Sunset Limited Sleeper

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Amtrak_Novice

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Hello all. I've enjoyed reading this forum and am looking for any useful tips you might have for my husband and me. We are taking the Sunset Ltd out of Los Angeles to New Orleans. We have a deluxe bedroom "E". We've taken the Sunset Ltd train once before, but went Coach last time. This will be the first time with a sleeper. Can't wait :)

We usually travel pretty light. I am wondering if there will be enough room in the sleeper to accommodate two suitcase (a 'carryon' and a larger suitcase).

When we wait for the train to depart from LA (we are actually coming up from San Diego), is there a first class lounge we can wait in? How does that work? Conversely, when we return and there's a wait in New Orleans, is there a lounge there also? Are these just seating areas in the general waiting room, or an actual room we go into?

I'm sure I'll have more questions. Any feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks all!
 
I don't know about La, but I know there is the Magnolia Room in NOUPT which is for First Class passengers. As for the luggage, your large suitcase will likely stay downstairs in the luggage tree, as the big suitcases can be a bear to carry upstairs.
 
There is no first class waiting room in LA, you'll have to use the general seating area. However Battalion is correct in New Orleans you will be able to use the Magnolia room. This is a small private room with seating for about 20 or so.

As you enter the station in New Orleans, walk down the hall toward the Amtrak counter. Once the hall opens into the main waiting area, turn right and walk about 20 to 30 feet. You'll see a set of double doors that you can't see through. This is the Magnolia room. You can also ask at the Amtrak counter and they will direct you there.

Inside in addition to some nice comfortable chairs, there is a TV, coffee, and bottled water. You are also welcome to bring your own food into the room. There are no bathrooms however in the room, so you will have to use the main bathrooms in the station.

As for your suitcase, unless it's huge, you should have plenty of room for it in the deluxe room. Mind you it can be a bit tricky to carry it upstairs, but if you only have a small carry on, then it's probably worth the effort to carry the suitcase upstairs for a two day journey.

Don't forget that all of your meals are included, as long as you take them in the dining car. If you eat in the lounge car, then you get to pay. Also note that your sleeping car attendant will put out a selection of sodas and juice for you in the central area of the car. You can also usually find a hot pot of coffee in this same area, which is right outside your room.
 
Amtrak_Novice said:
Wow, that was fast! Thanks for the great info :)
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Hey, we aim to please. :lol: :D :)

Seriously though, if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure that someone here knows the answer, at least so long as your question isn't about quantam physics. :lol:

And hey even then who knows, maybe someone will still have the answer. :)

Have a great trip! :)
 
Also note that although the eastbound Sunset Limited dpearts LA at 10:30PM, boarding call for first class passengers is usually made between 9:15 and 9:30PM, at which time you can proceed to your sleeper, which will probably already have the beds open. :lol:
 
If you have plenty of wait time in L.A. I suggest dinner at TRAXX right inside the terminal before you depart. It will be too late for dinner when you depart; they usually have your beds turned doen when you board. It's a bit expensive ($8 to $19), but its a good way to start any trip in a delux room.
 
Thanks for the additional comments! Our San Diego train leaves Oceanside at 6:38 PM and arrives in LA at 8:50 pm. So it doesn't sound like we'll have much time to kill hopefully ;)

I thought I read somewhere that if the dining car is closed, and you've "missed a meal" you can show your first class ticket in the lounge and they'll give you a sandwich or something. Would this apply to us in LA? Or probably not, since the train isn't even scheduled to depart until 10:30 pm. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask :p

Another question I have, and I'm almost afraid to ask, is about the pricing. We had a lot of flexibility on dates (we're going to visit family in Alabama. Taking the train to NO, staying a few nights, renting a car to visit Alabama, then returning home by train). Every time I checked the sleeper car rates, the prices kept edging up and up. So we finally settled on the 1st week in December because the deluxe bedroom cost was the lowest I had seen ($825 for the sleeper part of the fare). There weren't any Amtrak promos on the rail fare so we did a Veterans Advantage discount for my husband, and mine has the 10% AAA discount. So, our total was $1210 for both of us. That is two business class seats from San Diego to LA roundtrip and then the Deluxe Bedroom LA to New Orleans, roundtrip. Cringing as I ask this... does the $825 sleeper and $1210 total fare sound reasonable? Ack, if we paid too much, break it to me gently :blink: Guess I should've asked this pricing question before we bought the tickets, but of course I didn't stumble into this forum until after the deed was done.

