Recent content by ratinthekitchen

Here we see the cancelled June 8th #4 and today’s scheduled #3.

Wow. Dodged a bullet. Currently on the SWC that left a day earlier.

I am on the Southwest Chief, two dinners, two breakfasts and a lunch under my belt. Roomette, so it’s free. Observations: They are doing traditional dining and the menu was exactly the “sample” that is on Amtrak’s website. The lead dining car attendant came through and took reservations for...

Another dumb question: As I head to the bank to get cash for tips, I've been assuming that purchases on the train can be done with plastic, do I have that right?

Thanks. Found the "eTicket and Receipt" email. Now I feel better.

Here is what I am hoping is a dumb question. I paid for a roomette on the SWC. I did this is on the Amtrak website. It was a single amount. When I read about ticketing I see that there are separate amounts, one for the roomette and one for the passenger. Were these two amounts combined in...

Are the liquor options the 50ml miniatures that they use on airlines? Can sleeper car folks get a soda to go at the end of a meal?

Some questions I will be in a roomette on the Southwest Chief. I can imagine needing ice from time to time. Do I ask the attendant? Bug the dining car steward? How would this ice be provided? Should/can I provide a large cup or container so that I won't have to bother anybody so often? I...

Yeah, it's a Superliner, the Southwest Chief, but I'm flying to LA to catch the beginning of it. 4 am in Flagstaff is not my thing. I'll talk to the attendant about the upper.

Does this upstairs/downstair theme apply to sleeping cars as well? I will be (solo) in an upstairs roommette, carrying a roughly 20x14x9 roller bag and a backpack. The roller bag has TSA locks. I'm hoping the two items will fit OK in the roommette. Maybe open the upper bunk, put the roller...

I decided to just pay for an upgrade.

I tried a bid up to business class on the Wolverine. The suggested "good" bid was $28. I bumped it up to an "excellent" $32 which seemed to be as far as it would let me go. How often do these things work?

Taking the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago in June and then on to Royal Oak, MI on the Wolverine the next day. I have a roommette on the Southwest Chief. I've had very little experience on Amtrak, but used the trains a bunch in Europe and the UK.