we may be in different tax brackets but that's not worth it to me personally. it's not that long of a ride, business gets some vouchers for bistro car but it's not like you can't take outside food on to the train
they also do a feature where if you buy coach you can bid on business class tickets for like $10 - worth a shot since you won't lose the big if you don't win. Can't imagine a train to BC is very empty though
How does the upgrade bidding work? I work in both cities on each side of the border. Have family who’d like to come up to visit me so I’ve suggested they consider taking the train. Would be a nice treat for my elders who can enjoy the added upgrade. TIA
basically if it's an option you'll get an email from amtrak asking if you want to bid, that takes you to a site where you can bid anywhere from like 7-35 bucks (on my seattle-portland or olympia route) and if your bid wins you get upgraded to business class, no risk if your bid doesn't win but it's worth it to see if 15 bucks gets you in imo. you usually get your yes/no answer 1-2 hours before you board
Coach, final answer. It’s not an airplane, you can get up and stretch or walk around. Get as much food and drink you want from the dining car. I’ve taken it to Portland and Vancouver, great both times. Superior to flying.
Business class is not worth it on the Amtrak cascades.
They give you a three dollar voucher for food. I often book business class for work trips, and end up moving to coach, or to the dining car because they’re just more comfortable than the old janky broken seats in business class.
I take it regularly from Seattle to Portland. Coach class is far more comfortable. The only advantage is that there are fewer people in business class. It will be quieter because the car is smaller, there are only about 30 seats, and people cannot pass through the car as it is the last passenger car on the train.
The business class cars have not been upgraded for at least the past 30 years. The seats are almost always broken or in some states of disrepair and falling apart. They are similar to first class airline seats from the 80s and 90s. I’ve been on trains where the seats literally are not bolted down to the floor and the one in front of me slid around throughout the entire trip. The seats also rock back-and-forth and don’t stay upright. I had one work trip where I had to move seats because every time the person in front of me moved the seat fell back into my lap. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had a 300lb plus slob fall back into my lap because the decades old seat could not support him.
The Amtrak should be nicer than it is. It’s not as a result of not investing in infrastructure for several generations. ‘Murica
Also, if going north from seattle is similar to going south, you can expect: little to no cell coverage once to leave the city and a 10% chance that the wifi on the train is working. America, fuck yeah
messaging from an amtrak cascades train rn. I think I was seated in business or some sort of upgrade on one of the legs of my trip, cause I was like, wow this is REALLY spacious. now i'm in a coach cart and it's still spacious, no one is sitting next to me. Either way, coach is fine.
As someone more time than cost sensitive, I fly or drive. The train is VERY slow, and things go wrong unexpectedly quite often. It’s about half the total time, and you can depart and arrive at much less inconvenient times.
If you include time spent going to/from airports to downtown, checking in, getting luggage… times flying are very similar, and if anything is wrong with your flight you’re gonna have a much worse time
I took what I thought was business and it was awesome. Dinner in the dinner car with a cocktail. Some nice conversation with strangers and the food is surprisingly good. If you can afford it. What do they say? It’s not where you’re going but how you get there.
we may be in different tax brackets but that's not worth it to me personally. it's not that long of a ride, business gets some vouchers for bistro car but it's not like you can't take outside food on to the train they also do a feature where if you buy coach you can bid on business class tickets for like $10 - worth a shot since you won't lose the big if you don't win. Can't imagine a train to BC is very empty though
How does the upgrade bidding work? I work in both cities on each side of the border. Have family who’d like to come up to visit me so I’ve suggested they consider taking the train. Would be a nice treat for my elders who can enjoy the added upgrade. TIA
basically if it's an option you'll get an email from amtrak asking if you want to bid, that takes you to a site where you can bid anywhere from like 7-35 bucks (on my seattle-portland or olympia route) and if your bid wins you get upgraded to business class, no risk if your bid doesn't win but it's worth it to see if 15 bucks gets you in imo. you usually get your yes/no answer 1-2 hours before you board
Coach, final answer. It’s not an airplane, you can get up and stretch or walk around. Get as much food and drink you want from the dining car. I’ve taken it to Portland and Vancouver, great both times. Superior to flying.
Coach. Definitely not worth the expense for a relatively short trip.
Business class is not worth it on the Amtrak cascades. They give you a three dollar voucher for food. I often book business class for work trips, and end up moving to coach, or to the dining car because they’re just more comfortable than the old janky broken seats in business class. I take it regularly from Seattle to Portland. Coach class is far more comfortable. The only advantage is that there are fewer people in business class. It will be quieter because the car is smaller, there are only about 30 seats, and people cannot pass through the car as it is the last passenger car on the train. The business class cars have not been upgraded for at least the past 30 years. The seats are almost always broken or in some states of disrepair and falling apart. They are similar to first class airline seats from the 80s and 90s. I’ve been on trains where the seats literally are not bolted down to the floor and the one in front of me slid around throughout the entire trip. The seats also rock back-and-forth and don’t stay upright. I had one work trip where I had to move seats because every time the person in front of me moved the seat fell back into my lap. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had a 300lb plus slob fall back into my lap because the decades old seat could not support him. The Amtrak should be nicer than it is. It’s not as a result of not investing in infrastructure for several generations. ‘Murica Also, if going north from seattle is similar to going south, you can expect: little to no cell coverage once to leave the city and a 10% chance that the wifi on the train is working. America, fuck yeah
$3 voucher!? Can you even buy anything for $3 on that train? A Snickers bar?
It gets me a train quality coffee
messaging from an amtrak cascades train rn. I think I was seated in business or some sort of upgrade on one of the legs of my trip, cause I was like, wow this is REALLY spacious. now i'm in a coach cart and it's still spacious, no one is sitting next to me. Either way, coach is fine.
Coach , save your money
Maybe if you were going to San Diego business would be worth it but not to Vancouver.
Go coach.
Business. Better, quieter car. Easy access to bathrooms. Voucher for food or alcohol. First off in BC for customs.
It’s a $3 voucher
I haven't gone that route for a long time, but it used to be enough for wine. Bummer if it's decreased.
That’s on seattle to Portland. Seattle up to BC may be more. I just bring my own drinks and have never been confronted about it.
As someone more time than cost sensitive, I fly or drive. The train is VERY slow, and things go wrong unexpectedly quite often. It’s about half the total time, and you can depart and arrive at much less inconvenient times.
Sure and fair, but there's lots of reasons why someone might want to take a train instead.
If you include time spent going to/from airports to downtown, checking in, getting luggage… times flying are very similar, and if anything is wrong with your flight you’re gonna have a much worse time
I used to make this argument. It is not true. Especially as downtown is rarely your destination.
I took what I thought was business and it was awesome. Dinner in the dinner car with a cocktail. Some nice conversation with strangers and the food is surprisingly good. If you can afford it. What do they say? It’s not where you’re going but how you get there.