Day Bedroom for 3 adults?

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Mailliw

Mailliw

OBS Chief
Joined
Jun 14, 2020
Messages
812
Location
Scranton, PA
I'm trying to plan a trip to North Carolina this summer with my parents to see my brother. We'd either be taking the Carolinian or the Silver Star. Is it possible to book a Bedroom for 3 adults fir daytime use? The app will only show me prices for 2 Roomettes or 2 Bedrooms.
 
Yes. You can book a bedroom for three, however you need to call to do so. It exceeds the maximum recommended occupancy so you can not do it online, however it does not exceed the maximum allowable occupancy. I have done this successfully before with minimal issue.

The other option is if you want to book online and lock in that price now for two you can. You can then call an agent when you have time in the future and book the third person as an open space reservation. This basically issues a ticket for the price of the rail fare for space in the bedroom. The downside (depending on your view) is it would be a separate reservation number and it would be issued as a paper ticket meaning it would need to be picked up at a staffed station and couldn't be replaced if lost. This option may take a more experienced agent or supervisor depending on the knowledge level of who you receive.

Either way, meals would be included for all three. The daytime in the bedroom should allow for enough sitting space as well. Just another option should the price be right.
 
roadman is correct except the correct term is "open sleeper ticket" and it is a printed ticket that has to be picked up at the station. The third person can get the reservation for the station you get on or any later station and can also have it to get off at an earlier station. The open sleeper ticket will reference your reservation number as a link because it does not show a specific car or room number.

We've used them in the past. My wife and I took two roomettes overnight to NYP from Greenville, SC and met the kids at Manassas, VA where they boarded. We all had breakfast together (back before the flex garbage) as the open sleeper passengers get sleeper meals also even though they pay low bucket coach prices for their ticket.

This is one of the lesser known but wonderful advantages of Amtrak sleeper travel - meeting a relative or friend who joins you in your room either overnight or just for daytime travel for part or all of your trip.

Note, for overnight, they won't allow it if the open sleeper passenger(s) exceed the max for room (2 in roomette or bedroom) for overnight but for daytime, it can be up to sitting capacity of the room (2 in roomette and 3 1/2 in BR, I believe).
 
me_little_me said:
Note, for overnight, they won't allow it if the open sleeper passenger(s) exceed the max for room (2 in roomette or bedroom) for overnight but for daytime, it can be up to sitting capacity of the room (2 in roomette and 3 1/2 in BR, I believe).
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False. Room capacities have been well-discussed here and the "day use" has nothing to do with day, night, or length of stay. If you want to put 3 adults in a bedroom and sit in a private room from CHI to SEA, you'll be allowed to. You must simply call so that the agent can explain to you how small the room is and make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into.
 
It should be allowable but like everyone else said you need to call in to a phone agent. And if the first one doesn't let you just hang up, wait a minute and call back. You'll get someone else.
 
me_little_me said:
roadman is correct except the correct term is "open sleeper ticket" and it is a printed ticket that has to be picked up at the station. The third person can get the reservation for the station you get on or any later station and can also have it to get off at an earlier station. The open sleeper ticket will reference your reservation number as a link because it does not show a specific car or room number.

We've used them in the past. My wife and I took two roomettes overnight to NYP from Greenville, SC and met the kids at Manassas, VA where they boarded. We all had breakfast together (back before the flex garbage) as the open sleeper passengers get sleeper meals also even though they pay low bucket coach prices for their ticket.

This is one of the lesser known but wonderful advantages of Amtrak sleeper travel - meeting a relative or friend who joins you in your room either overnight or just for daytime travel for part or all of your trip.

