What's the chances

[rile42]

I'm planning a trip from Cleveland to LAX very soon. I see where the SWC is listed on Rail Sale. I'd like to use a sleeper however. What are the chances that I can get one at Union Station the day I depart if I depart in the middle of the week?

 

[Trogdor]

IIRC, a rail sale can't be upgraded to a sleeper except once on board the train. Therefore, even being in Union Station a few minutes before departure time wouldn't work. You'd have to either take your chances at getting a room on board, or buy the sleeper with the coach reservation (thus paying a higher coach fare).

 

[amtrakmichigan]

IIRC, a rail sale can't be upgraded to a sleeper except once on board the train. Therefore, even being in Union Station a few minutes before departure time wouldn't work. You'd have to either take your chances at getting a room on board, or buy the sleeper with the coach reservation (thus paying a higher coach fare).

You can't upgrade to anything with the rail sale ticket, not even a business class seat. I think this policy is very foolish. IMO what Amtrak is saying is this " we have 6 rooms empty at time of departure, but we can't take your extra $100 for a room that will be empty for the rest of the trip. But we here at Amtrak can't figure out why we are always straped for cash and the feds balk at giving us more money ! "

I have always reserved a room ahead of time. Getting a sleeper is by far the most important part of my overnight train trip IMO. So I won't gamble on saving a few bucks and might have to travel in coach overnight. I had a bad experience traveling overnight in coach about 12 years ago, and I told myself I would never ever do that again.

 

[rile42]

Thanks. I did know about only upgrading on the train but forgot it.

 

[jccollins]

I have one tip to try to check for sleeper availability if you are very flexible with your dates and can prepare for a last minute departure. Go to Amtrak's Website and type in your origin and destination stations in the fast fare finder a few hours before your scheduled departure on the train and price your trip on that date for 8 adults. Select your train on the next page and then click the upgraded accommodations button. The following page will let you select up to 8 roommetes, 8 bedrooms, and 1-3 family bedrooms (depending on which train you are checking). If there are 8 roommetes or bedrooms showing available there are at least that many available on that day's train. If the number is less under either of these categories that means there are only that many left between your origin and destination on that specific dates.

Even if you can't plan for a last minute departure this should give you an idea of how many sleepers go out empty on the day of departure if you check the sleeper availability for the website daily for a week or so. If you decide to take your chances and try to upgrade on board, you might want to print out the sheet showing availability a few hours before departure and bring it with you. If the conductor tries to act too busy to sell an upgrade or tells you everything is sold out the availability sheet might end up being a good bargaining chip. Granted, it will not be completely accurate when you board since things change at the last minute and upgrades might have already been sold on board, but it is worth a shot.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

To AmtrakMichigan - what happened in coach that was a bad experience?

 

[amtrakmichigan]

To AmtrakMichigan - what happened in coach that was a bad experience?

To answer your question Gingee the experience I had riding in coach overnight may not be considered to be a bad experience to others, but I wasn't impressed at all with the surroundings.

I rode R/T from Toledo, Oh to Rochester, NY on the Lake Shore Limited. This was in the early 90's when this train was still running Heritage Coach's, sleepers, slumbercoachs and even Vista domes . All I remember was the train being near full. People with their shoes and socks off with feet hanging off arm rest and in the asle. Snoring coming from people with there mouths wide open from all directions, and a baby crying once in a while. And the car smelled like a bunch of people that haven't taken a bath in a couple days. It was probably one of the worst enviroments I have ever been in. Thank god it was only a 8 hour trip to Rochester. That is when I vowed to never ever ride coach overnight again. To me spending a couple hundred bucks on a sleeper is WELL WORTH the investment. Again some people may not have a problem at all with this type of enviroment. But I can't even fall asleep if my wife or dog is snoring next to me, let alone a bunch of strangers in very tight quarters.