pdxjim
Service Attendant
In late October, I flew into Dulles,VA. rented a car and drove to Laurel, MD. I took MARC into Baltimore to see the B & O Railroad Museum and enjoyed a mid week visit with very few visitors and personalized tours of the roundhouse and north shop.
MARC was right on time and cost me $5 each way. Very friendly conductors and I had no problem purchasing a ticket using the Quick-Trak.
I met my sister who flew in from Honolulu and we spent time in Richmond and near Charlottesville, VA with family celebrating an aunt's 97th birthday and visiting old friends. She had flown in on Hawaiian Air from Honolulu to JFK non stop and then a short ride to Dulles.
I kept an eye on Hurricane Sandy with my Verizon My Fi hotspot connection and my laptop. When the airlines announced they would not charge for re-booking, I got through to Hawaiian quickly and rescheduled for the day before Sandy was forecast to hit the northeast, but Delta was not as easy.
With an announced two hour delay to speak with an agent, I just drove out to the Charlottesville airport and an agent helped me in 45 minutes.
I was scheduled to take the Capitol Limited #29 on Halloween evening, but received the dreaded cancellation automated phone call as I was walking the Mall looking at Sandy's damage.
After the second cancellation of #29, and Amtrak telling me I would have to wait until Nov. 4 to escape DC, I made a counter offer. I had already looked at airline schedules and knew that I would not get out for at least a week.
I asked Amtrak if they would route me to Portland via New Orleans and Chicago, and knowing there was no connection in New Orleans, I offered to pay for my hotel. Reservations put me on hold for ten minutes to check with a supervisor, and returned with an approval for my detour with no extra charge.
On Nov. 1st, I got to the Club Acela in Washington and found the staff to be wonderful and the lounge to be very comfortable.
We were supposed to leave at 6:30pm on the Crescent #19, but the staff kept announcing delays with no explanation. They did announce each hour that we would be getting dinner on board. We also were told that dinner would be served immediately as we left DC.
We finally boarded at 8:55pm and I found myself in car 1911 Viewliner roomette #2. I laughed when I checked out the sink and the ancient faucets that splash water all over.
I was chatting with the couple directly across the aisle from me, and they asked me a roomette feature question. Greg, our SCA appeared and sternly told me NOT to explain anything; he would take care of the briefing. Greg returned and gave me a briefing as well, and that's when I learned the call button and the room PA speaker were inoperable.
The Crescent departed at 9:09pm and we were summoned to dinner at 10:00pm by Maurice, the LSA. Our order was taken at 10:11pm by server Olin. Olin was handling 12 people and my table was the last. We finally received our salad at 10:24pm and our dinner at 10:28pm.
I ordered the steak and it was not only under cooked, but lukewarm and the usual vegetables were ice cold. I also had instant mashed potatoes instead of the baked potato I had ordered. Since Olin did not come back until dessert, I ate my tasteless unseasoned steak with no A1 even offered. I don't think I have ever seen a slower Amtrak dining server.
I learned from Maurice that the delay was because the wheels on the diner had to be completely replaced.
Greg was pretty sociable and he set up my bed when I requested. Greg is a 19 year Amtrak veteran who served in the first Iraq war. He told me about being an employee on the City of New Orleans which derailed and killed 18 people.
As I was going to bed, I discovered a footprint on my pillowcase.
The next morning for breakfast I had the french toast which was lukewarm.
For lunch I had the usually reliable burger, but the bun was completely dried out and crunchy. The Hagen Daas caramel ice cream was scrumptious. The best part of this lunch was my dining buddy, a retired Sweden diplomat. Great conversation!
After arriving in New Orleans, I walked half a mile to the Holiday Inn at the Superdome. The construction of the new street car line made it difficult to walk and cross the streets.
On Nov. 3, I took the St. Charles street car to the end of the line with great sunny mild weather.
I spent an hour or so in the first class Magnolia Lounge in New Orleans... very nice decor and large screen TV with snacks available.
I boarded the City of New Orleans #58 car 5800 roomette #9 on time and met my SCA Danny. Great person, very helpful and he took care of his passengers. As I boarded, I noticed Creative Charters dome Warren R. Henry and two other private cars in the NOL station.
