Cardinal & Roomette

[Pullman]

I am looking to take the Cardinal leaving TRE on a Friday a.m. to IND. I am spending only 1 day in Indy so I can catch the EB Cardinal Saturday p.m. back to TRE. I was thinking of going coach WB. I figure the travel time will be 22+ hrs with #51's OTP. That will not disrupt my schedule, I have a few hours to buffer. I figure when I leave IND around midnight on the return trip, I will be tired and would want to crash in a bed. I could then spend the rest of the trip in my roomette until Sunday evening when the Cardinal arrives TRE 8:41 p.m.(or something).

In your opinion, do you think it is worth spending the extra $280 on top of my $84.00 seat fair, to upgrade into a roomette for the 22+ hr WB trip?......$431.00 total as mentioned above vs $711.00 if I go first class round trip. The first amount I can live with. Spending over $700 for a roundtrip for one day.....hmmmm <_<

Note: All pricing is with my NARP.

Also, what kind of food should I expect on the Cardinal?

Thank you for reading and taking the time to replying to my post if you do so.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to You All.

'Travel PULLMAN'

 

[the_traveler]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)

The food was standard SDS fare, but they gave the sleeper passengers "first choice" for meals - and they took all of us (there's only 1 sleeper) at once. ("If you want to eat, follow me!") Due to the fact that I did not see into the diner/lounge later, I do not know if the coach passengers got a later dinner. For breakfast, it was "first come, first served" (I think, but we got right in).

Due to a CSX derailment (not our train!), the sleeper passenger got lunch (again "follow me"), but I don't think coach got a meal. I saw the line at the cafe counter, and I know later they ran out of food - and they even locked the door between the cafe and the coaches!

Happy Holidays to you too!

 

[wayman]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

 

[MrFSS]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

And, IMHO, the food on The Cardinal is terrible!

 

[AlanB]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

While the Cardinal, and the LSL for that matter, have a different menu from the rest of the LD's, it is still nonetheless standard SDS fare. SDS isn't a menu per se, SDS is the type of food service being offered. Mainly it means no cloth tablecloths, no glassware, minimal to no onboard cooking, and greatly reduced staffing.

The SDS plan initially implimented on the LD's was partially conceived to allow for cars like the CCC and Diner-Lite, as well as to help Amtrak meet the Congressional mandate of cutting its food service losses.

 

[AlanB]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

And, IMHO, the food on The Cardinal is terrible!

Me thinks you haven't tried the food on the Cardinal in well over a year.

 

[Trogdor]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

And, IMHO, the food on The Cardinal is terrible!

When I rode the Cardinal in September, the food was as good as it is in any other Amtrak dining car in recent trips, and the creme brulee cheesecake was the best dessert I've had in a while.

 

[wayman]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

And, IMHO, the food on The Cardinal is terrible!

Me thinks you haven't tried the food on the Cardinal in well over a year.

Alan, very good point above about the Cardinal's dining service still being "SDS" since that term doesn't define the food, though it's also true that the original claim that the "food was standard SDS fare" is a bit incorrect, since the food itself is rather different from what we think of as "standard (ie, dining car) SDS fare".

For whatever reason, I had fantastic food in the Cardinal's diner-lite in October 2007 and terrible food in the LSL's diner-lite in June 2008. This despite the LSL having a separate (and separately staffed) cafe car allowing its diner-lite to serve only the one function, which you'd think might help. The food quality was simply dreadful. But the food on the Cardinal, despite being prepared in the same way in a car with a larger crowd and fewer staff, was really very good. (And in fact, my only complaint about the Cardinal's diner-lite was that they had too little space and ought to run the train with a separate lounge car, exactly what the LSL does...)

I'm looking forward to taking the Cardinal again on Christmas Eve, where I'll get a breakfast and lunch. I wonder if they're maintaining the same surprisingly-high quality in their diner-lite as they were fourteen months ago when it was rather new.

 

[MrFSS]

When I took #50 in October, I had a roomette on the Eastbound trip. (That was my only direction.)
The food was standard SDS fare, ...

The Cardinal hasn't served standard SDS fare for over a year. It now has a diner-lite with a different menu from the SDS dining car menu, and food preparation on-train is extremely limited because of the lack of a full kitchen.

And, IMHO, the food on The Cardinal is terrible!

Me thinks you haven't tried the food on the Cardinal in well over a year.

Last Feb - 10 months ago - and it was TERRIBLE!!

 

[AlanB]

I'm looking forward to taking the Cardinal again on Christmas Eve, where I'll get a breakfast and lunch. I wonder if they're maintaining the same surprisingly-high quality in their diner-lite as they were fourteen months ago when it was rather new.

My money's on that it will be at least as good, if not better than your last time on the Cardinal. The new Amtrak menus are big improvement over the past menus.

 

[caravanman]

At the end of the day, (no pun intended..) you pay your money and take your choice of accomodation. After a long day you might well feel it worth paying the extra to be able to be horizontal in your own roomette to sleep, or you might figure that being so tired, you would sleep well anyhow in coach...

It is all down to your own personal preferences, and financial circumstances.

Happy travels, either way!

Ed B)

 

[Pullman]

UPDATE! Tickets were purchased for a roundtrip in a Roomette.

Happy New Year!