettes that will also determine if you are on the left or right side of the train. You can control facing forwards or backwards as you will have two seats facing each other in Roomettes. The further back you are, the less foot traffic you will have passing your room (when the sleepers are on the back of the train)

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If you do end up with kids (or adults) making lots of noise then just do what I do and go talk to them. Let them know it's really loud and ask them to be quieter. That usually does the trick. Or you can chose to get the SCA involved if you prefer. They can serve as a mediator or can sometimes find you another room that's quieter. If even that doesn't work you still have the conductor who can threaten to kick then off if things are truly out of control. It's fairly rare that anyone is going out of their way just to make things miserable for everyone else, so chances are you'll find a way to work things out so long as you remain calm and reasonable about it.

 

[TVRM610]

It's sad that so many people are against even tying eating in the diner. It's a railroad tradition.

Just this week I had such a lovely time chatting with a lady from Canada who was traveling to visit her son on the Silver Star. She gave me tips on traveling to Montreal and Halifax and at the end gave me her card.

It is certainly your right to eat in your room on Amtrak... That's a service they offer (as far as I know this is not an option on VIA Rail.) But at least try it for Breakfast or Lunch and see what it's like.

I've had a few awkward meals as well.. But the majority have all been great dining car companions.

 

[dart330]

If someone doesn't feel like being social, I'd rather they eat in private rather than force me to sit through an awkward silent meal across the table from them.

 

[the_traveler]

I have been told by some that you should avoid getting rooms 9 and 10 since they are by the door and you hear it moving.

I've had rooms 9 & 10 many, many times, and I did not hear any excessive noise. The times you may is if your door is open, like in the day. But I bet 99.99999999999999999% of passengers sleep during the night with their doors shut!

 

[EMDF9A]

I have never had any experience with disturbing noise from other roomettes.. Well there was that one couple that joined the 79 MPH club (I sure hope I was a little more quiet when joining) The most annoying noise is from the doors if you are in room 9 or 10

 

[amamba]

I am a VERY light sleeper and can hear people in the sleeper next to me. That is why I always travel with ear plugs. Problem solved.

 

[George Harris]

I cashed in some of my miles last summer and flew from LA to Sydney. The were 22 young kids in business class. The youngest was probably 4 or 5, while the oldest was about 12. Their parents just left them in business class. The parents flew in first class.

You have got to be kidding. I am surprised that the airline allowed this to happen. The unfortunate thing is that quite a few of the people sitting in the transocienic first class are insufferably arrogant, throwing around the do you know who I am? nonsense. Not all "first class" passengers are this way, but it doesn't take many to cause problems. The parents of these kids were probably up there giving the flight attendents fits. The flight attendents were probably wishing they could stop the plane and put some of these off at the next road crossing, or at the least transfer them to a seat on the wing.

By the way, probably does not apply to this sitation, but a lot of the people with kids doing the long haul transocienic flight are not out joyriding. They are people working overseas that are taking their once a year, or for some once in two years trip home. That is one reason that you will see very young children at times on these flights.

 

[TinCan782]

Had a lower level roomette on the SWC a while back and there was constant "in and out" from the family bedroom most of the night.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If someone doesn't feel like being social, I'd rather they eat in private rather than force me to sit through an awkward silent meal across the table from them.

^ This.

If you're some sort of social hermit or other recluse then I wholeheartedly respect your position. That being said, the cold hard truth is that community seating is simply not for you. I'm not normally inclined to say any particular path is more "normal" than another, but some of the more socially reserved folks seem to be missing something rather obvious. Entering the personal space of others (such as occurs with community seating) only to remain socially distant and self absorbed is both rude and counterproductive. This has come up before but I don't think it has been receiving enough attention as of yet. For folks who are unintentionally shy but genuinely desire a pleasant conversation by all means come eat, drink, and be merry. Your presence and participation is very welcome indeed. On the other hand, folks who are shy by choice or who have no ability to hold a conversation with strangers might benefit themselves and others by avoiding participation. If you are simply forcing yourself into a situation you would otherwise avoid please consider the experience of other diners before you do so. By deciding to participate in something you don't really want to be a part of you're inadvertently pushing your social awkwardness onto other diners and I don't believe they deserve being forced to sit through that.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

If someone doesn't feel like being social, I'd rather they eat in private rather than force me to sit through an awkward silent meal across the table from them.

^ This.

If you're some sort of social hermit or other recluse then I wholeheartedly respect your position. That being said, the cold hard truth is that community seating is simply not for you. I'm not normally inclined to say any particular path is more "normal" than another, but some of the more socially reserved folks seem to be missing something rather obvious. Entering the personal space of others (such as occurs with community seating) only to remain socially distant and self absorbed is both rude and counterproductive... By deciding to participate in something you don't really want to be a part of you're inadvertently pushing your social awkwardness onto other diners and I don't believe they deserve being forced to sit through that.

