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Because gasoline really isn't any higher than normal, just higher than 2020 (no demand due to pandemic).
Gasoline prices are somewhat higher right now - at least in my neck of the woods where prices are in the $3.09 - $3.19 range.

This chart is a couple of years out of date, but it shows that the average price, adjusted for inflation, is a little bit lower.

Inflation-Adjusted-Gasoline-Price-Feb-2020-768x523.png
 
$767 is the middle bucket Roomette fare all the way on the EB (SEA) for one adult and low bucket is $527, not $530.
 
I'm tentatively planning on riding the CZ from EMY to GBB and have been playing with dates over the past few weeks. All of a sudden it seems only the second and third lowest buckets are available, even 11 months from now. Has the demand for the CZ suddenly increased that much?
 
I'm tentatively planning on riding the CZ from EMY to GBB and have been playing with dates over the past few weeks. All of a sudden it seems only the second and third lowest buckets are available, even 11 months from now. Has the demand for the CZ suddenly increased that much?
Amtrak's yield managers have largely stopped routinely allocating inventory to the low buckets when it is first released for sale 11 months in advance.

Now they appear to be allocating inventory based on historical and projected demand, with a pronounced aggressive skew. Often that results in zero initial allocation to the lower buckets 11 months out.

The game has changed and the amount of time before departure is no longer nearly as much of a factor as it was. Easy strategies to ensure getting a low bucket, like grabbing space 11 months in advance, are no longer nearly as effective.

If demand doesn't develop as projected, they will reallocate inventory into lower buckets, if they are managing their yield properly. Getting a lower bucket is much more of a guessing, waiting, and obsessively checking game now.
 
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I booked for my trip NYP-MIA in ADA Accessible Room on January 7th only $489 then January 17th return same back, $502

I guess Silver Meteor average that price, maybe? I wanna try EB one day maybe in Spring when I'm ready.
 
I think I got a pretty good deal, dont know about low buckets or high buckets. This past summer I booked a trip for April 2022, CLE to CHI in coach on the LSL and next day CHI to EMY in a superliner bedroom on the CZ for $1290.20.
 
I booked for my trip NYP-MIA in ADA Accessible Room on January 7th only $489 then January 17th return same back, $502

I guess Silver Meteor average that price, maybe? I wanna try EB one day maybe in Spring when I'm ready.
The H-room rates for qualified passengers are based on Roomette rates, which haven't been as crazy as bedroom rates, and the Silver rates in general (the Meteor in particular) haven't been as crazy as the western train rates.

On a recent round trip between Orlando & NYP on the Meteor, there appeared to be plenty of unsold bedrooms & roomettes.
 
I'm not sure if I would classify and additional $554-$559 for the H-room "not as crazy" for an overnight trip to NY from Fl (coach fare is $121-130) ... the lower fare is from JAX and the higher fare is from MIA - both ends of the state ,,, making the total fare $675-$689
 
I know we have "beat this dead horse" for months. I know COVID has affected forever how we do things. I know there has been recently a significant snow storm in the Virginia and the northeast. I think I understand the economic principles of supply and demand. Having said that, who would pay $1606.00 for a one-way bedroom DLD-WAS? I know the answer: "someone probably will". I rest my case.
 
I look at Amtrak as a land cruise. Many people see Amtrak as basic transportation. I have done circle trips every year since 1990. It's getting harder and harder to find reasonable sleeper fares. Ill be on the Zephyr,Coast Starlight and Sunset/Eagle in a few weeks. Coach from Pa. to Chicago and the CS and roomette on the CX and SL/TE. Low bucket. I am paying $527 for the Zephyr and $448 for the SL/TE to Bloomington Il,$13 Coach back to Chi saving $139. That fare is the only low bucket I found searching from December through March.

