Coach over Roomette's

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PJRACER

Service Attendant
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Sep 20, 2010
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Just wondering out-loud...this seems to be a "sleeper" oriented forum, are there many contributors to this forum who prefer coach over sleeper???
 
PJRACER said:
Just wondering out-loud...this seems to be a "sleeper" oriented forum, are there many contributors to this forum who prefer coach over sleeper???
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Not I...with the ridership increasing every year, and the lack of additional equipment, LD coach almost remind me of packed airplanes. Just remember you have to endure every other pax (and their kiddos) behavior irregardless if they are reading or throwing up last night's Bourbon Street beer guzzling contest...last coach trip on # 2 this guy tracked me down after talking to me at the station. I heard all about how he was wrongly locked up and couldn't wait to get out of town but had no idea where he was going. LD coach is a strange bird compared to short hauls like the NEC and Hiawathas where business people and commuters are the mainstay.
 
PJRACER said:
Just wondering out-loud...this seems to be a "sleeper" oriented forum, are there many contributors to this forum who prefer coach over sleeper???
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I've done coach CHI-SPK, CHI-SPG and CHI-WAS. If it's a choice between going coach or not going at all, I'll go coach, but on the whole I find the sleeper a far more pleasant environment.
 
I much prefer sleepers. In fact, if I was unable to get a sleeper for a trip I absolutely had to take, I might drive or fly :help: (even though I have not been on a plane in about 6 years).
 
It's a simple choice for me. If the trip is going to be during the daytime, I travel coach. If the trip will be more then one night a roomette will be needed. A roomette does me no good during a daytrip because I am not in there much. When traveling in coach I do miss the prepaid meals in the diner.
 
In my younger days I use to ride coach on almost all my rail trips and have taken coach cross-country. But, due to the fact I'm turning into a not-young person, the last time I took coach overnight I had a sore back for the next week. So now, for overnight or longer, it is a room for me. That said, coach is fine with me for non-overnight trips.
 
Glad to hear these opinions :hi: ... We have COACH for FAY to NYC then NYC to CHI... BUT CHI to LAX we have a roomette... glad to know we made a good decision for the roomette and that we won't really regret the SHORT jaunts in Coach .... BTW We LEAVE tomorrow night WOOO HOOOO Our FIRST AMTRAK TRIP :D
 
I used to take coach overnight without problem when I was "younger" (although I limited it to 1 night at a time), Last month, I took a 1 overnight trip in the CL from WAS to CHI. I decided after that it was 1 night to long!
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I do not mind going coach during the daytime, but not for overnight if there's no sleepers. So that rules out #66 and #67 too - until they get their sleepers back!
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For my Heartland Flyer runs I obviously have no choice but Coach and for day trips on Long Distance trains, Coach is perfectly fine. However, if 2 of us are traveling and the train has Sleeper, I will check the Sleeper Bucket because if it's low enough, the Sleeper upgrade may be offset by the Meals. And it gives more Points :)
 
Never been in a sleeper on Amtrak. I have gone coach from LA to CHI and back and it was fine. I enjoyed it very much and will do it again in a year or two. I thought the seats were very comfy. I didn't mind the other folks too much. The person I sat next to was a bit odd but I was in the sightseeing car most of the time so that was not an issue. I enjoyed coach very much.

Dan
 
I've ridden in coach several times, but for only short durations: several times roundtrip Champaign-Chicago, Bloomington-Chicago, Spokane-Seattle, and Spokane-Portland. And on one occasion Spokane-East Glacier roundtrip. All those were fine. The roundtrips from Spokane were about 8 hours each. I can handle that. But for trips that require overnight, I will go sleeper. I've never been in a situation where I had to choose between multiple days/nights in coach or driving/flying, (or stay home) so I don't know what I'd do there.
 
I have trouble sleeping unless it is quiet and dark. Thus I cannot ride in coach overnight or I will not be able to sleep and I will be very, very cranky.
 