Has it occurred to you that the entire situation can be viewed the other way around?

I entirely disagree with the assertion having a quiet dinner is "rude" or "awkward". For many people (roughly 40% of Western people are introverts), sitting quietly and happily is normal. Having conversations with strangers is awkward.

And I really draw the line at "counterproductive" - a "productive" dinner is one where people get to eat! I fail to see how requiring people to make meaningless small talk in the dining car is "productive"!

 

[Ispolkom]

Crying kids? I'd be grateful if people would latch the toilet doors! There's nothing as annoying as getting up in the middle of the night to latch a banging door.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If someone doesn't feel like being social, I'd rather they eat in private rather than force me to sit through an awkward silent meal across the table from them.

^ This.

If you're some sort of social hermit or other recluse then I wholeheartedly respect your position. That being said, the cold hard truth is that community seating is simply not for you. I'm not normally inclined to say any particular path is more "normal" than another, but some of the more socially reserved folks seem to be missing something rather obvious. Entering the personal space of others (such as occurs with community seating) only to remain socially distant and self absorbed is both rude and counterproductive... By deciding to participate in something you don't really want to be a part of you're inadvertently pushing your social awkwardness onto other diners and I don't believe they deserve being forced to sit through that.

Has it occurred to you that the entire situation can be viewed the other way around?

No I guess it had not yet occurred to me that socially active people should avoid community seating so that socially averse passengers could eat together in quiet seclusion. It takes a lot of effort to twist my mind into a view as confusing and convoluted as that.

I entirely disagree with the assertion having a quiet dinner is "rude" or "awkward". For many people (roughly 40% of Western people are introverts), sitting quietly and happily is normal. Having conversations with strangers is awkward.

I'm introverted myself, but that doesn't mean we have the need or the right to go around forcing our social aversion on others. To be perfectly honest I don't think that 40% actually represents what you apparently think it does. There is a huge range of social introverts, many of whom have no problem holding a conversation with strangers. When I choose to eat in the diner I expect to join the conversation. If I don't want to participate I either take my food to go or I have it delivered or I eat in the snack car, or I just don't bother eating that meal. There are more than enough options to work with.

And I really draw the line at "counterproductive" - a "productive" dinner is one where people get to eat! I fail to see how requiring people to make meaningless small talk in the dining car is "productive"!

Virtually every other restaurant in the entire country works exactly the way you want. Everybody keeps their distance and nobody expects to hear so much as a peep from anyone they didn't explicitly choose to eat with. Is that really not good enough?

 

[BCL]

I don't know exactly why the OP chose to use such a loaded term as "brats" to describe children. I was thinking maybe it was a trolling post in search of a response. Amtrak markets heavily to families with children. Kids love trains, and trains have a lot of the space and facilities that aren't available with road or air travel. So yeah there's a good chance you'll be hearing crying brats around private rooms. Is that a problem?

I'd ask if a lot of anti-social curmugeons end up in private rooms?

 

[Jon]

Let me be clear- as I am the OP:

1. I use the word crying brats because that's what I see kids who continue to disrupt others as. As the woman said about paying for business class and then having 22 kids ruin her experience- yeah I would have asked for a refund or demanded a different seat. I am not spending an extra $500 of my hard-earned money for a private first class room, only to have it ruined because giggling and crying from young rugrats is going on and Mom and Dad think it's "cute". It's not, it's unbearable. I actually propose that Amtrak and the airlines start creating Adult Only Routes- where if you are under the age of 18, you can't ride. I imagine they would sell very well, as I would be first in line to ride in peace on a 6 hour flight or 2 day train ride, without the annoyance of child noise. Especially if I'm paying extra for privacy. I know this rant makes me sound rude and withdrawn, but I assure you I am not- I am speaking the truth of what many people like me think but can't say outloud- Kids are out of control these days, and it would be wise if companies caught on to this and started doing Adult Only/and or Kids only flights and train rides.

2. I am not anti-social. But this particular trip I want to be alone, and at peace. My real job involves me interacting with the public every day. Fun job, but on my vacation I want to be alone. I don't want to sit at a table and feel forced to bring up "where are you going, where you from?" inbetween my salad and steak sandwich.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Kids crying is one way they communicate. In flying they do not know what the pressure difference they feel in their ears, This difference hurts and they do not know how to stop it.

Train riding is similar to riding in a car to a child so the experience is more familiar to the so they are more comfortable. A happy child is a fun child to watch.