Taking Amtrak

[RYMOMA]

i have been thinking about amtrak to take us from mass to nyc.

since our cruise is at the end of november and driving may be horrible

 

right now, it is 3.5 hr, both ways, train at $343 roundtrip for 4.

 

if i drive it will be $210 to park , say $50 for tolls and gas....total 260...

 

if the roads are clear...i can drive to NYC in 3.5 hrs from my house.

 

 

typing this out, i think i have just made my decision to drive the morning of our cruise

 

thanks for all the help :)

[ladytravlr2]

Twice I have taken a roundtrip Amtrak trip to New Orleans from Illinois. One was to go on a cruise. It was so convenient, luggage no problem. We had a roomette bedroom going down and we had three adults...it turned out to be too small for three really. It did have a shower and toilet, sink though. Return trip we just had the coach seats...we actually slept fine in the seats. It was a 14.5 hr trip each way.

 

We caught a taxi from the bus terminal in NOLA, went to hotel, stayed the night..then boarded the ship the next day. Worked perfectly! On the return of our ship, we made it to the bus terminal in plenty of time for our 1:45 return trip home.

 

One good thing, you don't have to worry about parking prices,which are steep in NOLA. Also the price of the tickets are fabulous! If you buy them early enough, you can't beat it! I paid 156 roundtrip on my last trip, that is senior price, but there are other discounts you can qualify for too. The roomette is higher of course, but we divided the cost among us three.

 

I am going to do the same thing next March to go on another cruise out of NOLA....price is right now $88 each way, but discount will take it further down...will book in plenty of time. Just don't wait till last minute...it will surprise you how high it can go. I don't intend to do a roomette again, wasn't worth it for us to be so cramped. For two people it would work fine though, especially if you were on for more than one night. Plus your food is included with the roomette price. The dining car was nice enough, and there was an observation car with wall to wall windows that was quite popular.

 

With the cost of gas, and the cost of airfare....Amtrak was a no-brainer for us.

[ClarkBHM]

The roomette is higher of course, but we divided the cost among us three.

 

I thought that roomettes had a maximum capacity of two. Are you sure it was a roomette?

[DrFootball]

We could really use an alternate means of long distance travel for trips that do not require the speed of an airplane connection.

 

Unfortunately, other than in the Northeast, rail service has deteriorated so badly that it would take an enormous amount of money to get it going well again. Passenger trains now run on rails that are only maintained to the standards that freight trains need; freight has priority over passenger trains; and, as pointed out, the route map leaves a lot to be desired. When you put that up against the powerful airline lobby....

 

There are still some beautiful scenic rail trips left in the country, but outside of major city to major city connections with less than optimum schedules, there's not much else. :(

 

<<ok, climbing down off soap box for now>> Thanks for listening to my rant!

 

Hey VT Rant Away when it comes to AMtrak. As someone who(although Semi-Retired) takes It for business as much as once per month or more, I can say that even the NE corridor service leaves much to be desired. Just going fm NY Penn to Philly, Baltimore or DC is enough to Annoy even the most even keeled calm person! Of course MOST of their staff are quite good and helpful, as opposed to the Airlines...But if I could still fly myself places, I would(Ex-Army Pilot)....;)

 

 

Bill(DrFootball)

("You can Have My MAC when you pry it from my cold DEAD fingers")

[ladytravlr2]

Might have been called a bedroom, but I spoke on the phone to get reservation and she said they can fit three people. It had shower, toilet, sink, chair, two beds, table. I would not recommend it for three people though, bottom bed was pretty cozy...LOL Even if we were all sisters! One got the top bunk.