Cascades, Seattle to Portland

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I went ahead and extended my upcoming trip on the CS to SEA. We will stay there 2 nights and take an afternoon Cascades train back down to PDX and stay there 2 nights before returning home PDX-FTW. My question is, should I spring for BC for the 3 of us on the Cascades on such a short trip or should I save the money for dinner? Also I was curious as to which side of the train would offer the best views on the SB Cascades, and any other tips you might have. Thanks
 
I went ahead and extended my upcoming trip on the CS to SEA. We will stay there 2 nights and take an afternoon Cascades train back down to PDX and stay there 2 nights before returning home PDX-FTW. My question is, should I spring for BC for the 3 of us on the Cascades on such a short trip or should I save the money for dinner? Also I was curious as to which side of the train would offer the best views on the SB Cascades, and any other tips you might have. Thanks
Busines class is definitely worth the cost.
 
probably better stuff to see on the right side of the train..

that said..if you've not done this before get to the station early..they will assign seats....and the line can be long though if you book into BC it will be shorter....

The CS is an AWESOME train if you've not done that before either..the Pacific Parlor Car is very cool..provided it is actually part of the consist...
mda.gif
sometimes it is, er...out to lunch!

have fun!!
 
$16 per person. For 509, the 530p departure I have and would do it, for the others coach is fine. The reasoning is 509 overlaps with the boarding of the Builder if it is at all late and Seattle's waiting room is a zoo. The Cascades is also a special route for purposes of AGR redemption, is 500 additional points more palatable than $16?
 
So you're saying by taking BC we get 500 points, like the AE's. We will most likely be on #513 with 11:15 departure
Tracy: They are talking about using AGR Points for an Award, the Cascades are a "Special Route",so 1,000 Points Each for Coach, 1,500 for BC!!! You will get the usual Double Points (plus any Bonsuses) for Buying your Tickets but you should do fine going in Coach (Good Point about Seat assignments, Coach is done @ the Door and BC @ the Counter by the Agent)! BC is nice with 2X1 Seating, and its Close to the Bistro Car (basically a Cafe with stand up Counters similar to Acela)and you get a $3 Voucher good towards your Purchases in the Bistro but Overall I'd say save the Money and buy a Good Meal in Portland! :) The Right side is the Right Side as was said!Have a great Trip, Im envious!
 
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$16 per person. For 509, the 530p departure I have and would do it, for the others coach is fine. The reasoning is 509 overlaps with the boarding of the Builder if it is at all late and Seattle's waiting room is a zoo. The Cascades is also a special route for purposes of AGR redemption, is 500 additional points more palatable than $16?
I saw this firsthand on Saturday while I waited for the Empire Builder to board. The line for Cascades #507 coach was snaking every which way through King Street Station with the end tapering off near the taxi doors. I was seated at Door 2 and watched as the biz class passengers walked right up and out to the platform. Had I been riding #507 that day, it would have been the best $16 I ever spent just to avoid the serpentine line for coach boarding. It will be a more pleasant way to kick off this fun segment of your trip!
 
Oh yea, I guess knowing what day of the week and the time of year would help :giggle: We are arriving on fri on the CS, and leaving Sea. for Pdx. on a sunday in a couple of weeks. I have never ridden the Cascades train, so I am just trying to get a feel of how crowded it may be. I already reserved coach for late morning dprt. but I am thinking of switching to the 2:20 dprt. but it is already $130. for coach + $48. for BC. The train I have reserved was $87.50 w AAA discount + $48. for BC that I haven't bought yet. Should I bite the bullet take the later train(2:20) and go all in for $165. :help:
 
Oh yea, I guess knowing what day of the week and the time of year would help :giggle: We are arriving on fri on the CS, and leaving Sea. for Pdx. on a sunday in a couple of weeks. I have never ridden the Cascades train, so I am just trying to get a feel of how crowded it may be. I already reserved coach for late morning dprt. but I am thinking of switching to the 2:20 dprt. but it is already $130. for coach + $48. for BC. The train I have reserved was $87.50 w AAA discount + $48. for BC that I haven't bought yet. Should I bite the bullet take the later train(2:20) and go all in for $165. :help:
On a Sunday both of these departures are liable to be crowded. Not sure the later departure is worth paying the extra money unless you want a few more hours in Seattle. The lines for coach may be less in the morning, though, since that train originates in Vancouver BC, meaning some of the passengers would be thru-pax and thus not lining up to board in SEA.
 
