September 13th, 2018
Since I have heard about it, I have always wanted to take the Amtrak Starlight train from Los Angeles up the coast to Seattle, WA, a ride that takes close to a day and a half. I have heard many great things about the views and how the Starlight train offers upgraded services including sleeper cars. It sounded great but then again, Amtrak is no Orient Express and trains here in the states tend to be not as nice as they are in foreign countries.
Sophon and I purchased a Superliner Room which was a room with bunk beds that fold out and a bathroom. We used Uber to get to Union and arrived with plenty of time to board our train. It had been years since I had been to Union station and when I was there, I was there to catch a commuter train. I wasn’t sure where to go and what to do. I found the Amtrak desk and they were very nice in explaining where to go and how to check my bags. By the time we were sitting in the lounge having coffee I was impressed as to how nice, friendly and helpful everyone had been. I found myself comparing it to how the airlines make you feel when you fly.
We were told where our car would stop and was we boarded, Cindy, our room attendant, told us how to find our room Again, like the rest of the staff, she was extremely friendly and a few minutes later, she stopped by our Superliner Room to explain how things worked, where things were, and what to expect. She gave a few tips on how to walk in order to avoid being thrown off-balance which she summed up as “Walk like a Duck!” She asked where we were headed I told her Seattle, she responded that we would be her the entire trip. I assumed that the staff on this train would work a shift and another crew would come in to replace them – not so. It is more like the cruise industry where the crew sticks with you. I wonder how often she does this.
The room was nice with a couch along one side and a chair on the other. The room also had a bathroom although calling it a bathroom is a stretch it was a shower/stall/toilet and a sink on the outside of it. It was a seriously small bathroom but it beat running down the hall in the middle of the night. Overall no complaints with the exception that the doors didn’t lock. We were told not to bring laptops or bags to the dinning car and I was somewhat concerned if they would be stolen. Cindy suggested that we put any valuables behind pillows or in the top bunk bed.
Lunchtime:
We had to sign up for a time-slot to eat in the dinning car. They would go through first class and ask people for the time they wanted to go and then business class followed by coach. Meals were included with the sleeper cars, not sure about business class, I know that coach passengers had to pay. The dining car was nothing special, booths along both sides that sat 4 to a booth. We were seated with other people. Having traveled in group, I knew how this went, everyone says hello and we start with the obvious questions such as where are you coming from and/or headed to looking for common ground to start a conversation. By the end of the meal, you either hoped that you would get to dine with those people again or you hoped you didn’t.
I had no idea what to expect as far as the food. We were handed a menu that included breakfast lunch and dinner and we were told order from the lunch section. There wasn’t a lot of choices and the waitress mentioned that a couple of options weren’t available. Choices included steamed mussels, burgers and chicken chilaquiles, and a veggie burger but they were out of the chilaquiles and the veggie burger. Not a lot of choices. The food was served on plastic plates and condiments were served in packets. The food was edible but there wasn’t anything that left me feeling like I wanted to have it again.
After lunch, Sophon and went and sat for a while in the observation car, we were just getting out of the city and into the country along the coast. The views did not disappoint!
Afternoon Announcement – Due to the fires, this train is not going beyond Sacramento:
Late afternoon the conductor got on the PA to announce that he had just received word that this train was not going any further than Sacramento due to the fires in Northern CA. He added that he had no additional information and would be making more announcements after a conference call which would take place at 6PM, almost two hours later. I immediately went into problem solving mode and after a few minutes I realized that until I knew what Amtrak was going to do (or not do) there was little I could do. Should I get a room in Sacramento? Should I try to other arrangement to get to Seattle? Should I cancel the return flights?
Cindy, our attendant, got on the PA not too long after the first announcement and explained that she had no idea what was in store for us. I am sure she started to get a lot of questions and this was her way of letting her know that she doesn’t have any answers for us. She mentioned that she was aware that some people were supposed to arrive and directly go to their cruse ship. Suddenly, my problem seemed small, this was a leisurely trip for us and I felt bad for those people who were starting off their special vacation only to find out there plans had been derailed.
Dinner:
At dinner I overheard different conversations – a couple from Maui who worked at the Hilton, There were two men at different tables that were train enthusiasts who talked about the train in great detail. The biggest topic of the dinning car was how the afternoon announcement was going to impact them.
Our waitress again told us that they were out of a couple of things. That left a Chicken Breast, Steak, Surf and Turf and Salmon. I had the steak and it OK. I had thought about doing the trip between Sacramento and Chicago which takes 3 days – the food would definitely get old on a three-day trip.
Right after dinner, it was announced that the train would be continuing on. Drama over and cheers were heard throughout the train!
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