Taking my first trip: A bunch of questions

[ehbowen]

My system shows the Meteor as 29hr and the Star as 25hr.

I'm going from Florida to Penn Station

Both show this note as well. <<This trip requires you to make a connection at different train stations.>>

And thank you so much for the detailed response.

Where exactly in Florida are you originating? Some stations which are directly served by the Silver Star are not served by the Silver Meteor, so yes you would have to transfer if you're boarding there.

It's not a big issue. I just had a misconception about how full the train would be seeing as I've never taken one before. I figured it was not nearly as popular of a form of travel for such a long distance as a plane. So therefore, I didn't think I'd be getting on a full train for a full-day trip. I figured at times it would be full but for long stretches it would not be.

I've been on a train from Houston to Chicago which was so full that they were seating overbooked passengers in the lounge car as well as the diner (during non-meal hours) almost all of the way. Of course, United Airlines was on strike...but, still, you can never tell when you might hit the jackpot.

No, don't mind being next to anyone for an hour, two, three, four, five, six. I would prefer not to be for 25 straight hours, that's all.  

We all feel the same way. That's why it's a good thing that there's a dining car and a lounge car. Get up and walk around. You can't do that on a bus or an airliner.

 

[pennyk]

No, don't mind being next to anyone for an hour, two, three, four, five, six. I would prefer not to be for 25 straight hours, that's all.  

I suggest that you assume that you will have a seat mate for the entire trip.  Generally on the Silvers, they seat passengers in cars by destination.  You may be seated in a car with passengers going to New York and Newark.  Your seatmate may be going to the same destination.

 

[trnzone]

Where exactly in Florida are you going to? Because if it’s Tampa or Lakeland (which are served exclusively by the Star), that would explain the extra travel time.

Going from South Florida area (east coast) to NYC. Looks like my work travel system has the names messed up. The work website shows "98 Silver Star" (25hr) and "92 Silver Meteor" (29hr) and Amtrak shows the 98 is Meteor and 92 is Star. Hence my confusion! So at least I got that cleared up. Haha. So I can get dining car and shorter commute!

Is there a way to use a laptop at your seat (such as a tray table) or do you literally have to put it on your lap?

 

[trnzone]

I suggest that you assume that you will have a seat mate for the entire trip.  Generally on the Silvers, they seat passengers in cars by destination.  You may be seated in a car with passengers going to New York and Newark.  Your seatmate may be going to the same destination.

Definitely the assumption I will now make, which is fine, just not what I thought at first.

Any idea if you can upgrade to a roomette once you book a regular ticket? Cause I'm wondering if i get work to pay for the ticket, I could pay for the upgrades.

 

[cpotisch]

It's not a big issue. I just had a misconception about how full the train would be seeing as I've never taken one before. I figured it was not nearly as popular of a form of travel for such a long distance as a plane. So therefore, I didn't think I'd be getting on a full train for a full-day trip. I figured at times it would be full but for long stretches it would not be.

Here’s the thing: Whether or not the train is much less popular than flying doesn’t really matter when it comes to crowdedness. Amtrak is not going to run unnecessarily long trains that drastically exceed demand, so if demand is generally low, so will the train’s capacity. The perfect scenario for them is to have every train run completely full. So while you are correct that the train is WAY less popular than flying, they still run reasonably full a lot of the time. 

 

[ehbowen]

Going from South Florida area (east coast) to NYC. Looks like my work travel system has the names messed up. The work website shows "98 Silver Star" (25hr) and "92 Silver Meteor" (29hr) and Amtrak shows the 98 is Meteor and 92 is Star. Hence my confusion! So at least I got that cleared up. Haha. So I can get dining car and shorter commute!

Is there a way to use a laptop at your seat (such as a tray table) or do you literally have to put it on your lap?

There is a very generously sized tray table and 110V outlets at each coach seat. (No tray tables at the forward bulkhead, unfortunately.) When I travel coach with a laptop I carry a Kensington cable lock and lock it to the frame of the tray table when I want to get up and leave my seat. Never had a problem with it.

