M
MA Mike
Guest
I've booked my family (2 adults + 1 child) in mid June from Worcester, MA to Roseville, CA in a bedroom in 4 segments over 2 weeks hoping for a fun/interesting experience, but I'm concerned it's off to a bad start.
Yesterday I got a cryptic email from Amtrak saying my trip "has been affected due to a schedule change. Don't worry, we've already set up alternate transportation for some or all of your route."
Poking at Amtrak's booking site, it seems Lakeshore Ltd in MA is dysfunctional starting next week through June and the alternative is a 4 hour bus ride. Any idea why? I don't see anything on Amtrak's site, twitter, etc., about long-term disruption on this line.
I'm unable to even see my reservation online (why?) and the robot phone system just reads me my original itinerary with the bedroom booked from Worcester. Human Amtrak agent at first said I was departing out of Albany (unacceptable), but then said if I wanted the bus from Worcester I had to consent to it.
I estimate the fare difference between bus (or coach train seat) and my bedroom WOR-ALB to be $200+ per person. If I consent to the bus, will they refund the difference? If I want to, does this give me an excuse to cancel part or all of the entire non-refundable reservation for free?
Is there any chance there won't be space on the bus if I delay consenting?
The train leaves out of Albany at 7 p.m. where we will supposedly still have our bedroom. Will we still be able to get dinner on the train or is that too late?
How bad is the bus? Assigned seats?
Getting on the train at WOR at 2:00 and having a relaxing afternoon to settle in on the train was something I looked forward to. Lugging our baggage under a bus twice, sitting in shared space on a crowded bus, worrying about traffic and delays breaking the ALB connection, seeing the same boring scenery I would get on the Mass Pike driving myself, and finally getting on the train a hour before my son's bedtime does not. If I could do something like start at Framingham, Boston Back Bay, etc., and keep the train I would, but that doesn't seem to be an option.
Is this likely to happen to other segments on Lakeshore or the Zephyr? If there's another bus segment added in the overnight portion of the trip to Chicago (e.g., Rochester to Cleveland or something), I'd rather just fly to Chicago. If I wanted to take Greyhound (or fly for that matter) and deal with connections, I would have.
Thanks for having a guest forum here, though I probably should register.
Yesterday I got a cryptic email from Amtrak saying my trip "has been affected due to a schedule change. Don't worry, we've already set up alternate transportation for some or all of your route."
Poking at Amtrak's booking site, it seems Lakeshore Ltd in MA is dysfunctional starting next week through June and the alternative is a 4 hour bus ride. Any idea why? I don't see anything on Amtrak's site, twitter, etc., about long-term disruption on this line.
I'm unable to even see my reservation online (why?) and the robot phone system just reads me my original itinerary with the bedroom booked from Worcester. Human Amtrak agent at first said I was departing out of Albany (unacceptable), but then said if I wanted the bus from Worcester I had to consent to it.
I estimate the fare difference between bus (or coach train seat) and my bedroom WOR-ALB to be $200+ per person. If I consent to the bus, will they refund the difference? If I want to, does this give me an excuse to cancel part or all of the entire non-refundable reservation for free?
Is there any chance there won't be space on the bus if I delay consenting?
The train leaves out of Albany at 7 p.m. where we will supposedly still have our bedroom. Will we still be able to get dinner on the train or is that too late?
How bad is the bus? Assigned seats?
Getting on the train at WOR at 2:00 and having a relaxing afternoon to settle in on the train was something I looked forward to. Lugging our baggage under a bus twice, sitting in shared space on a crowded bus, worrying about traffic and delays breaking the ALB connection, seeing the same boring scenery I would get on the Mass Pike driving myself, and finally getting on the train a hour before my son's bedtime does not. If I could do something like start at Framingham, Boston Back Bay, etc., and keep the train I would, but that doesn't seem to be an option.
Is this likely to happen to other segments on Lakeshore or the Zephyr? If there's another bus segment added in the overnight portion of the trip to Chicago (e.g., Rochester to Cleveland or something), I'd rather just fly to Chicago. If I wanted to take Greyhound (or fly for that matter) and deal with connections, I would have.
Thanks for having a guest forum here, though I probably should register.
