We want to take a train ride, USA or Canada, on a train with newer sleeping cars with a full service dining car [food cooked onboard] and a club/bar car. All suggestions/recommendation welcomed.
professor1126 We want to take a train ride, USA or Canada, on a train with newer sleeping cars with a full service dining car [food cooked onboard] and a club/bar car. All suggestions/recommendation welcomed.
If it is the ride as opposed to the destination, this might be worth checking out.
https://www.rockymountaineer.com/promotions/free-hotel-can?utm_source=doubleclick&utm_medium=display&utm_content=300x250-retargeting-can-tripadvisor&utm_campaign=2019free&dclid=CK6d---AoeICFQitTwodt9wLRQ
I have not done it, but it gets high marks for those that have taken it.
JPS1I have not done it, but it gets high marks for those that have taken it.
I have and it is totally worth it. Please go "GOLD" class and enjoy. Note that this trip overnights in a hotel in Kamloops and does not include sleepers.
But
JPS1We want to take a train ride, USA or Canada, on a train with newer sleeping cars with a full service dining car [food cooked onboard] and a club/bar car.
Now if you want to overnight on a train, is cost a concern? If not then the Canadian (Toronto-Vancouver) has the best sleeping accomodations yet in the oldest equipment. The Prestige Class is $$$ but very posh with big double beds, and full dining cars with food cooked on the train. Dome cars, lounge cars, the works. Well maintained equipment but slow. Expect poor time keeping.
I have taken the Canadian but in conventional sleepinng accomodations (Bedroom) which has two beds in a room, one upper and one lower and a bathroom. Sleeper has a separate shower room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjusDcP6rs4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqitZjQS4KY
The next posibility is Amtrak and all three primary western routes have Superliner equipment that has similar bedrooms and still have a dining car with meals cooked onboard. Equipment is late 70's vintage. The three routes that I would recommend are the Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle) the California Zepher (Chicago-Oakland Ca) and the Southwest Chief (Chicago- Los Angles) I don't recommend other routes for a variety of reasons but I think your experience will be best on these.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSx-87u-wCc
I have been on all of them.
I
Electroliner, I second your recommendations! I have traveled those same trains an while I have not done Prestiage class on the Canadian, I have done Toronto/Vancouver at least a dozen times and loved every minute. It is one of the top ten train rides in the world.
My favorite Amtrak rides - scenery - are Denver to Emeryville (San Francisco), and Emeryville to LAX.
Denver to Emeryville on the California Zephyr, especially in the winter, includes some of the most spectacular scenery in the U.S. San Francisco to LAX on the Coast Starlight also includes some beautiful coastal scenery.
Both trains use Superliner cars. When I rode the trains a few years ago the cars were in reasonably good shape. The food in the dining car OK.
I have been a serious train rider since 1957. I have been over most of the Amtrak System. Also, I have ridden premium trains in Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. None of them included meal service that in and of itself would justify the trip. The best bet is a good restaurant before and/or after the train trip.
professor1126We want to take a train ride, USA or Canada, on a train with newer sleeping cars with a full service dining car [food cooked onboard] and a club/bar car. All suggestions/recommendation welcomed.
I would not recommend an Amtrak Sleeping car experience unless you can tolerate inconsistent service that ranges from a stinky restroom to car attendents that will chastise you in public for nothing that is all that important.
Best sleeping car experience was in a Swiss National Railways sleeper. Though I died and went to heaven. Formica type wood grain veneers used extensively. Multi-Linqual attendent and most speak English. Cabins slightly larger than the Amtrak Bedroom sized Cabin with room to stand up and move around. White starched vs Amtrak yellowed sheets. Meals were light in the sleeper and I would characterize more as a snack but the Dining car had more robust fare. So if your ever in Europe near the Swiss border......something to consider.
German sleepers are OK but their attendents can be moody and most speak only German.
I heard one or two of the Nordic Countries does well but I have never traveled North of Denmark by rail.
Last October (2018), my spouse and I traveled east to west from Toronto to Jasper on the Canadian in Prestige Class, spent a few days in Banff, and then traveled from Banff to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer in Gold Leaf Service. I recommend that you take at least a day or two break between the two trains as the Canadian will run late due to increasing CN freight volume and inadequate trackage to accommodate it; the Canadian was about 14 hours late into Jasper, negating our one-night stay at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. We then drove a rental car down the Icefields Parkway to Banff for a three-night stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs. The last leg was on board the Rocky Mountaineer which left from Banff's former CP station.
The food on both trains was exceptional as was the service. In both cases, the food was made from scratch and beautifully plated; be sure to check out the web sites for great photos of the accommodations and food service. You will not be disappointed!
As wonderful as all of this sounds, be prepared for a bit of sticker shock as that journey easily costs about $10,000-plus per person. But, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm glad we did it.
“Things of quality have no fear of time.”
Avoid the Coast Starlight, unless you want a ride so rough that you actually leave your seat at times, at least south of Portland. Also, be prepared to take a siding awaiting freights.
charlie hebdo Avoid the Coast Starlight, unless you want a ride so rough that you actually leave your seat at times, at least south of Portland. Also, be prepared to take a siding awaiting freights.
