Sleeper and Coach on one trip

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cassie225

Lead Service Attendant
AU Supporting Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
458
Location
Louisiana
Okay y'all,I have never heard this going on,but a customer service ticket agent told me last night that coming back from Newark I could do the sleeper overnight then coach the rest of my trip. I had told her I enjoy the sleeper at night and the meals but also enjoy talking to the people in Coach, Her suggestion was from Newark to either Atlanta or Anniston(so that breakfast would be included) to do the sleeper then request coach on in to either Slidell or NO. Has anyone ever done this and is this possible, She says she has worked at Amtrak for over 20 years. Very nice person. Can this be done? And will it cause confusion. Thanks
 
It is possible and not uncommon. The only fly in the ointment may be the fare. Make sure it works out since the available coach bucket fare can be high at times while sleepers generally give you the lowest coach fare. Additionally, make sure you're not mistakenly charged multiple one way fare as opposed to the through fare. This is particularly true if you attempt to use the website.

My advice is to use the res office and if there is confusion, ask for a supervisor.
 
It can be done. I think each part is treated as a seperate ticket, so fairly straight forward.

Try playing around with some different combinations of coach and sleeper changing over places, to obtain the best prices.

Ed.
 
I've heard people say they do it to save money. Sleeper at night to get a good sleep and coach during the day.
 
Yes it can be done. Probably somewhat more common on AU since it's full of experts here. :p

PS, do check all possible combinations. The way Amtrak pricing is structured there may be some surprisingly good fares hidden somewhere.
 
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Thirdrail7 said:
The only fly in the ointment may be the fare. Make sure it works out since the available coach bucket fare can be high at times while sleepers generally give you the lowest coach fare.
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These are the current fares for the whole route of the Crescent - Newark should be little or no difference:

Crescent Buckets 4 May 2017.jpg

This illustrates what Thirdrail said. When you get a sleeper, the coach fare portion of the total fare is always the low bucket Coach fare, in this case $162. But the coach only portion of your planned trip could possibly be at high bucket, or $393. Then too, if far enough away in the future, it might be the $130 Saver fare. And, because partial segments of any route are always higher than you'd think, there may be a chance staying with a sleeper the whole trip might possibly be be cheaper. Maybe.

If there's some flexibility in your return date, that's even better for picking dates with the most favorable fares.

Kinda zooey, isn't it? :p

If you're willing , let me know the range of suitable departure dates from Newark and I'll see what I can come up with.
 
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You could still simplify the process by booking the sleeper for the whole trip, then hang out in the lounge car during daylight hours to talk to people.

Most folks sitting in their coach seats may not be that interested in striking up conversations with strangers; while it is the norm to do such things in the lounge car.
 
If the $$ aren't an issue, then (as others have suggested) just keep your sleeper and wander around the train all you want. There are almost always some empty coach seats if that is the experience you're after. And, the observation/lounge car is an even better place to socialize.
 
chakk said:
You could still simplify the process by booking the sleeper for the whole trip, then hang out in the lounge car during daylight hours to talk to people.

Most folks sitting in their coach seats may not be that interested in striking up conversations with strangers; while it is the norm to do such things in the lounge car.
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That's a good perspective, I think.
 
My wife and I have a very long day booked for May 31. We board the LSL in Erie PA about 2AM ET in Business Class seats to Chicago. We spend several hours in Chicago before getting on the CZ in coach.

We ride in coach as far as Omaha (about 11 PM CT). We have a sleeper booked from Omaha all the way to Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Springs to Winnemucca (7:40AM) in coach on June 2.

My reservation number is the same all the way from Erie to Winnemucca with Business Class, coach (x2) and a night, morning and early afternoon in sleeper which qualify us for breakfast and lunch on June 1.
 
Didnt know that about people in Roomette,maybe I will do that. Once when I asked if I could go to coach,they said no you are not supposed to do that,but one time they let a lady I met at lunch come to my sleeper. So it must depend on how the crew is feeling that day. I feel if I pay for a seat I should be able to have a seat if one is empty.
 
cassie225 said:
Didnt know that about people in Roomette,maybe I will do that. Once when I asked if I could go to coach,they said no you are not supposed to do that,but one time they let a lady I met at lunch come to my sleeper. So it must depend on how the crew is feeling that day. I feel if I pay for a seat I should be able to have a seat if one is empty.
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I've walked through coach to get exercise when I've been in a sleeper. Also to check out the raillfan window if the coaches are at the back of the train.
 
