Has Anyone traveled to a port via Amtrak

[knarf]

Last April we took Amtrak from Erie, PA to NYC. Left at 7:30 AM and arrived in Penn Station, NYC at 6:30 PM, pretty much on time. We have not ridden the train before, so we were looking forward to it. It was MUCH cheaper than flying and no luggage fees !:) Seats were very roomy, had a dinning car and snack car too. We took a little throw away cooler with fruits and drinks. We are seriously thinking of doing the same thing in Sept..cruising out of Bayonne, NJ. It takes a little longer than flying, but we are retired and have the time.

Frank

[txmom11]

First of all, DH is a conductor for Amtrak :p, so I'm a little biased. If you are traveling in the dead heat of summer, there might be speed restrictions. If you are traveling on a train that originated up North in the winter, you might hit delays. The East and West coast have WiFi--not so much in Texas. :rolleyes:

 

I love taking the train and have been known to use my speed pass (free trip card) just to go from Fort Worth to Austin. If you go the day before AND are prepared to rent a car if there are any major issues, I would say go for it. And THANK YOU!

 

We actually get a slightly discounted fair when cruising on Carnival as well.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I took the train from Seattle to Vancouver for a cruise. We went the night before the cruise but it's so reliable (at this time of year anyhow - the mud slides tend to be in winter) that many take the morning train up the day of.

 

Cheap upgrade to business class, but even coach is roomy and comfortable compared to how you are crammed in on a plane. It was very nice. If you book business class you get a coupon that's good for the little cafe on board. Free wifi. I got a little discount with triple A.

 

Take into account you are not hit with baggage fees, that really adds on to the cost of flying & something I forget to take into account when I'm trying to find a good airfare.

[lcarp]

I have taken Amtrak from Rocky mount Nc. To Miami, it was a couple of years ago 3 of us roundtrip $450 total. You have to stay over night in Miami for a cruise it gets in at 6pm or so.It wasn't bad we actually bought a sleeper on the way back home for $180 extra that includes all meals in dinning car. Another time booked sleepers and took bottle of wine to Disney and back. Lol. Its easy and cheap to do, the trick book really early.

[ILCruzr]

I wish American airlines gave a 20 percent discount for carnival ppl. They are our ride to Miami next weekend :)

[jamona2311]

I'm takihg the train from Chicago to new Orleans next month. There's an Amtrak bus that will get me from Madison to Chicago. This means no driving to Chi in Feb weather n leaving my car (hubby taking me to Madison) I'm soooo excited n now so relaxed to. I love the train n even treated myself to a roomette on the way down. A first for me:D

[jamona2311]

Oh n there's also free luggage!!! :D

[lucky13elec]

Be sure to check the Special Rates tab including the Smart Fares.

There are many options for discounts that you may qualify for.

 

There use to be a train to your cruise port discount code but there was not one issued Carnival for 2013.

http://www.railserve.com/amtrak_coupons.html

The above link shows various discounts for Amtrak.

 

 

Thanks. I've done this. With my mom & aunt"s old people discount makes this a no brainer. I've got the AAA discount. Brings the one way south to less than $330 for 4 people.

[lucky13elec]

First of all, DH is a conductor for Amtrak :p, so I'm a little biased. If you are traveling in the dead heat of summer, there might be speed restrictions. If you are traveling on a train that originated up North in the winter, you might hit delays. The East and West coast have WiFi--not so much in Texas. :rolleyes:

 

I love taking the train and have been known to use my speed pass (free trip card) just to go from Fort Worth to Austin. If you go the day before AND are prepared to rent a car if there are any major issues, I would say go for it. And THANK YOU!

 

We actually get a slightly discounted fair when cruising on Carnival as well.

 

 

Going in May. The more I think about it I've got alot of leeway if something should happen. It's a 2 level train- looking forward to being on it.

[SadieN]

First of all, DH is a conductor for Amtrak :p, so I'm a little biased. If you are traveling in the dead heat of summer, there might be speed restrictions. If you are traveling on a train that originated up North in the winter, you might hit delays. The East and West coast have WiFi--not so much in Texas. :rolleyes:

 

I love taking the train and have been known to use my speed pass (free trip card) just to go from Fort Worth to Austin. If you go the day before AND are prepared to rent a car if there are any major issues, I would say go for it. And THANK YOU!

 

We actually get a slightly discounted fair when cruising on Carnival as well.

