City of New Orleans Christmas Travel

[had8ley]

I'm a regular traveler on the CONO. Here are my thoughts and suggestions:
Regarding tickets, I prefer NOT to have my tickets printed and mailed to me. I feel much safer getting my tickets printed at the station the day of my departure. Part of my reasoning is that I don't want to risk my tickets getting lost, misplaced, or left behind when I'm heading to the station. Another reason is that it's easier to change or cancel a reservation if the tickets have not been printed.

I have to agree with you on all points. I just want to point out that just last month we made one of three Tuscaloosa turns. Amtrak will NOT let you buy a round trip because they insist that you need 90 minutes to make the connection at a station that only has one track that serves both north and south bound trains (you can fall off of #20 and get on #19 in the same spot!). So...I have to call twice and make two one way reservations. Lucky for us the agent in Tuscaloosa looked up our res before we went and said, "you're not making a turn; they have you going back two days later." Someone in Riverside inserted the wrong date for the return; moral of the story~ sometimes it pays to get your tickets ahead of time even though I even missed the date on the ticket! Had I not had the tickets in hand I would have had a "protect" ticket (the conductor would have collected our fares) going and nothing coming back :lol:

 

[shytown]

Another question - -

I'm not sure I understand the food situation on the CONO. There is no longer the "dining car." But there is the Cross Country Cafe (CCC) instead.

I was reading a very interesting article on nola.com about the CONO & the trip to Chicago. The author was traveling in a roomette so there were no worries about food service. However, she said that the coach passengers should get something from the Subway counter in the train station in NOLA because there usually isn't enough food for the remaining passengers. That and the fact that the coach passengers have to wait in line to eat the snack-type food. What the heck? So the menu that's posted on Amtrak's website is only for 1st class passengers?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Another question - -
I'm not sure I understand the food situation on the CONO. There is no longer the "dining car." But there is the Cross Country Cafe (CCC) instead.

I was reading a very interesting article on nola.com about the CONO & the trip to Chicago. The author was traveling in a roomette so there were no worries about food service. However, she said that the coach passengers should get something from the Subway counter in the train station in NOLA because there usually isn't enough food for the remaining passengers. That and the fact that the coach passengers have to wait in line to eat the snack-type food. What the heck? So the menu that's posted on Amtrak's website is only for 1st class passengers?

The CCC is just a combo diner/snack car that has the regular posted menu along with an all day snack/sandwich menu. It serves breakfast/lunch and diner @ the regular meal times but anyone can eat in the diner whether coach or first class. There are a couple of "specials" for this route that aren't really "specials", so called gumbo (tourist strength! :lol: ) and either bourbon pecan pie (summer) or bread puddin' pie (winter!). It is, as are all food prices not included in the first class fare a little pricey but he shouldn't starve! Buying the subway meal in the NOL station is a good idea since the train leaves after lunch! There's a reason they call this train "the chicken bone express"! :lol:

 

[shytown]

Another question - -
I'm not sure I understand the food situation on the CONO. There is no longer the "dining car." But there is the Cross Country Cafe (CCC) instead.

I was reading a very interesting article on nola.com about the CONO & the trip to Chicago. The author was traveling in a roomette so there were no worries about food service. However, she said that the coach passengers should get something from the Subway counter in the train station in NOLA because there usually isn't enough food for the remaining passengers. That and the fact that the coach passengers have to wait in line to eat the snack-type food. What the heck? So the menu that's posted on Amtrak's website is only for 1st class passengers?

The CCC is just a combo diner/snack car that has the regular posted menu along with an all day snack/sandwich menu. It serves breakfast/lunch and diner @ the regular meal times but anyone can eat in the diner whether coach or first class. There are a couple of "specials" for this route that aren't really "specials", so called gumbo (tourist strength! :lol: ) and either bourbon pecan pie (summer) or bread puddin' pie (winter!). It is, as are all food prices not included in the first class fare a little pricey but he shouldn't starve! Buying the subway meal in the NOL station is a good idea since the train leaves after lunch! There's a reason they call this train "the chicken bone express"! :lol:

thanks, Jim.

 

[the_traveler]

I'm not sure I understand the food situation on the CONO. There is no longer the "dining car." But there is the Cross Country Cafe (CCC) instead.
...

What the heck? So the menu that's posted on Amtrak's website is only for 1st class passengers?

As Jim said, the CCC is both as a "lounge" and as the diner. The diner portion has the same menu for both coach and sleeper passengers. The only differences is that those in a sleeper get first choice of meal times, and their meals are included in the fare. (Coach passengers must pay for their meals.) The "lounge" portion has a cafe counter where you can purchase items to bring back to your seat.

 

[the_traveler]

yeah but what happens if the QT machine is down and the ticket agent is out to lunch or something then what do you do. you can't board without a ticket.

Bad advise!

I could see that if a train departs at like 4 PM, an agent might take a lunch break between 12 and 1. (And either way, he/she will be back at 1 - which would be 3 hours before the train's departure.) However, I highly doubt that an agent would be allowed to take an hour's lunch during the 1 hour prior to the train's departure! (And remember that NOL only has 3 trains departing - all within a few hours of each other!)