My Amtrak trip to Key West. You won't believe.

Several years ago my wife and I took an "America By Rail" trip.  Rode the Amtrak out of Dearborn, MI to Chicago where the trip started.  We went southwest on what they said was the old Santa Fe Trail on to Los Angeles.  There we boarded a huge cruise ship and hopped in and out of ports all the way to Vancouver, Canada.  We boarded the Amtrak there (the Empire Builder?) and rode back to Chicago.  It was a very enjoyable trip.  I will say that the roomettes are a joke though.  Not designed well to sleep two people.

Dennis

The lunch menu and the dinner menu are the same you have a choice of four different meals the same for lunch and dinner. The meals are lousy, They  are not good. You can eat these meals in the dining car and you have to clean off your own table. This is first class?????

eddie g posted:

The lunch menu and the dinner menu are the same you have a choice of four different meals the same for lunch and dinner there are lousy the meals are not good. You can eat these meals in the dining car.

Is the dining car you speak of the "old" dining car, but without the table service.

Do you order this "pre-prepared" meal from a person, and is it heated for you? I've seen a photo of different meals laid out on a table...just a publicity shot?

I understand this is only available to sleeper passengers. Is the meal included in the ticket price? Were other people in the dining car?

colorado hirailer posted:

Well, if Rich Melvin won't long distance Amtrak, it looks like my non-tourist rail travel will remain confined to Alaska and assorted Brit and European rail systems.

The Lovely and Gracious Linda and I do our long distance traveling in this...

This “train” runs on my schedule, goes wherever I want it to go, and it’s always on time.

Ahhh, the beautiful view on Amtrak. We had some bad trips but more good ones. Don

I grew up riding trains; steam and diesel. Passenger service is no longer available from central  KY. Several years ago my wife and I took the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles and  vacationed in Laguna Beach. We took the Coast Starlight from LA to Portland and the Empire Builder from Portland back to Chicago. We booked a first class drawing room on all 3 legs of the trip. The Coast Starlight was the nicest of the 3 trains. Equipment on the Southwest Chief was somewhat old and worn. We arrived at our destinations on time and had the opportunity to get off and stretch our legs at various stops. Showers are very small and I would avoid the head end drawing room as it is smaller due to the bulkhead. I would also advise having meals served in your room. You can't control who you sit with in the diner unless you have a 4 person party that takes an entire table. On our first trip to the diner we had a guest at our table who seemed to be quite ill with a severe respiratory illness making the meal extremely unpleasant. All in all, however, 5 nights on trains was an enjoyable experience. The scenery was beautiful and intriguing which you can't see from the air. The Coast Starlight follows the coast along the shore for much of the trip north. We saw whales jumping and numerous off shore oil rigs in addition to the beauty of the Pacific Coast. I  am retired and don't have occasion to go to the west coast on business as I used to. I flew to the Rose Bowl last year but I would like to take another train trip.    

Dave Drake posted:

 I would also advise having meals served in your room. You can't control who you sit with in the diner unless you have a 4 person party that takes an entire table. 

Interesting. On our previous 4 overnight trips, we considered this one of the highlights. All toll, about 7 others couples, and interesting conversations with all but one couple, who spoke very little English. Considering your preferences, NEVER take a river cruise. We have seen groups of 4 sitting together 3 meals a day for 2 weeks straight.

gunny posted:

Eddie,

Jet Blue  5 hours Portland to Fort Lautertail $282. 00 round trip

Gunny

Yup, should have flown...

Amtrak Meteor menu

Rich, I could stay in a Hilton or Marriott 5000 times for what your motor home cost, and I don't have to clean out the poop.

I took the Coast Starlight from Portland, OR to Oakland, CA last August.  I had a roomette.  The train was about an hour late arriving in Oakland.  Overall the trip was very pleasant.  I was amazed to learn that many of the passengers were getting on other Amtrak trains in LA to continue traveling east and south.   The sleepers were completely sold out.  Here are some photos from the trip.  NH Joe

Dining Car

Table Setting.  The top is a sheet of heavy paper over a table cloth.  The blue napkins are cloth.  

Dinner.  The crab cake was good.  The steak was over cooked but OK.  I think that all meals were brought aboard fully cooked and reheated.  The plate was hard plastic.

The wine was good and reasonably priced.  

Breakfast was good.

Lounge car at about 1 am during a station stop at Kalamath Falls, OR.  I like to watch the night time scenery.  

I like riding on any form of transportation and consider a long train trip to be an adventure. I'm content if I have a comfortable seat at a window, a functioning restroom, and adequate food and beverages. If I were riding from New York to LA, I would try to stay awake as much as possible to see everything we passed - cities, towns, stations, bridges, tunnels, railroad yards, scenery, and other trains - day and night. It's not just the destination - it's also the journey. Now that I'm retired, close adherence to the schedule is not as important as it once was - within reason... If I'm in a hurry, there is an airline. The reasons I enjoy the ride are probably the same ones that made me a model railroader. Just my opinion...

MELGAR

This March may be a lot different then last August. I don't think the Starlight is considered a long distance train. Those pictures are the same as the Empire Builder, SW Chief, and the Zephyr as of NOW.

eddie g posted:

Rich, I could stay in a Hilton or Marriott 5000 times for what your motor home cost, and I don't have to clean out the poop.

I doubt it. That coach just barely broke 6 figures when we bought it used in 2012. I sleep in the same bed every night...a bed that I know that has only been slept in by me and The Lovely and Gracious Linda, not the 5,000 other people who slept in that hotel bed before you checked in. No thanks!

As for the poop...dumping the tanks is a 5-minute task once a week when we're on the road full time. Big deal.

By reading everyones posts, it is WAY BETTER to get a roomette. FWIW, in addition to my original post, about the same trip, we could only afford regular seats. Wise Mrs RedJimmy insisted we brought food for the coming and going trips.....AND both ways the air conditioning broke down on the two coach cars on either end of ours.  We all endured each other, a mass of humanity piled into our car during a HOT JULY train trip, folks sleeping on the floor, me switching my seat for some moms with babies.....  I wont go to much into the messes left in the bathrooms...PLEASE!   GET A ROOMETTE if your wallet can handle the cost!

breezinup posted:

superwarp1 posted:

Amtrak long distance trains are joke, been a joke for a long time.  The service sucks,  food sucks, the equipment is old, etc, etc

You forgot one : the support from Washington sucks.

They put Amtrak on a starvation diet, and then require it to keep trying to run on the treadmill.

Typical of Congress. One faction wants to eliminate a program, another wants to preserve it. Neither has the votes to prevail, so they compromise on starvation funding and the result is, e.g. Long distance Amtrak

I left Omaha at 5 am to Chicago and on to Rockville, MD for the 2018 2 Rail National. I took coach to Chicago as it was there by 1;30. From there, a roomette to Rockville. It was a very pleasant ride and the food was tolerable. I slept well. I spent some time in the observation car reading and watching the world go by. 

On the way back I ticketed for coach just to see the difference. I saved money on the return trip but having to buy meals that ran 10 to 12 dollars plus a beer with dinner, well--- T?he guy behind me snored so loudly, I hardly slept.

The trains ran with in an hour of schedule, that was fine as the layover in Chicago was 4-5 hours. I enjoyed the ride both out and back. If I were to do it again it would be all sleeper.

Dick