We will be going from West Palm Beach to Tucson, AZ in August. We have a room with bath.

How was it? The rooms? Meals? What did you do to pass the time? What about a smoking area? How was the club car? etc.

Thanks in advance.

L.A. to Seattle last Feb.--roomette Just a place to sleep-bath down the hall
IMO the food was good-not great but very adequate, even had a vegetarian selection.
What to do ??? well I read books, wrote letters, listened to books on tape , worked on a project on my laptop (no internet connections yet)--mostly looked at scenery from the "vista dome" car.
There was no "smoking car" They did anounce when the stops would be long enough for smokers to stanbby the train and smoke.
For me it was a positive trip, relaxing and comfortable BUT slow. I plan a trip to Jacksonville in the fall.
Hope this helps

Maryann, check out this thread:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34417300

Comments from myself and others in that thread...to me, a long amtrak trip is slow and tedious and I would never ever do it again, but to each his own.

love
roxy

Hi Roxy, thanks for the thread-I didn't start looking at the US board until this month.

That was just what I was looking for. I'm mostly on the cruises board.

I can see that if you are going by train you have to 'cool'it and go with the flow. If you are in a hurry, you'll tie yourself in knots.

Thanks for all the advice-we are taking a cruise ship back to WPB.

I love reading this board as we have been to so many of the places-some recently, some a long time ago. It's like a nostalgia trip on this board.

Room with a bath? You mean there is an actual bath on the train, not just a shower?

Hi there, I haven't taken that exact trip--mine have been on the California Zephyr from Chicago to Grand Junction, Co. The most important thing to remember about AMTRAK is to relax! Do not take it if you have to be somewhere at a specific time. The scenery is grand, the food is fine and the coach seats are adequate. Do not expect a "luxury" experience, but do expeCT an interesting one. This train has a smoking lounge on the ground floor of one of the coaches-I assume most of the long-distance trains have one,but you can check that when making reservations. Scenery can't be beat. Go, relax and enjoy the experience.

Have you slept on the train? Was there too much starting and stopping that kept waking you up?

I know they have a bunk bed arrangement-are they 'sleepable'?

I've slept aboard several trains, and the stops and starts didn't trouble me at all. In fact, I felt that they actually made the trip a little more enjoyable. Just remeber that Amtrak, with the exception of a few lines in Michigan & the Northeast, is at the mercy of the Frieght Railroads. The Frieght RR's own the tracks outright, the tracks that Amtrak uses aren't public in the same sense that the highways are. each stretch of track may have a differnt speed limit than the last section, so the train speed can vary - it's kind of like the highways in that sense. The frieght RRs also pay for and perform all of their own maintenance, so the condition of the tracks in many parts of the country is something Amtrak has NO control over. The frieght RR's also do all of the traffic control each over their own tracks, so they can do things like give priority to their own frieght trains over Amtrak (One large freight RR has the reputation of doing this to Amtrak with a vengeance). So, your experience aboard Amtrak can depend upon factors well beyond Amtrak's control, and one trip certainly doesn't represent the entire organization.
In all fairness, remember that it is possible to be delayed while you are on the highway as well, and at the airport, as well as having dirty bathrooms (anyone stopped at any truck stops lately?) and restaurants and airlines also have their share of poor waitstaff and food as well. If you want luxury, I suggest you check out the American Orient Express. It will make almost everything else look like a bargain by comparison.

I should also point out that the tracks that this particular train travels over are owned by CSX Corp., and, west of New Orleans, by Union Pacific. Neither of these RR's care much for Amtrak, and don't care how late they delay Amtrak trains. In the case of Union Pacific tracks across TX and S. NM, those tracks are also filled well over capacity with frieght. I'd suggest taking another route entirely until you learn if Union Pacific has untangled ts freight congestion along this line. Some RR's to look for would be trains that run over BNSF-owned tracks, that co. has proven to be the most positive in relations to Amtrak