 

You forgot when traveling during the dead of winter someone has to get out and make sure the switch did it's thing.:p

 

Why is when the mail car becomes detached all the cars behind it lose all their power?- no emergencies, nothing.

 

We traveled in the dead of winter once - LAX-NYC thru Vegas and SLC.

Amtrak no longer does this route as no more passenger trains go thru the Cajon Pass and the 15 got rerouted. Worst trip of our lives and we have the best travel stories from it.

[Newbie41]

We took Amtrak home from our cruise once. Miami to NYC. 31 hell filled hours. Never.Again.

 

I agree with you 100%. For our first cruise back in 2002 we took Amtrak from Chicago to New Orleans because DH thought our daughter should experience a train trip. It was the longest 18 hours of my life. Don't base the cost just on train fare versus airfare. If you take the train and it is a long ride you need to factor in the cost of food. Food in the dining car on amtrak is on the pricy side. With our ride from hell we lift Chicago at 8 PM and arrived in NOLA the next afternoon at 2 PM, so we needed both breakfast and lunch on the train. Returning home we left NOLA at 2PM and arrived in Chicago at 8 AM the next morning, so we had to have dinner on the train. Besides eating there is absolutely nothing to do. You can only play cards for so long before that gets old.

[gfh77665]

Not for connecting with a cruise, but we rode Amtrak after flying in to Buffalo, NY (Niagara Falls) to Albany NY, then a few days later from Albany to NYC. GREAT experience with Amtrak. No traffic, no navigating, no parking, just kick back in the reclining seats and enjoy the scenery out the windows, or even sleep. Amtrak is a great way to travel, at least for medium length to shorter trips, IMO.

Edited January 27, 2013 by gfh77665

[RailTraveler]

Will be on board Feb 7 from Syracuse to Ft. Lauderdale for the sailing of Carnival Freedom on the 9th. This will be my wifes third time that we have taken Amtrak to catch a cruise. The first was to propose (Celebrity Century), second for the honeymoon (Carnival Miracle). We looked at airfares and with the luggage charges she said let take the train.

For me it is not a question as I would go my rail anyday. Already booked a trip to Seattle to continue onto Alaska in September.

[jamona2311]

Oh hha another thing. When I made my reservations I didn't have a 2013 carnival cruise code but the very nice guy on the phone found one for me so I could use that discount. When I had asked area days before the lady I was taking to didn't even kno what I was taking about. I guess it depends who you get on the phone.

 

I have added some movies to my kindle fire to entertain me. I think between relaxing, movies, ebooks n games ill have plenty to do. Actually wish my train ride was longer than 19hours:rolleyes::p:D

[gusandgidgetsmom]

We are AAA members so got a discount for the Grandkids and a good discount for being old! Being old sometimes has it benefits! For four of us it would be 1500. to fly plus baggage. For the train 585. no baggage fees. I figured it out and to drive if I used the current govt mileage fee we would save leaving the driving to Amtrax. Of course there is the cost of food on the train so will probably pack snacks and eat one meal.

Hoping that this will be a good experience for our Grandkids and that I can tolerate the long time cooped up.

[ioneblair]

Besides eating there is absolutely nothing to do. You can only play cards for so long before that gets old.

 

Disagree 1000%.....where is your imagination? In addition to taking kids via Amtrak from Philly to FL several times I took 12 and 17 year olds from Philly to Portland, Oregon round trip....those girls are now 22 and 27 have been to Canada, countries in Europe and India and other travels and maintain that train trip (plus Portland) was just as memorable.....

 

there are good stories and memories from my kids and grandkids and family kids who've taken the train with us.....from little kids to older teens to adults.....

 

we have packed food for the beginning portions of our trips....had the best experiences of local fare near train stations.....we have prepared well for the train trip....I even used to make travel journals for the kids that started from our departing station with entries for memories....we have pictures with the kids and conductors....with today's technology the kids have been diversified with movies, games, homework, my assigned book reading and such....and yes card games, chess, plain ole talking together time, and plain ole sight seeing time and just plain ole thinking time.....and you can use your cell phone to talk to other family and friends to pass some time....puzzles and brain games, fun facts of the states you are passing through.....

 

you get the picture....

 

my brother was in his 50's when he took his first Amtrak train with us to Canada.....he got on with a bucket of chicken and all the fixin's and had a ball with all he could do and not drive....

