two children in regular bedroom?

[jeffcarp]

We are planning a yearly trip to Florida for my family of 4. My wife and I will be traveling with children ages 4 and 7. Each year, we plan to use 60000 points for a 2-zone family bedroom reward. Problem is that the Washington DC to Florida train doesn't have family bedrooms. Even though the bedroom is listed as a max of 3 for this train, the rewards agent said taking both kids in there with us was at my family's discretion since the kids are so young and each kid is ticketed as 1/2 an adult fare, we actually only have 3 "fares" in the room. I plan to just sleep in the chair - no different than coach is my attitude. That sounded reasonable to me, but then she said something about "unless the conductor doesn't allow it." That scares me, as obviously we don't have a lot of options in the middle of DC if the conductor says we can't take our 2 kids in the room.

The agent said that at "some point" when the kids are older, we won't be able to travel this way. We'd need to book a separate roomette with cash, in addition to our family bedroom reward ticket to travel with 4 people on this trip. That is fine. But she was vague as to how old the kids will be when this restriction will kick in. Obviously I don't want to pay the money before I have to.

Can anyone provide any definitive information? Do we run any risk of not being accomodated by the conductor in DC doing it the way it is set up? If not, is there a published policy about the ages of the kids when this is no longer an option? I could see age 12 being a realistic age cutoff, but that is just my opinion.

Any help? Thank you.

 

[Guest]

Since the room has a maximum capacity listed as 3, a conductor would be correct in enforcing that limit. However, from my traveling experience, I know that some conductors look the other way.

 

[AlanB]

Jeff,

First the easy part of the answer, if indeed you suceed at getting four into the room, then the age cutoff would be 15. It's at that point that your oldest would no longer qualify for a child's fare according to Amtrak's rules.

When booking your reservation, please indicate the number of passengers of each age classification (Adult, Child, and Infant) for whom you are making a reservation. Passengers 2 to 15 years of age are classified as "Child" passengers for the purpose of determining base rail fare. Children usually ride for 50 percent off the full adult fare.

Now for the issues as I see it. First, I suspect that you oldest will outgrow the small 4' 9" bed in the family room, before he reaches age 15. So that will certainly pose a problem.

Next, consider that the "chair" in the bedroom is a folding chair. It is definately not the most comfortable seat on the train. It does not recline at all, there are no foot rests, no calf rests, and no head rest. When it's opened, it makes it tough to get into the bathroom unless you are a skinny person. And once the attendant makes up the beds, the ladder that allows one to climb into the upper bunks will land right in front of the chair. Of course you could then probably use it as a foot rest. I suppose that you could also return it to the cabinet so that it's not in your way.

Finally, returning to the ticket issue. If you have 4 tickets for that specific bedroom, then the conductor must allow you to board the train and use the room. It's not your fault that Amtrak issued you those tickets.

That said however, I don't think that Amtrak will be able to issue you those tickets, despite what that one agent claimed. I once tried to put 5 people into a family bedroom on the Auto Train. There was 1 adult and 4 children, ages 11, 8, 4, and 1-1/2. The youngest doesn't even qualify as a child and therefore rides or free no matter what.

The AGR agent was unable to enter a name for the baby and generate a ticket for us. So she just issued tickets for the other 4, since one doesn't actually have to have a ticket for an infant. The computer refused to allow her to overbook the capacity of the room, even though everything was a reward and there is never a charge for a baby.

So I have my doubts that an AGR agent will actually be able to enter all 4 names into the computer for that part of the journey and produce 4 tickets for you. If they are sucessful, then you are all set, since like I said the conductor has to honor the tickets.

One final thought is that Amtrak also makes it quite clear that the maximum number of meals that they will comp for a bedroom is 3, so don't be shocked if you are asked to pay for one meal in the dining car on that leg of your trip. When you're in the family room you'll have no problem as the maximum for that room is of course 4.

 

[1702]

As AlanB said, as long as the four of you are properly ticketed, there shouldn't be any problem. I've seen couples with two kids shoehorn themselves into a roomette! As far as sleeping arrangements, I'd suggest having the kids sleep in the upper berth (heads at opposite ends of the bed), providing they are amenable, and you and your wife in the lower. You probably know of the sleeping car room comparisons at amtrak.com, but if not, check out the size of the berths to see if my suggestion will work for you. Once the lower berth is down and the berth ladder in place, your floor space is greatly reduced.

As far as dining car meals, you might consider advising the crew member who brings your meal checks that you are one person over the free-meal limit for your accomodation. They may well not charge for the fourth meal, and since you've been up-front about it, avoids the potential for embarassment later.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

Have you considered 2 std. bedrooms side by side? 3 of us rode r/t to florida from michigan on 2 of the 4 trains this way. The other 2 trains we had a deluxe bedroom. All 3 of us were actually more comfortable having the 2 smaller rooms then the 1 deluxe room.

 

[Guest]

Regardless of whether you hold the tickets or not, this would be an EXTREMELY cramped situation (more than you realize, I think), even under the best of conditions. The most ideal arrangement is for two bedrooms with the partition opened, but barring that, I would agree with the recommendation of two roomettes.

 

[Guest]

Have a similar situation. 4 of us, including 2 kids (5 and 2) booked in a deluxe bedroom. Have the tickets for all four. The agent did say that we might have to pay for the fourth meal. Heck, if they can get my younger daughter to eat anything, I will happily pay extra and leave a big tip on top of that.

 

[wannacruise]

, I'd suggest having the kids sleep in the upper berth (heads at opposite ends of the bed), providing they are amenable, and you and your wife in the lower.

I certainly would not put a 2 year old and prob. not a 5 year old in the top bunk.

If you have to do one room I would put the smaller adult up top with the 5 year old near wall and the larger adult with the 2 year old near wall on the bottom.

There were times when I could have fallen out of top bunk.

 

[AlanB]

There were times when I could have fallen out of top bunk.

That's why they put the safety straps up, to keep people from falling out of the upper bunk. However, those straps would not stop a two year old, and unless the 5 year old is tall for his/her age, they might not stop him/her either.

Of course keeping the sheets and blanket firmly tucked under the mattress does help too.

 

[Guest]

The 5 year old is tall for her age, already 4 feet tall. Do you guys think I should also book a roomette, just to be safe?

 

[racer1735]

The 5 year old is tall for her age, already 4 feet tall. Do you guys think I should also book a roomette, just to be safe?

Last year I took my 5-year-old son on an overnight trip (Texas Eagle). We booked a roomette and he took the upper berth. There was never a problem of him coming close to falling out. A w-year-old who might squirm around may be a different story but I wouldn't worry about the 5-year old.

 

[Guest]

I meant that the deluxe bedroom might be too small. The 2 year old very likely cannot sleep up, and it would be too small to put an adult and the 5 year old up there or to put two adults and the 2 year old down.

 

[Oxy]

Being that WAS to Florida is only one zone, I assume you are connecting from Chicago?