New Year's 2016 Trip to NYC

[KC Ghost Rider]

I really have my boxer shorts in a twist. :angry: I just did a dummy reservation for December 29, 2015, from KCY to NYP, selecting #4 and #48, roomette all the way. I do have a disability, so I can save 15% on the rail fare, but the roomette from KCY to CHI is $313 dollars (normally its hover around $123). I really need to make sure I book this trip as my son is flying into NYC from Scotland to spend the New Year weekend with me.

Before I go further, I must tell you that I have some military related trauma. I cannot subject myself to flying and, by extension, coach seating on a train, because people fail to understand some folks can become agitated (think irate) by thoughtless and unnecessary behaviors. A private area lets me take a break as needed. Therefore, there is little option about the train and a private situation.

So what to do? Can anyone give a strategy and advice on how best to proceed? Do I buy now to ensure myself a roomette on #48? Buy the whole trip now and check back frequently for a roomette price drop on #4 and modify the reservation when the roomette price is reasonably normal? Perhaps this is the seasonal price and I should not expect lower? Help! :help:

Thank you :hi:

 

[SarahZ]

Roomettes for December just opened up, so many of them are in the high buckets. You could either reserve it now for peace of mind and keep checking the price or wait until the prices drop.

The SWC is the same way; I'm waiting to book our Christmas trip because I know the prices will drop in a few months.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

Roomettes for December just opened up, so many of them are in the high buckets.

The SWC is the same way; I'm waiting to book our Christmas trip because I know the prices will drop in a few months.

Why do they open "high bucket" and then drop? Or is that peculiar (?) to the December holidays?

I'm thinking for my 2016 ABQ-SAN trip booking further in advance than I did this year for my May 2015 ABQ-SAN trip.

Thanks

 

[the_traveler]

Many travel groups book the block of rooms when they become available, so Amtrak charges the higher fare. (Can you blame them? :huh: ) Then when these rooms do not sell as the groups thought, they release them and the price goes down.

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

Roomettes for December just opened up, so many of them are in the high buckets. You could either reserve it now for piece of mind and keep checking the price or wait until the prices drop.

The SWC is the same way; I'm waiting to book our Christmas trip because I know the prices will drop in a few months.

Sarah, I can always count on you for good information. If I book these as segments, e.g. KCY to CHI and CHI to NYP, as separate trips in order to save money by purchasing the always full #48 and #4 in the future when fare drop, can my Luggage be checked from KCY to NYP on my departure date?

Many travel groups book the block of rooms when they become available, so Amtrak charges the higher fare. (Can you blame them? :huh: ) Then when these rooms do not sell as the groups thought, they release them and the price goes down.

Hi Traveler, I heard of this group bookings before, but does this really happen? The reason I ask is that I had done an analysis on Amtrak's fare structure for a Management Cases course and the data offered did not support this conclusion. Of course, that was before the latest fare management strategy, however, I cannot imagine tickets are purchased in a different pattern then say three years ago. I do agree that accommodation fares seem to skip over the low bucket prices and into the upper buckets.

 

[AG1]

I really have my boxer shorts in a twist. :angry: I just did a dummy reservation for December 29, 2014, from KCY to NYP, #48?

I think you meant 2015 !

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

I really have my boxer shorts in a twist. :angry: I just did a dummy reservation for December 29, 2014, from KCY to NYP, #48?

I think you meant 2015 !

Yes, I did! Thank you for pointing it out to me I did make the dummy reservation for the correct dates. Edit done.

 

[SarahZ]

I cannot believe I typed "piece" of mind. I usually catch the autocorrect before I hit submit.

 

[VentureForth]

I think many folks here misunderstand the concept of bucket pricing. It doesn't mean that when there is a ton of availability, the prices are low and as the rooms sell, the prices get higher. It's a form of revenue management. If a particular date is anticipated to be in high demand, they will start at high bucket and stay there. If the demand doesn't materialize, they will drop the price.

I hate to be blunt about this, but the time of year you are going, I don't think you'll find a better rate. It's high season. Period. Now, the best thing to do is use amsnag.net and see if you can be flexible a couple of days and then book the best price available. Keep an eye out, and if the prices come down, modify. Amsnag.net will watch the fares for you, too. Haven't tried that function, but it could help.

 

[Barciur]

It doesn't seem that all of the trains go to high bucket, does it? I made a reservation from Philadelphia to Miami for December 27th 2015 and I paid $237 for the roomette itself - that seems to be the lowest price any time of the year.

 

[SarahZ]

It doesn't seem that all of the trains go to high bucket, does it? I made a reservation from Philadelphia to Miami for December 27th 2015 and I paid $237 for the roomette itself - that seems to be the lowest price any time of the year.

No. As Venture mentioned, it depends on the train and demand on that date. Sometimes people luck out, though. We traveled on the SWC during Thanksgiving last year and managed to snag a bedroom at low bucket about four weeks before we traveled.