All of these recomendations are good but I would seriously think twice about Amtrak. There is some serious scenery on the Empire Builder, California Zephyr and Coast Starlight routes but the actual experience is usually far less than the promotional pictures show. The cars are worn and well used, often dirty with bad smells. The smell on one sleeper I was riding in actually made a woman sick. The food can be good (never better than that) but often of poor quality and you can't be a picky eater. Don't expect your special requests for "gluten free" etc. to be catered to. Service in the dining car and sleepers will be anywhere from delightful to inefficient to incompetent to downright rude. Always plan to be late, sometimes in the 12 hour category. Although you may get lucky and be close to on time. Overall, the scenery can be great but the realities of the journey may not be worth the hassle.
My vote would be for the VIA's Canadian Prestige Class if you can afford it. Very expensive with a 15% tax added to pay for Canada's socialism. But if this is a once in a lifetime experience go for it. Sleeper Plus is also good for considerably less money. Meals are great and service is topnotch. But again, be prepared to be late. The Canadian has been as much as 48 hours late but more often in the 12 hour category.
My advice to all nonrailfans taking their first long distance train journey is to go with low expectations, a huge sense of humor, more patience than clothes, don't expect to be treated as you would be on a cruise, never try to make a same day connection in Chicago or Toronto, don't preplan anything for the day of your arrival and if you are travelling with a companion that is easliy inconvenienced leave him/her at home. That being said have a great trip and let us know how it went.
The VIA Rail Skeena is a great trip as well. No overnight sleeper the train stops at the halfway point and everyone gets off and sleeps in a hotel (Prince George) only to board the next morning for the remainder of the trip. Prince Rupert the destination is Ok for 2-3 days but after that you might get bored but the good news is it is a stop on the inside passage and you can board a ferry or cruise ship there for a brief Alaska exploration. Best hotel in Price Rupert with a nice view of the bay is the Crest Hotel, they also have Bald Eagles nesting on the roof or at least they did when I was there last.
Skeena used to have a Park Series Dome car assigned along with the single level Colorado Railcar observation. Not sure if it still has all that but it is definitely worth the first class price as your riding entirely in daylight through the Rockies and the scenary though less dramatic than the Rocky Mountaineer routes is still very nice with waterfalls, rivers and mountains.
Prince George is kind of a rough town, recommend you stay in the same hotel as the train crew or make reservations for one of the very few brand name hotels or ask the VIA reservationist.
CMStPnPPrince George is kind of a rough town, recommend you stay in the same hotel as the train crew or make reservations for one of the very few brand name hotels or ask the VIA reservationist.
THANK YOU, having received your suggestion I've already requested brochures from Rockymountaineer
THANK YOU
Thanks, Warren. Last year we spoiled ourselves with rides on the INDIAN PACIFIC and the GHAN in Australia. It wasn't 10K but getting close but very well worth it. I've received several suggestion about the CANADIAN and the MOUNTANEER and will look into both. I've read that VIA rails OCEAN is a good train. Any comments on that
Thanks again
Tom
Thank You. A year or two ago we treated ourselves to the INDIAN PACIFIC and THE GHAN. Fairly pricey but well worth it I think they would match up with the Swiss Railways experience you described
Thank you..most of the replies have also recommended THE CANADIAN. We will definately look into it
As to on board attendants, I have had some good and some not so good. Last night, as we were running late and expected to arrive in Salt Lake City two hours late, I lay down in my room (H), and went to sleep--when I woke found that the attendant had covered me with a blanket--such service as I had never before had.
Johnny
CSSHEGEWISCH charlie hebdo Avoid the Coast Starlight, unless you want a ride so rough that you actually leave your seat at times, at least south of Portland. Also, be prepared to take a siding awaiting freights. I didn't notice any rough riding on either of our trips on the "Coast Starlight". The only time we took a siding was just north of Los Angeles for a meet with an outbound Metrolink suburban run. The conductor also announced that this was a scheduled meet.
This was just this Monday, May 13, 2019, between Seattle and Eugene, especially south of Portland. My sister said the crew was pleasant. Perhaps the track is better where you were?
For anyone in the US Northeast…..an extended long-weekend of 4 or 5 days will give you an opportunity for a roundtrip on VIA’s Ocean…… tied into a roundtrip on Amtrak’s Adirondack.
The Ocean is a full-service train running overnight between Montreal and Halifax complete with a full range of sleeper accommodations. There is a ‘Park Car’ Budd Stainless Steel Dome Observation and for this summer there will be additional Budd ‘Chateau’ Sleepers supplementing the usual Renaissance equipment.
The Ocean has a Diner but no Chef onboard. Meals a prepared by an airline caterer and heated in a Convection Oven (NOT a Microwave) …then re-plated (NO plastic here) and very good.
The Renaissance Sleepers are modern with private en-suite showers in some. Personally….I always travel in the Ren Sleepers instead of the older Budd equipment. Just a smoother, quieter more comfortable ride!
The political turnoil in Washingto is detrimental to Amtrak. So many fish in the frying pot allows a terrible Amtrak management to slip by ?
blue streak 1The political turnoil in Washingto is detrimental to Amtrak. So many fish in the frying pot allows a terrible Amtrak management to slip by ?
The dysfunction of DC makes Amtrak look well managed.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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