 

[cpotisch]

Going from South Florida area (east coast) to NYC. Looks like my work travel system has the names messed up. The work website shows "98 Silver Star" (25hr) and "92 Silver Meteor" (29hr) and Amtrak shows the 98 is Meteor and 92 is Star. Hence my confusion! So at least I got that cleared up. Haha. So I can get dining car and shorter commute!

Is there a way to use a laptop at your seat (such as a tray table) or do you literally have to put it on your lap?

Firstly, can you tell us THE ACTUAL STATION(S) YOU ARE LOOKING AT? Not the region. The actual stations.

Secondly, yes, there are pretty decently sized tray tables at every seat.

 

[ehbowen]

Definitely the assumption I will now make, which is fine, just not what I thought at first.

Any idea if you can upgrade to a roomette once you book a regular ticket? Cause I'm wondering if i get work to pay for the ticket, I could pay for the upgrades.

Yes, absolutely. All you have to do is call Amtrak, speak to an agent and give him your reservation number, and say you want to upgrade it to a sleeper.

I suggest first that you become familiar with Amsnag and see what the various sleeper "bucket" prices are. Try to make your upgrade when the price is at the lowest "bucket".

 

[trnzone]

There is a very generously sized tray table and 110V outlets at each coach seat. (No tray tables at the forward bulkhead, unfortunately.) When I travel coach with a laptop I carry a Kensington cable lock and lock it to the frame of the tray table when I want to get up and leave my seat. Never had a problem with it.

Smart. I will definitely do that. And that answers my earlier question about leaving it at my seat.

 

[trnzone]

Firstly, can you tell us THE ACTUAL STATION(S) YOU ARE LOOKING AT? Not the region. The actual stations.

Secondly, yes, there are decent sized tray tables at every seat.

I'm looking at either FTL or WPB to Penn Station.

 

[ehbowen]

I'm looking at either FTL or WPB to Penn Station.

Gotcha. If you board at either of those stations the Meteor goes (fairly) straight north along the coast to NYC. The Star makes a diversion west to pick up passengers from Tampa before heading to Jacksonville and points north. That's the reason for most of the extra four hours.

 

[trnzone]

Gotcha. If you board at either of those stations the Meteor goes (fairly) straight north along the coast to NYC. The Star makes a diversion west to pick up passengers from Tampa before heading to Jacksonville and points north. That's the reason for most of the extra four hours.

Thanks. And that might explain why the roomettes are $200 cheaper.

 

[trnzone]

Yes, absolutely. All you have to do is call Amtrak, speak to an agent and give him your reservation number, and say you want to upgrade it to a sleeper.

I suggest first that you become familiar with Amsnag and see what the various sleeper "bucket" prices are. Try to make your upgrade when the price is at the lowest "bucket".

Looking at Amsnag now. I get the concept. Tried to read up more about it without asking but there's not much out there. What does the "bucket" mean? Right now it's showing the identical prices to Amtrak.com. I assume the point is to search a large list of dates and see if one of those dates happens to be way cheaper?

 

[ehbowen]

Thanks. And that might explain why the roomettes are $200 cheaper.

Roomettes are (well, should be) cheaper on the Silver Star because it doesn't carry a dining car and so you're not paying for the "meals included" with your room. If you splurge for the Silver Meteor, well, come hungry to make up for that extra $200.

By the way, since I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, the roomette surcharge is per room, not per person. Roomettes can accommodate two. If you choose to bring along a traveling companion to share your roomette, all he or she need pay is the price of a low bucket coach fare. (Not "Saver", but regular coach lowest price.) Just make sure that he's on your reservation, either added formally to the main reservation or with an "open sleeper" paper ticket linked to your reservation. If he's holding a coach ticket they'll make him ride in coach, even if there's room in your roomette.

