Recent content by alaskan mutt

I just spent 4 days on the train. I had a sleeper car most of the trip. Not once did I encounter or even hear of any problems in the sleeper cars.

There are 2 sides to this issue. I have worked in the airline business for 20 years. Wages and benefits have taken a beating in every sector but one. Gov't employees are by far the highest paid workers at any airport. it is hard for me to feel sorry for them. Maybe when their pay is slashed...

You might want to bring some shampoo with you. The train I rode had a basket of small soap bars but no shampoo.

The public shower in the sleeping car was quite large actually. There is a dressing area and a shower area. It takes a little time for the water to heat up. But once you get hot water, it is very hot.

Heading west, the EB splits at Spokane with some cars going to Seattle and some cars going to Portland. That is one possibility.

If you change trains in Chicago you will be boarding the Seattle bound train at its origin. That greatly improves your chances of getting seats together. A couple of suggestions would be to call Amtrak and see if they can do anything for you, and if able, stake out a spot at the front of the...

If you can be flexable on your travel dates, I would suggest you check the fares for several different travel dates. When I booked my trip earlier this year, I was able to save a couple hundred dollars just by changing my travel plans by one day.

If you have the time, I would suggest you get to Seattle a day early. While you probably will make your connections without any problem, chances are you have put a lot of time and effort planning the cruise and the last thing you want is to miss the boat. Also, Seattle has a lot of things to...

Just a suggestion...If there are going to be 2 people in the roomette, I would not plan on having 2 suitcases in the room. There is room to hang a garment bag. You can also stash a couple of day packs on the step that leads to the upper bunk. Beyond that there is not much room to store...

Since the EB starts on the west coast, a lot of things could happen to make it late by the time it gets to MSP. The best thing you can do is be very flexable with your options at connecting stations.

Unless all of the details are set in stone, you might want to wait til you get to the station to get your tickets. If you have them mail your tickets and then decide to change something it will be more of a hassle. I upgraded my tickets twice after making the intial reservations. Since I did...

Unless something has changed in the past month, the elevator at Reno is working. If you check around, I think you will find cheap rates on rental cars at Reno. Also, while I have never departed from Denver, When I arrived at Denver I found the station staff to be somewhat strict and rude...

If you plan on getting a roomette and plan on plugging in your ac adapter to charge batteries, bring along a short extension cord. The outlets are recessed and none of my adapters would plug in. Another passenger nearing the end of her trip gave me an extension cord to use.

If you board at MSP after dinner reservations have already been made, your sleeper car attendent should have a reservation for you. If you board before that, then you need to be in your compartment when they are taking reservations. Last month I spent 5 days on the train. A couple of times...

On my recent trip from CHI to RNO, They sent my bag on the direct route while I traveled the long way via PDX and SAC. My bag was waiting for me when I got to RNO. There is plenty of room at the RNO station.