How bad is Amtrak?

I am looking at my options to get to a Celebrity departure port without
flying. The only practical option is to cruise from Cape Liberty in New
Jersey. I can take Amtrak from Chicago to New York.

How bad is cross country travel on Amtrak? I have only used it for trips
of less than four hours. I thought it was tolerable as long as I go
business class. For the Chicago New York trip, I will book a "Viewliner
Roomette." My total train fare will be about $700. This is for a room
that is less than half the size of my walk in closet.

I generally choose first class accommodations when I travel. Princess is
the at the low end of what I will select for a cruise line. Although, for
a motel for only one night, I could go down to something like the Holiday
Inn Express.

I know one person who took Amtrak cross country. She said it was
terrible. Her room was not clean and the service was bad. She also
thought the background and behavior of her fellow passengers were not
what she is accustomed to.

Does anybody have any experiences with Amtrak to share?

Odysseus wrote:
I am looking at my options to get to a Celebrity departure port without
flying. The only practical option is to cruise from Cape Liberty in New
Jersey. I can take Amtrak from Chicago to New York.


Odysseus, I know that you have posted before and said that you
can't/won't
fly but you want to cruise. I have two relatives who don't fly. We
live deep
in the Midwest -- about as far from a coast as can be. But we've
worked to
find alternatives to get to the coast. To get my aunt and uncle to the
west coast
we actually rented an RV and hired a driver (the son of a friend). The
two
week rental wasn't hard to arrange during the "off season" (not
summer).
They took their time, stayed in good hotels on the way (not in the RV)
and my friend's son used the RV for a little camping while he was
waiting
for the cruise to return. Yeah, a little pricey and a lot less
convenient
than flying, but between oxygen requirements and other medical needs,
it was by far the best solution, comfort wise.

In the second case, we did take Amtrak to New Orleans via Chicago.
It wasn't posh, but it was ok. Have you looked into New Orleans
departures?

Many many years ago, my husband and I took Amtrak from N.Y. to
California. It was wonderful. Amtours arranged everything for us.We
would sit in the coach during the day, and then we had paid for the
use of a sleeping compartment at night. Only had to pay for those
nighttime hours.

The trip from Chicago to the Rockies was kind of boring but then
the scenery thereafter was spectacular - we actually saw the deer
and the antelope play.

We had stopovers in San Francisco, and from there went to Yosemite
and then down to L.A. and San Diego - Going back, we took the Southern
route abd stopped at Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

It was a most memorable trip- I wouldn't fly in those days but of course
have overcome that since then so I could go cruising.(getting ready for
my 34th)

I know this is off-topic but I would encourage you to take the Amtrak
if need be. Maybe it isn't as thrilling as those years ago but it is
a great way to see the country. rosaly

The trip will be OK. Not POSH, but comfortable. Denny's food, adequate
service, comfortabel sleepers

BUT, BUT, BUT it will be late.

On the average some Amtrak long distance trains are late 95%+++ of the time.
Alow an extra 24 hours for travel on Amtrack!

LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE

And I love trains!

--
The modern world,
Would be less snarled.

If the most important Marx,
Had been Groucho, instead of Karl.

Willis Frick
SYSOP, Sherlocktron
http://members.cox.net/sherlock1/Sherlocktron.html
"Odysseus" wrote in message
m...
I am looking at my options to get to a Celebrity departure port without
flying. The only practical option is to cruise from Cape Liberty in New
Jersey. I can take Amtrak from Chicago to New York.

How bad is cross country travel on Amtrak? I have only used it for trips
of less than four hours. I thought it was tolerable as long as I go
business class. For the Chicago New York trip, I will book a "Viewliner
Roomette." My total train fare will be about $700. This is for a room
that is less than half the size of my walk in closet.

I generally choose first class accommodations when I travel. Princess is
the at the low end of what I will select for a cruise line. Although, for
a motel for only one night, I could go down to something like the Holiday
Inn Express.

I know one person who took Amtrak cross country. She said it was
terrible. Her room was not clean and the service was bad. She also
thought the background and behavior of her fellow passengers were not
what she is accustomed to.

Does anybody have any experiences with Amtrak to share?

You can say that again!

We took the Amtrak from Santa Ana CA to Tacoma WA after our cruise on the
Mercury last spring. They were scheduled to arrive at Tacoma at about 5:30
PM and the train finally pulled into the station around midnight.

PS Barb travels with an electric scooter because she can't do stairs. They
had told us that she could move up to the sightseeing level after Los
Angeles. This was impossible!!! They stuck us in the Handicap car with all
the seats facing backwards. Although it was a somewhat interresting trip
for my 10 year old Grandson and myself (we could move around the train), it
was absolutely dreadful for Barb.

