Low Bucket Prices on Roomette on Empire Builder

[river]

I am looking at booking a roomette on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle in about 11 months. All through the summer months the low bucket posted appears to be $317 on line. However, I looked back to some winter dates and even through May of 2010 and saw $220 as the low bucket price for this trip. Wondering if perhaps Amtrak has one or two roomettes at $220 all year round that sell out almost immediately or if Amtrak raises the low bucket prices to $317 for the summer months.

If $220 is the low bucket price year round, can I try to snatch it right after midnight EST? Or what? Not sure what time the 'next day' for booking appears on Amtrak's website.

If $317 is the low bucket price for summer, on approx. what date does it return back to $220?

Thanks for any help in answering my question.

 

[zephyr17]

I am looking at booking a roomette on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle in about 11 months. All through the summer months the low bucket posted appears to be $317 on line. However, I looked back to some winter dates and even through May of 2010 and saw $220 as the low bucket price for this trip. Wondering if perhaps Amtrak has one or two roomettes at $220 all year round that sell out almost immediately or if Amtrak raises the low bucket prices to $317 for the summer months.

If $220 is the low bucket price year round, can I try to snatch it right after midnight EST? Or what? Not sure what time the 'next day' for booking appears on Amtrak's website.

If $317 is the low bucket price for summer, on approx. what date does it return back to $220?

Thanks for any help in answering my question.

Low bucket is low bucket, but they many not allocate many, if any, rooms at the lowest bucket if their demand forecast is high enough. 11 months is a long time, and it will probably pay to check later. They very well might adjust their inventory as they see how sales are going.

 

[karenprice5]

Oops, I meant to say $220 for the upcoming winter months and May of 2011...

Thanks for the info.

 

[jimhudson]

Oops, I meant to say $220 for the upcoming winter months and May of 2011...

Thanks for the info.

If you can snag a $220 roomette on the EB grab it before it's gone! You can always get a voucher for a future trip if you have to cancel, just remember to do it more than 7 days in advance! This is a deal, especially if there are two of you traveling! Jim

 

[river]

My dates are somewhat flexible. If I knew that roomette prices would drop after Labor Day, we would consider waiting a couple of weeks and go then, instead of mid August. But it appears Amtrak isn't that predictable with their pricing.

 

[AlanB]

The $220 price is the low bucket price year round; at least until Amtrak raises the fares. The dates you checked during the summer must have had all the low bucket rooms sold out already. If you pick up the National Timetable, in the back there is a chart that gives sample fares for select cities and it includes the low & high bucket prices for rooms.

You can also download the TT from the Amtrak site as a PDF file, but be warned it's like 20 megs and will take a while.

 

[river]

Thanks for the info. At what time does Amtrak update their site to offer the next day for booking? I am assuming midnight, but not sure what time zone.

 

[pennyk]

Thanks for the info. At what time does Amtrak update their site to offer the next day for booking? I am assuming midnight, but not sure what time zone.

When I was planning my cross country trip 11 months in advance, for the first segment of the trip, I phoned just after midnight eastern time (where I live) and the reservations had not loaded into the computer yet. They told me to phone back at 3am, then they told me to phone back at 5am. Because I took 9 different trains on that trip, I made a lot of late night phone calls. Sometimes I could get a reservation right after midnight, other times I had to wait for Pacific time. One time I had to wait until 6am because their computers were updating. I was able to get every reservation that I wanted. I do not think I got the lowest bucket on the CZ - maybe it was not available for the time I was traveling (peak time).

 

[river]

HI, thanks for the info. You mention phoning in to do your reservations--is this because you have a rail pass or that it is a more efficient way to snag the lowest bucket price? I was hoping to grab the lowest bucket for a roomette on the EB by doing it online on their website--am assuming customer and Amtrak representative are looking at the same data, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

 

[AlanB]

Penny wanted specific Bedrooms which is why she called IIRC.

You can book online and get the same prices that you would get by calling. The only thing you can't do online is to get a specific room number. It's just luck of the draw when you book online.

 

[Ispolkom]

The $220 price is the low bucket price year round; at least until Amtrak raises the fares. The dates you checked during the summer must have had all the low bucket rooms sold out already.

I'm not sure that the Empire Builder has any roomettes in the lowest bucket for summer travel. I haven't seen a lowest-bucket sleeper accommodation, even if I go online early in the morning and check 11 months out. Either the rooms are quickly snapped up or Amtrak is being more proactive with their revenue management. I've seen the prices then decline months after the rooms first became available, either because rooms were returned or Amtrak decided the accommodations would sell better at a lower price.

My advice is to buy as soon as possible, and then check back frequently to see if the price has dropped. If it has you can always then book at the lower price and cancel your previous reservation.

 

[pennyk]

Penny wanted specific Bedrooms which is why she called IIRC.

You can book online and get the same prices that you would get by calling. The only thing you can't do online is to get a specific room number. It's just luck of the draw when you book online.

Alan is correct. I wanted to get bedroom E if I could (and I did) - also, I am a bit old fashioned and like to speak with a human because I am afraid of making mistakes on line. The only times I have made reservations on line is when I am going coach.

 

[river]

OK--that makes sense--and I just remembered you can only purchase a rail pass 180 days before travel anyway, so that would not have been your rationale to call instead of use Amtrak's website.

 

[river]

I actually got up at about 12:45 am this morning and checked the price of the newest date release (Aug 22, 2011) on the EB and the roomette was posted and priced at $317. I think there are at least 3 roomettes at this price and am thinking this is the lowest bucket currently being offered. I did go ahead and book a roommette several days back into August on the Empire Builder where is was still priced at $317 and also a roomette on the Coast Starlight to Oakland. I have a couple more legs on this trip to book (on the front and back ends of the trip), but think those can wait a bit.

Hopefully mid to late August will be a tad less busy with most family vacations over and kids gearing up for school. Also considering that the days still somewhat longer for sightseeing than if we went in September.

It's surprising how many sleeper accomodations have already been reserved in August at 11 months out-- guessing that travel companies are picking up some of the rooms.

 

[Trogdor]

Again, don't assume that anyone has necessarily already reserved the low-bucket rooms. It's more likely that inventory for those dates starts out at a higher bucket.

 

[river]

I just happened to be checking out sleeper accomodation prices tonight on the Empire Builder and lo and behold, some of the fares DID drop pretty substantially. I was able to get a roomette for $220 (instead of $317)in late August from Chicago to Seattle. Great deal! I needed to change my dates by approximately a week, but it was workable. So glad for the suggestion to keep checking back on pricing--it saved me quite a bit.