Trip advice needed

[Diane]

Y'all always have really great information. I am hoping that someone might be able to help me.

I am planning a trip on the Coast Starlight for Chirstmas and I have a couple of questions. I was thinking about booking a family sleeper, there are 3 of us but I have heard that the windows are small and there is some noise from the wheels since it's on the lower level. So, with that... How much smaller are the windows from the standard sleeper? Is there really a lot of noise from the wheels?

Would it be wise to book 2 standard sleepers instead?

Also, does anybody know if Amtrak has sales during that season? The price for a family sleeper on the dates that I want is $1009 roundtrip. It seems pretty good considering the time of year. And, if I were to book it, does anybody know, if Amtrak had a sale and the price went down would I get refunded or credited the difference?

Thanks for any advice!

Diane

 

[socalsteve]

We took the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle last summer. There were four of us and the family sleeper worked out great! We found that we spent very little time there anyway, opting instead for the Pacific Parlour Car.

I didn't notice a lot of noise from the wheels, but again, we weren't there much. The windows seemed OK, but I've never stayed in a Standard sleeper, so I'm not sure what to compare it to.

 

[EmpireBuilderFan]

The windows in the family sleeper should be the same size as the window in a standard sleeper. One big advantage to the family sleeper is that there are windows on both sides of the room, as the room covers the width of the car. Of course, as Steve said, the Coast Starlight has the Pacific Parlour car, which has lots of windows to look through and see the scenery. If the windows seem a bit small and the scenery limited from your room, just hang out in the Parlour car.

 

[AlanB]

Diane,

First off, I hope that at least one of the three is a child under 4' 9". Otherwise the family room won't work for you at all, as there are only two adult sized beds.

Now I've stayed in the family room before. In my opinion, it was perhaps a little noiser than a bedroom on the upper level of the car. It certainly wasn't a problem for me, and it's quite likely that I noticed it simply because as a train fan I tend to notice these things.

On the other hand, you have three bathrooms on the lower level plus the shower. The upper level only has one bathroom. There is also far less traffic from people walking by on the lower level where the family room is located.

As far as the windows are concerned, you get one window on each side of the car. This allows you to look out either side of the train with ease. The window technically is the same size as all windows in the train. What's different is the fact that a standard bedroom has two windows in a row side by side on only one side of the room. The family room has only one window on each side, instead of the double window arrangement.

Does that make sense to you? If not I'll try again to describe it.

If you decide to book two standard sleepers, then make sure you call up Amtrak so you can get two rooms next to one another. You would need one odd numbered room and one even, if you want to be opposite each other.

The only time that travel on Amtrak is more popular than Christmas is Thankgiving. Amtrak has no trouble selling out trains at that time of year, so they don't offer sales at all. As a member of the Guest Rewards program, I can't even use my mileage points for a free room at that time of year.

Once you book a ticket, you can't trade it in for a cheaper fare should you find one. Also note that as the train fills up, prices will go up. So don't wait too long to make your reservation.

Hope that helps, let me know if you've got more questions.

 

[Diane]

Thanks for all the great advice. I just made my reservations and have decided to go with the family bedroom. Now, I have 2 Amtrak trips this year. One this summer, just my daughter and I on the Coast Starlight in a standard sleeper from Seattle to Oxnard RT and then the Christmas trip.

My daughter and I took the CS last summer for the first time and it was amazing. She's 7 and absolutely loved it. We took lots of things for her to do but she found her own entertainment and made lots of friends in the process. Train travel is perfect for kids. I can really see how taking the train can become habit forming.

Thanks again, I am glad to have found such a great forum.

Diane

 

[seajay]

My daughter and I took the CS last summer for the first time and it was amazing. She's 7 and absolutely loved it.

This is great! Gotta get those new railfans hooked early!

seajay

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Yes, get them hooked early. That is what happened to me. I got hooked at age 3 and now, at, age 58 nothing has changed!