 

[cpotisch]

Definitely the assumption I will now make, which is fine, just not what I thought at first.

Any idea if you can upgrade to a roomette once you book a regular ticket? Cause I'm wondering if i get work to pay for the ticket, I could pay for the upgrades.

You definitely can do that. Amtrak has a very loose no change fee policy, so just call 1-800-USA-RAIL (Amtrak’s main number) and ask them to *modify* your ticket to a Roomette. I emphasize the word “modify” because a lot of Amtrak agents don’t really know what they’re doing, and if you just use the word “change”, for example, they may cancel your reservation and rebook you, incurring a fee.

However, though you definitely can  change your reservation, I would really recommend just booking it all at once right from the start. a couple reasons: Since sleeper prices fluctuate depending on remaining availability, the time of year, and how far out you are booking, by starting with coach and then upgrading later, you run the risk of ending up having to pay significantly more for your upgrade. Whereas if you pick and choose your dates based on what sleepers cost, and then book it as such, you’ve got much better odds at a cheap(er) upgrade. Does that make sense?

 

[ehbowen]

Looking at Amsnag now. I get the concept. Tried to read up more about it without asking but there's not much out there. What does the "bucket" mean? Right now it's showing the identical prices to Amtrak.com. I assume the point is to search a large list of dates and see if one of those dates happens to be way cheaper?

"Bucket" means that the prices do not free-float like the airlines (you can never tell what an airfare might be), but that there are (usually) five predetermined price levels from lowest to highest which Amtrak switches to depending upon how much traffic they expect. So, when you look at those roomette prices on Amsnag for different dates, see how they stack up from lowest to highest. If the current price for the date you want to travel is high, then you may want to wait...it could very well drop. On the other hand if the price is low, grab it now...it can only go up. If even  the lowest price is outside your budget, plan to travel coach.

 

[trnzone]

You definitely can do that. Amtrak has a very loose no change fee policy, so just call 1-800-USA-RAIL (Amtrak’s main number) and ask them to *modify* your ticket to a Roomette. I emphasize the word “modify” because a lot of Amtrak agents don’t really know what they’re doing, and if you just use the word “change”, for example, they may cancel your reservation and rebook you, incurring a fee.

However, though you definitely can  change your reservation, I would really recommend just booking it all at once right from the start. a couple reasons: Since sleeper prices fluctuate depending on remaining availability, the time of year, and how far out you are booking, by starting with coach and then upgrading later, you run the risk of ending up having to pay significantly more for your upgrade. Whereas if you pick and choose your dates based on what sleepers cost, and then book it as such, you’ve got much better odds at a cheap(er) upgrade. Does that make sense?

Makes total sense, but I can't do that. Through work I can only book coach. But I'm quite sure I could book coach then call up an hour later and get the good price? (BTW, I'm booking just under four months out. Roomette right now is $574 for Meteor.

 

[trnzone]

"Bucket" means that the prices do not free-float like the airlines (you can never tell what an airfare might be), but that there are (usually) five predetermined price levels from lowest to highest which Amtrak switches to depending upon how much traffic they expect. So, when you look at those roomette prices on Amsnag for different dates, see how they stack up from lowest to highest. If the current price for the date you want to travel is high, then you may want to wait...it could very well drop. On the other hand if the price is low, grab it now...it can only go up. If even  the lowest price is outside your budget, plan to travel coach.

Gotcha. Roomette prices I see for the 98 Silver Meteor in a 20-day span are 415, 476, 574, 671 ... for Star 342, 364, 385, 403

So it seems like a $282 upgrade for the Meteor (at its lowest point) and $209 (at its lowest point) for the Star ... each way. Can afford it, not sure I want to pay it. Haha.

 

[cpotisch]

Looking at Amsnag now. I get the concept. Tried to read up more about it without asking but there's not much out there. What does the "bucket" mean? Right now it's showing the identical prices to Amtrak.com. I assume the point is to search a large list of dates and see if one of those dates happens to be way cheaper?

