Manor bedroom question

[Miss Chief]

If i have a choice between bedroom B and E, which one would you pick? B faces forward and has bathroom next to the door and E faces backward and has barroom next to the window. Does either feature make any difference to you? Bathroom next to the door vs window? Facing forward vs backward?

Also the manor bedroom has two chairs instead of a couch like in a renaissance bedroom. I much prefer a couch but are the chairs at least comfortable? If I just keep the lower bed the whole time will it be all right with the attendant?

[timberley]

Last month I ended up in Manor bedrooms both ways on the Ocean (while the HEP set was substituting for the Rens), and had a room E one direction and room B the other, funnily enough! There really isn't much difference between the two, aside from the differences you mentioned. The only Manor bedroom that is markedly different of course is F, as it has significantly more room.

Between B & E I think I may have slightly preferred B. I do like the forward facing room layout a bit more. One downside in that layout is that the room door opens right over the bathroom door, but that really doesn't matter that much as I doubt most people are keen to be going to and from the bathroom in their room with the door to the hallway open. I didn't notice any difference in ride quality between the two. I did sleep somewhat better in B, but that was on the return after a week of travelling (and 5 nights on a train before that), so I was likely to sleep better regardless of the room.

I found the chairs much more comfortable than the Renaissance couches. You actually have more space to stretch out, and the chairs are movable so you can adjust them however you'd like (for a better view, or for more legroom). The cushioning on them is a *lot* better than the Ren couches. They also recline a certain amount, so they're much more conducive to lounging.

You can always ask about keeping the bed down (whether they'd do that through the whole trip is another question), but I would suggest giving the chairs a try - you have considerably more space in the room when the beds are stowed, as there's additional floor space opened up around the chairs (unlike the Ren bedrooms, where the bed occupies basically the same space as the daytime couch).

[Miss Chief]

Thank you, Tim!

The bedroom D in a chateau car just became available so I think I might go with that. Do you know if the bedroom D in a chateau car is the same size as the F in a manor? Either way it faces forward and has bathroom door easily open up to the room.

[timberley]

You're very welcome

Unfortunately bedroom D in the Chateau is not the same size as F in a Manor - it's the same dimensions as the standard bedrooms. I had wondered about this, so I checked when I had the chance on the Ocean, as we had Chateaus in the mix too. Only difference from the other forward rooms is the bathroom location.

Of the three bedrooms in the Chateau, the best one is probably B, because it actually has solid walls on both sides. The Manor bedrooms and rooms C and D in the Chateaus all have one wall that can be folded away to turn two rooms into a suite. Obviously it still does it's job as a wall, but it's not as soundproof as the solid walls. Chateau room B has both sides solid, as it can't be combined with the drawing room and C is set up to combine with D, so it should be a somewhat quieter room than the others.

[Miss Chief]

Thanks again, Tim!

I never thought about it but you are right the partition does make a difference. I can see that Manor bedrooms AB, CD, EF and Chateau and non-prestige park car bedrooms CD are all paired up, which means only drawing rooms and bedroom B's in Chateau cars and non-prestige Park cars have solid walls.

I will call to see if B in the park car is available. I was trying to avoid the park car in case it might get loud but then I don't want to hear other types of noises either.

[timberley]

Happy to help Where are you travelling? If you're on the Canadian, all 4 sets have a Prestige Park.

[Miss Chief]

Oh I didn't know that. Thank you for me letting me know. No need to call them again and we will just keep the chateau bedroom D. Yes it will the Canadian and we are all very excited.

Do you know if there are still any non-prestige park cars left? Are they all on the Ocean? And the Churchill and the Skeena? The refurbished park cars sure look nice!

[timberley]

Oh I didn't know that. Thank you for me letting me know. No need to call them again and we will just keep the chateau bedroom D. Yes it will the Canadian and we are all very excited.

Do you know if there are still any non-prestige park cars left? Are they all on the Ocean? And the Churchill and the Skeena? The refurbished park cars sure look nice!

Enjoy! The Prestige refurbished Parks are really gorgeous inside, I enjoyed Glacier Park a lot on my trip last month.

There are only 4 Prestige Parks, and the rest of the active fleet (10 of them) are still in their original configuration. Several of them have been refurbished with new upholstery, carpets, etc. like the Manors, and the rest are still in their late '90s seafoam blue/green - some are getting a little rough looking. There are consistently two on the Ocean (one for each set) - recently the rotation has been Tremblant and Revelstoke (both refurbished interiors), and Assiniboine, Tweedsmuir, Strathcona and Evangeline have all made occasional appearances on the Ocean in the last few years.

The Churchill train has one during parts of the year, and the Skeena normally has one, though it is occasionally substituted with a Skyline (that was the case when I spotted it at Jasper last month - though Banff Park was on a siding near the station).

[Miss Chief]

Thank you, Tim! I am sure we will enjoy the Canadian.

And I do like the fact there are refurbished non-prestige park cars with "normal" priced bedrooms.

[marquisofmississauga]

Thank you, Tim! I am sure we will enjoy the Canadian.

And I do like the fact there are refurbished non-prestige park cars with "normal" priced bedrooms.

The non-Prestige Park cars on the Ocean have specially priced rooms. The year-round fare between Montreal and Moncton or Halifax for the drawing room (called "large cabin for two") is $900 and for the suite C&D (called "twin cabins for 2") it is $1000. As with Prestige rooms, the fare is the same for one or two passengers. Bedroom B is kept for the attendant known as the Learning Coordinator in peak season. The only discounts for those rooms is 10% for seniors - 60 or over - and if you join Hostelling International a further 15% discount is available. The HI discount is advertised as 12.5% but it is actually 15%. VIA Preference discount coupons can't be used because these rooms are never available in the "discounted" inventory - and for the same reason the now rare 50% sales do not apply..

My wife and I splurged on the drawing room a few years ago. It was great being able to have our friends in for bon voyage drinks. When our Champagne was finished the friendly attendant gave us a full bottle of the Point Pelee bubbly that is used for the complimentary bon voyage for sleeper passengers - in peak season only. The one disadvantage of the Park car rooms on the Ocean is the lack of a shower facility. I have been spoiled in recent years by having a private shower in Renaissance rooms and access to a shower in the HEP sleepers. I do not like to be seen in public without a proper shampoo! The staff will give you a key to an unoccupied Ren. cabin so you can have a shower, but on our trip the sleepers were sold out. I appreciate this is not a big problem for most people.

[Miss Chief]

Thank you for the info Marquis. I guess I will stick to a normal car till I am a senior. Bon voyage champagne sounds great.