Changes to sleeping car prices?

[battalion51]

Oh I forgot to add one thing. New policy effective immediately. Each room is allotted two people that can eat meals, except for the family room which gets three people who can eat. Why the change? It comes after some of the Deluxe Rooms and Family rooms have had small children ordering steak dinners. So, this is an effort to control the expenditure by Amtrak per room. If there are any extra people in the room they must pay for their meal.

 

[Viewliner]

Oh I forgot to add one thing. New policy effective immediately. Each room is allotted two people that can eat meals, except for the family room which gets three people who can eat. Why the change? It comes after some of the Deluxe Rooms and Family rooms have had small children ordering steak dinners. So, this is an effort to control the expenditure by Amtrak per room. If there are any extra people in the room they must pay for their meal.

Does this apply to already pending reservations? If so, it could be a problem for me.

 

[battalion51]

Reservations should contact everyone who has three or more people showing in a room.

 

[Viewliner]

That's definitely not good for me.

 

[Amfleet]

But There is or at least there used to be the process of handing out the checks at the beginning of the meal telling Passengers to write their room # and sign the checks.  If the LSA can't account for the checks, then I guess he'd be the one liable.

Well again what's to stop the LSA from taking one of those blank guest checks after I leave the diner, placing my room number on it and saying that I came in with a child. A child that has no ticket issued to them. Therefore Amtrak can't prove that he's lying, unless they want to contact me personally.

Amtrak doesn't want to do that, since then they would be telling me that they have a problem. Sooner or later some reporter would hear about this and then it would get to Congress.

What was done on my past trip was the LSA asked me my room and car number then told me to sign the check. What's done at the end of each trip with checks currently I don't know? But here's what could be done.

At the end of each trip whom ever collects the checks can make sure there are the right number of checks corresponding with the number of passengers occupying a room. For instance, I was in room #3, car #9711. I was traveling by myself, so for each meal there should have only be one check for my room and car number. If the LSA tries to get free meals for himself and fills out a check with my room and car number saying there is a second passenger, then whom ever counts the checks up at the end of each trip will notice there was only one passenger occupying 3/9711, not two. Therefore, there's proof that someone was trying to beat the system.

I do think however that all onboard crew members should be entitled to 3 meals a day at no charge. It's only fair in my opinion.

As for the PDA and bar code idea. I think it is out of Amtrak's league for the time being. Maybe it's something that can be put into effect after new Dining Cars are built and the Superliner Dining Cars rebuilt.

 

[Amfleet]

Oh I forgot to add one thing. New policy effective immediately. Each room is allotted two people that can eat meals, except for the family room which gets three people who can eat. Why the change? It comes after some of the Deluxe Rooms and Family rooms have had small children ordering steak dinners. So, this is an effort to control the expenditure by Amtrak per room. If there are any extra people in the room they must pay for their meal.

That seems unfair for to me. I think it should not be based on age, but the maximum sleeping capacity for each room whether the passenger is 1 or 100. Kid's meals should be optional. Heck, when I was ten I was eating steak dinners.

Standard Room - 2 PAX

Deluxe Room (and Accessible Viewliner) - 3 PAX

Family Room - 5 PAX

Accessible Room (Superliner) - 2 PAX

 

[battalion51]

I completely agree with you on the number Amfleet. But sadly I'm not makin this stuff up. I just tell it like it is.

 

[Amfleet]

I completely agree with you on the number Amfleet. But sadly I'm not makin this stuff up. I just tell it like it is.

You probably know more than I do, but does this stuff come from middle-management or Gunn's office in Washington?

There's also that matter of LSA's actually knowing/following these new policies.

 

[battalion51]

Well I'm not going to say where my sources are, but all of this is company policy, so it has to be approved by Gunn.

 

[denmarks]

Why not just present the passenger with a form at the end of the meal with the meal cost just like when using a credit card. The passenger would write their ticket number on the form and present form and ticket to the waiter to verify sleeper status. These would be reconciled along with credit slips and cash.

 

[Viewliner]

Amfleet, I completely agree with you, if you're allowed to book three people in a room then each person in the room is entitled to a meal, it can't be where you're selling the room to three people, yet only too are entitled to meals. What's the third supposed to do? Starve? Pretty soon they'll be saying that there are only two beds so only two people can occupy the room.

 

[PRR 60]

This summer it a large number of passengers will pay $1000 or more for the privilege of Amtrak “First Class” sleeping car accommodations. To then tell those passengers to ante-up another $80 or more per day for three meals for two would be a disgrace. First Class service should be just that; first class. Elimination of meals from Amtrak First Class would be one more example of the dismal customer commitment of the current Amtrak management.

Amtrak is becoming a joke, and it can no longer be blamed on Warrington.

 

[Amfleet]

Remeber, this is only a rumor. Don't forget back in the fall when Senior discounts were to go from 15% to 10% and other discounts were being scaled back. It never went through. I won't believe until it's posted by Amtrak or someone with access to Amtrak information (like Gene Poon).

 

[Steve4031]

Well . . . I called Amtrak today to check on my trip to New Orleans departing February 27. The agent told me that meals would be inncluded for my trip. I am going round trip in a standard room from Chicago.