THANKS!
 
Novice,

There is never any way to acurately predict just what a fare will be on a train. However as the train fills up, the prices go up. So it is always best to buy your tickets as soon as you are sure of the dates. Waiting can cost you.

Now with regard to your particular fare, frankly $825 round trip for a deluxe bedroom doesn't sound too bad to me. By comparision I'm traveling from New York to Chicago next week. That's only a one night trip and I'm getting a standard bedroom, not a deluxe. I'm paying close to $600 for that trip and my wife isn't coming with me. So no I don't think that you did too bad at all with that price. :)

Yes sadly if you had booked it sooner, it's always possible that you might have saved another 100 or so, but I doubt that you would have done better than that. :)
 
Thanks Alan. You have saved me buyer's remorse :)

Ya know, the more I played around with the fares, the worse they got. I'd look at a fare on Monday and by Tuesday it had jumped by $300. Blink and the $1300 fare climbed to $2000. Frankly, I was relieved to be done with the pricing. It got tedious after awhile.

We're really looking forward to the trip. We have friends who had a one-night deluxe bedroom taking the train up the Calif coast. They said they'd do it again in a heartbeat. I know train travel has its unique challenges, but it's such a fun adventure.

Really enjoying reading through these forums. You guys are really interesting :)
 
Amtrak_Novice said:
I thought I read somewhere that if the dining car is closed, and you've "missed a meal" you can show your first class ticket in the lounge and they'll give you a sandwich or something. Would this apply to us in LA? Or probably not, since the train isn't even scheduled to depart until 10:30 pm. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask :p
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The Dining Car is closed upon departure and unfortunately showing your First Class ticket in the Lounge will not get you a free sandwhich. I suggest grabbing a lite dinner before boarding in LA.

Really enjoying reading through these forums. You guys are really interesting
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Thank you. :) We sometimes appear as aliens to others. :lol:
 
Amtrak Watcher said:
If you have plenty of wait time in L.A. I suggest dinner at TRAXX right inside the terminal before you depart. It will be too late for dinner when you depart; they usually have your beds turned doen when you board. It's a bit expensive ($8 to $19), but its a good way to start any trip in a delux room.
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My favorite dining establishment in the LAUS area is Phillipe's, the home of the original French-dip sandwich. They also have a killer breakfast for cheap.

I have never dined at the TRAXX restaurant, but I have been known to patronize the TRAXX bar a time or two.
 
Hello,

I have taken the SL from LAX a couple of times in a deluxe sleeper and I am doing it again this summer. We also come up from the SD area. I will tell you from our experiences you are not going to have a lot of time to spare in LA. You can check your lugguge in LA (meaning not have access to your bigger suitcase during the trip) or if you plan to carry it on you wont have a ton of room in the sleeper, but the Superliner sleeper cars do have some room to store your bigger bag but make sure you get on the train as soon as you can as these "racks" fill up quickly.

You wont get anything to eat on the train that night in the dining car so consider bringing a snack along or buying something to eat on the Pacific Surfliner on the way up from Oceanside.

Have fun and let me know if you have any other questions!

:)
 
Again, thanks everyone for taking the time to reply to my post. This information is very helpful.

The restaurant suggestions are enough to make us want to take a day trip up to LA just for lunch!!

I'll be back with more Newbie questions later, I am sure. So I appreciate your patience with me :rolleyes:
 
We are taking the Sunset Limited this Sunday. I asked about the Traxx restaurant, and found that it's closed on Sundays. So if you're leaving on a Sunday, don't count on eating there. One good place though--an L.A. landmark--is Phillipe's. They serve French Dip sandwiches (they claim to be home of the French Dip) and other items. It's across the street and down about a block from Union Station.

Have a great trip!
 
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