I would truly hate to be stuck in a train car (lower level) and facing
backward for over 40 hours, especially after their customer service people
assured us that I would be able to move around the train. %$&(*(*@##!

They damaged two of our bags, and instead of paying for the repairs, they
were kind enough to offer us a $75.00 credit certificate (non-transferable)
for a future trip on AMTRAK. We wouldn't take another trip like that if it
was FREE. :-(

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific


"sherlock1" wrote in message
...
The trip will be OK. Not POSH, but comfortable. Denny's food, adequate
service, comfortabel sleepers

BUT, BUT, BUT it will be late.

On the average some Amtrak long distance trains are late 95%+++ of the
time. Alow an extra 24 hours for travel on Amtrack!

LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE
LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE LATE, LATE, LATE

And I love trains!

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:42:14 -0500, Odysseus wrote
(in article ):

I am looking at my options to get to a Celebrity departure port without
flying. The only practical option is to cruise from Cape Liberty in New
Jersey. I can take Amtrak from Chicago to New York.

I did the Sunset Limited from Orlando to New Orleans connecting to the City
of New Orleans to Jackson Ms. I loved it. I had one of the small sleepers on
the overnight part of the trip and that was OK. You meals come with the
sleepers and I found the food better than airline food but not cruise food
ROFL.

Check out http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/?s=9...a465a7dd8ea66e
They have trip reports and can answer questions on Amtrak.




--
Turkey Day Cruise on Seabourn Pride - Nov 18 2006
In Search of Lost Hobbits cruise on Celebrity Mercury Dec 12, 2007

Odysseus wrote:
For the Chicago New York trip, I will book a "Viewliner
Roomette." My total train fare will be about $700. This is for a room
that is less than half the size of my walk in closet.

My sister & neice took the Chicago to NY train in 2001, shortly after
9/11 (they just weren't ready to fly yet). I think they paid around
$500 each. Overall, they viewed it as an adventure, but not necessarily
one that they'd want to repeat. They also booked a "roomette". When I
dropped them off for their return trip, I was allowed on the train to
see their accomodations. These things are tiny - unbelievably cramped -
but very cozy and cute. But, comparing it to the overnight train I took
from Stockholm to Hamburg - now that was luxury train travel.

I believe, at the time, their fare included all meals, which they
enjoyed. I think they were surprised at how rough the ride was. Sleep
was a challenge, even with having beds. And, the trip was long -
probably about 16 hours.

Amtrak is not known for being very punctual, so I'd allow at least 24
hours cushion in your schedule to meet your ship - 48 hours might be
even wiser.

Lee

LeeNY wrote:

Amtrak is not known for being very punctual, so I'd allow at least 24
hours cushion in your schedule to meet your ship - 48 hours might be
even wiser.

I would say at least 48 hours, maybe longer depending on the time of
year. My son took Amtrak a couple of times from Montana to New York,
all quite a few years ago. One time there was a snow drift blocking
the tracks, another time some kind of garbage blocking the tracks. I
remember one of these trips he missed his connection in Chicago and
was delayed a day getting home.

sue

At least you don't puke for five days!haha
"LeeNY" wrote in message
ups.com...

Odysseus wrote:
For the Chicago New York trip, I will book a "Viewliner
Roomette." My total train fare will be about $700. This is for a room
that is less than half the size of my walk in closet.

My sister & neice took the Chicago to NY train in 2001, shortly after
9/11 (they just weren't ready to fly yet). I think they paid around
$500 each. Overall, they viewed it as an adventure, but not necessarily
one that they'd want to repeat. They also booked a "roomette". When I
dropped them off for their return trip, I was allowed on the train to
see their accomodations. These things are tiny - unbelievably cramped -
but very cozy and cute. But, comparing it to the overnight train I took
from Stockholm to Hamburg - now that was luxury train travel.

I believe, at the time, their fare included all meals, which they
enjoyed. I think they were surprised at how rough the ride was. Sleep
was a challenge, even with having beds. And, the trip was long -
probably about 16 hours.

Amtrak is not known for being very punctual, so I'd allow at least 24
hours cushion in your schedule to meet your ship - 48 hours might be
even wiser.

Lee

if your objective is just to get from Point A to B quickly, then forget
about Amtrak. Amtrak is an adventure and the joy is in the journey, not
the destinations... You will experience sights that you willl never see
flying or driving. The dining car is a nice experience .