Coach vs. Business

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darren

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Traveling Rochester, NY to NYC Penn Station in January

Trip is just under 7 hours.

Anyone have experience to know if business class is worth it. I don't mind paying extra for a more pleasant 7 hour trip.
 
I'd highly recommend it. Business class on that route should see you getting a Club-Dinette car. Half the car is given over to the cafe and tables, the other half of the car is the business class section. So not only are you close enough to the cafe to see how long the line is before you walk to the cafe, you also get free soft drink or coffee, 2 & 1 seating, which means that you get a nice roomy faux-leather seat complete with foot rest and calf rest. As well as outlets at every seat, lots of legroom, and a pretty decent recline on the chair.
 
I know business class on the NEC is totally worth it with 2+2 seating, so if this route really does have the 2+1 seating, that would be even better (especially if traveling alone).
 
Thanks for the info. I will be traveling with my daughter.

The outlets will be nice for my laptop and her portable DVD player.

The round trip price increase for 2 or us is about $100, so this is not too bad for 14 hours of travel.

The Amtrak web site is a little vague on what you get in business class. They give a list of items that "may be included".

It is hard to shell out the extra money for things that "may be included". It would be nice it they would be specific on the differences once you have selected a route.

Looks like a go. Thanks to everyone who responded.
 
Looks like H791 only applies if you have 2 adult fares, not 1 adult and 1 child (under 15 years of age)

The fare for 2 adults after the discount is the same as the fare for 1 adult and 1 child.

Thanks. It was worth a try.
 
spacecadet said:
I know business class on the NEC is totally worth it with 2+2 seating, so if this route really does have the 2+1 seating, that would be even better (especially if traveling alone).
Click to expand...
I find business class on the NEC is a waste of money. They 2+2 seating is way too similar to coach to be worth paying anything extra.

In contrast, the 2+1 seating is well worth it. As mentioned, the seats are much different than coach, and are like a La-z-boy recliner. Very comfy!

Though, with both types of BC seating, the "free" soda is warm, room temperature, 1/2 size can. That really irks me because they have full size, cold, soda on board which they sell to coach passengers.
 
Tony said:
spacecadet said:
I know business class on the NEC is totally worth it with 2+2 seating, so if this route really does have the 2+1 seating, that would be even better (especially if traveling alone).
Click to expand...
I find business class on the NEC is a waste of money. They 2+2 seating is way too similar to coach to be worth paying anything extra.

In contrast, the 2+1 seating is well worth it. As mentioned, the seats are much different than coach, and are like a La-z-boy recliner. Very comfy!

Though, with both types of BC seating, the "free" soda is warm, room temperature, 1/2 size can. That really irks me because they have full size, cold, soda on board which they sell to coach passengers.
Click to expand...

Sometimes they have refrigerated full cans, mostly half cans though, but if there isn't that many people you could probably get a few cans.Who knows?

cpamtfan-Peter
 
Tony said:
I find business class on the NEC is a waste of money. They 2+2 seating is way too similar to coach to be worth paying anything extra.
Click to expand...
74 vs. 60 seats is not similar to someone who is 6'4".
 
I went Business Class on the Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to NY and had ACRES of legroom. Put it this way, when I wanted to get out of my seat the lady beside me didn't have to move at all - I could just walk out of my seat without her moving a muscle. I'm 5'6 and could just about reach the footrest attached to the seat in front of me. Anyone smaller would have a problem with that actually.

The thing I didn't like about the business car actually was that I was up quite close to the top of the car where it joins with the cafe section so it could be a bit noisy with everybody at the cafe. Plus, the curtains between business and the cafe often weren't drawn properly so you got curious people constantly staring in to see what business class was like. I got a bit fed up of feeling like I was an exhibit at a zoo. I would advise to stay more towards the back of the car so you don't get that
 
ralfp said:
The extra cans, or the supposed increase in legroom? The use of a sticker to relabel the car makes me suspicious about the legroom situation.
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Legroom. It's not a "supposed" increase. It's a large increase.

Now, I'll say this. On some trains, Amtrak will randomly throw in a business class car or two in the coach section. Depending on the train, you might get lucky and ride in business class (without the free drink) for a coach fare. But I wouldn't count on that.

But to say there's no difference between a 60 and 74 seat coach... I don't even know what to say about that. 7 extra rows of seats makes a big difference.
 
spacecadet & ralfp,

That's only 3 1/2 rows (2x2 x 3.5 = 14 seats)

So three rows and a couple of seats later, that's a fairly decent delta in legroom. Now, mind you, if you're only in the mid 5-foot range, not a big deal. Sort of like when American Airlines removed like one row of seats and everyone got about an inch more legroom, it was enought to run a full board ad campaign over.
 
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VentureForth said:
spacecadet & ralfp,
That's only 3 1/2 rows (2x2 x 3.5 = 14 seats)
Click to expand...
Don't blame me; I was going by spacecadet's numbers, though my not catching that 7*4 = 28 != 14 is pretty stupid. :)

VentureForth said:
So three rows and a couple of seats later, that's a fairly decent delta in legroom. Now, mind you, if you're only in the mid 5-foot range, not a big deal. Sort of like when American Airlines removed like one row of seats and everyone got about an inch more legroom, it was enought to run a full board ad campaign over.
Click to expand...
31" -> 33" is a huge deal. 40"+ to a few more is nice, but not that big of a deal.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
I think the tape-sign converted ones are just regular Amcoaches with signs taped to them.
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The ones I've seen are Amfleet IIs from LD service that are filling in for Amfleet I business Cars. The Amfleet IIs have extra room anyway and are essentially the same as Amfleet I BC cars the taped sign just covers the coach label on the Amfleet II. Nobody's getting cheated out of anything they are just getting a substitute car with a different labeling system.
 
spacecadet said:
74 vs. 60 seats is not similar to someone who is 6'4".
Click to expand...
The coach cars still have more than enough leg room for you. All you get in BC, is a just a small amount of extra leg room, that you wouldn't be using anyway.

The point is, Amtrak does not put all the extra room that could be created from having fewer seats, into leg room. Most of that extra room is actually wasted.

And that assuming that there are actually fewer seats. In other words, that the BC car isn't simply a regular coach car with a "Business Class" sign tapped on it. I have seen that, all too often.
 
cpamtfan said:
Sometimes they have refrigerated full cans, mostly half cans though, but if there isn't that many people you could probably get a few cans.Who knows?
Click to expand...
Yes, a BC passenger can go back and get a second 1/2 size can of soda. However, you can't get two at the same time.

However, two 1/2 size warm cans doesn't equal one ice cold can, at least to me. :D
 
Would everyone please write Amtrak about how much of a dis-service BC is? I think they need to know from everyone possible that the soda rules, the inconsistent service, little difference between Amfleet II BC and Amfleet II Coach are not usually worth the extra coin paid?

I think in long distance BC, they should charge double what they are now, and ensure that the soda is always cold and flowing, and that service is just as good at the end of the route as it is at the beginning of the route.
 
Tony said:
And that assuming that there are actually fewer seats. In other words, that the BC car isn't simply a regular coach car with a "Business Class" sign tapped on it. I have seen that, all too often.
Click to expand...
See above - just because there's a "taped over" sign doesn't mean that the car is the same as a regular corridor car.
 
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