Expect delays. When I arrived in Emeryville last week, our group was told we were the "earliest" late group in weeks, and we were over an hour late. Reports of up to 7 and 8 hours are common.
See my blog at http://zephyr.midnightrailroader.com for some of my experiences.
We did a similar trip to SF on the Cal Zephry in May 2006. At that time, the CZ was typically running 2 hrs late but rarely over 6 hrs late, so I wasn't too worried about the arrival time.
We took the Amtrak Thruway bus from Emeryville to Union Square and walked the 4 blocks to our hotel (The Petit Auberge - http://www.sanfrancisco.com/petiteauberge/ . A very nice and very reasonable B&B type of hotel). The Thruway driver recommended that we take a taxi from an earlier stop because of the up hill walk and SF's homeless folk, but we declined and had no trouble with either - although it was still daylight when we made the walk.
On the train, we had a bedroom which was nice because it had it's own bathroom/shower and a decent amount of space to retreat to. We spent quite a lot of our time in the lounge car, however.
It's a great trip and SF is a fun place to tour and very easy to get around using transit. Get yourself a MUNI pass and a map so you can do unlimited rides on the cable cars, trolleys and buses.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
b_4_them wrote:One last bit of advise, try to get a room on the left side as this is the best view when you are traveling along side of the colorado river and glenwood canyons. But if not both side are really good.
Since a sleeping car can be oriented in either direction, there's no way of knowing which side of the train a given room will be on. However, in my experience on the Zephyr, it really doesn't matter which side of the train you're on. If you are traveling westbound, the left side will see Gore Canyon, Ruby Canyon and the American River Canyon. The right side will see the plains as you climb into the Rockies, Glenwood Canyon, and Donner lake. Eastbound, of course, is the opposite. But that's why Sightseer Lounges were made,to see out both sides.
I understand your concerns as I have a lot of experience (35yrs) with scheduling and the route you will be taking from LNK (DEN) to SFW. Your choice of a roomette is a good one as the sleeping car(s) is the only way to go. My wife and I went to SF on the July 1st and also had a roomette but only because the bedrooms were sold out. The train left Omaha 1'10" late which I thought was OK. We were put into the hole 4 or 5 times and still got into Emeryville only 15" late. But that was that trip, yours could be better or worse you just don't know. One handy way to find out how it is going the week of your trip is to go to the Amtrak web site and look at how #5 is doing the previous 5 days out of LNK and into EMY. For our trip one train was 6 hours late out of OMA but the others were withing 2 hours. To do this go to AMTRAK.COM and at the bottom you will see TRAIN STATUS. Check for departures out of LNK and train 5. You can check each train for the previous 5 days. On the day of departure start looking at the departues from the downline stations to get an idea of what to expect. Don't be alarmed if you see a departure missing for some stations. If the actuall changes to unable to determine it means it has passed the expected time without a DP event from the home road.
One last bit of advise, try to get a room on the left side as this is the best view when you are traveling along side of the colorado river and glenwood canyons. But if not both side are really good.
The California Zephyr is widely considered to be the most scenic rail journey in the country, and if you have the chance, I highly recommend you do it, but you need to be flexible and be able to roll with the inevitable glitches.
Your concern about timekeeping is justified. If you go to http://www.amtrakdelays.com you can get the train status for any Amtrak train over the last three weeks. Enter EMY as the destination and 5 as the train number. As of now, the Zephyr's timekeeping into Emeryville has been all over the clock, with one train actually arriving early, while one didn't get in until 5:00am the next morning! Delays are being caused by Union Pacific construction, which will gradually wind down and will hopefully be a less significant factor by next year. Amtrak and Union Pacific have a new agreement to minimize delays, but the jury is still out on how effective it is.
I might recommend, instead of booking a hotel in SF, spend your first night in Emeryville. There are a couple nice hotels (their names unfortunately escape me) right across the tracks, accessible via a pedestrian overpass. I imagine these hotels would be accustomed to late Amtrak arrivals. If you spent your last night there as well, you could sleep a lot later on the morning of your departure.
Jetrock wrote:...it is my understanding that the pre-made meals idea didn't last long.
The pre-made meals are still very much alive. They are generally superior to the microwaved TV dinners Amtrak experimented with in the mid '80s. The roast chicken I had last fall was every bit as good as the freshly cooked chicken Amtrak cooked on board. But I had a horrible salmon dinner on that same trip. So I would avoid fish, and the Bob Evans breakfast Scramble. Amtrak's burgers are pretty good. Generally so is the French Toast.
Roomettes are quite small. They're about as long as a bathtub and a little wider. That sounds tiny, and when people see them for the first time they tend to be disapointed, but once you settle in, they can be quite cozy and comfortable. The upper bunk is pretty cramped, and requires a little physical dexterity to get into. When the beds are opened up, the floor space is barely enough to plant two feet. Its really more like camping than a hotel, but with the advantage of climate control and toilets. Since this is your anniversary, you may want to splurge - at least for the return trip - and get a bedroom which is more like a small hotel room (and it has its own bathroom).
Amtrak now has a virtual sleeping car tour. Go to http://www.amtrak.com and click the link near the upper right.
