by NJ3rdRAIL
I apologize for the delay in this trip report. The week after our trip, my husband required emergent sugery and we have been a bit behind the ball while he is recuperating. I wanted to be sure to post this report as I appreciated all of the great assistance I received on this board (w/my endless questions) and want to share our experience with anyone who is interested.
4/16/04-OB- 19 NWK-TCL Viewliner Accessible sleeper, TCL-NOL two VL Standard sleepers
4/26/04-IB – 20 NOL-NWK Viewliner Deluxe sleeper
Backround: 2 adults (39/44 yrs), 1 toddler (2 ¾ year old), 5 weeks vacation time annually with about 7% of our salaries going toward leisure travel.
Historic Rate: (not quote)- $952.17 round trip using discounts from AAA and Carnival Cruise lines “Rail to Sail” program. For comparison, airfare quoted on same date in Oct. 2003 for same dates for 3 R/T on Continental (coach) from EWR to MSY=$1068 w/no meals. We utilized the train as transportation to our cruise port of New Orleans, LA. We booked this trip in Oct. 2003. Amtrak made an itinerary/sleeper car change in Feb 2004.
Disclaimer: This is my experiences and impressions of our rail trip. It is not a pro or anti Amtrak statement and there is no political or other agenda within.
The Trip: Check in at NWK baggage was quickly accomplished as we upheld the 50lb checked luggage weight limit to the [i]ounce[/i]. The baggage counter held our carry-ons until right before boarding as we arrived much earlier than necessary. Other than an Amtrak officer telling me to put away my camera, as photos were not allowed inside the station, we encountered no other security that I was aware of. We checked 2 huge trunks and carried on 2 rolling backpacks and a 24” Pullman that contained a smaller suitcase of our son’s diversions, a bed rail, purse and diaper bag. At the platform, we were greeted by name by the Sleeper Car Attendant (SCA) named “O.C.”- a true gem of an employee who promptly assisted us with carry on to our sleeper. He extended to us all the advertised services due first class passenger’s -complimentary juice & water, bed setup, meal calls, wake up calls and even gave us advance notice of good photo ops and walk off stops. He often stopped by for a “high-five” and a smile for our son and was overly attentive to him wherever we saw him. We tipped him $30 for his assistance. The IB SCA was the anti-“O.C.” and we missed the service we had on the OB leg of the trip. The IB attendant did not offer beverages, but pointed to the beverage station (often in need of replenishing) and said to help ourselves but to “go to the café and beg for coffee” as the sleeper car coffee machine was broken. The pax in the accessible sleeper on this trip were an elderly mobility challenged couple who were often heard calling in the hall for the SCA when he failed to heed their call button (they took all meals and refreshments in their sleeper-never leaving it.) Overall-we were pleased with our SCA’s service.
Train 19’s crew was NOL based except the dining car team. This NY based crew was not especially friendly but efficient enough. We were denied 1st meal seating as a group aboard who did not plan on eating wound up eating after all. The 1st available seating (even for 1st class pax who I understood to have priority seating) was at 7:30pm- not optimum with a little one, but we made do. The food far exceeded our expectations- we were not disappointed in the least with any of our choices. We dined on Delmonico and NY strip steaks done to perfection, burgers, chicken potpie, Jambalaya, turkey, Cornish hens, quiche and the french toast. The salads were crisp and fresh, and the desserts were to die for. DON’T pass up anything chocolate on the dessert menu. We were never disappointed in any meal choice.