 

[HAL]

I think many folks here misunderstand the concept of bucket pricing. It doesn't mean that when there is a ton of availability, the prices are low and as the rooms sell, the prices get higher. It's a form of revenue management. If a particular date is anticipated to be in high demand, they will start at high bucket and stay there. If the demand doesn't materialize, they will drop the price.

I hate to be blunt about this, but the time of year you are going, I don't think you'll find a better rate. It's high season. Period. Now, the best thing to do is use amsnag.net and see if you can be flexible a couple of days and then book the best price available. Keep an eye out, and if the prices come down, modify. Amsnag.net will watch the fares for you, too. Haven't tried that function, but it could help.

I think you are right. Fares for that time of year are not likely go down.

 

[NW cannonball]

I really have my boxer shorts in a twist. :angry: I just did a dummy reservation for December 29, 2015, from KCY to NYP, selecting #4 and #48, roomette all the way. I do have a disability, so I can save 15% on the rail fare, but the roomette from KCY to CHI is $313 dollars (normally its hover around $123). I really need to make sure I book this trip as my son is flying into NYC from Scotland to spend the New Year weekend with me.

Before I go further, I must tell you that I have some military related trauma. I cannot subject myself to flying and, by extension, coach seating on a train, because people fail to understand some folks can become agitated (think irate) by thoughtless and unnecessary behaviors. A private area lets me take a break as needed. Therefore, there is little option about the train and a private situation.

So what to do? Can anyone give a strategy and advice on how best to proceed? Do I buy now to ensure myself a roomette on #48? Buy the whole trip now and check back frequently for a roomette price drop on #4 and modify the reservation when the roomette price is reasonably normal? Perhaps this is the seasonal price and I should not expect lower? Help! :help:

Thank you :hi:

Some confusion here. You mean around New Year end 2015? Yeah?

Book the ticket now. If you need to change -- wonder of wonders joy of joys -- there's no 150 dollar fee to change -- like with the airlines.

Wow -- if you rebook later , with Amtrak, no huge penalty fee.

Book now. If a better deal shows up, cancel the old, apply the refund to the new -- no problemo! Really.

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

Thank you all for the advice. I felt all along that the price would be higher due to the season, but I will check frequently to make sure I can get the lowest fare possible once I complete the initial reservation.

 

[Bjartmarr]

So, in theory, in order to secure low-bucket pricing, one could book many rooms far in advance, then cancel them all the day before the trip to cause a glut of rooms, then rebook at the low-bucket "glut" price?

(This strategy, consistently applied, probably qualifies as white-collar crime...)

 

[Bob Dylan]

If one wanted to tie up serious money for that long a time, Yes it' s possible! Amtrak has a formula for booking, then paying within a certain timeframe that's not that long, so in reality it won't work if you don't want your money held that long!

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

Reservation made! KCY to NYP (December 29, 2015) and return ( January 4, 2016), roomette all the way, for an obscene amount (IMHO) of $1580. I will work on reducing that if accommodation fares decrease (especially on train #3 and #4).

I am not sure if one would modify the reservation by asking for the lower fare or by making a new reservation for the lower fare and modifying the existing reservation? I have never had to do these fare saving modifications before.

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

Well, well...looking what happened here! I have this nice trip to NYP for the New Year. I diligently check fares and modify to best effect. Just when I think I have a good thing going...OMG...the class I's and Joe threaten to shut it down. "Say it isn't so, Joe?!" :angry:

 

[Palmetto]

Not to get into a political discussion, but you can thank our Congress for the threat of a shut-down. Hopefully, the PTC mandate will be altered to reflect a later deadline.

 

[neroden]

If I book these as segments, e.g. KCY to CHI and CHI to NYP, as separate trips in order to save money by purchasing the always full #48 and #4 in the future when fare drop, can my Luggage be checked from KCY to NYP on my departure date?

Yes. I've done that.
My experience, however, is that prices for roomettes on the Lake Shore Limited around New Years stay high and go higher. $313 is NOT anywhere NEAR the highest bucket for a roomette CHI-NYP.

If you can stand it, I would

(a) make a reservation now

(b) if the price drops, cancel the reservation and get an e-voucher for the value; then use the e-voucher to pay for a new reservation. You're planning to travel Amtrak again, so you'll use the voucher eventually.

It's easier to do this if you have each leg on a separate reservation, because then you can cancel one leg without cancelling the others.

You are supposed to be able to *modify* your reservation to get the lower price, just by asking for it, but some of the call center agents get very confused when you try to do a modification.

Reservation made! KCY to NYP (December 29, 2015) and return ( January 4, 2016), roomette all the way, for an obscene amount (IMHO) of $1580. I will work on reducing that if accommodation fares decrease (especially on train #3 and #4).

Unfortunately that sounds about right for roomettes on those dates. You might get a price drop on #3/#4... I think prices will probably only go up on #48/#49.

 

[KC Ghost Rider]

Yes, I did modify on #3 and #4 and this dropped the price to around $1200 for a round trip, sleeping accommodations throughout, from KCY to NYP. It was a good deal in the end and I only hope the PTC mandate issue is resolved through extension of the deadline or exception. I hate to have this trip cancelled.