ATL-SDL on the Crescent - the good, the bad, and the ugly

[me_little_me]

October 4 - Train 19 Atlanta to Slidell

Good - Attitude of staff at station. On time departure. Breakfast. Dining room staff at breakfast and lunch. Excellent ribs at dinner. Unbelievable deal paying $47 for roomette and getting three meals each.

Bad - Dinner waiter forgot our salads. He seemed to have a lot of memory problems. Arriving 1+ hour late in Slidell (but they made up 20 minutes between there and New Orleans?). Train staff seemed to each want their own table in Lounge car - not a big deal as it was not crowded.

Ugly - Atlanta station, the burger at lunch (I keep ordering it and it never gets any better). 12 hours of trees.

October 8 - Train 20 Slidell to Atlanta

Good - Only a flag stop in Slidell but it still had nice restrooms there. Early arrival in Atlanta. Excellent sleeping car attendant. Excellent service in dining car. Unbelievable deal paying $47 for roomette and getting three meals each.

Bad - Dinner waiter forgot the salad for the person sitting across from us (not the same waiter). Slidell has a soft ice cream stand right next to the station and I didn't get a chance to stop there. Sleeping car attendant couldn't stop talking about how the Basques were the ancestors of all of mankind.

Ugly - Atlanta station still bad.

 

[had8ley]

October 4 - Train 19 Atlanta to Slidell

Good - Attitude of staff at station. On time departure. Breakfast. Dining room staff at breakfast and lunch. Excellent ribs at dinner. Unbelievable deal paying $47 for roomette and getting three meals each.

Bad - Dinner waiter forgot our salads. He seemed to have a lot of memory problems. Arriving 1+ hour late in Slidell (but they made up 20 minutes between there and New Orleans?). Train staff seemed to each want their own table in Lounge car - not a big deal as it was not crowded.

Ugly - Atlanta station, the burger at lunch (I keep ordering it and it never gets any better). 12 hours of trees.

October 8 - Train 20 Slidell to Atlanta

Good - Only a flag stop in Slidell but it still had nice restrooms there. Early arrival in Atlanta. Excellent sleeping car attendant. Excellent service in dining car. Unbelievable deal paying $47 for roomette and getting three meals each.

Bad - Dinner waiter forgot the salad for the person sitting across from us (not the same waiter). Slidell has a soft ice cream stand right next to the station and I didn't get a chance to stop there. Sleeping car attendant couldn't stop talking about how the Basques were the ancestors of all of mankind.

Ugly - Atlanta station still bad.

If it will make you feel better the diner is the ONLY car on the Crescent manned by NYP based crews. Every one else is NOL based. Amtrak has talked about making the diner NOL based but I'll probably own the Empire State Building before that happens... :lol:

 

[Exiled in Express]

If that is the worst of it, I am even more eager to get this ride under my belt. Was Slidell more convenient to your destination or is there some pricing advantage to it over New Orleans?

 

[me_little_me]

If that is the worst of it, I am even more eager to get this ride under my belt. Was Slidell more convenient to your destination or is there some pricing advantage to it over New Orleans?

We were visiting friends in Slidell.

Overall, this was probably the best long distance Amtrak train I have ever taken in regards to on-time performance, bedroom mechanical issues, service in the dining car (which has always been good) and other issues. After two other trips (Zephyr and Southwest Chief) this year, my wife was ready to give up on Amtrak (she is less forgiving than I).

 

[Shanghai]

I was at the Atlanta station in May and found it to be

very nice. The station building was comfortable and clean

and the Amtrak staff were very accommodating.

 

[me_little_me]

I was at the Atlanta station in May and found it to be

very nice. The station building was comfortable and clean

and the Amtrak staff were very accommodating.

It is clean but Atlanta is a major city. There is little place to pull up and drop off passengers; nowhere near enough room to fit the passengers who are traveling, no MARTA rail near enough, a bus line with a stop for one directio nearby but no sign of the stop for the other direction, a covered walkway at the train level that has posts situated so as to make it impossible to run the many Amtrak golf carts while allowing passengers to walk and almost impossible to get out of the station with all the people waiting to board blocking the tiny space.

Small towns like Meridian and Hattiesburg have nicer stations than the largest city in the south. Even Gainesville, an hour north and with no station hours has more parking than Atlanta.

Goeorgia spends lots on roads but has no interest in ever building the multi-modal station, commuter rail or supporting MARTA. And they tore down the beautiful Terminal Station.

Atlanta Amtrak is rightfully "ugly", even though the mini-box has decent looks.

 

[Scott]

I took the Crescent in September... Engine caught fire and they kicked everyone out of the sleeping cars for no valid reason and stuck us in coach. The Basques are nearest to God attendent was staffing the lounge car on that trip and he must have spent a solid hour telling me about how great, but maligned the Basques are.

 

[Ispolkom]

The Basques are nearest to God attendent was staffing the lounge car on that trip and he must have spent a solid hour telling me about how great, but maligned the Basques are.

Oh man, Mrs. Ispolkom and I are on the Crescent next month, and I can only hope we encounter Basque guy. He sounds like a hoot!

 

[me_little_me]

The Basques are nearest to God attendent was staffing the lounge car on that trip and he must have spent a solid hour telling me about how great, but maligned the Basques are.

Oh man, Mrs. Ispolkom and I are on the Crescent next month, and I can only hope we encounter Basque guy. He sounds like a hoot!

Beware! He NEVER stops talking. The only way to get him out of your room is to make an excuse that you have to check the train brakes (or something similar).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The Basques are nearest to God attendent was staffing the lounge car on that trip and he must have spent a solid hour telling me about how great, but maligned the Basques are.

Sounds a little like that nutcase pilot for American Airlines who thought his microphone was an invitation to proselytize to the entire plane. It's one thing to speak about your nutty self-important beliefs to a friendly coworker, but it's probably best not to bring it up around paying passengers who may not be looking for a journey of spiritual misguidance along the way.