Amtrak Traps People Still Fall For

I’m a Trucker and those roomettes are bigger than the sleepers in a Semi Truck.

Last year my train (Southwest Chief Chi to LA) was cancelled due to downed trees on the track, leaving me stranded in Chicago partway through my trip. Amtrak put me and hundreds of other travellers up in a nice hotel for the night and then refunded my points plus about 15000, the very next day.

For one person the roomettes are great. More than enough room to be comfortable. For two people, not so much. You had better be very close to your roommate because you will be very close to your roommate! 😁

I didn’t realize that Amtrak vacations isn’t Amtrak. Thanks !

I usually get the roomette, I'm a solo traveler, However most of my awake time is in the lounge car. where there is room and you meet a lot of people. Always made a couple of new friends. Priceless

I just love this couple they provide so much information that helps and guide you for you’re train travel. I’m from Cincinnati and we have the Cardinal. I’ll be traveling to Chicago this summer.

I loved my roomette traveling from Philadelphia to DeLand, FL. Definitely more relaxing than a plane or car. Will use it again!

We had a really lazy sleeping car attendant on the Silver Meteor. He grumbled when we asked to dine in our room. He never showed up to get our room ready for the night. I complained to Amtrak Customer Service and received a $500 voucher.

Ref scheduling I have been as much as 12 hours late to my destination due to flooding on the tracks. We got into Chicago at 1am and there was no transportation in the city out to the far suburbs. I ended up spending $100 on a cab. I also once missed a connection in Los Angeles from the Southwest Chief to the Coast Starlight. Amtrak put me on a bus to Bakersfield where I caught the San Joaquin's to Martinez and caught up with the Starlight there. I got a very nice refund from Amtrak the same day. All that said, Amtrak, for the most part, has been very conscious of traveler dilemmas and went well out of its way to be helpful when a traveling companion had a medical emergency. They were great.

That is so true because the first day I took the train by myself, the train was late literally 7 hours. So now I know whenever I book a train ride I just go with no rush.

I never get the travel insurance. And you are right amtrak normally makes good on refunds. But you also have to pick the FLEX Ticket when purchasing. That way you are guaranteed a refund if something goes wrong. It might be a little extra but worth it.

Roomette top bunk sort of like being in an MRI machine. We got two bedrooms and had the wall pushed back. Lots of room!! Pricey, but worth it if this is your trip of a life time.

I love that overhead shot of the roomette. That model must be tiny; she only takes up half the seat and she has a pillow behind her so her legs can reach the front of the seat. My brother-in-law and I rode the Coast Starlight from Seattle to San Jose. It was a great trip and we really enjoyed the roomette. And the food was good but the dining car was extremely crowded and regimented. We ended up taking our meals in the bar. The service was much more relaxed and the bar car attendant was very hospitable.

Please be aware that Amtrak customer service can be unreasonable. Recently on the Southwest Chief that was supposed to connect with the Coast Starlight on morning of arrival at LAX. The Chief ran 8 hours late... so I called Amtrak Reservations and arranged to pick up the Starlight the next morning. Upon arrival at LAX was told that I could have taken a 5 hour bus ride out of Victorville connecting in Bakersfield for Emeryville... to pick up the Starlight that evening. Nobody including the conductor informed me of this mandatory diversion. I was refused any kind of assistance in LAX because I failed 'to know' about the mandatory diversion. Was forced to get my own hotel accommodation, meal, and transfers for the overnight at LAX. As a senior traveling in an H room, I felt this completely ignores any policies Amtrak has for the wellbeing of its customers.

The Viewliner roomettes are OK. The Superliner roomettes are very tight. I try to get a bedroom when ever possible if riding on a Superliners. Im doing the Auto train in May. Bedrooms both ways, and I am travelling alone.

As a single person the roomettes are simply lovely.

I didn't even call them when my train was delayed and they still gave me a cash voucher. Pretty awesome.

Also the earlier you book through Amtrak - the cheaper the price. That can also inflate the price they are expecting to find.

We were happy to have the travel insurance when we had to cancel our train trip due to illness at the last moment.

I have had 27 dollars save me over a thousand on a train trip. When I called Amtrak they were not helpful at all and the insurance took care of everything. It has not benefited you but it has others.