I have never gone more than one night in coach. I really don't mind coach and it's okay for me to sleep there. I have found I meet more people when I'm in coach as the younger crowd is usually there. OTOH, having a room sure is nice to come back to for some r and r.

Many trips I've been able to snag lower buckets, or I'll just use points. Once 5 days before I found a low bucket sleeper on the CZ from CHI to EMY. I was all over the one. Sometimes you can find some great day sleeper rates. I went from SAS to FTW and paid only $40 extra for a roomette!
 
The comfort factor of the Coach is highly related to just how many folks are in the car and how well they are behaving. A half full Coach of reasonably quiet travelers is very tolerable, even for an overnight. But add in screaming puking babies, obnoxious drunks and cell phones and the comfort level goes downhill FAST!
 
saxman said:
Sometimes you can find some great day sleeper rates. I went from SAS to FTW and paid only $40 extra for a roomette!
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There's a GREAT example of the Sleeper actually costing almost less than Coach, especially if you have another person traveling with you. In this case, you get 2 Breakfasts and 2 Lunches, and if you can snag the $40 Bucket on the return out of Dallas, you get 2 Lunches and 2 Dinners.
 
I doubt you will find any people that blindly prefer coach over a sleeper. I ride coach sometimes and sleepers others, but the decision is purely dependent on price. If I had the money I would ride sleeper all the time and never ride coach or fly, but that is not my situation.
 
I've done overnights in coach, but I vastly prefer a sleeper. It's very difficult for me to sleep on a surface that isn't flat. I took 67 a bit more than a month ago in business class and really had a hard time getting sleep, just because I was in a seat versus a flat surface. Other than that, I have no issue with coach and for day trips its my mainstay.
 
Guest said:
I doubt you will find any people that blindly prefer coach over a sleeper. I ride coach sometimes and sleepers others, but the decision is purely dependent on price. If I had the money I would ride sleeper all the time and never ride coach or fly, but that is not my situation.
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This is a great example. I would prefer to only ride in acela FC or a bedroom on a LD train, but unfortunately my budget sometimes means I am not traveling that way. Just like I prefer to only stay in four and five star hotels, prefer to not work late or on weekends, prefer to go out to dinner all the time so I don't have cook - those are my preferences, but it doesn't mean it is always happening.
 
I'll put my vote in as a coach person. However if I am given the choice to go sleeper (with out paying any more) I'll take it. But I have only been able to do that once. All my other trips (including ARB-PDX) have been in coach. I like it a lot and see the only real advantages to sleeper being: A bed & meals. It's fun to meet your other seat mates on the longer trips!

peter
 
Dan O said:
Never been in a sleeper on Amtrak. I have gone coach from LA to CHI and back and it was fine. I enjoyed it very much and will do it again in a year or two. I thought the seats were very comfy. I didn't mind the other folks too much. The person I sat next to was a bit odd but I was in the sightseeing car most of the time so that was not an issue. I enjoyed coach very much.

Dan
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But since you state ".........Never been in a sleeper on Amtrak.." it would be hard to comment on which you prefer.
 
I do prefer the coach seats vs. the roomette daytime seating. They recline more, you have the footrest, and you don't have the two sets of legs facing each other. Naturally, sleeping is better when horizontal, and having access to a shower is a significant benefit.
 


PJRACER said:
Just wondering out-loud...this seems to be a "sleeper" oriented forum, are there many contributors to this forum who prefer coach over sleeper???
Click to expand...
 

I choose coach due to my Social Security income. If I were able to do so, I'd choose a sleeper.

 

I do find the coaches, at least in my opinion, east of Chicago are much more crowded than those

west of Chicago. They're more like a Greyhound bus experience.

 
I went coach from CHI to FLG and back, twice. It's not the best sleep I've ever had, but it's not bad. I got my own row of seats each night luckily. lol (Then again I'm also only 22, so I might be able to withstand the less comfortableness)
 
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