Dining Car service on the IB 20 was horrible- we changed tables and stayed at one end of the car to avoid the bad server. There were 3 loud tables complaining about the server so our experience was not an isolated one. The dining car attendant also had a problem with leaving the right number of “dining car pax order forms” on our table. She balked at the fact I ordered off the regular menu and not the child’s menu for my son, but I do not give my son hot dogs or mac and cheese for dinner at home, so I ordered off the menu for him. I assure you he enjoyed the turkey medallions wrapped in bacon and the Cornish hen (twice) and ate about ¾ of each meal (he passed on the veggies that were a bit too al dente and spiced for his liking) and my husband finished what he left. The waiters were accommodating with bringing our son’s beverage in a lidded cup and a scaled down size ice cream with whipped cream after his meals. A side note- the traveling chef, a Mr. Abdul Something (a hyphenated name-please forgive my poor memory) asked us to participate in a dining car survey on the IB trip and I noted the server issue and raved about the food presentation, quality, portion size, etc. As a real foodie- I was pretty impressed over the “rail grub”. He said he was appreciative of my honesty regarding the service issue. We tipped at least 15% of the meal totals for all but one meal (another service issue not worth going into). We did not try any of the café car meals but the long lines at mealtimes indicated that it was in demand. The menu was limited and I must say the one meal I did see (Meatloaf) looked pretty like a large enough portion and the prices were reasonable. We did not purchase any beverages in the café- we enjoyed our own evening cocktails in our sleeper after our son turned in for the night. I did not notice anyone in the diner car purchase alcoholic beverages with their meals.
Our accommodations, as shown above, met our needs perfectly. The accessible without the single chair offered the most floor space for my son to use (I brought along a play mat and a few Thomas trains and he was a happy camper whenever he was not looking out the window from the comfort of his seat with the fold down table.!). The deluxe sleeper says it is ideal for 2 adults or 1 adult and 2 children, but we had no problem w/2 adults and a toddler. The open sink in the deluxe was too much of a temptation for our son, what I felt was the only negative about the deluxe (we "washed hands" no less than 10 times before the trip was through). The covered sinks in the standard sleeper were a better idea. In the 2 standards, we had no problem using the facilities when the other 2 bodies vacated it. Of note, on both OB and IB- the coach bathrooms often needed tending to (yes- I had to use one once and peeked into all of them looking for the diaper changing stations that I was told were on some trains but I never did find one.) The public shower in the sleeper car was always loaded with luggage. I did see the SCA move luggage for one guest, so I do not think it was an issue for anyone in a Standard to use it. As far as sleeping, my 6’2” husband slept in the upper berths of all 3 sleepers and slept well. I doubled up with my son on the lower/wider bed and it was tight but do-able. The video monitors worked in both OB sleepers but was not functional on the IB- the SCA told us “there is no tape to play”. There was an AC problem in the sleeper car going to New Orleans. Several folks gave up the sleepers toward the end of the trip and moved to coach just to be comfortable. Our Deluxe was pretty stuffy- but the hallway was worse. Not a big deal but other folks were quite uncomfortable. Our Standards were markedly cooler. We had the same card on the IB trip and apparently the AC was fixed (a fair trade for the non-operational coffee machine). We were happy to have the chance to utilize all the sleeper choices. We had no problems with the often mentioned thin curtains or mattresses or non-working lighting fixtures.
We were a bit disappointed when no Park Service staff was aboard on either the OB or IB trip as I was told that the seasonal service would be available for both trips. Not having been to the areas we passed south/west of Atlanta, I was looking forward to that. There were the Amtrak magazines in the café/lounge cars but we did not linger there as both were often cluttered with trash and train staff hanging around- it was not an inviting space. Neither of those 2 issues negatively effected our enjoyment of the trip.
The OB trip had few Public Announcements but the IB trip was another story. A very, um..”theatrical” café car attendant made so many extraneous announcements about his wares and hours, our sleeper car neighbor yelled “shut up already” to the amusement to all others within earshot. I am not sure why, but the step off /smoke stops were announced by the SCA on the OB but we were few and far between on the IB trip. We used our schedule and figured it out on our own. We were delayed about 2 hours behind freight at lunch time on the IB, but made up most of the time by flying through flag stops and arrived only a few minutes late into NWK. We were pleased with the time schedule (hey-the delay just meant more time on the train-we were in no rush!)
.
