Coast Starlight continued: Amtrak also offers larger bedrooms for those wanting more space and privacy, and also family rooms — if I were traveling with 3-4 people, one of those would work, I think.
Supposedly all the private rooms have private restroom and shower facilities, but that doesn’t mean one / room — it means there are a few in each car, for communal use. So, it’s private once you lock the door, and you’re sharing the restrooms with fewer people than in a regular car, and maybe they’re a little nicer than the ones in the individual seat cars.
All the private rooms also come with meals — for our ten-hour trip, we got both lunch and dinner for both of us. Pics in next post. Meals include a complimentary drink (alcoholic or not), and water bottles are provided in the cars.
If I were booking our trip for next month, LAX to SJC on the Coast Starlight, picking a random weekday, my options would be:
- individual seats for $67 / traveller (choice of upper or lower level)
- roommette for $280 (access to shower / restroom in car, up to 2 adults)
- bedroom for $689 (twice the space of a roommette, up to 2 adults, in-room sink, restroom, and shower)
- family room for $577 (up to 2 adults, 2 children, spans the width of the car, access to restroom, shower in your car)
But the prices vary wildly from day to day and week to week — if I were going next week, the family rooms are sold out on Monday, the individual seats are more, and both the roomette and the bedroom are less. So if your travel plans are flexible, definitely worth shopping around on dates.
