I had been looking forward to my first trip via Amtrak sleeper since last March when I first booked it. It was to be the bookends of a 10 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
I came to this site, asked for and received some good advice on Amtrak travel. Somewhere along that road I believe I promised a trip report so here it is.
I left my home in Bangor, Maine early morning on January 28th for an overnight stay in Boston. The first segment of my trip would leave early the next morning. I would be taking the NER 93 from BOS to NYP to connect with the Silver Meteor (97) to DFB. Coming home I would take the Silver Meteor (98) to NYP and the NER 174 back to BOS. I had booked a roomette on the Meteor and took the advice of members on this board and upgraded to Business on both regionals ($20/segment).
Being a “nervous” traveler, I headed over to South station around 7 a.m. for my 9:35 departure. Quickly finding a redcap, I asked him for help with my bags and locating the ClubAcela. Arriving there, he assured me he would watch over the luggage and come get me prior to boarding. South Station ClubAcela is just a really nice place to sit, relax and enjoy time in between or while awaiting your train. Free refreshments are provided. As promised, the redcap arrived and led me to the Business coach. Turns out that $20 upgrade charge was a good investment. Just an extremely comfortable ride. Arrived at NYP on time, found a redcap and enjoyed the benefits of ClubAcela while waiting 90 minutes for the departure of the Silver Meteor.
Here, my nervousness came into play as the redcap did not arrive back at the promised time and it took 10 minutes to get another redcap. Just as he was loading the luggage, the original redcap arrived. Having no idea of “redcap protocol” I let the two of them hash out the arrangements and was escorted to my roomette by the original redcap.
Once onboard, I met the SCA – Victor. He helped me with the luggage and gave a quick but thorough brief of the roomette. Victor would be like an old friend by the end of the trip.
The inscrutable Mr. Victor
The train left on schedule and would stay pretty much on schedule until Jacksonville. I arrived into DFB about an hour and 10 minutes late. Coming back it was pretty much the same as the train was late arriving into NYP by about an hour and 40 minutes with most of the lost time occuring in north Florida. However, this just gave me more time to enjoy the train.
Amtrak Station - Jacksonville, FL
Looking to the rear from the dining car.
My roomette!
The crews on both trains were very good, yet they were quite different. My opinion is that the first crew was “better”. Victor always let me know when the train would be in a station for an extended stop (smoke break). While I do not smoke, I did appreciate getting off and stretching the old bones. He was just a very affable fellow. Coming back the SCA was George. Efficient, helpful, but just a more reserved individual. The same “difference” in the dining car staff. Going down, the LSA came to the sleeping cars and asked for/assigned dinner reservations, very professional (though a bit stiff) in demeanor. He led people to their seating. The LSA on the return trip (98) seemed a bit more harried, was a bit of an organizer, yet professional. He asked at lunch for your seating request and gave you a white ticket with the time requested. When one arrived in the dining car, he would point to the table you were to sit at. Bottom line is that both were efficient in their jobs.
As the southbound (97) train started edging closer to its destination, Victor had less to do and would stop and chat with me. I found out the crew was home based in Miami (he lived in Venice, FL) and worked a 4 day on 4 day off cycle. Victor (and possibly his whole crew, but am not sure on this point) would work the Silver Star northbound and the Meteor southbound . . . . . had to do with departure times for him. He also mentioned that the average Amtrak service time for the crew on the Meteor was well over 20. He, himself, had 26 or 28 years of service. Again, he was an interesting gentleman.
I thought the food was very good. I had three breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners on my combined trip. Breakfast was always the omelet, but would mix up the sides (potatoes/grits, croissant/biscuit), juice and coffee. One lunch was the Angus Steakburger, the other was the Cubano sandwich. One dinner was the Marketplace special (meatloaf) and the other the Herb Roasted ½ Chicken. The meatloaf was sort of ehhhhh, but the rest of the meals were good to excellent.
After dinner on the southbound, I grabbed a couple bourbons, some ice and headed to the room. On the northbound, being better informed, I had a pint of Jameson's and enjoyed a couple of drinks while reading in the room.
The roomette itself was quite comfortable. Actually, it was more than comfortable. I found that I could only read for 45-60 minutes before the nap gremlin bit me. Southbound, I stored my carryon under one of the seats and positioned the large one between the seat and inside bulkhead. Because of this arrangement, Victor made up the upper bunk. It was very comfortable. However, I am 70 years old and carry a bit of excess baggage. Added to that I have two battered knees. I made it up to and down from the upper bunk, but it was a bit of a struggle. On the return trip, I decided to store the luggage on the upper bunk and sleep on the lower. Not nearly as comfortable, IMO but I was able to get a fair nights rest.
This was my first “sleeper” trip on Amtrak. Hopefully, I will be able to travel the rails again in the future. It was a great, relaxing way to travel and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it including the waits on the side tracks.years.