I have been seeing bedrooms go for well over $2000 on all the LD trains from Chicago to the West Coast. Insane. Many people on this forum says comparing an Amtrak sleeper to a Cruise is apples and oranges
Maybe so but for my travels they both fit. I am going on a 10 day Carribean cruise in November. Two people. Inside stateroom,which of course has a shower sink and toilet. All taxes,gratuities and insurance total is$1850. A two day trip in a bedroom on the Zephyr Chief or Builder is usually $2000 plus.

Kind of crazy.



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Kind of crazy.
It is only crazy from Amtrak's point of view if they do not sell at that price, go out empty, and produce no revenue.

If someone buys it, that person may be crazy, but Amtrak isn't.

Under current equipment and inventory conditions sleeper accommodations are a scarce item in relatively high demand. Especially bedrooms, most Superliner trains have 10 bedrooms at most. They have every right to maximize revenue on their limited inventory. If bedrooms are occupied at those prices, Amtrak is not crazy, it means their yield management methods are working properly.

The fact that they may be deliberately limiting equipment and driving up prices through restricting inventory that would otherwise be available is a different and potentially much darker issue.

A bedroom is a luxury item, it is not basic transportation.
 
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I recently re-read Edward Hungerford’s book The Run of the Twentieth Century describing what all was involved in operating the NYC’s flagship train Twentieth Century Limited between New York City and Chicago in 1930. What I found most interesting was how, on any given day, the type of sleeping cars selected for the Century was based on passenger demands for various facilities: upper or lower berths, compartments, drawing rooms, etc. If, on a certain day, the demand for compartments was particularly high, those sleeping cars with the most compartments would be used for that day’s train so that the supply of compartments would meet the demand.

As has been pointed out, the demand for bedrooms on Amtrak LD trains now exceeds the supply, even with the super-inflated prices being charged for these bedrooms. If Amtrak were to adopt a policy similar to that of the NYC’s Century, it would take into consideration how many requests for bedrooms had been made for a particular train and date and then add more sleepers to that particular train on that particular date to ensure that the demand for bedrooms was met.

To imagine this ever happening is, of course, pure fantasy. As things stand now, it is unlikely that the supply of bedrooms will ever meet the demand, particularly during peak travel times. (This is why we book our bedrooms six months in advance.)
 
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That's not the least bit surprising considering the majority of the crew on those ships hail from places like Indonesia and make much, much less than Amtrak crews.

But give yourself some perspective by pricing a river cruise within the USA that's manned by law by American citizens. F'rinstance the cheapest cruise I could find during May 2022 was from NOL to MEM, spending 7 nights on the river and would cost a couple $5671 including gratuities. Two people could get from NOL to MEM in a high bucket Bedroom for somewhere around $568.

But looking at it another way (cost per hour aboard the vehicle) the cruise is 55% the cost of the train on a per hour basis.

It really is somewhat meaningless to make these sorts of comparisons. Figure it out on the basis of $/meal if you want some goofy numbers! :)
 
I look at Amtrak as a land cruise. Many people see Amtrak as basic transportation. I have done circle trips every year since 1990. It's getting harder and harder to find reasonable sleeper fares. Ill be on the Zephyr,Coast Starlight and Sunset/Eagle in a few weeks. Coach from Pa. to Chicago and the CS and roomette on the CX and SL/TE. Low bucket. I am paying $527 for the Zephyr and $448 for the SL/TE to Bloomington Il,$13 Coach back to Chi saving $139. That fare is the only low bucket I found searching from December through March.

I have been seeing bedrooms go for well over $2000 on all the LD trains from Chicago to the West Coast. Insane. Many people on this forum says comparing an Amtrak sleeper to a Cruise is apples and oranges
Maybe so but for my travels they both fit. I am going on a 10 day Carribean cruise in November. Two people. Inside stateroom,which of course has a shower sink and toilet. All taxes,gratuities and insurance total is$1850. A two day trip in a bedroom on the Zephyr Chief or Builder is usually $2000 plus.

Kind of crazy.
Again,I know why train travel and cruises can't be logically compared,but I use Amtrak and a cruise for the same reason. $2200 for two people in a bedroom for two days. $1800 for two people on a cruise for ten days.
 
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