Cascades Business Class?

[ehbowen]

I'm planning to take Cascade 516 all the way up the coast from Portland to Vancouver in September with both of my parents as part of my big circle trip. (We'll be arriving on the Empire Builder the previous day.) I'm wondering if it's worth it to pay the extra $35/person to upgrade to Business Class. I sampled BC with my father from Vancouver to Seattle in 2014 and thought it rather so-so...the bigger seats were nice, but the train was not crowded and the cafe voucher was underwhelming. On the other hand, if Business Class includes admission to the Metropolitan Lounge in Portland then it would definitely be worth it. Has anyone personal experience in this area in the recent past?

 

[zephyr17]

Business Class tickets do include access to the Metropolitan Lounge in Portland.

To me, the big advantage is on the return. In busy periods in summer, the lines to check in can be quite long, wrapping around the whole waiting room, at least for the early evening 517 train. Business Class has its own, much shorter line, pretty much enabling you to cut that check in line. I usually get it for the return for that reason, but not going up.

 

[ehbowen]

We're returning south on the Clipper ferry, then by sleeping car on the Coast Starlight. No lounge AFAIK in Seattle, but they do seem to give priority to sleeper passengers.

 

[rickycourtney]

I think that overall business class on the Cascades is underwhelming.

The seats are only a bit better than the coach seats (which says a lot about how nice the coach seats are) and the voucher to the cafe car buys you --at best-- a cup of coffee (a perk you get for free on a lot of the routes).

The big difference for you is that the business class car is the first to go through customs in Vancouver, potentially saving you 15-30 minutes and the seat assignment line in Seattle is much shorter for BC (it's silly that we even have seat assignments... but I digress).

Personally when my wife and I took a trip to Vancouver for my birthday last month, we skipped business class and instead put that money towards a nicer dinner.

 

[ehbowen]

On the other hand, I'm traveling with two seniors and our scheduled arrival is 10:50 at night. Fifteen to thirty minutes sounds wonderful...Business Class it is!