What is your experience w/Amtrack??

[crusin'minnie]

We are considering taking Amtrack from New Orleans to Orlando in May. What has your experience been like on the train?? DH has always wanted to experience this but I'd like to make sure he won't be disappointed. Also we priced the family car and it is high. Anyone had the family car? Is it worth the extra??

Thanks for any advice!

Cin

 

[Andrew_Lubow]

I've only done Amtrak from New Jersey to Orlando but checking your route on http://www.amtrak.com One route you travel thru Washington DC. It's an overnight trip. There's another route thru Chicago but it's a 2 nighter. Out of curiousity I punched in some arbitrary dates in May and 2 adult COACH fares and got a figure of $800 (any other form of sleeper adds considerably to your cost). Keep in mind there are discounts available (AAA autoclub & Senior among others) but I didn't apply them. Delta Airlines out of Orlando with a stop in Atlanta runs $160 each RT thru Expedia.

Does it pay to ride Amtrak? If it does Coach seats are much wider then airline seats with much more leg room. Each Coach usually has 1 handicapped and one regular lavatory. The condition of them depends on the courteousy of your fellow passengers. I've been in cars where they've been fairly clean from New Jersey to Orlando and some where they were filthy almost immediately. I don't know what sort of equipment you'll have from NO to Washington, but from Washington to Orlando the train will have a Club car with lite meals and beverage service and a restaurant car with sit down dining. The Club car will usually have a glassed in lounge if you need to smoke. The Orlando station has taxi service, lavatories, baggage service, an indoor waiting room during the daytime and vending machines. A Coach USA shuttle to the Disney resorts can be booked when you purchase your Amtrak tickets by phone or thru your travel agent. You can't book the shuttle over the internet.

Do I enjoy Amtrak? Yes if I'm not in any rush or if the fares are much better then airline tickets. Of course it also helps that I'm a train buff

 

[ducklite]

I haven't taken Amtrack to Orlando. But I have taken them to other places many times over the years. Most recently about a month ago I took them from NYC to Boston. I was in business class both up and back, in Acela on the way up. The cars were reasonably clean (the Acela car was brand new) and reasonably comfortable...but IMHO NOT for a trip longer than the five or so hours I was on the train. The food is worse than airline food (if you can imagine that). Yes, the seats are wider, but not by that much, although there is significantly more legroom--keep in mind I was in business class, coach seating is different.

The washroom on the Acela car was large, bright, and clean, but on the "regular" train it was small like a lav on a plane, and so-so in the cleanliness dept.

IMHO before you commit to a long ride on a train, book a ticket r/t to the next stop on the line, and take a ride. It's an inexpensive way to make sure about your decision before you make what could be a costly mistake.

Anne

 

[OKW91]

We did Amtrak several years ago from Philly to Orlando, it took about 22 hours! The train must have made 20 stops, or more, along the way! It had to switch engines in Jacksonville, this took about an hour and a half before we got moving again! We went coach, cost being a factor. The seats are comfortable, and you can stretch out, however if you are like me, can't sleep on planes, then there is no way you could sleep on the train!
I talked to some of the other passengers who had the sleepers, and they said that was the way to go! Most of them had a good nights sleep, even though they said it was a little confining in the sleeper compartment. One other thing that I didn't care for, was that after getting off I felt like I had been on a sea cruise, I think it took about a day or two to get over the rolling motion of the train! We drive now since we are retired, it is faster by car, about 17 hours versus 22 by train! Unless you are getting some great bargain fares, I personally would fly!!

 

[crusin'minnie]

Thank you very much for your honest answers. I will show these to DH and see what he thinks. I'm letting him make this decision.


Cin

 

[JohnTBap]

Y'all would be on the Sunset Limited. We took it from Houston in May of '99. We won't do it again. I would rather spend 2:20 to get there than 32 hours. We hit a boat in New Iberia and there was a derailment outside of Pensacola so we were a good 7 hours late. If you're not in a hurry, I guess it would be fine.