Search results

Howdy! Been on a bunch of trips in the past three years. I need to book a RT to Miami (from Pittsburgh) for May, for a vacation. But there's a slight chance we'll need to completely change the dates or cancel entirely. What's Amtrak's policy on that? I'm a Rewards member (with a Rewards...

I'm so swamped with work that I honestly can't find brain space to look up this information. Can anyone tell me where I'll be with these roomette numbers? If I have to lug stuff (and myself) up that winding staircase, I'd just like to know in advance. :D :D The first two are the trip south. The...

Trying to book a roundtrip from PGH to Fort Lauderdale in mid-May, using points if I can. I don't "get" a lot of why prices are as they are on Amtrak... so why might my return trip be twice as expensive as the trip down there? (I have several routes to choose from and all seem to be twice as...

I'm just confirming what I suspect is true: On my way south from Philly to Orlando, I waited for the Meteor in the private lounge in Philly since I had a roomette on the Meteor. If I'm traveling back home, Orlando to Philly via roomette, and then have a 3-hour layover in Philly while I await my...

Hi, guys! I took the Pennsylvanian and then the Meteor down south to Orlando, then a bus to Tampa for the holidays. But I return by Thruway bus first from Port Charlotte to Orlando -- NOT where I got off in Tampa -- and then north on the Meteor again, then the Pennsylvanian. The pictures of...

Hey, howdy again! I'm in the middle of a reservation here and I have a choice of the 22 or the 422 TE. Everything else looks the same, including price. Is there a difference? Do you guys prefer one over the other?? ACK, didn't expect THIS in the middle of booking this trip!

Howdy! Am hoping to take a trip from Pittsburgh to Houston around April to visit some friends there. Am a bit flexible on dates. I've got a boatload of rewards points—more than enough for this trip, though I noticed recently how fast the points needed can shoot up if you time your booking...

Hi! I'm getting excited for my second Amtrak trip. (I took a cross-country trip last year... my first trip ever!) I'm on a Viewliner this time, the Silver Meteor from Philly to Tampa. I'm in a roomette and everything I see online seems to show their upper bunks are better, bigger than the ones...

Booked a short NYC trip from Pittsburgh next April. Staying 3 nights. Looking for a reasonably priced hotel that's not a dump, fairly near to the station. Recommendations from this group are always taken seriously because I know you folks have been there, done that, many times over. Thanks for...

Howdy! I have an electronic voucher for $87 that expires tomorrow night. Would like to use it in conjunction with a bunch of AGR points to buy a roundtrip fare to NYC next spring. I can't seem to find a way on their site to combine these two particular payment options. The eVoucher works if I...

Despite the fact that I spent time there myself back in May, I cannot for the life of me now recall if the sleeper car lounge in LA's Union Station has its own name (you know, the way the one in Chicago is called the Metropolitan Lounge). I'm completely blanking on this, and it's driving me...

I'm pulling together my notes from my cross-country Amtrak trip back in May. Right now I'm writing about my second day, still in coach, on the SWC, when I went to the café car to get a hot dog and chips for dinner. I remember a sign just outside the little "convenience store" where you purchase...

Hi, gang! Next week is my much-anticipated cross-country train journey! I'm beyond excited at this point. A friend is picking me up at the Kansas City station one evening. Arrival time of the SWC is stated as 10:11 PM. I remember waiting to pick up friends for an extra hour when their train...

About a week ago I made my reservation for a cross-country train trip. Pretty pricey. I had an e-Voucher given to me by a friend (she had it made out in my name). Not for much -- just $87 -- but I wanted to use it toward this expensive trip. I had issues with the e-voucher while making the...

Not that Wi-Fi hotspots and hair dryers have much in common, but I figured I'd start one topic instead of two. :) Has anyone tried using a portable Wi-Fi hotspot on the train? I have this one, which I've only used in a pinch when I was at an outdoor book festival and needed to be able to take...

In addition to writing a book on/during/about my upcoming train trip, I'm teasing my readers with blog posts as I prepare for the trip, too. You can find humor in the smallest places, if you look hard enough... Here was the first one, about a travel tips flyer included with the money belt I...

Affordable, not-scary hotels around the SEA/Seattle Amtrak station... GO!

Howdy! If one of the leg options Amtrak gives you in a multi-city itinerary includes a short trip on a Thruway Bus, how much of a layover does one need in order to NOT miss that connection? Here's the leg as presented by Amtrak as one of my options: 11 Coast Starlight (SEA to EMY) Depart...

But seriously, folks... Is there such a thing as an affordable room within walking distance (or short cab ride) of LA's Union Station? I could book now for an early May trip. I'd like to book something as a backup in case my LA-local friends can't put me up for that night, for some unforeseen...

Hi! I hope to book my cross-country trip as early as tomorrow (for early May). To save money for later, longer legs (so I can upgrade to a Bedroom from a Roomette), I thought I'd do coach seats from PGH to CHI (midnight to about 8 a.m.) and then onward from CHI to KCY (3 p.m. to about 10 p.m...