Note, for overnight, they won't allow it if the open sleeper passenger(s) exceed the max for room (2 in roomette or bedroom) for overnight but for daytime, it can be up to sitting capacity of the room (2 in roomette and 3 1/2 in BR, I believe).
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Ryan said:
False. Room capacities have been well-discussed here and the "day use" has nothing to do with day, night, or length of stay. If you want to put 3 adults in a bedroom and sit in a private room from CHI to SEA, you'll be allowed to. You must simply call so that the agent can explain to you how small the room is and make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into.
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There is accuracy in both posts. In my experience the last comment by @me_little_me is open to the interpretation of the agent involved, and will often require the infamous call back, which is basically what @Ryan suggested. When our kids were younger we travelled extensively on Amtrak and were told on more than one occasion that two adults and two children exceeded the capacity of both a Superliner Deluxe and 10-6 bedroom - specifically that the capacity of a Deluxe bedroom was 3 1/2, defined as 2 adults, 1 child and an infant. It was always possible to resolve the situation with a call back to another agent. The kids had no problem fitting into the upper bunk and we were a lot younger.;)
 
Ryan said:
False. Room capacities have been well-discussed here and the "day use" has nothing to do with day, night, or length of stay. If you want to put 3 adults in a bedroom and sit in a private room from CHI to SEA, you'll be allowed to. You must simply call so that the agent can explain to you how small the room is and make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into.
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I stand corrected.
 
My wife and son and I have traveled three in a bedroom many times, day and night, but definitely you should call the 800 number to book it. In some cases in the past I booked the room online for two of us and then just bought my son a coach ticket, and no one objected when he joined us in the room. (The fare normally works out to be the same.) But when I did this in December 2019 for a day run on the Crescent (NY to Lynchburg), we were informed that we couldn't be served dinner unless all three of us were properly booked in the room, which necessitated a lengthy call to the reservations center to fix things. The LSA explained that this was necessary because the flex meals have no cash value (you get what you pay for) and therefore can't be provided to anyone who's officially in coach. Of course, the meal was awful anyway, but even so it's better to avoid a hassle with the onboard staff.
 
The older versions of the service standards manual had a section that clearly delineated the permissible bookings, both for day only, and berth mode, and I believe there were some differences. I do not see a like section in the newest edition, obviously, there is a policy printed somewhere, just not where it used to be.....and I have no idea if it has changed, or is the same...But it has always been clear that meals are not provided to coach passengers "joining" a sleeper, and swapping off is not permitted. That is the purpose of the open sleeper ticket... of course, that does not come with a coach seat.
 
I can understand why they want you to call to book a bedroom for three people. People who are not familiar with the layout of the bedroom could be quite disappointed when they board the train and see the sleeping accommodations.
 
Exvalley said:
I can understand why they want you to call to book a bedroom for three people. People who are not familiar with the layout of the bedroom could be quite disappointed when they board the train and see the sleeping accommodations.
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Agreed. But given that anyone over 12 qualifies as an adult under Amtrak's fare structure, sometimes three in a bedroom is the best arrangement for families. And for day use, the rooms can be quite comfortable even for three fully grown people.
 
In August of 2019 I once spent a ride for the 90 minutes from SBN to CHI on the Lake Shore Limited in the Viewliner Lounge and on the closed lid of the toilet of my friend and his now husband's Viewliner I Roomette. I was surprised how easy it was to hang out for the last bit of the journey as 3 of us in a Viewliner romette, after it was time to leave the lounge car.

I thought about booking this as an open sleeper ticket but didn't care about the food and thought that you couldn't book 3 audlts in a Romette so I just bought a coach ticket, got my ticket scanned on the platform which often happens in SBN and walked through the train to the Viewliner diner, where my friends were finishing their breakfast. I didn't try and eat anything. At one point the conductor/attendant did ask me if my ticket was scanned but other than that all was fine, I know my friends mentioned to someone that I would be joining them in South Bend. I then had a nice time eating lunch with them in Chicago, and was able to hang out in the Metropolitan Lounge with them (perhaps because my friend also had Select+ status don't know if this is normal) before they got on the Zephyr and I headed home on the South Shore Line.
 