I came to this site, asked for and received some good advice on Amtrak travel. Somewhere along that road I believe I promised a trip report so here it is.
I left my home in Bangor, Maine early morning on January 28th for an overnight stay in Boston. The first segment of my trip would leave early the next morning. I would be taking the NER 93 from BOS to NYP to connect with the Silver Meteor (97) to DFB. Coming home I would take the Silver Meteor (98) to NYP and the NER 174 back to BOS. I had booked a roomette on the Meteor and took the advice of members on this board and upgraded to Business on both regionals ($20/segment).
Being a “nervous” traveler, I headed over to South station around 7 a.m. for my 9:35 departure. Quickly finding a redcap, I asked him for help with my bags and locating the ClubAcela. Arriving there, he assured me he would watch over the luggage and come get me prior to boarding. South Station ClubAcela is just a really nice place to sit, relax and enjoy time in between or while awaiting your train. Free refreshments are provided. As promised, the redcap arrived and led me to the Business coach. Turns out that $20 upgrade charge was a good investment. Just an extremely comfortable ride. Arrived at NYP on time, found a redcap and enjoyed the benefits of ClubAcela while waiting 90 minutes for the departure of the Silver Meteor.
Here, my nervousness came into play as the redcap did not arrive back at the promised time and it took 10 minutes to get another redcap. Just as he was loading the luggage, the original redcap arrived. Having no idea of “redcap protocol” I let the two of them hash out the arrangements and was escorted to my roomette by the original redcap.
Once onboard, I met the SCA – Victor. He helped me with the luggage and gave a quick but thorough brief of the roomette. Victor would be like an old friend by the end of the trip.
The inscrutable Mr. Victor
The train left on schedule and would stay pretty much on schedule until Jacksonville. I arrived into DFB about an hour and 10 minutes late. Coming back it was pretty much the same as the train was late arriving into NYP by about an hour and 40 minutes with most of the lost time occuring in north Florida. However, this just gave me more time to enjoy the train.
Amtrak Station - Jacksonville, FL
Looking to the rear from the dining car.
My roomette!
The crews on both trains were very good, yet they were quite different. My opinion is that the first crew was “better”. Victor always let me know when the train would be in a station for an extended stop (smoke break). While I do not smoke, I did appreciate getting off and stretching the old bones. He was just a very affable fellow. Coming back the SCA was George. Efficient, helpful, but just a more reserved individual. The same “difference” in the dining car staff. Going down, the LSA came to the sleeping cars and asked for/assigned dinner reservations, very professional (though a bit stiff) in demeanor. He led people to their seating. The LSA on the return trip (98) seemed a bit more harried, was a bit of an organizer, yet professional. He asked at lunch for your seating request and gave you a white ticket with the time requested. When one arrived in the dining car, he would point to the table you were to sit at. Bottom line is that both were efficient in their jobs.
As the southbound (97) train started edging closer to its destination, Victor had less to do and would stop and chat with me. I found out the crew was home based in Miami (he lived in Venice, FL) and worked a 4 day on 4 day off cycle. Victor (and possibly his whole crew, but am not sure on this point) would work the Silver Star northbound and the Meteor southbound . . . . . had to do with departure times for him. He also mentioned that the average Amtrak service time for the crew on the Meteor was well over 20. He, himself, had 26 or 28 years of service. Again, he was an interesting gentleman.
I thought the food was very good. I had three breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners on my combined trip. Breakfast was always the omelet, but would mix up the sides (potatoes/grits, croissant/biscuit), juice and coffee. One lunch was the Angus Steakburger, the other was the Cubano sandwich. One dinner was the Marketplace special (meatloaf) and the other the Herb Roasted ½ Chicken. The meatloaf was sort of ehhhhh, but the rest of the meals were good to excellent.
After dinner on the southbound, I grabbed a couple bourbons, some ice and headed to the room. On the northbound, being better informed, I had a pint of Jameson's and enjoyed a couple of drinks while reading in the room.
The roomette itself was quite comfortable. Actually, it was more than comfortable. I found that I could only read for 45-60 minutes before the nap gremlin bit me. Southbound, I stored my carryon under one of the seats and positioned the large one between the seat and inside bulkhead. Because of this arrangement, Victor made up the upper bunk. It was very comfortable. However, I am 70 years old and carry a bit of excess baggage. Added to that I have two battered knees. I made it up to and down from the upper bunk, but it was a bit of a struggle. On the return trip, I decided to store the luggage on the upper bunk and sleep on the lower. Not nearly as comfortable, IMO but I was able to get a fair nights rest.
This was my first “sleeper” trip on Amtrak. Hopefully, I will be able to travel the rails again in the future. It was a great, relaxing way to travel and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it including the waits on the side tracks.years.
Last edited by a moderator:
