can 4 adults share one bedroom? (Chicago to LA or SF)

[sleepybobcat]

I'm planning a trip for me and three friends. We will take a road trip from New York to Chicago.

From Chicago, we'll either take Amtrak to LA or SF. The bedroom prices are so high this summer....

Is it possible for 4 adults(my three friends are all female and I'm the only male) to share just one

bedroom? Yes, I know it's not possible to sleep 4 at the same time....

I'm thinking perhaps two people can sleep for 8 hours while the other two sleep in coach.... then

we can swap after that, so only two people will be in the bedroom at any given time. Two of them

are flying in from Europe, so jetlag will actually be a good thing for this situation..... since they will

probably be sleepy first.

Is this allowed? If not, is there a way to do this without arousing the conductor/attendant's suspicion?

THANKS!

 

[coachseats]

No, unfortunately it is not allowed, nor would you be likely to get away with it on the sly either. They will only book 2 (sometimes 3 if you really work it) adults into a bedroom. And if you have a bedroom, you don't have a coach seat reserved and vice versa, so if the train is crowded switching some people out to coach wouldn't work. My advice if you can't afford a bedroom would be to look into booking two roomettes or just all going in coach with the slim hopes of maybe getting an onboard upgrade to a sleeper for at least one night of your trip. If you are having fun with people you enjoy spending time with, you will remember that rather than if you had a sleeper or coach. Now if I am misreading your intentions of you plus three ladies in the bedroom...perhaps that is another situation all together! :lol: :lol:

 

[jmbgeg]

I'm planning a trip for me and three friends. We will take a road trip from New York to Chicago.
From Chicago, we'll either take Amtrak to LA or SF. The bedroom prices are so high this summer....

Is it possible for 4 adults(my three friends are all female and I'm the only male) to share just one

bedroom? Yes, I know it's not possible to sleep 4 at the same time....

I'm thinking perhaps two people can sleep for 8 hours while the other two sleep in coach.... then

we can swap after that, so only two people will be in the bedroom at any given time. Two of them

are flying in from Europe, so jetlag will actually be a good thing for this situation..... since they will

probably be sleepy first.

Is this allowed? If not, is there a way to do this without arousing the conductor/attendant's suspicion?

THANKS!

So in terms of tickets, you would buy two sleeper tickets and 2 coach tickets the way I interpret your post. In part, that would mean that the two sleeper ticket passangers get free meals and the coach passengers would have to pay. Someone other than me can better comment on whether your SCA would put two and two together (figuratively and literally) and report the situation to the conductor. Depends on their attitude and level of committment to the rules.

You might also price one bedroom and one roomette and look at that option.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Heh, sardines anyone?

Seriously though-- its an old trick, but if you want to book more than two adults in a room, simply ask the agent if bedroom "A" is available, that bedroom is the best for three (or four) adults.

 

[jmbgeg]

Heh, sardines anyone?
Seriously though-- its an old trick, but if you want to book more than two adults in a room, simply ask the agent if bedroom "A" is available, that bedroom is the best for three (or four) adults.

Why A? On Superliners, A is the least spacious.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Heh, sardines anyone?
Seriously though-- its an old trick, but if you want to book more than two adults in a room, simply ask the agent if bedroom "A" is available, that bedroom is the best for three (or four) adults.

Why A? On Superliners, A is the least spacious.

Shhhhhhush. <_<

 

[sunchaser]

Heh, sardines anyone?
Seriously though-- its an old trick, but if you want to book more than two adults in a room, simply ask the agent if bedroom "A" is available, that bedroom is the best for three (or four) adults.

Why A? On Superliners, A is the least spacious.

Shhhhhhush. <_<

You are a baad boy!!! Maybe you should book two roomettes instead. Just keep checking the prices, you may get lucky & see a price drop. None of the bedrooms can hold more than two adults. Amtrak will not allow you to switch out or share with someone from coach, & the Sleeper Car Attendants usually know who is supposed to be in their car.

 

[TVRM610]

First of all... I'm happy you want to take the train to California and I know either route you take will be just beatiful.

Second... Call me a stickler for the rules but I've been reading alot of posts in the last year just like this basically asking how easy it is to bend or break the occupancy rules for the sleeping cars. The Sleeping Cars are for passengers who have a "Sleeper Class Ticket." In my opinion you need to have a sleeper class ticket, with your name on it, in order to occupy space in a sleeper car. I'm pretty certain there are many conductors who would agree with me.

 

[Guest]

Not just conductors, lots of members on here also! A roomette is designed for 2 paying or AGR award passengers, a bedroom for 3 and the Family bedroom for 2 adults and two children! Period! Since meals are included in the sleeping car fare any others eating are stealing if they do not pay! Hot sheeting a sleeper is comprable to a hot bed motel in the vice trade IMO! As others said, look in to reserving 2 roomettes for your trip!

 

[jmbgeg]

I'm planning a trip for me and three friends. We will take a road trip from New York to Chicago.
From Chicago, we'll either take Amtrak to LA or SF. The bedroom prices are so high this summer....

Is it possible for 4 adults(my three friends are all female and I'm the only male) to share just one

bedroom? Yes, I know it's not possible to sleep 4 at the same time....

I'm thinking perhaps two people can sleep for 8 hours while the other two sleep in coach.... then

we can swap after that, so only two people will be in the bedroom at any given time. Two of them

are flying in from Europe, so jetlag will actually be a good thing for this situation..... since they will

probably be sleepy first.

