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Contributor
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎06-07-2010

Hello:

Has anyone taken an escourted Amtrak vacation? We are thinking about taking one out west on the Empire Builder. We would board in Wisconsin and travel to Seattle, (sightsee in Glacier National Park and Seattle) and come home on the train.

Is the train pretty comfortable? how are the bathrooms/showers? Is the food as delicious as I have heard? What about tipping? What would be the best time to go?

Haven't contacted a travel/Amtrak agency as we do not the $ saved up yet - so would appreciate hearing about others experiences. Also has anyone gone to the Corrn Palace in Mitchell ND or is it SD? Was that fun?

Thanks!

Valued Contributor
Posts: 975
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Just back from 13 trip on Amtrak we were on and off the train for several days at a time, staying in hotels.

Hope you aren't using Uncommon Journey's as your travel agent. They switched hotels to a lesser quality, one horrible, just days before the trip. Did not get our money's worth and it was an expensive trip.

We had a restored Pullman car, like in the 30's. Had our own cabin but sleeping terrible on a train. Frequent stops, passing other freight trains, rattling of the car due to poor rails, blowing of whistle at every crossing, passenger must go to a side rail and wait for freight to go by which makes you even later. We were 7 hours late arriving back in Chicago. But we were lucky, trip before us was 16 hours late arriving. Makes it hard to make connections if you are being met, catching a flight, etc.

The cabins are tiny, and so is the bathroom, must go in sideways. Little or no luggage space. They stored luggage and we kept carryon.

Food was good and service was good if you tipped well. Also must tip the porter, etc. Can quickly add up. Our tour gave us an "expected" tip guide which was higher than we wanted to pay. Tour guide= $10 day per person. Add that up for a couple for 13 days.

Been to the corn palace long ago and wasn't impressed. Just corn outside walls of a building, that's about it.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,320
Registered: ‎03-09-2010
My best friend is an Amtrak agent. Be forewarned that very long delays are the norm on long Amtrak journeys and the Empire builder is the worst route in the country for delays. Part of it is the poor condition of the rails but the biggest issue is freight trains in the area servicing the oil boom in the Dakotas. Amtrak shares the rails with the freight companies who get priority over Amtrak. 13 hour delays are easily the norm on the Empire builder route. Let's just say after a long delays the bathroom situation on board is not pretty. Sorry to be negative.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,336
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

We have used the Amtrak Auto Train between Sanford FL and Lorton VA a couple of times. It's as comfortable as train travel gets. Obviously a lot more room than an airplane and you can get up and move around more. The food was pretty good, and we had wine with our dinner. Once we stayed in coach. I was OK, but DH at 6'3" could not get comfortable. Another time we had a Roomette. DH had the lower berth which was 6'4". The upper berth I did not care for as the safety strap restricted my movement. The big upside to the Auto Train is taking your car with you. I was able to pack a lot more clothing options for the vacation. The down side to train travel in the east is that there is not much scenery. A western trip may provide more of that.

Oh. When we drove out west and back, we did pass through Mitchell SD and saw the Corn Palace. We did not stop as there was a big girl's basketball tournament being held outside in front of it. Enjoyed seeing Mt.Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, etc. Good luck and have fun.