So right now there does not appear to be any changes.

 

[battalion51]

I won't believe until it's posted by Amtrak or someone with access to Amtrak information (like Gene Poon).

And I don't? :angry: This information is coming from a very reliable source who has never led me in the wrong direction. I'm not guaranteeing that this will happen, but the source I'm getting my info from is very reliable.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

Hey B-51, on a side note, what is that new avitar of yours? Its been puzzling me.

 

[Anthony]

This information is coming from a very reliable source who has never led me in the wrong direction. I'm not guaranteeing that this will happen, but the source I'm getting my info from is very reliable.

Is this an Amtrak corporate management employee, or just some guy in a train yard?

 

[AlanB]

As for the PDA and bar code idea. I think it is out of Amtrak's league for the time being. Maybe it's something that can be put into effect after new Dining Cars are built and the Superliner Dining Cars rebuilt.

What do new and/or rebuilt dining cars have to do with this? We're talking about the LSA carrying around a Palm Pilot or similar PDA. One doesn't need a new dining car just for someone to carry a PDA around.

 

[AlanB]

Oh I forgot to add one thing. New policy effective immediately. Each room is allotted two people that can eat meals, except for the family room which gets three people who can eat. Why the change? It comes after some of the Deluxe Rooms and Family rooms have had small children ordering steak dinners. So, this is an effort to control the expenditure by Amtrak per room. If there are any extra people in the room they must pay for their meal.

That seems unfair for to me. I think it should not be based on age, but the maximum sleeping capacity for each room whether the passenger is 1 or 100. Kid's meals should be optional. Heck, when I was ten I was eating steak dinners.

Standard Room - 2 PAX

Deluxe Room (and Accessible Viewliner) - 3 PAX

Family Room - 5 PAX

Accessible Room (Superliner) - 2 PAX

Well I have mixed feelings about this. I can understand that this is a big expense for Amtrak, but on the other hand its certainly not right to include a lesser number of meals than the room can hold.

Personally my recomendation would be as follows:

Standard room: 2 meals.

Deluxe room: 2 adult, 1 child. A third adult would pay.

Family room: 2 adult, 2 child. One cannot give less meals than the room can hold. That's just wrong.

Acessable room: 2 adult.

Just to clarify my definition of a child. This should be anyone under 16, that is either visibly under 16 or that the parents can prove is under 16. Additionally I'm not suggesting that a 15-year-old should be forced to order from the child's menu. This is simply a definition as to who qualifies for meals.

Consider that most hotels will allow a max of 2 adults in the room, before they charge extra for each additional adult. Children however are never charged extra no matter how many there are, assuming that you can fit them in the room.

So based upon that logic, since Amtrak doesn't charge extra for each person in the room, they should allow child meals at no extra cost.

And that's my 2 cents on this subject.

 

[swamp]

I wrote back in January about accessible rooms. I have become addicted to this site, since. I find the people here incredibly knowledgeable, and the subjects fascinating. My wife and I are booked on a trip from Martinez to Chicago to Boston, back to Chicago to Seattle and then to Martinez, about 7000 miles.

However, with all the talk about very late trains, no sleepers on the lakeshore, and now with the possible removal of 'meals included' policy; I am starting to have second thoughts.

Why is it that some businesses think they can save money by cutting down on what the customer wants? They end up killing the goose. If cruise lines charged for food (which they are trying to sneak in with the 'other restaurants', they would lose an enormous amount of customers.

They can easily reconcile meals and control theft, if that is what they really want to do. Sorry I am not imparting any gems of wisdom, but thanks for letting me `spout off`

 

[Amfleet]

As for the PDA and bar code idea. I think it is out of Amtrak's league for the time being. Maybe it's something that can be put into effect after new Dining Cars are built and the Superliner Dining Cars rebuilt.

What do new and/or rebuilt dining cars have to do with this? We're talking about the LSA carrying around a Palm Pilot or similar PDA. One doesn't need a new dining car just for someone to carry a PDA around.

Okay, I may just be confused on what exactly a PDA is and what it will do?

What I'm thinking is that the Dining Car is going to have a complicated mess of computers that transports meal information from the dining room into the kitchen. Much like what is done at your average restaurant. If that was the case, it seems a little to out of Amtrak's league.

 

[Viewliner]

In other words, the LSA would be issued a Palm Pilot (something to that effect), that would give them the capability to account for revenue as mentioned above. The LSA of course would be held accountable for it, and each device would be in the ballpark of $200 if I had to guess, it could be more if anything needs to be added on. The only trouble I'd see with this is that you may have some of the older LSA's get frustrated with it, especially since its got such a small screen.

 

[Guest]

All this is very interesting, but since this is a rumor and has not been implemented, why not close this out. I am seeing people who are not regulars on the board, starting to talk about making decisions on travel based on this discussion of a rumor.

Enough already.

 

[Anthony]

All this is very interesting, but since this is a rumor and has not been implemented, why not close this out. I am seeing people who are not regulars on the board, starting to talk about making decisions on travel based on this discussion of a rumor.
Enough already.

Fair enough.