Is this allowed? If not, is there a way to do this without arousing the conductor/attendant's suspicion?

THANKS!

For discussion purposes, here are some pricing examples (I used early August dates):

Chicago to LA on the Southwest Chief

-Bedroom for 2 at $1,685 plus 2 coach tickets for $368 = $2,053

-Bedroom for 2 at $1,685 plus roomette for 2 at $808= $2,493

-Two roomettes for 2 each at $808 each roomette = $1,616, the least expensive option, and all meals are included for all of you

Chicago to San Francisco (SFS) on the California Zephyr

-Bedroom for 2 at $1,491 plus 2 coach tickets at $372= $1,863

-Bedroom for 2 at $1,491 plus roomette for 2 at $848= $2,339

-Two roomettes for 2 each at $848=$1,696

Bottom line is that if you can live with two roomettes, you can play by the rules and save money at the same time.

 

[TVRM610]

Bottom line is that if you can live with two roomettes, you can play by the rules and save money at the same time.

Bottom line is if you can't live with two Roomettes you should have enough money to pay for 2 bedrooms. : ) ha.

Good research jmbgeg.

 

[dlagrua]

The only time I heard of three in a bedroom was my friend Lee and his wife and 12 yr old daughter. His wife and daughter slept "head to toe" in the lower bunk (they had extra pillows and blankets) while he slept in the upper bunk. he said that it was tight but they worked it out. There is no way that Amtrak will allow four adults in a sleeper nor will they allow ticketed coach passengers in the sleepers. We once heard about a coach pasenger who snuck into the sleepers, used the bed and locked the door. In the morning he was arrested for theft of services. If all of you want a sleeper pay for an oboard upgrade and do it the right way. You will only get into trouble trying to sneak one past some very estute SCA's. Those people ride the rails every week all year and know who is who on their trains.

 

[jmbgeg]

The only time I heard of three in a bedroom was my friend Lee and his wife and 12 yr old daughter. His wife and daughter slept "head to toe" in the lower bunk (they had extra pillows and blankets) while he slept in the upper bunk. he said that it was tight but they worked it out. There is no way that Amtrak will allow four adults in a sleeper nor will they allow ticketed coach passengers in the sleepers. We once heard about a coach pasenger who snuck into the sleepers, used the bed and locked the door. In the morning he was arrested for theft of services. If all of you want a sleeper pay for an oboard upgrade and do it the right way. You will only get into trouble trying to sneak one past some very estute SCA's. Those people ride the rails every week all year and know who is who on their trains.

You did not say whether the party that was arrested snuck into a vacant room or stayed in a room where they knew the passenger.

The other thing that a conductor can and will do is put someone off the train for flagrantly breaking a rule. I saw that happen for a smoking violation on the SWC in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

 

[jmbgeg]

Bottom line is that if you can live with two roomettes, you can play by the rules and save money at the same time.

Bottom line is if you can't live with two Roomettes you should have enough money to pay for 2 bedrooms. : ) ha.

Good research jmbgeg.

Here is one more financial perspective. Sleeper travel is first class train travel. The cost analysis that I did above can be used to benchmark against the cost of four first class airline tickets from ORD-LAX or ORD-SFO, which would cost $4,504 or $4,664 in research I just did on the UAL site.

 

[dlagrua]

You will only get into trouble trying to sneak one past some very estute SCA's. Those people ride the rails every week all year and know who is who on their trains.

You did not say whether the party that was arrested snuck into a vacant room or stayed in a room where they knew the passenger.
The other thing that a conductor can and will do is put someone off the train for flagrantly breaking a rule. I saw that happen for a smoking violation on the SWC in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

I have spoken with several SCA's that have put people off the train for drunkeness, fighting and theft of services. In the incident that I mentioned; a coach pasenger got by the SCA and worked his way into an empty bedroom. When he awoke he was put off the train and arrested for theft of services. He had to pay a fine and make restitution for the cost of the service that he stole. The SCA knew that bedroom was empty and when the door was locked and the room was occupied he knew that someone who should be in it was there. Apparently there is a manifest that they take onboard that shows what rooms are occupied and which rooms should be vacant. The only way that you might beat the system is if a coach passenger slipped by the SCA joined you in your room and slept in the other bed. However, if you get caught doing this they may decide to make an issue of it. The best room for a party of four is the bedroom suite-two adjoining bedrooms that make up one big room by opening the door between them.

 

[pebbleworm]

Three very chummy adults could fit into a bedroom, but they'd better be chummy to polyamorous! I've done it with two adults and a 4 year old with no trouble. The Family Bedroom has the same beds for 3 chummy adults, plus two 5 foot long kid bunks. I've curled up in them and fallen asleep, but I doubt Amtrak would let you book the room for 4. Is anyone in the party really short?

 

[alanh]

I've done 3 in a bedroom, but the two in the lower bunk were a married couple and okay being right next to each other. The lower bunk is 3' 4" wide.

AGR wouldn't book 3 in a bedroom, so we booked two plus a coach ticket. On the trains we asked the conductors to upgrade the 3rd person to the bedroom, and they were all fine with it. With an official upgrade all three of us were eligible for the meals, too.

 

[lthanlon]

Based on my observations, sleeper-car monitoring is discreet, but effective. The first night eastbound on the SWC recently, I was returning to my roomette from the Sightseer Lounge and a dining car attendant politely double-checked to make sure I really was a sleeper customer. Turns out that I was wearing my hat, which I hadn't worn earlier.