Oh yea, I guess knowing what day of the week and the time of year would help :giggle: We are arriving on fri on the CS, and leaving Sea. for Pdx. on a sunday in a couple of weeks. I have never ridden the Cascades train, so I am just trying to get a feel of how crowded it may be. I already reserved coach for late morning dprt. but I am thinking of switching to the 2:20 dprt. but it is already $130. for coach + $48. for BC. The train I have reserved was $87.50 w AAA discount + $48. for BC that I haven't bought yet. Should I bite the bullet take the later train(2:20) and go all in for $165. :help:
On a Sunday both of these departures are liable to be crowded. Not sure the later departure is worth paying the extra money unless you want a few more hours in Seattle. The lines for coach may be less in the morning, though, since that train originates in Vancouver BC, meaning some of the passengers would be thru-pax and thus not lining up to board in SEA.

How about other days of the week?

How crowded are you talking about about? Every seat taken? STANDEES? :excl:
 
How about other days of the week?

How crowded are you talking about about? Every seat taken? STANDEES? :excl:
IME Sunday afternoons tend to be extremely busy with weekenders/families/college students, etc. A mid-week departure is likely to be a relatively lighter load, but I'll confess to not having any specific data on that.

Since the Cascades are reserved, there should theoretically be no standees. I've never witnessed that myself.

When leaving Seattle it's unlikely that every seat would be taken, as there will be seats reserved for people boarding in Tukwila and Tacoma. By the time you get to Olympia, it's likely that there are more people exiting the train at each station than entering, so even a packed train leaving Tacoma will thin out somewhat. However, people headed for smaller stations tend to be grouped together, so if you're going all the way to PDX you may not notice any lightening of the load.

As the seats are generally wide and comfortable, it's not so much the crowded conditions ON THE TRAIN that make things unpleasant...it's the potentially long line in the SEA station for coach passengers, since unlike most Amtrak routes, the Cascades assigns seats in the station (at major stations...at smaller stations you simply get on and find a seat)
 
How about other days of the week?

How crowded are you talking about about? Every seat taken? STANDEES? :excl:
IME Sunday afternoons tend to be extremely busy with weekenders/families/college students, etc. A mid-week departure is likely to be a relatively lighter load, but I'll confess to not having any specific data on that.

Since the Cascades are reserved, there should theoretically be no standees. I've never witnessed that myself.

When leaving Seattle it's unlikely that every seat would be taken, as there will be seats reserved for people boarding in Tukwila and Tacoma. By the time you get to Olympia, it's likely that there are more people exiting the train at each station than entering, so even a packed train leaving Tacoma will thin out somewhat. However, people headed for smaller stations tend to be grouped together, so if you're going all the way to PDX you may not notice any lightening of the load.

As the seats are generally wide and comfortable, it's not so much the crowded conditions ON THE TRAIN that make things unpleasant...it's the potentially long line in the SEA station for coach passengers, since unlike most Amtrak routes, the Cascades assigns seats in the station (at major stations...at smaller stations you simply get on and find a seat)
I have been on Cascades trains that are oversold and they put people in the "dining" car, which is not used as a diner and has table seating.
 
Thanks for all the replies and help. I went ahead and reserved BC. I think it was the "serpentine line" part of ColdRain's post that made me go ahead. I don't like snakes :lol: Now I am contemplating taking the later yet costlier 2:20 dprt. so we can have a couple more hours in Sea.
 
I have been on Cascades trains that are oversold and they put people in the "dining" car, which is not used as a diner and has table seating.
Doesn't surprise me that this would happen, particularly around holidays (or IROPS). I've been relegated to cafe car seating on a "reserved" NER train, not pleasant but then again not exactly standing either. I'd take the Cascades "dining" seating over the NER cafe seating any day. (For one thing the cafe car I was in wasn't actually serving anything!)
 
How about other days of the week?

How crowded are you talking about about? Every seat taken? STANDEES? :excl:
IME Sunday afternoons tend to be extremely busy with weekenders/families/college students, etc. A mid-week departure is likely to be a relatively lighter load, but I'll confess to not having any specific data on that.

Since the Cascades are reserved, there should theoretically be no standees. I've never witnessed that myself.

When leaving Seattle it's unlikely that every seat would be taken, as there will be seats reserved for people boarding in Tukwila and Tacoma. By the time you get to Olympia, it's likely that there are more people exiting the train at each station than entering, so even a packed train leaving Tacoma will thin out somewhat. However, people headed for smaller stations tend to be grouped together, so if you're going all the way to PDX you may not notice any lightening of the load.

As the seats are generally wide and comfortable, it's not so much the crowded conditions ON THE TRAIN that make things unpleasant...it's the potentially long line in the SEA station for coach passengers, since unlike most Amtrak routes, the Cascades assigns seats in the station (at major stations...at smaller stations you simply get on and find a seat)

Ah, now I understand. Are there usually standees on unreserved Amtrak trains?
 
Ah, now I understand. Are there usually standees on unreserved Amtrak trains?
Well there are hardly any unreserved Amtrak routes left. Not sure I'd say there are "usually" standees but it certainly happens more often than on reserved trains. I don't ride on the unreserved corridors enough to say for sure, however.
 
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