Amtrak.

[Bugman]

I'm curious to know if anyone here has taken a long trip on Amtrak. For this thread I'll define a long trip as 500 miles or more. Do you feel the price, service, food and accommodations were reasonable? The prospect of a long, leisurely train trip appeals to me and I'd like to do it in the next few years. Any feedback is welcome, positive or negative.

 

[milagros317]

I frequently take 200 mile trips on Amtrak. (NYC to Baltimore or NYC to Boston)
The food they prepare and serve on board is awful, just awful. I buy a sandwich at the station to take with me. The price is OK compared to airfare, but expensive compared to a bus ride.

 

[socktickler86]

I took a trip from central california to vancouver a few years ago. The food was okay. Service was really a non-issue because ... I dunno, what service are you suppose to get? The value you get is kind of dependent on what you want. Versus what you would get on a plane it's a good value, but you know, it takes a while. From central cali to vancouver would have been a few hours by plane but it took almost 2 days by train. There's lots of options as well. You can have a bedroom with shower and table, but that will definitely shoot you past say, coach on an airplane. Of course, you can't have a leisurely trip on an airplane and we saw some amazing views from the train.

I think it's definitely something you should try. It's not so much that you'll regret it too much if it doesn't work out.

 

[Persephone]

I've taken a train to NEST the past two years. It was about a five and a half hour train ride and I found it very enjoyable. I always booked in economy or the second class train cars. You can also book first class ones that aren't too much more expensive...but I was just fine in economy. The seats are comfortable, the train is soothing, and you can bring your own snacks/drinks/food so you don't have to hand over $8 for a coffee and stale bagel. The bathrooms were always clean and far larger than any lavatory on an airplane. The prices were VERY fair but I also always purchased my tickets about 3-4 months in advance as well. They even have fold down trays like on an airplane to put your food on, or a book, magazine, laptop, whatever. They also have outlets where you can plug in a laptop which I did to just watch dvds while I was on the train. They also have a quiet car where no cell phone/ ipod/ or computer use is allowed and you can rest and it's very nice 🙂 (parents with children avoid this car because you CAN be asked to move from it if you have loud/crying children ). I highly recommend it. The only negative is that when you stop at bigger cities the train gets crowded but they always seem to get off pretty quickly.

 

[ticklemepls]

Florida to Maine.... NEVER again.... maybe if you have the sleeping car it'd be better but the regular seats were a nightmare.... listening to people snoring, tracks squeaking, and the horn blowing sucked, i dont think i slept at all.....

 

[Libertine]

2007. KT and I, accompanied by her parents, crossed America via Amtrak.

Three and a half days, Monday afternoon to Thursday early evening, 84 hours, New York City to San Francisco, changing trains during a 3 hour layover in Chicago. The scenery was wonderful; the minuscule 'roomette' she and I shared was reminiscent of a medieval English dungeon known as 'The Cell of Little Ease' and the food was ghastly. A particularly obscene dish was a deep-fried, battered chicken burger apparently composed of vintage leftovers from long-completed poultry autopsies and called the 'Country Fried Steak'.

Two bites into this unsavoury collation I mutterd to KT that my Country Fried Steak tasted more like a Steakly Fried C*nt and was gratified by her incandescent blush and frantic efforts to conceal her giggles from her parents.

All that being said, the trip WAS enjoyable, and if we had a room (which is bigger and has its own toilet and shower rather than a roomette which meant shared facilities in each car) I'd be happy to do it again sometime.

 

[Bugman]

My thanks to everyone for your comments. 🙂

 

[paracarl44]

It depends which route you are traveling.

GOOGLE to: Amtrak routes and see what is on their menu. Short distance routes offer you a sandwich car, or you could bring your own snacks aboard.