Our LSA was Karen who did a great job of handling the diner and my server was Chelsea who was friendly and very efficient. Food was excellent for both dinner and breakfast.
The track was very rough along the Mississippi River for about three hours south of Memphis. The cabinet doors to the electrical system downstairs in my sleeper kept popping open. I personally closed them at least four times and was concerned about the young kids wandering the hall from the family bedroom. There was only the baggage car between my sleeper and the locomotive and with a large amount of unprotected crossings, it sounded like one big horn blast all the way to Chicago. Thank heaven for silicone earplugs!
I had no heat in the roomette and was quite cold that night as we were tossed back and forth.
Arrived in Chicago on schedule and spent time in the Metropolitan Lounge where the attendants were pleasant and professional! I left my bag with the lounge red cap and went to Lou Mitchell's for lunch. There was a bit of a wait on Sunday, but being alone, I snagged a counter seat fairly quickly. I highly recommend this Chicago tradition!
Boarded the Empire Builder (EB) that afternoon and was in car 2730 at the rear of the train. My SCA Kelli was helpful and welcomed us aboard. My roomette #9 had curtains that were at least 3" short and you could look directly into the room from the corridor. The room was too warm the entire trip and the controls did nothing.
My first dinner on the EB was a lamb shank that was quite good.
LSA was Laura and my server was Kevin who were both customer service oriented and provided friendly efficient service.
I was not able to find my SCA for making up the bed so I did that myself. Kelli took care of making up the room the next morning however.
The second dinner, my steak was cooked to order and simply excellent.
In Spokane, the EB splits and part of the train goes to Seattle, while my section went to Portland. I lost the diner, while the Seattle section lost the sightseer lounge. For breakfast, Portland sleeper passengers are sent to the lounge to get their cold breakfast.
This breakfast was quite good and consisted of a ham & cheese croissant with huckleberry cream cheese, fresh fruit with melon, cantaloupe and orange slices, Yoplait raspberry yogurt and a berry crisp.
Arrival on time into Portland and I really want to thank Amtrak Riverside Reservations employee Gloria, who was willing to listen to an alternative to get me home.
MARC was right on time and cost me $5 each way. Very friendly conductors and I had no problem purchasing a ticket using the Quick-Trak.
I met my sister who flew in from Honolulu and we spent time in Richmond and near Charlottesville, VA with family celebrating an aunt's 97th birthday and visiting old friends. She had flown in on Hawaiian Air from Honolulu to JFK non stop and then a short ride to Dulles.
I kept an eye on Hurricane Sandy with my Verizon My Fi hotspot connection and my laptop. When the airlines announced they would not charge for re-booking, I got through to Hawaiian quickly and rescheduled for the day before Sandy was forecast to hit the northeast, but Delta was not as easy.
With an announced two hour delay to speak with an agent, I just drove out to the Charlottesville airport and an agent helped me in 45 minutes.
I was scheduled to take the Capitol Limited #29 on Halloween evening, but received the dreaded cancellation automated phone call as I was walking the Mall looking at Sandy's damage.
After the second cancellation of #29, and Amtrak telling me I would have to wait until Nov. 4 to escape DC, I made a counter offer. I had already looked at airline schedules and knew that I would not get out for at least a week.
I asked Amtrak if they would route me to Portland via New Orleans and Chicago, and knowing there was no connection in New Orleans, I offered to pay for my hotel. Reservations put me on hold for ten minutes to check with a supervisor, and returned with an approval for my detour with no extra charge.
On Nov. 1st, I got to the Club Acela in Washington and found the staff to be wonderful and the lounge to be very comfortable.
We were supposed to leave at 6:30pm on the Crescent #19, but the staff kept announcing delays with no explanation. They did announce each hour that we would be getting dinner on board. We also were told that dinner would be served immediately as we left DC.
We finally boarded at 8:55pm and I found myself in car 1911 Viewliner roomette #2. I laughed when I checked out the sink and the ancient faucets that splash water all over.
