Free upgrade from Roommate to Bedroom

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coventry801

Train Attendant
Joined
Feb 24, 2020
Messages
86
Just around 12 hours before my trip on California Zephyr, received an email with updated ticket.

Room changed from 003 to E. So essentially a free upgrade to bedroom. Wondering anyone experienced the same.

So happy...
Posted from room E
 

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Not formally. Last night on the Sunset LAX-ORL, the car had been full of cruise passengers and cleared out at New Orleans. The SCA moved all remaining passengers to Bedrooms and gave my daughter and I a Bedroom Suite.


It took me several readings of this post to realize that “last night” did not refer to yesterday, but rather, on the last night of a trip that occurred many years ago. My first reaction was, wait...what?
 
I also had a strange experience in Chicago once. A friend and I had a roomette on 448 to Boston. The Boston sleeping car got pulled, and they changed our ticket to coach. I happened to know the sleeping car attendant on 48, and he said he had one bedroom to Albany still available. He spent about 15 minutes arguing with the conductor but he got us into the bedroom just before the train pulled out. And he even told the cafe car attendant to spring for business class and a few drinks between Albany and Boston!
 
I have been Upgraded several times on various LD Routes to Bedrooms from Roomettes, and once to the Family Bedroom on the Texas Eagle Austin to Chicago.

And in the good old days of Affordable Rooms and Good Food, many times I snagged Low Bucket Roomettes aboard the Train when Conductors used to do this!

A couple of times I even got to ride in the Transition Dorm in a Roomette for Free( I had a Coach Ticket ) since I was friends with the Crew and Conducters.( with an agreement that I paid for my Food and Drink in the Diner)
 
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That happened to me once. The train attendant said it was because it was much more likely that they would sell the roomette rather than the bedroom at the last minute. Of course, if they charged the same price for both, it would be easy :)
I think VIA has the same philosophy. On my trip on the Canadian a few years ago, I booked and paid for a roomette (at a very discounted price, BTW). A couple of weeks before the trip, I checked my reservation and saw that it was now for a bedroom.
 
I was supposed to take The Sunset Limited from Orlando to New Orleans with a roomette. But due to the tracks being washed out from a storm, they cancelled the train. They gave me the choice to take the Orlando to DC Train with a roomette and the Cresent from DC to New Orleans, but all roomettes on The Cresent were taken so they gave me a bedroom.
 
I have been Upgraded several times on various LD Routes to Bedrooms from Roomettes, and once to the Family Bedroom on the Texas Eagle Austin to Chicago.

And in the good old days of Affordable Rooms and Good Food, many times I snagged Low Bucket Roomettes aboard the Train when Conductors used to do this!

A couple of times I even got to ride in the Transition Dorm in a Roomette for Free( I had a Coach Ticket ) since I was friends with the Crew and Conducters.( with an agreement that I paid for my Food and Drink in the Diner)
I also had a strange experience in Chicago once. A friend and I had a roomette on 448 to Boston. The Boston sleeping car got pulled, and they changed our ticket to coach. I happened to know the sleeping car attendant on 48, and he said he had one bedroom to Albany still available. He spent about 15 minutes arguing with the conductor but he got us into the bedroom just before the train pulled out. And he even told the cafe car attendant to spring for business class and a few drinks between Albany and Boston!
I sure hope you "took care" of that attendant at the end of the trip...:)
 
That happened to me once. The train attendant said it was because it was much more likely that they would sell the roomette rather than the bedroom at the last minute.
That is what cruise lines did. Now they found that instead of doing that, they can accomplish the same objective, by offering upgrades on a "bid up" basis, and make even more money that way.
 
A couple of times I even got to ride in the Transition Dorm in a Roomette for Free( I had a Coach Ticket ) since I was friends with the Crew and Conducters.( with an agreement that I paid for my Food and Drink in the Diner)

When I was an employee, we used to only pay half price for accommodation's charge (coach was free), however, when I rode the trains out of Denver, since I knew all of those crew, they would often "take care of me", if there was an ample supply of empty rooms...:cool:
 
I haven’t been upgraded automatically for free, but I did request to purchase an upgrade from a roomette to a bedroom in 2019 on the TE prior to the trip. It was a leg I paid for in points and bought the roomette at low bucket. When she gave me the point difference it was way below what would have normally been needed, only ~1400 points and should have been ~7000. I even asked to make sure it was correct and she said yep, the system just does that sometimes, you have room C and enjoy your trip! Of which we most certainly did.
 
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