Roommette looks great, in 10 days I will b on. LAX to Seattle train! 🙂♥️🇺🇸. Thank u,. Both great folks 😇
@elcabong53 жыл бұрын
thank you for taking the time and posting cool stuff !
@bufordhart7303 жыл бұрын
You guys are SOOOOOOO AWESOME !!!!!!!
@dhurt12173 жыл бұрын
I just got why you’re Grounded Life!!! I love all your videos and cannot wait to go on my first Amtrak trip!!!
@AA_8184_13 жыл бұрын
Love the reviews while in motion on the train! Love feeling like an traveling with you! I do really enjoy the higher level windows in the Viewliner rooms!
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Only possible because of higher level CEILINGS in the Viewliner trains! I just appreciate the ability to sit upright on the upper bunk.
@haroldwilliams46343 жыл бұрын
Absolutely love your videos! Definitely going to begin planning trips. Amtrak should pay you. for your outstanding videos. Stay Safe and Stay Well! GOD BLESS!
@Servo16162 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for your reviews! I booked a roomette from Southern California to Seattle to see a friend for Christmas. I'm afraid of flying and hate airports so this is so much better for me. Your advice helped me get prepared and know how to pack! About to get ready for bed and try out the pull down bed now.
@GroundedLifeTravel2 жыл бұрын
Awesome, have a great trip!
@Servo16162 жыл бұрын
I want to add an update to my comment after my trip: Let's say you're on a one-night only journey but you're hesitant about using the shared shower. I recommend bringing some non-shower-freshen-uppers that do not have a strong scent. Things like baby wipes, face wipes, etc. It may help you feel less self conscious
@latrishahuckaby83493 жыл бұрын
Thanks guys for sharing your very helpful information. I appreciate your work.
@matthewjorgenson8129 Жыл бұрын
This great! I’m considering a sleeper from Chicago to Buffalo in April. This is super helpful!
@GroundedLifeTravel Жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@gregtrain13 жыл бұрын
That's the routes we took from Chicago -Albany,Boston -Chicago! Same type of viewliner you are in. But when we rode her, it was filty! My mom's antibacterial wipes were black!
@cassie112373 жыл бұрын
Don't forget the often-overlooked fresh air vent. The black knob below the window allows fresh air in.
@nasagi73883 жыл бұрын
I’ve really enjoyed watching your videos on Amtrak! I love the nostalgia of train travel and there are so many things to enjoy that are normally missed when using other modes of travel. The privacy and comfort of a roomette is something I will be taking full advantage of in a future trip. Safe travels!!! ❤️
@donrussell18813 жыл бұрын
Thanks for these. If I ever can, I would like to take a Roomett from Chicago to L.A. and back again. I love train riding. I've never been so relaxed, or slept so well as on a train.
@rodelronquillo36323 жыл бұрын
Thank you guys for the tour, I am hoping this will be identical or close enough on the Crescent.
@traceybaytops86813 жыл бұрын
Hi Allie and Rob!! You guys always do such an amazing job! Thank you!!!
@shumonjohnson60773 жыл бұрын
Great, as always!
@user-di2on5gl2d8 ай бұрын
Was on that train from NY to Chicago. The toilet was convenient for night use. I just sleep facing the opposite side.😂. Only complaint was the food(microwave) and no access to drinks. I had to ask for one upon embarking because none was in my room. From Chicago to San Francisco was a nightmare. You can read comment on another title “Things Amtrak don’t tell you” by Grounded Travel
@flygirlfly3 жыл бұрын
Could you do an in-depth talk on the "BID UP" process? I've tried it several times, and been notified that it was 'unsuccessful '. Very disappointing. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! -- JUST SUBSCRIBED☺
@jasonyau3263 жыл бұрын
Great video as always, I do hope that you two will be able to ride either the Silver Star/Palmetto which feature the new viewliner trains which have roommettes without the commode in the room
@JJ-ck2mt3 жыл бұрын
Hi, Allie and Rob. I believe that sometime this year(???) Amtrak will be upgrading the roomette sleepers on the Superliner cars. Is this what you’ve heard? If so, any idea as to when this might occur? Great room tour on the LSL. Enjoy those videos as always!
@EE-qn4ks Жыл бұрын
You have a soothing voice.
@earlblackman70013 жыл бұрын
The viewliner room looks very relaxing how many power sockets are in the room ?
