My wife and I returned from our train trip which included the Capitol Ltd., California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, and the Southwest Chief in a trip that started and ended in Pittsburgh. Thinking of issues discussed over the past weeks, I looked for answers during our trip spanning May 17 - June 4.
Ice was not available for passengers to access on any of these trains as in the past. Your Sleeping Car Attendant had to retrieve ice upon request in a cardboard bucket. I understand the reason, and it was not a problem if your attendant was available for the service.
Full sized bottles of water were placed in sleeper rooms at the beginning of the trip on each train, and the Sleeping Car Attendant would generally provide additional bottles upon request.
The Coffee Urn in the Sleepers operates from 6 am - 11 am only, perhaps a bit longer until the pot is exhausted of coffee. Juices were the same schedule, or until the container was empty.
Dining Car Menus are new, but the same on all trains. Even the specials are the same. The new salads are nice, and all staff we encountered in the Dining Cars were pleasant and service-oriented, but they are serving the SAME food all the time. All the food we were served was good, but once you pass 6,000 miles on a trip, you realize that it is the SAME.
After recent tipping questions, I made a casual note to observe tipping in the Dining Cars and with Red Cap service, and was surprised to note that half of the passengers seem to leave NO tip at all for either service.
Service in the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago was excellent and pleasant, except for one snippy comment made to me that was unnecessary. Service in the new Los Angeles Metropolitan Lounge was great, what a lovely facility. Red Cap service there seems necessary due to the need to cross active railroad tracks and the distance to the platform.
The Pacific Parlour Car on our Coast Starlight was completely useless, as no meal times were available when I asked, and the same people seemed permanently parked in the soft seats in the car.
The Capitol Ltd. was using the CCC Cross Country Cars for Dining Cars, meaning that the available capacity restricted the number of meals that could be served. In addition, the other end of the CCC car was used as the sales point for the snack sales, while the downstairs of the Lounge Car was closed. The staff seemed to be using the four tables for their office in the snack end of the CCC, none of which was working well.
Ice was not available for passengers to access on any of these trains as in the past. Your Sleeping Car Attendant had to retrieve ice upon request in a cardboard bucket. I understand the reason, and it was not a problem if your attendant was available for the service.
Full sized bottles of water were placed in sleeper rooms at the beginning of the trip on each train, and the Sleeping Car Attendant would generally provide additional bottles upon request.
The Coffee Urn in the Sleepers operates from 6 am - 11 am only, perhaps a bit longer until the pot is exhausted of coffee. Juices were the same schedule, or until the container was empty.
Dining Car Menus are new, but the same on all trains. Even the specials are the same. The new salads are nice, and all staff we encountered in the Dining Cars were pleasant and service-oriented, but they are serving the SAME food all the time. All the food we were served was good, but once you pass 6,000 miles on a trip, you realize that it is the SAME.
After recent tipping questions, I made a casual note to observe tipping in the Dining Cars and with Red Cap service, and was surprised to note that half of the passengers seem to leave NO tip at all for either service.
Service in the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago was excellent and pleasant, except for one snippy comment made to me that was unnecessary. Service in the new Los Angeles Metropolitan Lounge was great, what a lovely facility. Red Cap service there seems necessary due to the need to cross active railroad tracks and the distance to the platform.
The Pacific Parlour Car on our Coast Starlight was completely useless, as no meal times were available when I asked, and the same people seemed permanently parked in the soft seats in the car.
The Capitol Ltd. was using the CCC Cross Country Cars for Dining Cars, meaning that the available capacity restricted the number of meals that could be served. In addition, the other end of the CCC car was used as the sales point for the snack sales, while the downstairs of the Lounge Car was closed. The staff seemed to be using the four tables for their office in the snack end of the CCC, none of which was working well.