Amtrak Sleeper Car Roomette Tips 

Great advice, thanks! We will do that next time!

I think that might just lull me to sleep. I suffer from tinnitus, so I always use a white noise machine anyway to get to sleep... ;-)

Thank you so much!!

How? Do you have to make reservations by phone? There's no way to make specific requests on line.

Does that also apply to the shaking of the train all night that is so bad. It feels like your insides are being scrambled. And hearing the train whistle blowing all night. That is my experience when taking an overnight trip from NYC to Orlando Florida on Amtrak. But that was over 10 years ago. Has it improved since?

Stories like that are great, thanks for sharing!

Nancy thank you for sharing your experience.😊 It was funny reading it. I'm sorry for your loss but at least you have great memories to remember her by.

Wow, thanks!

Yes. She's excellent.

Agreed!

Yes, she is adorable! Your Voice is VERY excellent! Yes, the sound of your voice is friendly and air time worthy on the tv. New viewer, you and the hubs make traveling on a train less scary. Thank you both for that💐💐😁😉

What would be the best time to tip the attendant? Every time they come to the room or at the end of the journey. And what’s a good amount?

​@@chipom9686 this is a good question. I don't see an answer here but did you ever figure it out or find one from somewhere else?

​they have a video related to tipping 👍🏾

You can BYOB when you have a room, only allowed to drink it in your room tho. It’s also cheaper than buying booze in the diner car or cafe.

2023 -- Amtrak says first adult beverage at dinner is on them.

How much do you tip? For every service or at the end

I always have my meals in my room because I have trouble with steps. I tip $5.00 for every meal brought to me and also some extra when I leave the train.

@@brendapayne6603 These days, I assume that getting your own food is not an option - so having your meals delivered to the room is kind of the only option. I would think that tipping the attendant would be the equivalent of tipping the diner server. 20% of a $25 (one person) meal (judging by the prices on the traditional menu) would be about $5.00 - so that sounds about right. If traveling with two people, would you double that, then? (...and are you the Brenda Payne that I know?)

I like to tip the attendant $20 for a single night + day trip, $10 for a day trip as a solo traveler, or $10 per day for a multi-day trip as a solo traveler. For two people I up the daily tip to $15. I usually tip up front each day. For a single day trip or a day+night trip I tip them the very first time they come to check on me in my room. Since I like having my bed down, I often hit the call attendant button after departing, and tip them when they show up. Tipping up front gets you better service since they know you are tipping, vs. just hoping you are tipping. If I get room service I tip them a couple dollars for their trouble, rather than a percentage tip (since I have already given them a daily tip up front). I have never failed to receive good service from tipping up front. I usually don't tip on leaving the train, but I do when I get absolutely exceptional service. In those cases I tip an extra $5 or so on exiting if they did an exceptional job, or $10 if they did something amazing far and above the call of duty that surprised me. (Again, this is on top of the up-front tip). i.e. the exit tip is rare but done on a purely holy-crap-I-appreciate-you basis. Remember that every employee on Amtrak receives a (barely) living wage. They make a lot more money in base wages than a waiter at a diner does. They do not *depend* on tips. Nonetheless, that tip is important for service. Tailor your tip for the amount of service that you want to receive. If you're just gonna sit alone in your roomette all the time and want zero service, tip less. I like to have my bed down all the time and never have the room in "seat" configuration, so unless I have them do room service, the attendant has zero labor after the initial setup. Also remember that they can shift your rooms at will if there is space. On one 11-hour day trip they let my party move to the family bedroom since it had not been reserved. Obviously if someone reserved it at the last minute they would have had to kick us out, but that was unlikely. The $20 tip I handed them on boarding made them very conducive to letting us use it.

@@NozomuYume thanks for all that info! It was super helpful. I’m planning my first Amtrak trip and will be going with my service dog. I think I’ll tip upfront a large amount and let them know it’s my first trip and I don’t know what I’m doing (I may be more “needy” with questions). Hopefully they will have patience with me!

Good advice!

@@GroundedLifeTravel thank you!

OK in general you are right. However I stayed at a hotels and they had/ no joke I had to stop and count them/ over 12 out lets>>some set of 2 some set of 4 also ubs ports.

@@leed119 - And a hotel room is 20X+ the size of a room on Amtrak. So they have the space. And not have to either have electricity from batteries, or create it as the wheels are moving. A hotel is plugged into the wires like all the other buildings do. And have unlimited supply.

@LisaMarli Sorry, I had never heard of a "command strip" before, I had to look that one up. It's an interesting idea, and I'd like to hear more about what exactly you use these things for. It looks like Amtrak already provides a closet or butler bar (with hangers) to hang a change of clothing, several fold-out hooks on the wall for items that need more immediate accessibility, plus small shelves, a fold-away table, and pouches/pockets for the upper bunk. I travel pretty light, and I can't imagine needing to keep that much stuff affixed to the surfaces of my train compartment, so unless I find good reason, I am rather inclined not to clutter my carry-on with command strips. Everything else you said makes perfect sense, though, and thanks for the suggestions.