@booksbeautylifestyle2563 жыл бұрын
I was on one couple weeks ago. There was only option for 2 plugs. I used one for my wallflower as I'm big on scents. And the other had my phone charger in it.
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Agreed: There is one 120V duplex GFCI receptacle (accommodates two plugs) in the room. Look at sink level, just below the TOILET FLUSH button. You can see it on the video at about 0:35.
@trgoohileshea28203 жыл бұрын
I love watching your videos. I would very much like to travel Amtrak, as planes seem to be insanity in the air, currently and the idea of having a little private space seems very attractive.
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
In 1971, when the private railroads gave up their passenger trains and allowed Amtrak to run them, Amtrak immediately eliminated about 60 percent of the passenger trains in America. What you have today is a passenger rail system that does not serve large sections of America.
@AlphaRuledByVenus69783 жыл бұрын
I subscribed to you guys …I appreciate you being Informative/detailed ..I’ll be watching moving forward …I hadn’t been on a train since my early adolescence years …but I’m like a sponge with info ,so I appreciate your knowledge 🙏🏽👌🏽🚄🚆🚉…Peace & Blessings
@jacquelynsanders95763 жыл бұрын
Cool, but I still can't get ready for in room commode out in the open. Can you still use the shared bathroom if you're not comfortable?
@robertclark85463 жыл бұрын
Of course!
@m.clarke41713 жыл бұрын
Yes. That’s what I did. I feel like the i. room commode idea is best for solo travelers.
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
A note of caution is due here. The Viewliner I sleeper cars (those with a toilet in each roomette) do not have a shared bathroom. Neither do the Viewliner diner cars, which are typically coupled adjacent to the sleeper cars in the consist. If there is at least one Viewliner II sleeper car on your train (there were none on mine), then you could use the shared bathrooms there. Otherwise, you would need to walk through the train to the coach class cars (café or coach seating cars) to find a car with a shared bathroom. Depending on the train's consist, the location of your specific room, and the occupancy and cleanliness of the closest shared bathrooms, the nearest acceptable alternative could be several car lengths distant. So it's not always the best plan. The bottom line: If you have plenty of time and energy, then sure, you can take a little tour of the train. ...but I recommend that you use your room's toilet in anything resembling a biological emergency.
@transitdude33523 жыл бұрын
Cool Wonder Woman bracelet!
@bellasbentobox39233 жыл бұрын
Any thoughts on the additional routes recently announced?🙂 nice tour!
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
Amtrak will never reintroduce new routes. Since Amtrak was created to take over the passenger trains they have done nothing but eliminate routes. Do you remember the Amtrak bloodbath of 1979 when they eliminated 40 percent of their routes with no explanation given other than "budget cuts." In one swoop almost have the nation lost passenger rail service and they will never get it back.
@mmanisr223 жыл бұрын
Oh great, another Viewliner 1 i get to look forward to in October on my roundtrip to Chicago. But in reality they are not that bad
@earlenedorethy72336 ай бұрын
This is the one we got on this trip to New your from Ohio
@loriannmckeever37523 жыл бұрын
Awesome! thanks for what you do!
@Doopdedoopskiboop2 жыл бұрын
Hello! I have been watching your videos for a few days. Thank you for all of the information. I have decided a roomette would be best for me even though it is just a ride from ALB to NYP. There is one thing I cannot figure out…the roomette comes with dinner…but can I order and eat from roomette? I always see you on a dining car.
@GroundedLifeTravel2 жыл бұрын
Yes, you can eat in the roomette and they will bring it to you
@Doopdedoopskiboop2 жыл бұрын
@@GroundedLifeTravel I’m sold! Thank you
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
I don't know when you took this trip on the Lake Shore Limited, but Amtrak is in the process of replacing all of their Viewliner Sleeper roomette cars with brand new equipment. The new equipment will NOT have a toilet in the individual roomettes. The toilets will be down the hall along with the showers. If you ride the NYC to Florida trains you will find that most of the roomettes have already been replaced with the brand new roomettes without the toilets. Most passengers, including me, do not like having a toilet right in the room with them because if you share the room then one has to leave while the other does their business on the toilet. Also even if you are alone in the roomette I still don't like having a toilet next my bed.