[ioneblair]

plan well for your train travels and travel with a sense of adventure and tolerance.....you already know the $$ savings.....I could tell you whopping savings I have had over and over....like three of us went on that Philly to Oregon roundtrip for about $372ish....total! that sweetness of using the savings for other things during your travels works with us....(and yeah, we've flown in between train travels)

 

and wrap your mind around the fact that you will be using public toilets and plan for that....take what you need for whatever ages you will be traveling with.....

 

we've taken the trains in Europe from city to city, country to country and love that as well.....

 

maybe we are just train traveling ppl in addition to cruising ppl :)

[tinkerbell_82]

This thread is awesome- thank you to all who contributed! I've been struggling to figure out where to park for cheap and not have to worry about my car- looks like we may be taking the train to Miami now! :)

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Thank you so much. You have put my mind at ease and am really looking forward to our train travel. Today I made air reservations for our next cruise for only two of us and the fare was more than the train fare for four of us. We just don't have that much time to go on the train to LA.

plan well for your train travels and travel with a sense of adventure and tolerance.....you already know the $$ savings.....I could tell you whopping savings I have had over and over....like three of us went on that Philly to Oregon roundtrip for about $372ish....total! that sweetness of using the savings for other things during your travels works with us....(and yeah, we've flown in between train travels)

 

and wrap your mind around the fact that you will be using public toilets and plan for that....take what you need for whatever ages you will be traveling with.....

 

we've taken the trains in Europe from city to city, country to country and love that as well.....

 

maybe we are just train traveling ppl in addition to cruising ppl :)

[CanWeGoYet?]

I'm with you ioneblare. Son and I have taken the train to vancouver bc from Seattle, and also took the train from Dover to London. Both were great experiences. Just looking out the window was entertaining. You can talk, read a book, heck bring some travel literature specific to where you are traveling.

 

The food wasn't cheap on the train, but much better quality & cheaper than what now serves as meals to buy when you are flying. Or what they have in the airport. I packed some snacks too. I loved being able to walk a few cars up and buy exactly the nice big espresso drink I desired. Not having to wait for the flight attendants to come around with the cart and get a 2 oz cup of bad coffee.

[USNUZULOOSE]

We live in Sacramento and we took the train down to the port of Long Beach. It was the most relaxing trip we have ever done. Our next trip we will be doing the same thing.

[mephistoles]

We took Amtrak to Orlando (from Rocky Mount, NC) in August 2010 and it took us something like 15 hours but since we traveled at night, it wasn't so bad. My only complaint was that it got super cold on the train that evening so definitely bring a blanket or something. We're planning to take Amtrak to Miami for our Breeze cruise in August and I believe that it's going to be about 22 hours. We plan to leave in enough time and stay overnight before our cruise... This time I'll bring extra blankets...:)

[francina]

Thanks for the information. I didn't realize you can get credit by taking a cruise. I am planning on calling them tomorrow and get credit for the two tickets I purchased. More money to spend on my vacation:D

[lucky13elec]

We took Amtrak to Orlando (from Rocky Mount, NC) in August 2010 and it took us something like 15 hours but since we traveled at night, it wasn't so bad. My only complaint was that it got super cold on the train that evening so definitely bring a blanket or something. We're planning to take Amtrak to Miami for our Breeze cruise in August and I believe that it's going to be about 22 hours. We plan to leave in enough time and stay overnight before our cruise... This time I'll bring extra blankets...:)

 

 

Make sure you book by phone. Give Amtrak the code V416. Thats the Carnival cruise code & you will get 20% off the fares. You will also need to give them your Carnival booking number.

I booked Amtrak today for the Fascination.

[KellyJ]

Thanks so much for everyone on this post. DH and I are planning a cruise from Baltimore. Thought about driving and parking. Since we can fly to Miami cheaper that we can fly to BWI, I was trying to find other options.

 

So I started looking at Amtrak. It is about $60 more to take the train from Richmond than driving, so I asked DH what he wanted to do since he would be the one driving.

 

I thought if traffic was okay it was fine, but traffic through DC and to Baltimore can be horrific. Friend from work drove to Baltimore for a wedding...took 6 hours instead of 3, DH voted for $60 extra to have someone else do the driving and avoid the STRESS of Driving through the DC corridor. We are going in the day before to account for any delays.

 

No baggage fees. No parking fees at the train station. We are really looking forward to the train trip. And I get a discount....sweet!!