Mailliw said:
I'm trying to plan a trip to North Carolina this summer with my parents to see my brother. We'd either be taking the Carolinian or the Silver Star. Is it possible to book a Bedroom for 3 adults fir daytime use? The app will only show me prices for 2 Roomettes or 2 Bedrooms.
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Just and FYI, the Carolinian does not have sleeper cars.
 
Ryan said:
False. Room capacities have been well-discussed here and the "day use" has nothing to do with day, night, or length of stay. If you want to put 3 adults in a bedroom and sit in a private room from CHI to SEA, you'll be allowed to. You must simply call so that the agent can explain to you how small the room is and make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into.
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You are right, time of day doesn't matter. To be specific, it is called Berth Service or Non-Berth Service. All that matters is if the beds are being made and used as beds by the occupants or not. Three adults can sit on the sofa all day and night. They cannot, however, occupy the upper and lower bunks.

PVD said:
The older versions of the service standards manual had a section that clearly delineated the permissible bookings, both for day only, and berth mode, and I believe there were some differences. I do not see a like section in the newest edition, obviously, there is a policy printed somewhere, just not where it used to be.....and I have no idea if it has changed, or is the same...But it has always been clear that meals are not provided to coach passengers "joining" a sleeper, and swapping off is not permitted. That is the purpose of the open sleeper ticket... of course, that does not come with a coach seat.
Click to expand...

The occupancy tables have been moved out of the Service Standards Manual and into the accompanying Train Service User Guide. Essentially, the two revenue accounting chapters previously in the SSM for Conductors and OBS have been split out into their own respective "User Guides". Now we carry three manuals instead of one and have to keep track of three different sets of monthly updates publishing changes to the SSM, Train Service Accounting User Guide or Onboard Service Revenue Accounting User Guide instead of one monthly update document. Yay.
 
When we traveled day to Chicago with a neighbor lady one person paid the full sleeper fare and then two others could use the room as well. I do recall telling them the name of the party who was going with us so I guess that is how they book the room. I wouldn't want to have three for overnight, in reality I didn't think they would allow that but from what I am reading they do? Another time when some friends went to Chicago from St. Louis I had a coach ticket and they were in a sleeper. The crew had no problem allowing me to be in the room with them and when it came time for dinner, (when they had such a thing), the waiter wouldn't let me pay separately but added me to the room number since as mentioned, the capacity can be two more adults, so I got a free dinner basically.
 
I glanced at the tables in the new guide, and they look the same, but I didn't look at them closely, I could have missed something. Lots of anecdotes about what people have done or observed, but there is a standard process and set of rules, no one should count on someone bending them, the policies are pretty straight forward.
 
TheVig said:
Just and FYI, the Carolinian does not have sleeper cars.
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Yes, I know. And I explained several times to my father that although the Silver Star runs overnight we'd be traveling during daytime. As it is it looks like we'll be taking the Carolinian both ways.
 
RebelRider said:
The occupancy tables have been moved out of the Service Standards Manual and into the accompanying Train Service User Guide. Essentially, the two revenue accounting chapters previously in the SSM for Conductors and OBS have been split out into their own respective "User Guides". Now we carry three manuals instead of one and have to keep track of three different sets of monthly updates publishing changes to the SSM, Train Service Accounting User Guide or Onboard Service Revenue Accounting User Guide instead of one monthly update document. Yay.
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LOL...if this keeps up, you'll have to tote a separate "brain bag", like airline pilots do, to carry their charts and manuals...although I believe they now just need an i-pad...:)
 
railiner said:
LOL...if this keeps up, you'll have to tote a separate "brain bag", like airline pilots do, to carry their charts and manuals...although I believe they now just need an i-pad...:)
Click to expand...

Oh, we do have a brain bag. Mine weighs about 45lbs with the various Amtrak and multiple host railroad rule books, manuals, forms, bag tags, hotbox tags, defective equipment tags, tools, seat checks, markers, pens, spare radio battery, battery charger, flashlight, rain jacket, fusees, flag, etc.
 

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