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Newer equipment is always sweet, but as far as I can tell, Amtrak has only put a small number of Viewliner II sleepers in service, and those mostly on the Lakeshore Limited and Silver Service routes. I don't know for sure that there will be a complete across-the-board replacement of all sleeper cars on all Viewliner trains and routes with newer equipment. In particular, I think the Cardinal is still running two (or three?) Viewliner I sleepers per train, with no Viewliner II sleepers at all. I don't know how authoritative this is, but there were no Viewliner II sleepers on my recent Cardinal trips, and the Amtrak employees' attitude was "that would be nice, but as far as I know, it hasn't happened at all on the Cardinal, at least not yet."
@Vibe699092 жыл бұрын
Agree 1000 percent. Disgusting
@33Kellymc3 жыл бұрын
Great vid guys!
@vickiehurt26652 жыл бұрын
I❤ you Rob. You have Nerds!!!! 😂😂🍬🍬🍭
@BBQRando3 жыл бұрын
Love your channel! Question for you, I noticed the seats are worn or have some stains, how often are they deep cleaned for guests.
@sallyjane59433 жыл бұрын
Is it worth the cost to purchase the trip protector insurance plan? Have you ever done that?
@nellgrill38453 жыл бұрын
If... U get sick,. A death in family,. No job,. New job; no time off? Etc,. It is very worth the purchase.🙂♥️
@MikeTerry19693 жыл бұрын
My only time on the viewliner roomette I found the toilet to be far to small to use. I weigh 220, but could barely get my bum to fit in the narrow space between the bed and the door. And for men, the train movement makes it awfully difficult to do your business standing up without making a mess. I ended up going to the next car and using the larger public bathroom
@sallyjane59433 жыл бұрын
Which stations have car rental on site?
@spliceoncharlie3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the videos.
@mistergrendel323 жыл бұрын
When they made Rob’s socks, they forgot to make the ankles. 😜 Do they have a room called the “Suitette?” Maybe not. 😜🤔
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Yo - Agree, agree, agree! For the benefit of the inexperienced - The bigger superliner bedrooms have the same upper bunk head room problem as the superliner roomettes. I suspect that the family and accessible bedrooms have this problem as well. So don't think that paying for a bigger bedroom will solve that problem. On the Viewliner portion of our trip this summer, my wife and I shared a roomette pretty comfortably. No worries, really. With the toilet in the room, I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone with whom I was less intimately acquainted, but it was definitely shareable. ...but in the deluxe bedroom on the superliner, the upper bunk was useless. I couldn't get in it easily. I did manage to get in it once; when I got in it, I didn't really have a choice of which side to put my head on; the bed was made backwards (pillow at my feet), and I didn't have room to turn around. I had even bigger problems getting back out of it; I certainly couldn't sit on the mattress; There was no window view or access at all. Trying to get down the ladder at night to use the toilet was nothing short of dangerous. I ended up pulling out the pillow and the blanket, and sleeping on the floor, underneath the lower bed (where my wife slept). It's kind of sad when what was termed a "luggage storage area" by our attendant turns out to actually feel so much safer and more comfortable than the bed. My recommendation for couples' superliner travel is to reserve two roomettes (which is usually close to the same price as one deluxe bedroom). Then you can each sleep in a lower bunk. If you really want an en-suite toilet and shower, then reserve a bedroom suite (two adjoining deluxe bedrooms). I wouldn't ask anyone bigger than a child to sleep in the upper bunk of a superliner.
@D4RKxHOR1ZoN3 жыл бұрын
Ty
@chrismetafora65653 жыл бұрын
I used to dream of taking this train. No more. I'll fly; be there in a couple o hours. They took the dining car off; that was a great part. I'll save my money and spend it on a better hotel or a better room, suite.
@hermanchan2794 Жыл бұрын
Which one you think is better viewliner or superliner?
@bigguy80243 жыл бұрын
Hello guys. Is their an app that would tell you in real-time what your location is or what town you are going through?
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Bring a portable GPS?
@bigkids2003 жыл бұрын
@@richardeshom4985 thank you. I'm not tech savvy. I'll do some research on it.
@mayleelim55153 жыл бұрын
Was there only 1 plug point by the sink? Was there any others?
@henridavie84373 жыл бұрын
i want to know what speed app you use to track the speed of the train .
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
Any GPS will tell you that.
@teresavandal49733 жыл бұрын
Can I ask when the Viewliner I is being pulled and replaced in full with the Viewliner II? Many people do NOT like the Viewliner I BECAUSE of the fact that the toilet is in the room. They say it is pretty "stinky" and unhygienic. I personally would not like traveling with it in the roomette. The toilet was pulled out of the room in the Viewliner II; now they only have a sink.
