Coach passengers allowed in Sleeper?

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cpotisch said:
I’m sorry, what? That seems like a bit of a problematic thing to apparently have considered doing... :unsure:
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A guy wanting to share a berth with a woman.  Doesn't sound problematic to me, for him.  Maybe it would be for the woman in that berth.    ;)
 
AmtrakBlue said:
A guy wanting to share a berth with a woman.  Doesn't sound problematic to me, for him.  Maybe it would be for the woman in that berth.    ;)
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It could get problematic for him if he gets accosted by the law for attempted impersonation or some such. :lol:
 
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AmtrakBlue said:
cpotisch said:
I’m sorry, what? That seems like a bit of a problematic thing to apparently have considered doing... :unsure:
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A guy wanting to share a berth with a woman.  Doesn't sound problematic to me, for him.  Maybe it would be for the woman in that berth.    ;)
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That’s my point. It might seem to him like a funny/flirty/harmless idea, but would likely be an extremely uncomfortable situation for his “roommate”. If you book a berth expecting to share the room with someone your own gender, and then find out that you are actually sharing it with some guy who lied about his gender so that he would spend the night with you, it wouldn’t really be ideal.
 
jis said:
Actually, I am one of those AU people that travels pretty much always in Sleeper on Amtrak. In fact I will not travel by Coach LD on Amtrak (unless it is just for a few stops, e.g. Kissimmee to Tampa) because inevitably the most helpful Coach attendant always shuffles me around to the worst seats, sometimes involving several moves in a single journey (another reason I would like to have the option of reserving an assigned seat). My insistence on traveling Sleeper in Amtrak has more to do with the odd arrangement at Amtrak which involves treating single travelers like scatology, unless you are able to firmly lay claim to a specific accommodation, and the only way you can do that in LD service is in Sleeper.

But I have no problem sharing a compartment with 4 or six people, or sleeping in either 2 or 3 Tier Sleepers as found in India (BTW caravanman in 3 Tier it would be more like 65 people, and there are no curtains in 3 Tier Sleepers). Heck all my early train travel was either in Chair Cars, or in such shared sleeping space, when there was sleeping space involved. There were a few also in the more intimate setting of crush loaded unreserved second class too. Specially there was a memorable one Delhi Jn. to Howrah (Kolkata) during a railroad strike.
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I have never been asked to move seats by amtrak staff when in coach. Do you feel it is a personal sleight or just your general bad luck?

Crush load only? not super dense crush load, Mumbai style? :D

Indeed, sharing with 65 people, but I did not want to frighten the good old boys...

Ed
 
I don't believe it is personal, since it has happened to many acquaintances and friends too. Some have simply stopped traveling by Amtrak as a result, since it really is not essential for them to take the train to wherever they are going. There are alternatives, and often cheaper alternatives in most cases.

In my case I have just refused to accept downgrade to Coach on the next day due to IRROPS issues, and taken refund and flown instead, on at least two occasions.

I am not counting local suburban trains. Those are equally bad in Mumbai and Kolkata and been there and done that. But the ride is sledom longer than a couple of hours at most. You know you are riding suburban service in India when you are not sure that you will even get close enought to the train to get a toe hold on it. The super-dense-crush thing comes after you manage to get on the train :lol:
 
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cpotisch said:
That’s my point. It might seem to him like a funny/flirty/harmless idea, but would likely be an extremely uncomfortable situation for his “roommate”. If you book a berth expecting to share the room with someone your own gender, and then find out that you are actually sharing it with some guy who lied about his gender so that he would spend the night with you, it wouldn’t really be ideal.
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Well, you know, she doesn't look all that great when the makeup comes off, either!
 
I think the Three Stooges once shared an upper berth with a lion on a circus train. And IIRC, the Bearded Lady helped all 3 of the stooges get up into their shared berth.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
Well, no.

That's the same very flawed argument someone could make claiming that a coach seat would have otherwise gone empty.   Therefore, they have every right to ride in it for free.  As you argue, is OK because Amtrak would still get the same revenue; zero for the empty seat vs. zero for this person using it.

However, it is stealing.    It is theft of services, be it someone riding in a coach seat without paying for it or be it someone enjoying a bed for the night in a Sleeper, without their own paid ticket for it.
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The difference is the entire room has already been paid for, so there is no theft.

The product being purchased by th accommodation holder is the room, not the individual berth, so the analogy to the empty coach seat is inapplicable.

Rail fare is fully paid, accommodation charge is fully paid.  Where is the theft?  Especially considering that very situation is offered by Amtrak itself with the open sleeper ticket for the same (or less) money.

If Amtrak's ticketing system were supple enough to convert the coach ticket to an open sleeper ticket on board (with the consent of the accommodation holder, of course), would that still be theft?
 
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If you hold an open sleeper ticket, it is my understanding that you cannot use that to reserve or occupy a coach seat....

Therefore...if you join someone that has paid for a sleeper for one person,  the cost of the 'free' meals the second person would be entitled to, would be less than what Amtrak would gain in being able to sell the coach seat that would otherwise been occupied....

So who is gaining in that situation?

Sounds like a 'win-win' to me.... :)
 
If I recall correctly, the issue is that if the passenger never had an open sleeper ticket, but stays in the sleeper thanks to a generous conductor, Amtrak is denied an opportunity to sell their coach seat to a different potential passenger.  On a full train that is certainly not good for Amtrak.  

But this isn’t an issue that I feel strongly about one way or the other. 
 
Of course, if they bought a saver fare, and moved to the sleeper they would be underpaying the proper fare, so to some degree in that case, it is theft.  Considering there is a process to accommodate the added occupant, this really doesn't seem to be an issue of monumental proportions...just follow the already established process...
 
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PVD said:
Of course, if they bought a saver fare, and moved to the sleeper they would be underpaying the proper fare, so to some degree in that case, it is theft.  Considering there is a process to accommodate the added occupant, this really doesn't seem to be an issue of monumental proportions...just follow the already established process...
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And again, what if the room is at capacity? In that case, the “added passenger” would have otherwise had to book their own room and pay the accommodation charge for it, if they wanted to be a ticketed sleeper passenger. At that point, Amtrak 100% is being deprived of revenue.
 

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