First Trip Questions

[D.P. Roberts]

No one else has argued the point that the Dread Pirate Roberts made about the bathroom and shower in the bedrooms. I would tend to disagree on the size. Keeping in mind that the shower is ALSO the bathroom, I have found that the size is bigger than just the shower stall for the roomette folks.

I'm 5'11" and weigh in at around 160. I can't take a shower in the Bedroom shower/toilet combo without banging my elbows on the walls. I definitely do not have that problem in the public shower on the lower level. It is roomier, although not hugely, than the Bedroom's shower.

I agree (with Alan and myself, I guess). We've always taken roomettes until our last trip, when we sprung for a bedroom (we had a lot of points banked). My wife took one look at the shower and decided to go back to showering downstairs. I tried it once, and like Alan said, I kept banging my elbows on the wall. I showered downstairs on the second day & much preferred it.

 

[NETrainfan]

Question about the bedroom shower/toilet combo. How long does it take the bathroom to dry after a shower?

Are there plans to change this design on future trains?

 

[NW cannonball]

Question about the bedroom shower/toilet combo. How long does it take the bathroom to dry after a shower?
Are there plans to change this design on future trains?

If you talking "bedroom" on superliner - it takes a few hours for the tiny private shower in the bedroom to dry out.

About plans - future Amtrak "luxury sleeping space" designs - nobo0dy knows

 

[ehbowen]

Question about the bedroom shower/toilet combo. How long does it take the bathroom to dry after a shower?
Are there plans to change this design on future trains?

I would advise you to scrounge an extra bath towel from the attendant or the public shower. Use it to protect the floor just outside of the annex (toilet/shower) door as you shower, then wipe down the walls with it after you're done. I'd rather run a wet towel to the dirty linen bag downstairs than deal with wet carpet.

 

[SarahZ]

Also, if it's the middle of the night and you're groggy and out-of-focus, make sure you push the button for "toilet" instead of "shower".

 

[Tumbleweed]

Also, if it's the middle of the night and you're groggy and out-of-focus, make sure you push the button for "toilet" instead of "shower".

:giggle: :lol:

 

[pennyk]

No one else has argued the point that the Dread Pirate Roberts made about the bathroom and shower in the bedrooms. I would tend to disagree on the size. Keeping in mind that the shower is ALSO the bathroom, I have found that the size is bigger than just the shower stall for the roomette folks.

I'm 5'11" and weigh in at around 160. I can't take a shower in the Bedroom shower/toilet combo without banging my elbows on the walls. I definitely do not have that problem in the public shower on the lower level. It is roomier, although not hugely, than the Bedroom's shower.

The bedroom showers work great for me. I am a bit smaller than Alan, though. I am 5'3" (on a good day) and 115 pounds more or less. The only issue I have had is when, after taking a shower and there was water remaining in the shower head, the train hit a "bump" and water leaked from the shower onto my head, while I was on the toilet. That was several years ago and I now either wrap a towel or plastic bag around the shower head after I use the shower and have not no leaking on the head problems while using the head. :giggle:

I have never used the public shower on a superliner, so I cannot compare it to the bedroom shower.

 

[the_traveler]

I feel kind of like Superman in a phone booth

Phone booth - what's that? :blush: Oh yeah, I remember seeing them in history books! :giggle:

 

[rene50]

Hi everyone! Me again with another question. I noticed online that the trip I booked for mid-March is now $80 less for a roomette? Do I call back and try to get the lower fare?

 

[the_traveler]

Yes, in fact you can do so on line. But first, make the new reservation BEFORE you cancel the old reservation! :excl: There is a chance, although a low chance, that between the time that you cancel the reservation and remake the new reservation, that the lower priced ticket may get sold. Or even worse, ALL rooms or seats may get sold and there are none left. That is why we recommend to make a new reservation before you cancel the old reservation!

 

[VentureForth]

I would probably do that with a phone call. Otherwise, you'll get hit with a cancellation fee from the first reservation.

 

[rene50]

Well, I tried, but the agent told me the fare difference, $79, would be credited to me in the form of a voucher that could be used for future travel.

 

[AlanB]

Well, I tried, but the agent told me the fare difference, $79, would be credited to me in the form of a voucher that could be used for future travel.

That is correct, it initially goes to a voucher.

You can then request a refund to your credit card, but be aware that you'll pay a 10% penalty if you do that. If you leve it in voucher form, then you retain 100% of the fare difference and can indeed use that for a future trip. If you're not planning anything for the future, then it's probably worth the $8 loss to get the bulk of the savings back.

 

[rene50]

Good grief! I called back and a different agent told me, "no problem, I'll credit your credit card with $79." Great, I'm thinking. Then, I ask if we're in the same room, and she says, we are now on the lower level and a room on the upper level will be more than our original fare. Oops, :blink: I should have asked about that first. So, I asked her if I could get my original reservation back, and she said yes, and charged my card again for the $79. LOL! I think I'll leave the reservation alone. :giggle:

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Wow, that sounds like you had an interesting game of ring around the reservation there. I hope you have a great trip though.