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
For one, sinks can be "unhygenic" too. Why is there a sink in the room if there is no toilet? Also, each toilet has a lid, and can be flushed after each use. The train toilets in my Viewliner I roomette did not leak fluids, nor were they particularly "stinky". Again, sharing a toilet with at most one other occupant (your room companion) is probably significantly less unhygenic than sharing toilets with everyone in the entire sleeper car. All that said: I think I understand your concerns, and honestly, I wish that hotel rooms were designed differently as well, but Americans in particular seem to prefer the privacy of a bathroom in each room, to sharing a bathroom "down the hall". I am not sure why this preference would be different in, for example, a typical hotel room, than on a train.
@teresavandal49733 жыл бұрын
@@richardeshom4985 The point is NOT the shared bathroom down the hall; which by the way has a greater chance of being cleaned a little more often by Amtrak staff vs. a toilet in the roomette which might not be left to clean if the person is on the train for three or more nights. I will grant most Americans might want a private BATHROOM like in the bedrooms or a hotel room, but they are NOT going to want a toilet sitting right next to their heads when they are sleeping. If yours didn't stink then you lucked out; I've seen quite a few comments and seen quite a few recordings by other vloggers about it being a bit unpleasant to have a toilet in the room like that. HOWEVER, I CAN see a use for a sink in the roomette when a lot of hotels and hostels pull the sink outside of the room the toilet and tub are in; i.e. Holiday Inn and Marriott just to name a couple, so I do not see a problem with the sink being there to say brush your teeth, shave or do hair.
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
@@teresavandal4973 I am sorry, you are comparing two options: A shared toilet down the hall, or a private toilet in your roomette. I maintain that the point IS the condition of the shared bathrooms down the hall, because they are far stinkier than the one in the roomette. From experience: 1. The toilet in my roomette was clean each time I boarded the train. I have never boarded a train and been assigned a roomette with an unsanitary toilet when I got there. 2. Any attendant will tell you that the toilets are cleaned and tested between occupants, and at the end of the line; the bedclothes are also changed out, and all the surfaces are sanitized. It is all part of cleaning and resetting the roomette between occupants. 3. Attendants will clean the roomette toilet during your stay, when and if needed (upon request), and that is one of the reasons why the attendants are available for you. If there's a problem, use the attendant call button: that's why it's there. 4. The shared toilets on my train (in the coach cars, the superliner sleepers, the Viewliner II sleepers, and the cafe/dining cars) were NOWHERE NEAR as clean as the toilet in my roomette. It looked to me like the shared toilets were not cleaned until the end of the line, because they were definitely much stinkier than our roomette by the second day. On more than one occasion, I elected to walk the four car lengths back to my roomette, so I could use the cleaner facilities. : I have no idea from where you get your information, and I am sorry that some vloggers have had bad experiences with the private toilets, but my viewpoint comes from my personal experience on board four different Amtrak trains. I admit that I had some less satisfactory aspects of my Amtrak trips, but this was never anything that had to do with the toilet in my Viewliner I roomettes. If I had been forced to use the much stinkier shared restrooms, then my experience would have been extremely less pleasant. You can have the Viewliner II sleepers, I still prefer the Viewliner I roomettes.
@jess49513 жыл бұрын
Would you be able to put a bag/pilot’s case in that space where Rob was standing next to the bottom bed and just lift bag onto the bottom bed as you needed to when stepping in and out of your room? I get that it would be in the way of the top bunk person as he was coming down and needed a place to step but as long as the bottom bunk person was willing to move it every time, would that work?
@dbljinc6643 жыл бұрын
How does the SUPER have less room? You did film dinner and that will be in a separate video right.......RIGHT?
@davidthompson44893 жыл бұрын
Superliners are double decker train cars so even though the cars are taller than the Viewliners, there is less available height on each floor.
@cassie112373 жыл бұрын
Thank you for "commode".
@susanmijares12123 жыл бұрын
We are interested in taking our first train ride on the Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago but when I tried to figure out the price it was more than $2000 for a room does that sound about right? 😱
@sallyjane59433 жыл бұрын
Tipping the attendant. Customary?
@nellgrill38453 жыл бұрын
Tipping is customary & expected,. I can't imagine they have high salaries, & how they have to leave their families for days on end,. Please tip,. Room attendant approximately $5 daily.
@ae86hatch143 жыл бұрын
What is your favorite meal on Amtrak long-distance trains?