For tipping, even though your meals are included in the price of a sleeper, you should tip the server as you would in any restaurant. For sleeper attendants my base tip is $5 per room per night, with bonuses for anything above and beyond the call of duty. Generally tip your attendant at or near the end of your trip.
The Zephyr is generally 2-4 hours late by the end of the trip, but it varies widely. I have taken it a few times from Sacramento to Chicago, and it's a great trip.
The roomettes are comfortable if you're not particularly tall (over 6') or particularly overweight. They are cozy-small (around six foot two long, and 3-4 feet wide) but the window makes up for the lack of room to roam around. The view is great! The upper bunk is a little cramped, generally when traveling with my wife we share the lower bunk. If you start feeling cramped the observation car is a good place to get a little open air, and even though I don't smoke I like to stretch my legs at every "smoking stop" on the trip.
I have heard different things about the food, but it is my understanding that the pre-made meals idea didn't last long. My dining experiences on Amtrak have always been good--at worst, the meal was okay, at best Amtrak food is great. Sleeper fare even includes dessert. I normally bring a clutch of $1 bills to tip the servers, though. In sleeper, you also get complimentary coffee and juice in the mornings.
About that San Francisco hotel room: Best bet is to call the hotel and ask about their late check-in policy. The conductor generally keeps the passengers well informed about how late they are running, and if you have a cell phone you can contact the hotel when you're hitting Sacramento or thereabouts and let them know when they can expect you. Hotel operators often are aware that Amtrak runs late and can make allowances.
Well, from my limited experience (one annual round trip on the CZ for the last 6 years)...
Yeah, I'd figure on getting in between 8-10pm but if the schedule is being lengthened to fit the present average running times, rest assured that the lateness will lengthen to match. As for hotels, based on the experience of a hotel manger friend of mine out there, February is "off season" so rooms can be had. Mind you, his property is in the Marina District area so that's a distance from the Amtrak stops at Market Street, Ferry Building and Transbay Terminal; doable but not walk off the bus to the hotel. However there can always be a convention throw things off so, after...well, never mind how many...years as a lowly hotel desk peon, I'll shout it from the rooftops-MAKE A RESERVATION, DON'T RELY ON WALK IN AVAILABILITY!!!!!!!! Yeah, you can save a few $$ by getting the last room or waiting until closer to book-or you can lose the hotel(s) you want and pay through the nose when you get there. (Show up in Green Bay, WI, the night of a Packers home game against the Minnesota Vikings and ask me for a knock down rate 'cuz it's almost midnight-I'll enjoy the laugh as I send you 30 miles to the nearest chance of an open room. No car? I'll laugh so hard, I'll cry.) Most reservations are booked as guarantees so that will take care of the late arrival (especially if you confirm that it could be as late as post midnight). If you want to e-mail me "off the board" so we don't run afoul of the forum advertising policies, I can direct you to his hotel website. Since he's familiar with the CZ's schedule problems, he'll know to call "Julie" before writing you off as a no show.
OK, a little too much caffene today...
As for the food, I generally don't eat in the diner. A couple of days recumbent in a coach doesn't help my appetite-but if you're springing for a sleeper, the meals are included so go for it. The portions are small for the price, in my estimation (no fault to Amtrak on that, given the nature of train food service) but they are more than enough for me. I'd advise packing a bag of fresh fruit to hold off the nibbling out of habit or boredom (not in mountains, of course...). There is a fruit stand at the depot in Grand Junction that is a great place to pick up more supplies.
So eat light, plan on being late (way late) and reserve your room ahead of time; ride the cable cars & the F line and enjoy San Francisco.
I'm considering what would be our first rail trip - it will be for our 20th anniversary. I love the idea of taking the Zephyr from Lincoln to San Francisco. BUT I'm really confused about what to expect if we decide to do this because I've read on various websites about average time differences from schedule of 6 hours!! and I've read here that the time schedules are being changed to reflect realistic travel arrival times ....
My biggest concern is whether or not I can book a hotel in SF for the night of our arrival and actually expect that to be where we sleep. My understanding is the SF is not a place where you can just show up after typical check-in hours, look for and find a place to stay. I don't really care about a half hour to an hour - but I don't much like the idea of dragging into a hotel at midnight!
I'm also a bit worried about hearing on this forum that food service isn't being prepared on-board anymore ... I'd been basing my estimation of the quality of food from reports of people who'd traveled earlier.
Right now, the Amtrak site gives shows a price of basically $475 for a Superliner Roomette (As AAA members I think we get about $25 discount) for travel from Lincoln to SF including food service. that's leaving Lincoln on 2/27/2008 with arrival at Emeryville on 2/28/08 at 7:50 and via a connection to SF at 8:50. If that is an actual arrival time I can count on, I'd be happy booking a hotel and asking for late check-in.
Can anyone tell me what is realistic to expect in terms of arrival times and food service? Also, what kind of comfort is to be expected from a Superliner Roomette? Finally - I presume tipping is expected - what is a reasonable amount to tip? Do you leave it in the room, or hand it to the person who makes up your room?
I'm also checking into the Grand Luxe Rail Journeys, but I think it might be too pricy for us, and so far they don't have Feb 2008 info on their site.
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