Here is a relatively example description or pricing buckets. For any given Amtrak itinerary, there are a set of four or five possible fares. So if you are one person getting X accommodation from Point Y to Point Z, there will be four or five possible prices. Now, depending on factors such as remaining availability of that accommodation, the time of year, and how far out you are looking, the booking system will set it to one of those buckets.

AmSnag simply allows you to quickly and easily view fares for a range of dates (up to 30 at a time), all at once. The prices are exactly what you get on Amtrak.com, but it allows you to get a sense of the range of prices and the cheapest dates. It’s really best for anyone who is flexible about their days of travel, however it can still be helpful to see what the possible prices are, as that can be used to determine whether one should book now, wait for the price to drop, etc. TLDR: AmSnag is a good way to get a sense of pricing and dates of travel quickly and painlessly.

 

[cpotisch]

Gotcha. Roomette prices I see for the 98 Silver Meteor in a 20-day span are 415, 476, 574, 671 ... for Star 342, 364, 385, 403

So it seems like a $282 upgrade for the Meteor (at its lowest point) and $209 (at its lowest point) for the Star ... each way. Can afford it, not sure I want to pay it. Haha.

If you can find a low bucket Roomette and you can afford it, DEFINITELY go for it. I swear, if you have the money, it is absolutely positively worth it. 

 

[ehbowen]

Gotcha. Roomette prices I see for the 98 Silver Meteor in a 20-day span are 415, 476, 574, 671 ... for Star 342, 364, 385, 403

So it seems like a $282 upgrade for the Meteor (at its lowest point) and $209 (at its lowest point) for the Star ... each way. Can afford it, not sure I want to pay it. Haha.

Go ahead and have your work purchase the coach ticket; have it in hand. Keep an eye on Amsnag. If the price drops to a level you're comfortable with, call and upgrade right away. If not, just go coach.

By the way, bucket pricing applies to coach tickets, too...and rail fare in sleepers is always low (standard, not "saver") bucket. If they purchase a coach ticket at a high bucket of, say, $151 when low bucket is actually $118, then when you call to upgrade you'll already have $33 worth of credit towards the upgrade...as long as you "modify", as cpotisch suggested, and don't let a hamhanded agent run up penalties by canceling your existing reservation.

 

[trnzone]

If you can find a low bucket Roomette and you can afford it, DEFINITELY go for it. I swear, if you have the money, it is absolutely positively worth it. 

Is it worth it MORE because of (a) for the space or (b) food is included? The reason I ask is ... It would be 4 extra hours each way, but I'm wondering if I did the Star without the food if you still think it would be worth it? 

 

[trnzone]

Go ahead and have your work purchase the coach ticket; have it in hand. Keep an eye on Amsnag. If the price drops to a level you're comfortable with, call and upgrade right away. If not, just go coach.

By the way, bucket pricing applies to coach tickets, too...and rail fare in sleepers is always low (standard, not "saver") bucket. If they purchase a coach ticket at a high bucket of, say, $151 when low bucket is actually $118, then when you call to upgrade you'll already have $33 worth of credit towards the upgrade...as long as you "modify", as cpotisch suggested, and don't let a hamhanded agent run up penalties by canceling your existing reservation.

It looks like my company has some deal, so the round-trip tickets are actually super cheap -- $265 all-in no matter which day or train I choose. Good idea in theory but won't work. Haha.

 

[ehbowen]

If privacy is important to you, take the roomette on either the Meteor or the Star. If the meals and the extra 4 hours saved are worth the additional $85 (or whatever) for the Meteor, take the Meteor.

 

[trnzone]

If privacy is important to you, take the roomette on either the Meteor or the Star. If the meals and the extra 4 hours saved are worth the additional $85 (or whatever) for the Meteor, take the Meteor.

When you put it like that, the Meteor roomette is a no-brainer if I can get it for that price (and want to pay it).