Any Coast Starlight experiences?
 

My husband and I are considering going up to Washington State next spring. We are considering taking the train up to Seattle from the SF Bay Area. Does anyone have any experience with this route or long distance train travel in general? How are the sleeping cars? Is it reasonable to travel overnight in coach? Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Don't make any fixed plans for the next day - you never know the time of your arrival. If you're travelling only one way by train - the scenery is better closer to Seattle so I'd advise to go down from Seattle by train leaving Seattle in the morning. Yes, you can sleep in coach as the seat reclines more then plane/bus and there is folding out foot rest. The stops are usually much shorter then scheduled as the train is chronically late trying to catch up. I would do it again! And while in Seattle make it to the Mt Rainier, it's awesome!

Thanks. What about food on board? Is the dining car food ok or is it advisable top bring snacks or get off the train at a stop and buy something? Also, shower and clothes changing facilities - are they adaquate?

Took the Coast Starlight round-trip from San Luis Obispo and had the smallest sleeping car. It was a long trip, but the huge advantage of the sleeping car (besides a bed) is that you get all your meals included in the dining car (the nice one). Also, there is a lounge car for these passengers that has wine/cheese/fruit in the afternoon, plus continental breakfast in the morning. It really made the trip enjoyable--a great memory!

I can't really say anything about the food - I read the restaurant sample menu on Amtrak website and did not like it - I order vegetarian only in the restaurants. Also people here did not recommend the snack bar, and they were right! I went to check it out, nothing looked appealing. So I ate the snacks and sandwiches I had with me, only got hot coffee. I don't know if there is enough time to buy food during stops. You can have all 3 meals in the dining room - they announce when the coach passengers can go there. For dinner they visit ALL cars and make a list of diners. And they announced that coach passengers may go taste wine/cheese left from the sleepers, funny, dunno if anybody went.

I used to take the Starlight between Oakland and Salinas about three times a year. Not once and I mean not once - was it ever on time. There were some very long waits on the platform in Oakland and in the dreary waiting room in Salinas. At the time, there was only one train in each direction each day - don't know if this has changed. In any European country, or Japan for that matter, a major rail route like the SF/L.A. corridor would be serviced by dozens of trains every day.<BR>I had the same breakfast each time I rode the train out of Oakland - grits and eggs. It was pretty good - and I'll always remember the vivid colors of the commercial salt ponds going by as I sat in the dining car - not stunning or romantic or anything, but memorable.

It's been four years since our Coast Starlight experience...but we loved it!<BR>Some of the best scenery you'll have missed, however....right smack along the ocean out of LA, for hours!<BR>Def get a sleeping compartment...as the earlier poster noted, that assures you of use of the observation car with complimentary continetnal breakfast and evening wine tasting. Scenery in the Cascades is breath-taking. Late, schmate...and it does run late...but ifyou are not on a tight schedule...it is a memorable trip! We'd love to take it again.

Wowsy wow. Just last week I got the impression that J. Correa was a gay man. Now there's a husband? What's up with this poster?

xxx - I almost forgot about the Southern Decadence thread - LOL. No, I'm not a gay man and I never have been. I just think that gay parades and festivals are great. You get to see some outrageous people. <BR><BR>x - Thanks for the advice. We will be taking about a week for our trip, visiting some family while we are up in Washington, so we definitely wont be on a tight schedule. And I agree with you that the scenery north of LA is really great. If we enjoy the train, we may go south next time. <BR><BR>lizbeth - I am also amazed that there is so little train service in the US. I have travelled to Japan a few times and the trains are great - lots of them and they are on time. Great for commuting or just getting around the country. <BR><BR>Faina - I checked the Amtrak website and couldn't find menus. The only things I found relating to food were descriptions of the dining and snack cars. Do you remember where the menu was on the web site?<BR><BR>

J,<BR><BR>We took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Since I already have trouble sleeping, I decided to pay a little extra and book one of the smaller sleepers (it consisted of a couple of comfy chairs that faced one another--and folded into a bed--as well as a fold down "bunk/hammock" type bed). <BR><BR>Even though the sleeper was small, it was nice to have a place to go for some privacy and rest. Plus, after a couple of cocktails, the train motion began to--how do I put this--have an effect on us:~}<BR><BR>As for the food, it isn't what it once was but it was easy to contend with for a day or so. And, as Linda pointed out, it's included for the price of the sleeper--which makes the small sleeper an even better deal.<BR><BR>All in all, we had a very nice (and memorable) trip. The worst part about it was that we had a strange/creepy but harmless porter who didn't want to leave us alone. <BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR><BR>Davidcs

Hi, J, the menu is not on Amtrak website, if you do the search for "amtrak menu" it comes at the bottom if you're using MSN as "Trains Community - Example Amtrak Menus"<BR><BR>http://cmty.prodigy.net/trains/amtmenus.htm<BR><BR>

Thanks for the link Faina. My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so he should be happy - LOL.<BR><BR>The sleeper car definitely sounds like the way to go for an overnight trip - the meals are included and the sleeper allows for some privacy.

Family of three (Mom, son, daughter) traveled from Albany OR to Oxnard CA round trip. We were in the family sleeping car - very tight for sleeping but very nice the rest of the time. Private bath/shower combination is a small space (soap down the walls and turn) but was nice to not have to share (the public showers/restrooms stunk! - literally). <BR><BR>As mentioned food was included and it was much better than I expected, better than airplane food. Enjoyed the wine/cheese stuff, entertainment and service. The snack bar is expensive and similar to a baseball snack bar in what they sell. You are welcome to take food and drinks on board so take your cooler along if you wish. <BR><BR>As mentioned the train is late - at one point we were 8! hours behind. I would recommend it - beautiful scenery and different. I enjoy seeing back yards instead of what I see from the road. I would do it again but only if the train is part of the trip - don't use it as transportation only because it is too slow and late. <BR><BR>The coach seats are nicer than either bus/plane but if you can afford upgrade to the seats facing each other that change into beds or better yet to a sleeper room. <BR><BR>Enjoy!

Always thought that J. Correa was a man. There's just something about the writing style that gave me that impression. I guess I was totally off base.

I took Amtrak from Martinez (San Francisco Area) to Seattle and loved it! Had a private compartment with bathroom. Wouldn't spend that money again since the bathroom was about 16" by 16" and using the shared facilities would have been just fine. The food was great. The porter brought me gin & tonics when I boarded. Scenery was great! All in all -- a fabulous experience, I hope to do it again!

PS, other posters are right -- don't count on a schedule. My train arrived two hours late. But there are a couple of good bars in Martinez so easy to pass the time. And the sleeping car was circa 1975, but clean and comfortable.