@WhatDoesMyChannelNameMean3 жыл бұрын
I see that the bigger seat comes with a giant brown mystery stain. I'd bring seat covers and plenty of disinfectant wipes.
@MaggieTrudeau3 жыл бұрын
do you use the toilet?
@nordicus19683 жыл бұрын
This was one of the older Viewliner Car Roomettes. The new Viewliner Car Roomettes still have the sink but NOT the toilet. In the new cars there is now space under where the toilet was for more storage.
@sheenamaclean83243 жыл бұрын
Hmm i don't like the toilet in the room like that TBH, would be a bit worried about bad smells or a dodgy aim if the train jolted for some reason, lol.
@nellgrill38453 жыл бұрын
Dodgy, no,. Then u can use the public restroom,.😐 With germs, etc. I will 😊 take some of my own odors, or bring air freshener....
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
Amtrak is currently replacing all of the viewliner sleeper roomettes with brand new equipment. The new equipment will have roomettes but without toilets in the individual roomettes. The toilets will be down the hall along with the showers. All of the NYC to Florida trains now have the new roomettes without the toilets. I don't particularly want a toilet next to my bed and if you are sharing a roomette with someone I certainly don't want a toilet in the room. I welcome the change.
@tomlarkin56063 жыл бұрын
It's not that good. The whole experience is not worth the time or money. From October 6, 2020 to July 11, 2021 I traveled on 4 of the 5 cross country amtrak routes in a roomette. Air conditioning is the biggest problem next to on board sewer system. If you compare the price of flying, amtrak is not worth the money. About 50% of the amtrak employees are rude and unhelpful. Inter city routes like, New york to Washington DC are great and that's what amtrak should stick with. These cross country trains need to go.
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
Your are right .....cross country train travel deteriorated when the private railroads gave all of their passenger trains to Amtrak back in 1971. However, I still love the cross country long distance routes and have always been more than happy with my trips. The air conditioner always worked, the dining car was wonderful and sleeping accommodations adequate. The lounge car was roomy and I particularly loved the scenery and a chance to write and read. I'm not sure what you mean by an "onboard sewer system" and how that affected your trip. As far as the Amtrak employees being rude and unhelpful...well I did not interact with any of the Amtrak employees very much so I can't really say. As far as money, you will always get a better deal flying. I can't think of one Amtrak trip that I did not like. In fact, I am planning another cross country trip next summer. I think maybe you had bad trips because you travelled during the COVID restrictions period. The dining cars were closed and not all services were offered during the pandemic and most of Amtrak's employees had been furloughed.
@tomlarkin56063 жыл бұрын
@@jackjules7552 The toilets backed up to the point the they had to be emptied 2 times on the Southwest Chief on my last trip. I was given a voucher $400 for bad air conditioning.
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
@@tomlarkin5606 This is unbelievable!! I can't say that I have ever had such a bad trip except once on a plane when I experienced a 20 hour delay.
@tomlarkin56063 жыл бұрын
@@jackjules7552 You can ride amtrash to hell and back. I won't anymore
@richardeshom49853 жыл бұрын
@@jackjules7552 In all fairness, the profit margin on freight rail service is much higher than passenger rail service. The private railroads couldn't make money on passenger service, and were paid for the passenger equipment that they handed over to Amtrak. Even today, they are still paid usage and maintenance fees for most of the rail routes that Amtrak uses. So it's not like the private railroads wanted to keep operating passenger service in the manner they did before affordable automobiles, interstate highways, and airlines made their passenger rail service competitively unprofitable. Even in this vlog thread, can't you hear the experienced Amtrak ridership complaining about the onboard train conditions, and praising the alternatives?
@ThePrissy113 жыл бұрын
Disgusting travel for two. Maybe one would be ok.
@jackjules75523 жыл бұрын
Don't worry. Amtrak is currently replacing all of the roomettes with new equipment that does not have toilets in the room.
@ThePrissy113 жыл бұрын
@@jackjules7552 Toilets in the rooms are great especially in the middle of the night.
@danopticon3 жыл бұрын
@@ThePrissy11 - Thing is, if the USA had high-speed rail, without freight interruptions, an express train from Chicago to New York City would be like a 3-hr. trip … no roomette required: it’d be more like a Shinkansen commuter route, with roomy recliner seats.
@あいうえお-o6s1f2 жыл бұрын
The View Liner sleeping car's upper berth is much better than the Super Liner's one. I especially like that there is a window on the upper berth. Also View Liner-Ⅰ has a toilet in the room.