I've heard that savvy Amtrak travelers used to be able to book combinations of coach and sleeper and enjoy significant savings in the process. I've also been told that that was then; this is now, and Amtrak restructured their fares to make doing this unattractive. I know my limited attempts to explore the concept have always ended up with combinations at least not saving any money and generally costing more. It's like they have a flat fee for using a sleeper regardless of for how long.
 
For the period 21 May through 19 June the cheapest (for one adult) from Newark to New Orleans:

• All the way in a Roomette is $585 on 26 May and when switching to Coach in Atlanta, the two tickets total $557 when leaving Newark also on 26 May (saving $28)

• All the way in a Bedroom is $951 on 24 May but when switching to Coach in Atlanta the two tickets total $758 when leaving Newark on 3 Jun (saving $193)

All the figures, above, are based on the notion that breaking the trip up into part sleeper and the rest coach requires two separate tickets. Don't know of any other way to do it. And those fares are the ones available today - tomorrow may be different.

The fee for a sleeper is not the same regardless of the distance. The sleeper fee decreases as the distance decreases, but not in a fairly linear fashion like coach. It goes down incrementally in a step-like fashion.
 
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niemi24s said:
For the period 21 May through 19 June the cheapest (for one adult) from Newark to New Orleans:

• All the way in a Roomette is $585 on 26 May and when switching to Coach in Atlanta, the two tickets total $557 when leaving Newark also on 26 May (saving $28)

• All the way in a Bedroom is $951 on 24 May but when switching to Coach in Atlanta the two tickets total $758 when leaving Newark on 3 Jun (saving $193)

All the figures, above, are based on the notion that breaking the trip up into part sleeper and the rest coach requires two separate tickets. Don't know of any other way to do it.

The fee for a sleeper is not the same regardless of the distance. The sleeper fee decreases as the distance decreases, but not in a fairly linear fashion like coach. It goes down incrementally in a step-like fashion.
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Is it more on the 4 of June or the 5 of June. Will the customer service person be able to do this? Im going to do this tonight if possible. My original is leaving Newark on the 13 of June and all total is 700.
 
This is a very interesting topic. I take the Crescent every once in a while from NYP to NOLA, and back. Over the years, I have tried to book a coach seat for part of the trip, and a sleeper for the rest, but it never works out.

Especially on the return from NOLA, which departs at 7:00 am, I tried to book a sleeper for the latter part of the day, but the price was always more than the price of as sleeper for the whole trip.

I have never been able to find fares that were lower by booking two separate segments.

It seems that Amtrak is intentionally discouraging this practice by the way they have the fares structured.

I don't understand why....

Bill
 
William said:
This is a very interesting topic. I take the Crescent every once in a while from NYP to NOLA, and back. Over the years, I have tried to book a coach seat for part of the trip, and a sleeper for the rest, but it never works out.
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Probably that way on most other trains too. Here are examples of some trip chopping on the Texas Eagle:

• Low bucket Roomette all the way for 1 adult = $786

• Coach to SAS then a Roomette to LAX = $711

• Roomette to SAS then Coach to LAX = $550

• Three coach tickets for the daytime hours (only missing lunch) and three Roomette tickets (for dinner, a bed and breakfast) = $944

The shorter the segments of the trip the higher the cost per mile for each one.
 
The sleepers on the CZ will likely be moved to the read end of the train for the summer months by May 31. So no checking out the raildan window by coach passengers on/after that date for the summer duration.
 
When I rode CZ in April, the sleeping car attendant had heard that the sleepers probably would NOT move the rear for Summer 2017. Of course, I'll be watching Railstream's cams to see if the CZ departs Chicago with sleepers in front or rear. Just 15 days until June 1 and less to Memorial Day when the move should have happen by if they will return to the rear.

Of course,question seems to regard the Crescent so I will just suggest checking into reserving business class which is coach type seating with more space and few passengers in the car. I rode the Crescent in April too and the business class car was at the end of the train just before the baggage car which brought up the rear. The sleeping car(s) were between the business class card and the dining car. In my case, they had a problem with second sleeper so that moved several passengers with sleeping car reservations to the business class car and it still did not look very crowded when I walked through.
 
chakk said:
You could still simplify the process by booking the sleeper for the whole trip, then hang out in the lounge car during daylight hours to talk to people.

Most folks sitting in their coach seats may not be that interested in striking up conversations with strangers; while it is the norm to do such things in the lounge car.
Click to expand...
Then, we may end up with a " seat hogs in the cafe car when they have their own accommodations" thread. :hi:
 

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