Getting AGR select Plus was great! Aside from the points for the free travel, I have unlimited use of the Club Acela. (Plus the Metropolitan lounges and the other first class lounges at in other stations.) This is especially great at Washinton Union Station, because from the Club Acela you can skip the cattle line for boarding, one of the less enjoyable parts of the Amtrak (or any carrier's) travel experience, IMO.
Anyway, today I took a day trip to Philly, and enjoyed the Club Acela at 30th stree, so now I've experienced all of them on the Northeast Corridor -- Boston, New York, Philly, and DC. I would say that my favorite is Boston, as it's the most spacious, and quietest. However, there's no direct access to the platforms, so when they call your train, you have to go down and join the cattle line. It's aslo on a mezzanine, so if you have cumbersome luggage, you have to use an elevator.
Philadelphia's is also very nice, , it's on a mezzanine, too, but they have elevators that allegedly go down directly to the platform. I say allegedly becuase this evening the elevator stopped at the main level and refused to go lower, so we had to get out and join the cattle line (which wasn't all that long, actually.) Also, the Philly Club Acela could use some soundproofing, as the main hall PA was clearly audible. A positive note, they only had one TV with that @#%#^@!! CNN blaring, abd it was down at the far end.
The DC Club Acela is very convenient, it's nice and isolated from the hubub outside in the station, and it has good access to the platforms. You don't have to go up an elevator or stairs, but the place has a bit of a cramped feeling, and it seems that you can't escape the TVs with CNN blaring. (If I hear one more political analysis of Romeny, Santorum and Newt, I'll scream, or at least vomit -- that's on the basis of the quality of the journalism, not that they're covering those guys.) You klnow, everybod now has mobile devices. Maybe they can get rid of the TVs.
The worst club Acela of the bunch is in New York Penn. It's like Washington in that it's quite and you don't have to go up any stairs, but it's kind of cramped. There's also no direct connection to the platform, so when they cal your train, and your'e not a sleeper passenger, you're out in the cattle line. Not that I'm complaining too much, as it beats being in the main waiting area. (I especially remember one time we were boarding the Adirondack -- there were 2 cattle lines, at least we were going to Port Kent, so we didn't have to be in the Montreal line where they were checking passports.
Agreements? Disagreements?
Anyway, today I took a day trip to Philly, and enjoyed the Club Acela at 30th stree, so now I've experienced all of them on the Northeast Corridor -- Boston, New York, Philly, and DC. I would say that my favorite is Boston, as it's the most spacious, and quietest. However, there's no direct access to the platforms, so when they call your train, you have to go down and join the cattle line. It's aslo on a mezzanine, so if you have cumbersome luggage, you have to use an elevator.
Philadelphia's is also very nice, , it's on a mezzanine, too, but they have elevators that allegedly go down directly to the platform. I say allegedly becuase this evening the elevator stopped at the main level and refused to go lower, so we had to get out and join the cattle line (which wasn't all that long, actually.) Also, the Philly Club Acela could use some soundproofing, as the main hall PA was clearly audible. A positive note, they only had one TV with that @#%#^@!! CNN blaring, abd it was down at the far end.
The DC Club Acela is very convenient, it's nice and isolated from the hubub outside in the station, and it has good access to the platforms. You don't have to go up an elevator or stairs, but the place has a bit of a cramped feeling, and it seems that you can't escape the TVs with CNN blaring. (If I hear one more political analysis of Romeny, Santorum and Newt, I'll scream, or at least vomit -- that's on the basis of the quality of the journalism, not that they're covering those guys.) You klnow, everybod now has mobile devices. Maybe they can get rid of the TVs.
The worst club Acela of the bunch is in New York Penn. It's like Washington in that it's quite and you don't have to go up any stairs, but it's kind of cramped. There's also no direct connection to the platform, so when they cal your train, and your'e not a sleeper passenger, you're out in the cattle line. Not that I'm complaining too much, as it beats being in the main waiting area. (I especially remember one time we were boarding the Adirondack -- there were 2 cattle lines, at least we were going to Port Kent, so we didn't have to be in the Montreal line where they were checking passports.
Agreements? Disagreements?