I was chatting with the couple directly across the aisle from me, and they asked me a roomette feature question. Greg, our SCA appeared and sternly told me NOT to explain anything; he would take care of the briefing. Greg returned and gave me a briefing as well, and that's when I learned the call button and the room PA speaker were inoperable.
The Crescent departed at 9:09pm and we were summoned to dinner at 10:00pm by Maurice, the LSA. Our order was taken at 10:11pm by server Olin. Olin was handling 12 people and my table was the last. We finally received our salad at 10:24pm and our dinner at 10:28pm.
I ordered the steak and it was not only under cooked, but lukewarm and the usual vegetables were ice cold. I also had instant mashed potatoes instead of the baked potato I had ordered. Since Olin did not come back until dessert, I ate my tasteless unseasoned steak with no A1 even offered. I don't think I have ever seen a slower Amtrak dining server.
I learned from Maurice that the delay was because the wheels on the diner had to be completely replaced.
Greg was pretty sociable and he set up my bed when I requested. Greg is a 19 year Amtrak veteran who served in the first Iraq war. He told me about being an employee on the City of New Orleans which derailed and killed 18 people.
As I was going to bed, I discovered a footprint on my pillowcase.
The next morning for breakfast I had the french toast which was lukewarm.
For lunch I had the usually reliable burger, but the bun was completely dried out and crunchy. The Hagen Daas caramel ice cream was scrumptious. The best part of this lunch was my dining buddy, a retired Sweden diplomat. Great conversation!
After arriving in New Orleans, I walked half a mile to the Holiday Inn at the Superdome. The construction of the new street car line made it difficult to walk and cross the streets.
On Nov. 3, I took the St. Charles street car to the end of the line with great sunny mild weather.
I spent an hour or so in the first class Magnolia Lounge in New Orleans... very nice decor and large screen TV with snacks available.
I boarded the City of New Orleans #58 car 5800 roomette #9 on time and met my SCA Danny. Great person, very helpful and he took care of his passengers. As I boarded, I noticed Creative Charters dome Warren R. Henry and two other private cars in the NOL station.
Our LSA was Karen who did a great job of handling the diner and my server was Chelsea who was friendly and very efficient. Food was excellent for both dinner and breakfast.
The track was very rough along the Mississippi River for about three hours south of Memphis. The cabinet doors to the electrical system downstairs in my sleeper kept popping open. I personally closed them at least four times and was concerned about the young kids wandering the hall from the family bedroom. There was only the baggage car between my sleeper and the locomotive and with a large amount of unprotected crossings, it sounded like one big horn blast all the way to Chicago. Thank heaven for silicone earplugs!
I had no heat in the roomette and was quite cold that night as we were tossed back and forth.
Arrived in Chicago on schedule and spent time in the Metropolitan Lounge where the attendants were pleasant and professional! I left my bag with the lounge red cap and went to Lou Mitchell's for lunch. There was a bit of a wait on Sunday, but being alone, I snagged a counter seat fairly quickly. I highly recommend this Chicago tradition!
Boarded the Empire Builder (EB) that afternoon and was in car 2730 at the rear of the train. My SCA Kelli was helpful and welcomed us aboard. My roomette #9 had curtains that were at least 3" short and you could look directly into the room from the corridor. The room was too warm the entire trip and the controls did nothing.
My first dinner on the EB was a lamb shank that was quite good.
LSA was Laura and my server was Kevin who were both customer service oriented and provided friendly efficient service.
I was not able to find my SCA for making up the bed so I did that myself. Kelli took care of making up the room the next morning however.
The second dinner, my steak was cooked to order and simply excellent.
In Spokane, the EB splits and part of the train goes to Seattle, while my section went to Portland. I lost the diner, while the Seattle section lost the sightseer lounge. For breakfast, Portland sleeper passengers are sent to the lounge to get their cold breakfast.
This breakfast was quite good and consisted of a ham & cheese croissant with huckleberry cream cheese, fresh fruit with melon, cantaloupe and orange slices, Yoplait raspberry yogurt and a berry crisp.
Arrival on time into Portland and I really want to thank Amtrak Riverside Reservations employee Gloria, who was willing to listen to an alternative to get me home.
