transit54
Conductor
Hello everyone,
I first want to thank everyone on here for their helpful advice in the past as well as be a source of interesting and informative Amtrak news and commentary. I've posted occasionally on here before but never bothered to register an account till now (for those of you with an excellent memory, I last inquired about whether Amfleet IIs were used on the Maple Leaf, as well as border crossing times).
Anyway, I've just seized an incredible deal on rail fare - I took advantage of one of Amtrak's ~$47 each way deals from New York to Chicago this weekend and am taking the Cardinal on Sunday and returning Monday night (to arrive on Tuesday) on the Lake Shore Limited. Since Monday is a holiday, I was able to fit things in, and I'm a college student, so I only have one class on Tuesday, and getting back late into Burlington, VT won't be a problem, as I can miss a single large lecture without an issue. This will be my first overnight train experience, though I've logged around 3,400 miles on Amtrak in the last year, including on some LD routes like the CZ, so I've got an idea of what to expect, I've just never actually slept overnight on a train.
At the moment, my trip looks like this:
-Fly from BTV to JFK on Saturday night, stay with a friend
-Depart Sunday at 6:45 AM on the Cardinal
-Get in on Monday in Chicago
-Spend the day in Chicago
-Take the LSL on Monday night to arrive in NYC on Tuesday
-Take a jetBlue flight back to BTV
For the price ($98 roundtrip on two LD trains) I couldn't pass it up, and I was looking for something to do for the three day weekend.
My question is, I'm thinking of trying to upgrade onboard to a roomette on the Cardinal, since I'd like to try the sleeper experience but don't want to pay the $355 that roomettes are going for right now. Plus, on a 28 hour trip, included meals would be nice. The bedrooms are all sold out, but there are still roomettes availible. What's the chance they still will be on Sunday, and any idea how much it will cost to upgrade onboard to a roomette? From what I see the Cardinal only runs with a single Viewliner as far as sleeping accomodations go.
Also, what's the deal with eating on the Cardinal? There's clearly meal service, but somewhere Amtrak indicated that "tray service" was offered for first class passengers. Does the Cardinal not have a traditional Amtrak dining car? If not, are the meal options relatively the same as other Amtrak LD trains?
Thanks in advance!
I first want to thank everyone on here for their helpful advice in the past as well as be a source of interesting and informative Amtrak news and commentary. I've posted occasionally on here before but never bothered to register an account till now (for those of you with an excellent memory, I last inquired about whether Amfleet IIs were used on the Maple Leaf, as well as border crossing times).
Anyway, I've just seized an incredible deal on rail fare - I took advantage of one of Amtrak's ~$47 each way deals from New York to Chicago this weekend and am taking the Cardinal on Sunday and returning Monday night (to arrive on Tuesday) on the Lake Shore Limited. Since Monday is a holiday, I was able to fit things in, and I'm a college student, so I only have one class on Tuesday, and getting back late into Burlington, VT won't be a problem, as I can miss a single large lecture without an issue. This will be my first overnight train experience, though I've logged around 3,400 miles on Amtrak in the last year, including on some LD routes like the CZ, so I've got an idea of what to expect, I've just never actually slept overnight on a train.
At the moment, my trip looks like this:
-Fly from BTV to JFK on Saturday night, stay with a friend
-Depart Sunday at 6:45 AM on the Cardinal
-Get in on Monday in Chicago
-Spend the day in Chicago
-Take the LSL on Monday night to arrive in NYC on Tuesday
-Take a jetBlue flight back to BTV
For the price ($98 roundtrip on two LD trains) I couldn't pass it up, and I was looking for something to do for the three day weekend.
My question is, I'm thinking of trying to upgrade onboard to a roomette on the Cardinal, since I'd like to try the sleeper experience but don't want to pay the $355 that roomettes are going for right now. Plus, on a 28 hour trip, included meals would be nice. The bedrooms are all sold out, but there are still roomettes availible. What's the chance they still will be on Sunday, and any idea how much it will cost to upgrade onboard to a roomette? From what I see the Cardinal only runs with a single Viewliner as far as sleeping accomodations go.
Also, what's the deal with eating on the Cardinal? There's clearly meal service, but somewhere Amtrak indicated that "tray service" was offered for first class passengers. Does the Cardinal not have a traditional Amtrak dining car? If not, are the meal options relatively the same as other Amtrak LD trains?
Thanks in advance!