@@richardeshom4985 Mostly I use it to keep things in place. If you want a power strip to stay in one place, if you use a "picture hanger" two piece, it acts like velcro, but you can remove it without damage at the end of your trip. Other people use the hooks to hold things like their reading glasses and to keep cords under control. With so few plugs, cords get everywhere, what with all our chargers and phones etc.

Love MMM strips!

They also make suction cups with hooks. Easy on, easy off. I found it best goes on a window or mirror, and can also be used in hotels.

You will love it! I traveled alone across the country a few years ago. Yes, the car is plenty roomy enough for one. Have fun!

if you are planning on the observation car, make sure to get your spot early. It fills up with coach travelers.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Yes we often put our backpacks on the upper bed during the day, shouldn't be a problem. There is less room up there on a Superliner though as those beds fold up.

No matter how I’m traveling, I always have a power strip.👍🏽👍🏽

And an extension cord.

@@lifewithjosef I just bring a power strip that has a very long cord, that way no extension cord is needed. It's my designated power strip specifically for Amtrak trips, with built-in USB A and USB C ports as well as AC sockets. xD That way I'm not fumbling around with adapters and can charge my stuff right off the strip.

I do the same, I picked up a great one from ikea a few years ago for like $7.

Good tip. Will do

Thank you so much!

Great!! Hope you have a great trip;-)

She “nailed it”. Her advice was excellent!!! and matched most of my advice.

Glad it was helpful! We'd love to do that route sometime!

Thanks have a great trip!

In terms of tip, what would be appropriate? As a Brit im very careful to not undertip in the US but I wouldnt really know how to judge. I would be on an overnight from Chicago to Memphis.

@@Pineapplehead81 Sorry it is a bit late for this but for next trip. I will say flexible meals like $3 to $5 per meal since those meals are prepared ahead of time and just reheated in the microwave. For Tradditional Dinning I would do $5 to $10 per meal. Also for Sleeper Attendent I would say $10-20 per day depending how helpful the person (could be even more its your choice).

Bring (and use) deodorant, whether you shower or not.

Shaving is part of the fun of riding the train

Bull a person can take a shower and they are very clean

I found bathroom and showers clean. No problems 😊 love it!!

@@nellgrill3845 I am traveling on Amtrak going to New Orleans in July I'm leaving Wilson North Carolina and going to New Orleans and then a relative is going to pick me up from New Orleans and we're driving back to West Monroe Louisiana.

next time if the attendent does not help you with the rude person family/has the conducter of the train and tell him since sometimes the attendent do not tell the conductor and then between stations he can talk to the family and if not being properly they can be removed from the train I think by the conductor.

This comment was a year ago, but I wondered about this. Two people can get two rooms for the same cost?

@@rosemarylyons7981 Hi! Yes you can. We always get our own roomettes. It doesn’t cost any more or less. This way you are not living on top of each other! Go for it!

Hope you enjoy it!

So am I and looking forward to it .

Thanks for watching!

“They” meaning Amtrak sells this cord?

@Dana Lewis They, meaning lots of people, I got some from amazon years ago. Very handy.

Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Our pleasure!

I'm claustrophobic, and I did fine in there. On the Superliner roomette, you don't have a window on the upper bunk and I think it might even be a slightly shorter space above your head, so that can get a little "close." On the Viewliner you do have a window on the upper bunk which helps a lot. On the lower bunk, it's perfectly fine either way.

Main difference being the window in the upper bunk on the Viewliner. Also, the toilet IN the roomette which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.

Thank you!

Thanks!

They are booking less seats and the dining car is every other table.

You are welcome!

Glad it was helpful! Most people tip $5-10 per night per person and a few dollars per meal.

Thanks

great idea!

@@GroundedLifeTravel Carrying an extension cord in my laptop bag also makes me the most popular person in the seating area of the airport. Outlets are often limited and maybe too far from the seats. "Can I borrow one of your empty extension cord plugs while you're seating here?" I always say "Sure!"

God, me too! Need a video on that!

Good idea. If Grounded Life hasn't made videos like this by the time you read this, then I would recommend searching for Rick Steves' material about packing light, in his case for Americans taking a trip to Europe. The basic principles for packing light are bound to be very similar. I would, however, pack certain extra items specifically for a train journey. Grounded Life has already made 'tips and tricks', 'mistakes we made', and 'everything you need to know before you go' videos, which together contain a fairly comprehensive list of rail travel essentials.

The train does accept checked bags,. As far as on with u. Best a ""small"" back pack. Belly pack for $$ etc...

@groundedlifetravel yes can y’all PLEEEEEEASE do a video on travel packing? Your outfits looked so comfy, Allie, but I ALWAYS overpack 😩

Agree, attitude is everything!

You're welcome 😊

The bedroom suite looks cool since I think it has its own bathroom.

I used one from Springfield, MA to Utica and it was wonderful to have a loo right in my room as well as a sink.