One of the best reasons to take a train- the scenery. I have some awesome pictures of the WAS monuments, the Phila. Zoo, Atlanta skyline and a great little memorial garden in tribute to Jack Martin, a former NARP big-whig, the Alabama river and of course, the Causeway and sunset over Lake Ponchatrain. Also of note- my boys loved watching the engine change in WAS. On the IB trip- a private car was hitched on in Atlanta and removed in WAS. I wish I could give better details about the car itself, but it was a vintage gold and royal blue number and called “The Survivor”. It had the name E.W. Woolworth on it and I watched someone washing dishes in its kitchen. The crew told me that the trip cost Mr. Woolworth $2300 and that he would be entertaining guests in WAS. It seems an expensive hobby; I am glad I snapped a picture of it.
We strolled thru all of the cars on the train- we even got a rare trip thru the dorm car with the conductor (the sleeper car doors closed early at a walk off stop and there were a few of us still on the platform). I was surprised at the amount of room the coach seats offered and think this would be a great way to travel for shorter trips (and without our son). Much more arm/leg room than coach seats on any plane I have flown in recent years. Cost wise, probably fairly economical.
Our first LD trip was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone. I was worried the 30 hours of relative confinement would be a challenge for my little one but I can honestly say that he loved every minute of it and was a pleasure to travel with. One Amtrak employee (O.C.) made such a lasting impression on my son; he is still talking about “O.C. on the train” all this time later. Our usual vacations are local camping trips in our RV, cruise vacations and “condo-ing” in SC. Taking the train to New Orleans to begin our cruise was nearly a vacation itself. My husband has already earmarked one of our “camping weeks” next year toward a train trip instead and making the train our destination.
For our vacation dollar, I would rate this trip a 9.5 out of 10. The accommodations were more than adequate, the food and service exceeded our expectations, and the crew had some outstanding employees who I will applaud by sending off a short letter to Amtrak. Everyone should take a train trip at least once; more if they enjoyed it as much as we did!
Again, I thank the members of Railroad.Net for assistance with my many questions beyond what even Amtrak’s Guest Services and “Julie” could help me with. Your real life experiences and hints/tips helped make this trip as wonderful and memorable as it was. We cannot wait to travel by rail again... I can almost hear the whistle blowing now.
4/16/04-OB- 19 NWK-TCL Viewliner Accessible sleeper, TCL-NOL two VL Standard sleepers
4/26/04-IB – 20 NOL-NWK Viewliner Deluxe sleeper
Backround: 2 adults (39/44 yrs), 1 toddler (2 ¾ year old), 5 weeks vacation time annually with about 7% of our salaries going toward leisure travel.
Historic Rate: (not quote)- $952.17 round trip using discounts from AAA and Carnival Cruise lines “Rail to Sail” program. For comparison, airfare quoted on same date in Oct. 2003 for same dates for 3 R/T on Continental (coach) from EWR to MSY=$1068 w/no meals. We utilized the train as transportation to our cruise port of New Orleans, LA. We booked this trip in Oct. 2003. Amtrak made an itinerary/sleeper car change in Feb 2004.
Disclaimer: This is my experiences and impressions of our rail trip. It is not a pro or anti Amtrak statement and there is no political or other agenda within.
The Trip: Check in at NWK baggage was quickly accomplished as we upheld the 50lb checked luggage weight limit to the [i]ounce[/i]. The baggage counter held our carry-ons until right before boarding as we arrived much earlier than necessary. Other than an Amtrak officer telling me to put away my camera, as photos were not allowed inside the station, we encountered no other security that I was aware of. We checked 2 huge trunks and carried on 2 rolling backpacks and a 24” Pullman that contained a smaller suitcase of our son’s diversions, a bed rail, purse and diaper bag. At the platform, we were greeted by name by the Sleeper Car Attendant (SCA) named “O.C.”- a true gem of an employee who promptly assisted us with carry on to our sleeper. He extended to us all the advertised services due first class passenger’s -complimentary juice & water, bed setup, meal calls, wake up calls and even gave us advance notice of good photo ops and walk off stops. He often stopped by for a “high-five” and a smile for our son and was overly attentive to him wherever we saw him. We tipped him $30 for his assistance. The IB SCA was the anti-“O.C.” and we missed the service we had on the OB leg of the trip. The IB attendant did not offer beverages, but pointed to the beverage station (often in need of replenishing) and said to help ourselves but to “go to the café and beg for coffee” as the sleeper car coffee machine was broken. The pax in the accessible sleeper on this trip were an elderly mobility challenged couple who were often heard calling in the hall for the SCA when he failed to heed their call button (they took all meals and refreshments in their sleeper-never leaving it.) Overall-we were pleased with our SCA’s service.
