Is there a better time to put your reservation in?

[Guest_Gingee]

I am pricing the train for next June. Right now the price for the family bedroom for three is $2659 with AAA (if I have it figured right). Is there a better time to put your reservation in (like a certain month that maybe the pricing is cheaper)? We have to go in June though so I am willing to wait if anyone thinks this room will be cheaper at some time.

Thanks

 

[Trogdor]

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of family bedrooms available (only one per car, and the Empire Builder carries no more than three sleeping cars per train), the pricing is unlikely to change.

Amtrak generally sets its prices based on train date instead of booking date (in other words, booking during the off peak period carries no advantage over booking during the peak travel period).

If the train isn't selling very well on the day you are looking to travel, Amtrak may occasionally make adjustments to the pricing, but for the most part, prices only go one way (up) the closer you get to departure date.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

Oh bummer. Now I see that there are specials but they are only good through the end of 2005.

 

[AmtrakFan]

Gingee,

I would book ASAP if you are going in 2006.

 

[jccollins]

I agree that the pricing seems kind of steep, even with the fact that meals and stuff are included. My best advice would be to check the fare for every available date you could possibly travel on around that time period. Sometimes a lowball fare will pop up in there in the midst of higher fares on every other day. Theoretically you should be able to get the best fare by booking this far in advance, but as other have said there are only one-three family rooms on the train depending on which longhaul train you will be traveling on. People are becoming smarter and booking these rooms further in advance, often the day they become availbale for sale (just less than one year in advance), and the fact that one out of three or one out of two of the available rooms on the train is already booked will result in the website showing a higher fare for the remaining room(s). Amtrak also uses yield management reservations software to control their inventory that sometimes prices rooms higher on certain days and/or dates based on how they have sold in the past. That is why playing around with dates is really the best way to go about it.

I have taken a few last-minute trips in a sleeper this summer but used a different, more daring, strategy of making the reservation at the last minute. On a few (not all) longhaul lines, the price of the remaining sleepers will drop to their rock bottom price three to four days before departure. I was able to secure a standard sleeper (roommette) between Los Angeles and Flagstaff, AZ on the Southwest Chief for a $104 accommodations upgrade price. That same room seven days before departure was priced at a $281 upgrade! I did the same thing on my return Flagstaff to LA and saved a bundle by booking at the last minute. This is good information to keep in mind for booking the small roommettes but unfortunately does not work for the accessible or family bedrooms.

The reservations system is always coming up with new tricks and it takes time to crack into them and find the best deals. B)

 

[Guest_Gingee]

Okay, tell me the secrets besides moving dates around. I check airline rates on-line and we can go for $859 round trip from Chicago. I hate to fly though. We have to be there by June 9th. Can't move dates around too much.

Are you saying to try booking every day and see what you get? I doubt they will go too much lower though?

 

[Sam Damon]

If you're looking to get from Chicago to Seattle without much hassle, just go ahead and fly.

OTOH, if you want a real adventure when travelling, go ahead and book Amtrak!

Wish I could be more helpful. But they got the sleepers, and you want one. You'll pay what they ask, or go flying. Not much middle ground.

 

[AlanB]

Are you saying to try booking every day and see what you get? I doubt they will go too much lower though?

No he was suggesting that you try to leave one or two days earlier or one or two days later. That might change the amounts, but if you can't vary your travel dates, then you don't have many options.

Checking everyday to see what the rate is will only result in your watching it go higher and higher.

 

[jccollins]

Thanks for clarifying Alan - you interpreted it right.

One other option you might look into for lowering the price on your trip by quite a bit would be requesting Amtrak's Rail/Cruise Discount. I have requested and received this discount from Amtrak a few times without actually booking or going on a cruise. It can save you between 15-25% on your TOTAL fare (rail fare AND sleeper accommodation charge). This is the ONLY discount Amtrak offers that will work for the actual sleeper accommodation charge and the base rail fare.

You will probably have the best luck using this if you are leaving from a City that you could have reasonably just taken a cruise from or one nearby (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento) but there really aren't too many limitations since this discount is good on any and all the lines (with the exception of the northeast corridor) and you could always say you will be taking a cruise and then driving a rental car to the station you will be boarding at. The reservations agent will try to act like they might verify the cruise info but they don't and won't. The best strategy is to be prepared when you call to make the reservation over the phone using the discount and have your story mapped out. "I am taking X cruise on (Carnival or Holland America) on X date and then driving to X station to board the train." They might ask for a confirmation number for the cruise (they asked me once out of the four or five times I have used it), but since they don't verify it I made up a six digit alphanumeric confirmation number and they took it.

Anything helps when the accommodations charges are unreasonably high and you might as well take advantage of some of the open flaws/gaps in the reservations system. Have a great trip.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

So even if the cruise you are taking isn't Carnival or Holland (ours is Royal Carribbean) you can make up a number? Knowing my luck, they would check, then what would I do?

Personally I don't like to fly but if it is a difference of two thousand dollars, I guess they could drug me and put me on the plane.

 

[jccollins]

Hey, if you are actually taking a cruise with the train trip that's great! I would just tell them it is Carnival and give them the Royal Caribbean cruise res # if they even ask. They have been very lax about even asking for it in the past. If you would rather not give them a rez number you could always tell them you can't find it right then and you'll have to call them back to add the number to the reservation. Then you could call back and pay for the tickets and have them mailed to you or just go down to the station and pick them up. The odds are very high that the next agent won't even ask for the rez number.

If it works you would save around $400 off the trip (it would be more if it was in the off peak season), if not it's not a big deal they just wouldn't give you the discount. It would be worth it for me to give it a shot as $400 is quite a bit of money. Good luck!

 

[MrFSS]

Is it right to try this if you aren't taking a cruise? Isn't that "cheating" Amtrak, a facility we are trying to save, that already has enough money problems?

What if everyone who bought an Amtrak ticket tried this. First, Amtrak would probably stop the incentive and ruin it for those who were being legitimate.

Second, it would start cutting into the revenue they are trying to sustain.

I'm not trying to be a prude, here, but we're no better than those in congress or business who "milk the system" if we start being dishonest about doing business with Amtrak.

Just my 2 cents worth. Don't mean to upset or offend anyone.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

But we are really going on a cruise - just not Carnival. We are headed to Seattle for a cruise to Alaska.