I’d be interested in knowing how much money your sister saved, do you know?
My experience on Amtrak is that the coach seats are very comfortable–essentially recliners. You have much more room than on an airplane.
It just takes 18.5 hours.
My wife and I took the Southwest Chief from Lawrence, KS, to Lamy, NM (Santa Fe) to visit friends. The train showed up in the middle of the night, but the attendant had two seats with small lights on all ready for us, so we could get settled without disturbing anyone.
I was able to sleep without any problem.
Actually, now that I think about it maybe something like a Pullman style sleeper wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. With Amtrak’s Roomettes you are essentially paying for two bunks, even if you only need one. With a Pullman type sleeper a solo traveler could just book a single berth, for say half the price of a Roomette. But with the lack of privacy it would kind of feel like a rolling hostel.
I think the different is that you knew exactly which airline and hotel you wanted, and she didn’t. If you had to a call a bunch of airlines and hotels to decide among them, it would have taken a lot longer.
When I know which airline I want to book, which is most of the time, I can book much faster online than over the phone. On the phone I have to spell out every detail of my name, address, etc. Especially I need to make sure they have my name right, as it’s unusual. My computer already has that info so it just takes a few clicks to enter it.
I have no idea, but I don’t think it was much. Sis is the sort who believes that Expedia, Kayak, et al. really can save her money. They might be able to, or they might not, but Sis will never know, because she never bothers to comparison-shop by checking with the airline itself.
But she and her family got there, which was all that mattered.
Airlines were easy. Here in Canada, we’ve only got two national carriers: Air Canada and Westjet. I’m a frequent flyer on Air Canada, so that was a no-brainer. And all I had to do was give my frequent-flyer number, and the AC rep on the phone had all my contact info.
I do have a favourite Toronto hotel, which was my first choice, and it had a room at a reasonable rate. But I also had a second and third choice, which would have been equally reasonable. All were right on the subway, which was important, because I could use that to get everywhere I needed to, without the need to rent a car. I could certainly have found a hotel for less money, but not nearly as conveniently located (i.e. near a subway station).
Maybe something like this? The train stuff starts at 2:20, the “capsule hotel” sleepers at 4:00.
It would have to have slightly larger dimensions for the American public, but as he goes through the train cars you can clearly see different levels of accommodations. And damn, those bathrooms really do look clean!
That is an interesting concept. Although it only really makes sense at night; where would you sit during the day in that setup?
On the original section Pullmans the upper berth folded up into the ceiling and the lower berth became two seats facing each other during the day. I don’t think they reclined.
That describes the roomettes almost to a T. During the day, there are two facing seats, which are about as wide as a twin bed. The bar under the front of each releases the seat and back to slide down flat toward the opposite seat, forming the lower bunk. The angled roomette ceiling drops on a hinge to form the upper bunk, which is most certainly not for the claustrophobic. The armrest of one of the seats is sculpted to form the steps for getting to the upper bunk.
Slight clarification: the above describes a roomette on a Superliner (bilevel) train. On a Viewliner (single level) train — used on routes that include the Northeast because of tunnel restrictions — the upper berth cranks down from the overhead and is somewhat more substantial; it also has a window, which may cut down on the claustrophobia somewhat. Amtrak used to have virtual tours of both types, but they seem to have gone the way of the steam locomotive.
I rode ViaRail’s Canadian back in 2003, from Toronto to Edmonton. There were Pullman sections in the sleeper car, just as you describe. The seats didn’t recline, but they did become a bed at night, and the top bunk dropped down from the ceiling.
I didn’t have one of those; I had a single-person roomette. Not like Amtrak’s two-person roomettes; these were made for one person only. And very comfortable, over two days and two nights.