 

[rene50]

Wow, that sounds like you had an interesting game of ring around the reservation there. I hope you have a great trip though.

Thank you. I'm fine with everything and the Amtrak reservations agents have all been friendly and professional. I'm not going to sweat $79 dollars. Amtrak was nice enough to accommodate our request for a specific roomette on the upper-level, so I should have just left it alone.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Most of the agents I have talked to have been friendly as well. Im glad things worked out for you.

Let us know how the trip went when you get back.

 

[crescent2]

OK, I'm confused about this. I thought the lower level roomettes were the same price as the upper. Why did Rene have to pay more for the upper level roomette? She was on the phone with an agent, so the number of available rooms was the same during the transactions back and forth, so it wouldn't have been different buckets that caused the price difference.

 

[SarahZ]

I'm wondering that too.

 

[AlanB]

OK, I'm confused about this. I thought the lower level roomettes were the same price as the upper. Why did Rene have to pay more for the upper level roomette? She was on the phone with an agent, so the number of available rooms was the same during the transactions back and forth, so it wouldn't have been different buckets that caused the price difference.

Crescent,

The simple answer is that Rene got an agent who didn't know how to do things properly.

It's harder to say precisely what went wrong, could be that Rene was holding the last room allowed to have that price and the agent didn't release it first or it could be that the agent didn't properly know how to request a room on the upper level and therefore used the trick of just requesting any room, getting another lower level room, upon which they requested another room which kicked the bucket.

But the bottom line remains that the agent didn't do something correctly.

 

[crescent2]

Thanks! I guess the "call back later" strategy would be the solution, then.

 

[rene50]

Thanks! I guess the "call back later" strategy would be the solution, then.

I'm not sure. After making the origninal reservation online, I called to have our rommette changed to the upper level because that's what my husband preferrd, and there was no problem.Then, after noticing a lower fare online, I called back again and was told that the difference in fare would be in the form of a travel voucher, so I opted not to make a change. The third call resulted in the agent crediting my card $79 because of the lower fare, but the roommette was on the lower level, and an upper level roommette was consideribly more, so I asked her to change it back to the reservaion with the upper level roommette, and my credit card was charged the $ 79 difference. At this point, I'm not calling again. :blink:

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Thanks! I guess the "call back later" strategy would be the solution, then.

I'm not sure. After making the origninal reservation online, I called to have our rommette changed to the upper level because that's what my husband preferrd, and there was no problem.Then, after noticing a lower fare online, I called back again and was told that the difference in fare would be in the form of a travel voucher, so I opted not to make a change. The third call resulted in the agent crediting my card $79 because of the lower fare, but the roommette was on the lower level, and an upper level roommette was consideribly more, so I asked her to change it back to the reservaion with the upper level roommette, and my credit card was charged the $ 79 difference. At this point, I'm not calling again. :blink:

On the other hand, Alan is right about the change in rates - I think I've read him say the same exact thing about the bucket rates about a million times now!

So, I know you're probably tired of messing with your ressie, but here's an idea - leave your credit card in your wallet, but call Amtrak again & see if you can get your roomette moved to the upper level. If they say no, then at least you've tried. If someone says "sure, but it will cost X", ask to speak to a supervisor, who should be able to do the change without modifying your fee (again, Alan is right, & any service reps who tell you otherwise are wrong). If you really want an upper level (I really like the upper level too), just give it one phone call.

I just mention it because many Amtrak employees don't seem to understand this, but if enough people ask for a supervisor, the proper training may finally happen.

 

[Ted Bell]

OK, I'm confused about this. I thought the lower level roomettes were the same price as the upper. Why did Rene have to pay more for the upper level roomette? She was on the phone with an agent, so the number of available rooms was the same during the transactions back and forth, so it wouldn't have been different buckets that caused the price difference.

My experience was similar to Rene's. I followed the rates on amsnag, and one day the bucket went down so I called and booked a roomette for my mother and grandmother. When I learned it was on the lower level I asked them to switch it to an upper level room. The agent informed me that this was the only roomette available at that price, and if I switched to the upper level I would be required to pay the difference in price.

As a result, I believed the bucket pricing was tied not only to available rooms, but to which level they are on. Doesn't seem that unreasonable does it?

 

[SarahZ]

Different buckets for different levels implies the lower level rooms are less desirable, which isn't the case for everyone. I've read a 50/50 mix of responses on this forum from people who prefer either the lower level or the upper level. It's strange that Amtrak would (seemingly) assign a lower bucket to the lower level, so I'm not sure if that's intentional or just coincidence.