Switching Accommodations En route

[Old MM]

OK.. yes, it's my fault for not nailing down the trip sooner, but it's not always easy to know in advance when you can travel. So. Due to the trains filling with other people who plan in my time frame.. snd te amount of AG points I had available.. we are going from CHI-SEA on the EB, switching rooms en route from 2 roomettes to a bedroom, and then yet another bedroom in Spokane, WA at 1 am.

I don't quite understand, but anyway.. is it worth to call back every so often to see if a better option is available? Is there a possibility of a solution once on board? If I cancel the whole thing, how long does it take before the AG points are available again? I was going to cancel what seemd like wasted points but was warned, that with one room left, it might be gone 5 minutes later when I tried to pay for it. hboy:

 

[Steve4031]

Some times the crew will shuffle things around to make things easier. Still try to call back and get things changed around. One thing to be aware of is the car number. If the car numbers are the same for each leg of your trip you are in the same car. If you have car numbers 730,731 or 732 you will near the front of the train. The cars are next to each other so it is relatively easy to switch between these cars. If you gave car 2730, it is near the back of the train. If you end up having to move to this car or from this car it is a very long walk. So be prepared.

 

[Old MM]

Hmmm. We have car 2730 and 730, and she told me this was the same car.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

That is quite a mess. How many points are they charging you for this?

 

[Bierboy]

Hmmm. We have car 2730 and 730, and she told me this was the same car.

If I'm not mistaken, I think it is the same car...

 

[GoldenSpike]

If I cancel the whole thing, how long does it take before the AG points are available again?

Points are subtracted and added immediately.

I was going to cancel what seemd like wasted points but was warned, that with one room left, it might be gone 5 minutes later when I tried to pay for it.

I've run into that situation in the past. If there is a space left, this is what I did:

• Make a paid reservation.
• Then call AGR to cancel the award reservation.

Otherwise the warning you got is correct if they are sold out and you cancel. To reduce the time risk:

• Have a paid reservation set up and ready to go for the date you want to the point all you have to do is hit the 'Accept' button to pay for it.
• Call AGW to cancel the award reservation.
• Explain to the agent what you are doing. They might do the GR cancel and purchase for you on the spot, or coordinate the cancel/purchase while you are on-line.

Be flexible with an alternate date if Murphy's Law shows up.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Hmmm. We have car 2730 and 730, and she told me this was the same car.

I don't think so.... the last reported consist from this thread http://discuss.amtra...nsist-listings/ shows they are two different cars...0730 goes to Seattle, 2730 goes to Portland....

 

[Bierboy]

Hmmm. We have car 2730 and 730, and she told me this was the same car.

I don't think so.... the last reported consist from this thread http://discuss.amtra...nsist-listings/ shows they are two different cars...0730 goes to Seattle, 2730 goes to Portland....

Ack...I believe you're right....I stand corrected.

 

[Old MM]

This is using up all 20,000 points I had left, for a one zone award. It would not have cost much more than what I was already paying, to have booked a BR from Chicago all the way to Seattle. But, too late, so this was the creative solution the AGR agent came up with. She said it would be no problem to change rooms at 1:30 in the morning, in Spokane. This on top of another room change in Wolf Point. Now here is another question... a "cleaning" question. Would the attendant be cleaning the room left by the other occupant, change bedding or what have you? When I asked her this there was a long pause and then, kind of an, "uh, yeah!" It wasn't very reassuring.

 

[Steve4031]

The bedding is changed Each time the room is vacated and occupied. The sca also empties garbage, etc.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The bedding is changed Each time the room is vacated and occupied. The sca also empties garbage, etc.

Changing rooms from the SEA Section (Front of the Train) to the PDX Section (Last car on the Train) won't be fun in the Wee Hours of the Morning! As others said, Id try to call to see if this can't be fixed by an Agent, if not right now, keep checking Daily, Cancellations, Changes etc. always show up! Ive also had SCAs that allowed me to stay in my room and put Boarding Pax into other empty rooms, especially in the middle of the night! Good luck, this is a Great Trp, changing Rooms Three Times isnt so Great!!! :wacko:

 

[Old MM]

thank you Mr Hudson... we will try to see what can be done, and approach with a sense of adventure

 

[rrdude]

thank you Mr Hudson... we will try to see what can be done, and "approach with a sense of adventure"

Best quote ever! Amtrak should permanently add that to their marketing approach.