Train 19’s crew was NOL based except the dining car team. This NY based crew was not especially friendly but efficient enough. We were denied 1st meal seating as a group aboard who did not plan on eating wound up eating after all. The 1st available seating (even for 1st class pax who I understood to have priority seating) was at 7:30pm- not optimum with a little one, but we made do. The food far exceeded our expectations- we were not disappointed in the least with any of our choices. We dined on Delmonico and NY strip steaks done to perfection, burgers, chicken potpie, Jambalaya, turkey, Cornish hens, quiche and the french toast. The salads were crisp and fresh, and the desserts were to die for. DON’T pass up anything chocolate on the dessert menu. We were never disappointed in any meal choice.
Dining Car service on the IB 20 was horrible- we changed tables and stayed at one end of the car to avoid the bad server. There were 3 loud tables complaining about the server so our experience was not an isolated one. The dining car attendant also had a problem with leaving the right number of “dining car pax order forms” on our table. She balked at the fact I ordered off the regular menu and not the child’s menu for my son, but I do not give my son hot dogs or mac and cheese for dinner at home, so I ordered off the menu for him. I assure you he enjoyed the turkey medallions wrapped in bacon and the Cornish hen (twice) and ate about ¾ of each meal (he passed on the veggies that were a bit too al dente and spiced for his liking) and my husband finished what he left. The waiters were accommodating with bringing our son’s beverage in a lidded cup and a scaled down size ice cream with whipped cream after his meals. A side note- the traveling chef, a Mr. Abdul Something (a hyphenated name-please forgive my poor memory) asked us to participate in a dining car survey on the IB trip and I noted the server issue and raved about the food presentation, quality, portion size, etc. As a real foodie- I was pretty impressed over the “rail grub”. He said he was appreciative of my honesty regarding the service issue. We tipped at least 15% of the meal totals for all but one meal (another service issue not worth going into). We did not try any of the café car meals but the long lines at mealtimes indicated that it was in demand. The menu was limited and I must say the one meal I did see (Meatloaf) looked pretty like a large enough portion and the prices were reasonable. We did not purchase any beverages in the café- we enjoyed our own evening cocktails in our sleeper after our son turned in for the night. I did not notice anyone in the diner car purchase alcoholic beverages with their meals.
Our accommodations, as shown above, met our needs perfectly. The accessible without the single chair offered the most floor space for my son to use (I brought along a play mat and a few Thomas trains and he was a happy camper whenever he was not looking out the window from the comfort of his seat with the fold down table.!). The deluxe sleeper says it is ideal for 2 adults or 1 adult and 2 children, but we had no problem w/2 adults and a toddler. The open sink in the deluxe was too much of a temptation for our son, what I felt was the only negative about the deluxe (we "washed hands" no less than 10 times before the trip was through). The covered sinks in the standard sleeper were a better idea. In the 2 standards, we had no problem using the facilities when the other 2 bodies vacated it. Of note, on both OB and IB- the coach bathrooms often needed tending to (yes- I had to use one once and peeked into all of them looking for the diaper changing stations that I was told were on some trains but I never did find one.) The public shower in the sleeper car was always loaded with luggage. I did see the SCA move luggage for one guest, so I do not think it was an issue for anyone in a Standard to use it. As far as sleeping, my 6’2” husband slept in the upper berths of all 3 sleepers and slept well. I doubled up with my son on the lower/wider bed and it was tight but do-able. The video monitors worked in both OB sleepers but was not functional on the IB- the SCA told us “there is no tape to play”. There was an AC problem in the sleeper car going to New Orleans. Several folks gave up the sleepers toward the end of the trip and moved to coach just to be comfortable. Our Deluxe was pretty stuffy- but the hallway was worse. Not a big deal but other folks were quite uncomfortable. Our Standards were markedly cooler. We had the same card on the IB trip and apparently the AC was fixed (a fair trade for the non-operational coffee machine). We were happy to have the chance to utilize all the sleeper choices. We had no problems with the often mentioned thin curtains or mattresses or non-working lighting fixtures.
