Which is the better idea?

[aviva_dawn]

My boyfriend and I reserved a Deluxe Bedroom on #14. (NB Coast Starlight.) I had explained to the reservation agent that I spoke with to reserve the room that my boyfriend and I would be traveling together from Los Angeles to Olympia-Lacey, but on the return, we'd travel in a Deluxe Bedroom on #11 as far south as Sacramento at which time we'd part ways, he taking a bus to South Lake Tahoe and me doing the Bus-Train-Bus combination to get to Riverside.

We have the reservation held until the 11th. We can't pay for the reservation until February 1st. (due to the timing of pay periods, since we're splitting the cost of the trip in half.)

To make sure that we get what we want, we had two ideas in mind.

1. Call Amtrak early on 1/12/06 and set up another reservation for the same itiniary, which should buy us another week of time.Repeat the aforementioned several times until the 1st of February, when we can go to the closest train station (Fullerton) and pay for everything.

2. Book the CS reservations separately from the reservation for us (from Davis to SLT to comply with the "no bus without a train" rule.) to go from SAC-SLT (for him) and SAC-SKN-BFD-RIV for me.

We'll just hope and pray that we can keep the sleeper room ( Room "E" in Sleeper Car #1430 on #14 CS and Room "E" in Sleeper Car #1130 on #11 CS) that we had our heart set on.

We're taking #14 on April 8th from LAX to OLW

We're taking #11 on April 12th from OLW to SAC

What do you think about our ideas? Which one sounds more plausible? Any other ideas?

 

[Guest]

i would call back and see if there is any way you too can be together without parting ways. do an online search for the ite that you want with two persons and if you call they say you have to spilt ways say that you didnt online and it didnt ask you too. and they will find a way.

 

[haolerider]

Call them and ask them if they can extend the hold date a few days to let you pay for the reservation you have. A friendly agent might do you favor.

 

[AmtrakFan]

Couldn't he avoid the No Bus with Train rule by Riding 14/11?

 

[Chatter163]

And call and use a credit card to guarantee the reservation now.

 

[Guest]

If your reservation expires and you rebook, you could end up paying a higher fare, even for the same room.

 

[jccollins]

You should try walking into your local train station and speaking with one of the ticket agents. They have the ability to extend a reservation's hold date for as long a period as they wish and it will guarantee your quoted fare. If you find a friendly agent, explain your situation they will most likely extend the hold date until February 2 for you so you won't have to worry about it. The telephone agents at 800-USA-RAIL are kept on a much tighter leash than the station employees and are much less likely to extend the hold date that long for you. Good luck and make sure to let us know how it goes.