 

[Mackensen]

I don't find anything mysterious about this; clearly there isn't a through bedroom available Wolf Point-Seattle on the #7 (Chicago-Seattle), so Amtrak accommodated you in the Portland sleeper between Chicago and Spokane, where the train splits up, and will then move you to a now-available bedroom in Spokane. 2730 and 730 are different cars: the former is the Portland sleeper; the latter is the first Seattle sleeper.

I would check Amtrak's reservation site for the dates you're traveling and see if a Seattle bedroom opens up anywhere east of Spokane. Ideally you could make the switch around Browning or Essex during dinner. I assume the agent did things this way since Wolf Point is the Central/West Region boundary where your award booking starts, and if you plug in Wolf Point-Seattle ARROW will naturally suggest Spokane as the dividing point if there isn't a bedroom available Wolf Point-Seattle in #7. That doesn't mean you can't do the switch earlier, and that's a valid booking.

Recap: call AGR and ask if you can move to a #7 bedroom east of Spokane, and throw out Essex, Browning or West Glacier as possibilities. What dates are you traveling?

 

[Old MM]

Wish I had you for a travel agent, Mack

OK, I am going to call them...now...if I understand correctly, we are in a Portland sleeper ...not going TO Portland, but will be redirected into a Seattle sleeper..at Spokane? and one might be available west of Wolf Point but east of Spokane? And that is how the question should be phrased to them?

thanks!!!! :help:

 

[Mackensen]

Wish I had you for a travel agent, Mack

OK, I am going to call them...now...if I understand correctly, we are in a Portland sleeper ...not going TO Portland, but will be redirected into a Seattle sleeper..at Spokane? and one might be available west of Wolf Point but east of Spokane? And that is how the question should be phrased to them?

thanks!!!! :help:

That's what it sounds like. The Empire Builder is really two trains: one going from Chicago to Seattle and the other from Chicago to Portland. They're a single train as far as west as Spokane, where they split up and go their separate ways. The Seattle train is #7 and the Portland train is #27. From your description you're in a Portland bedroom (car 2730) from Wolf Point to Spokane and a Seattle bedroom (car 730) from Spokane to Seattle. I assume this means that there is no unoccupied Seattle bedroom between Wolf Point and Spokane, but maybe someone in a Seattle bedroom is getting off between Wolf Point and Spokane. It's certainly worth a shot.

 

[gatelouse]

Do you have enough time to take 27 all the way to Portland and connect to a Cascades train to Seattle? This would keep you in the 2730 sleeper and get you business class on the connecting Talgo.

 

[EMDF9A]

Do you have enough time to take 27 all the way to Portland and connect to a Cascades train to Seattle? This would keep you in the 2730 sleeper and get you business class on the connecting Talgo.

If it were me, that would be my personal choice

 

[me_little_me]

Now here is another question... a "cleaning" question. Would the attendant be cleaning the room left by the other occupant, change bedding or what have you? When I asked her this there was a long pause and then, kind of an, "uh, yeah!" It wasn't very reassuring.

On one of our trips, we were asked to change rooms by the SCA for some reason to accommodate another couple. I think it was because the family had 2 rooms separated. We didn't mind because the SCA was very nice about asking us and the people thanked us for doing so. The SCA quickly cleaned the just-vacated room we moved to and our old room and helped us move our stuff. So I would expect the SCA to insure you are moving to a cleaned room and that your old one would be cleaned for any new occupant, if any.

 

[Old MM]

Do you have enough time to take 27 all the way to Portland and connect to a Cascades train to Seattle? This would keep you in the 2730 sleeper and get you business class on the connecting Talgo.

I'm going to call and ask them this tomorrow.. thanks for the idea.

MM