We were a bit disappointed when no Park Service staff was aboard on either the OB or IB trip as I was told that the seasonal service would be available for both trips. Not having been to the areas we passed south/west of Atlanta, I was looking forward to that. There were the Amtrak magazines in the café/lounge cars but we did not linger there as both were often cluttered with trash and train staff hanging around- it was not an inviting space. Neither of those 2 issues negatively effected our enjoyment of the trip.
The OB trip had few Public Announcements but the IB trip was another story. A very, um..”theatrical” café car attendant made so many extraneous announcements about his wares and hours, our sleeper car neighbor yelled “shut up already” to the amusement to all others within earshot. I am not sure why, but the step off /smoke stops were announced by the SCA on the OB but we were few and far between on the IB trip. We used our schedule and figured it out on our own. We were delayed about 2 hours behind freight at lunch time on the IB, but made up most of the time by flying through flag stops and arrived only a few minutes late into NWK. We were pleased with the time schedule (hey-the delay just meant more time on the train-we were in no rush!)
. One of the best reasons to take a train- the scenery. I have some awesome pictures of the WAS monuments, the Phila. Zoo, Atlanta skyline and a great little memorial garden in tribute to Jack Martin, a former NARP big-whig, the Alabama river and of course, the Causeway and sunset over Lake Ponchatrain. Also of note- my boys loved watching the engine change in WAS. On the IB trip- a private car was hitched on in Atlanta and removed in WAS. I wish I could give better details about the car itself, but it was a vintage gold and royal blue number and called “The Survivor”. It had the name E.W. Woolworth on it and I watched someone washing dishes in its kitchen. The crew told me that the trip cost Mr. Woolworth $2300 and that he would be entertaining guests in WAS. It seems an expensive hobby; I am glad I snapped a picture of it.
We strolled thru all of the cars on the train- we even got a rare trip thru the dorm car with the conductor (the sleeper car doors closed early at a walk off stop and there were a few of us still on the platform). I was surprised at the amount of room the coach seats offered and think this would be a great way to travel for shorter trips (and without our son). Much more arm/leg room than coach seats on any plane I have flown in recent years. Cost wise, probably fairly economical.
Our first LD trip was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone. I was worried the 30 hours of relative confinement would be a challenge for my little one but I can honestly say that he loved every minute of it and was a pleasure to travel with. One Amtrak employee (O.C.) made such a lasting impression on my son; he is still talking about “O.C. on the train” all this time later. Our usual vacations are local camping trips in our RV, cruise vacations and “condo-ing” in SC. Taking the train to New Orleans to begin our cruise was nearly a vacation itself. My husband has already earmarked one of our “camping weeks” next year toward a train trip instead and making the train our destination.
For our vacation dollar, I would rate this trip a 9.5 out of 10. The accommodations were more than adequate, the food and service exceeded our expectations, and the crew had some outstanding employees who I will applaud by sending off a short letter to Amtrak. Everyone should take a train trip at least once; more if they enjoyed it as much as we did!
Again, I thank the members of Railroad.Net for assistance with my many questions beyond what even Amtrak’s Guest Services and “Julie” could help me with. Your real life experiences and hints/tips helped make this trip as wonderful and memorable as it was. We cannot wait to travel by rail again... I can almost hear the whistle blowing now.
Last edited by NJ3rdRAIL on Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
