The following are just example fares that I obtained from the Online Amtrak Reservation System at: http://reservations.amtrak.com. The cost of your particular journey will vary from what I have listed below, but these examples should give you a ball-park idea of what it costs to travel by Amtrak and how the price of various accommodations compare.
Each of the following fares were obtained almost one-year in advance of travel. Thus, the fares reflect the lowest discount you could possibly expect for advance booking. You don't need to book that far in advance to get the best advance booking discount, but somewhere between 3 and 6 months before your travel, the lowest advance booking discounts will begin to vanish. Advance booking discounts probably vanish sooner than 3 to 6 months for peak travel times such as holidays and school vacations.
These fares also reflect the 10% Automobile Club (AAA) discount, but only for the railfare portion of the ticket. There is no AAA discount for the "accommodation" portion of the ticket price.
Having 2 people in a Standard Bedroom or 3 people in a Deluxe Bedroom does not add to the "Accommodation" charge over having less people in the same bedroom. Amtrak charges for the bedroom and not for the number of people in the bedroom. Thus, the "Accommodation" charge will remain the same regardless of how many or how few people use the bedroom. However, the "railfare" portion of the ticket is based on the number of people in your party and will vary accordingly.
Generally, Amtrak will try to limit booking 2 people into a Standard Bedroom and 3 into a Deluxe Bedroom. This is really all that comfortably fit into these rooms. If you have more people in your party, you should either book the Family Bedroom or additional bedrooms. Some of the Deluxe Bedrooms can be combined together to make "Deluxe Suites" which will comfortably accommodate 6 people. Ask your agent when you make your reservations to give you adjoining Deluxe Bedrooms that can be combined into a Deluxe Suite if you wish this option.
If you are traveling with one toddler, the agent will probably let 2 adults and one toddler be booked into a single Standard Bedroom. It might be a little tight, but with a bit of lap sitting, it will work. You can also book as many as 5 into a Deluxe Bedroom, but I wouldn't recommend it if you actually intend to sleep in the room! For a daytime only trip, it has enough seating space for 5. However, meals are included with your accommodations but that is only meals for 2 in a Standard Bedroom and meals for 3 in a Deluxe Bedroom.
The following examples are based on round-trip travel for 2 adults from Fullerton to Oakland, California. That is a distance of 489 miles each way. Travel north takes 12 hours and 10 minutes. Travel south takes 12 hours and 33 minutes.
I've traveled over 50,000 miles in bedrooms in Amtrak Sleeping Cars between 1985 and 1987. Although I haven't found an agent to confirm this, the price quotes I have received indicate that Amtrak accommodation charges are based on a 24 hour clock that runs from midnight to midnight. In other words, you will be charged the full price for one day in a bedroom on the train regardless of the time that you board the train. If you are still on the train after midnight, you are then charged for another full day in a bedroom on the train regardless of how early your journey might end that day. Thus, the price quoted below is going to be fairly close to what you will pay for each day that you spend in a bedroom in an Amtrak Sleeping Car. Since most people board the train before midnight and don't get off the train until the next day, it is difficult to avoid a 2 day accommodation charge each way. If you have information contrary to this, please send e-mail to me at steve@trainweb.com. I'd sure love to discover the official method that Amtrak uses to establish the price of accommodations!
As you can see, the RailFare is the same for 2 adults regardless of which accommodation is selected. The Deluxe Bedroom is usually about twice the price of the Standard Bedroom. There used to be a discount applied to the RailFare portion of the ticket when you booked a bedroom since you are not using up a seat in the Coach Cars, but that did not show up in these fare quotes. I'm not sure why. It could be because the RailFare was as low as it could get using advance booking and the AAA 10% discount. I'll have to examine this issue further.
The Standard Bedroom Accommodation charge does include meals for 2 people and the Deluxe Bedroom Accommodation charge does include meals for 3 people. Since this particular trip is on the Coast Starlight, also included is a Continental Breakfast served in the Pacific Parlor Car shortly after the train heads north out of Los Angeles at 9:30 a.m. Both lunch and breakfast will be served on this trip between Fullerton and Oakland. Food in the Dining Car is valued somewhat higher than your average family restaurant and those are the prices that passengers have to pay that are traveling in the Coach section. You can have soup and/or salad along with your main selection as well as a beverage, bread, desert and coffee. You do not pay for any of that. Also, the Pacific Parlor Car features an afternoon wine or champagne tasting which also includes fruit, crackers and cheese. Up to 3 glasses of wine or champagne are served to each passenger before the end of the event. Unlimited coffee, soda, juice and spring water is available in your Sleeping Car or from your Car Attendant without charge. Thus, a Standard Bedroom would include 3 meals for 2 passengers on this particular journey, a total of 6 meals, plus all those other extras. When you examine the $166 that it cost to upgrade from Coach to Standard Sleeper, you have to take into account the value of all of these ammenities. A gift is also usually presented to each Sleeping Car passenger which can vary from nominal value (like a pen) to something of moderate value (like a slit of champagne with 2 serving glasses engraved with the Coast Starlight logo). This upgrade price also includes access to the Pacific Parlor Car with its seating and private bar only open to Sleeping Car passengers.
As I get the time, I'll be checking out the prices of several other common types of trips and will be reporting those results on this web page. Just keep your eye on the TrainWeb What's New page for updates.
Whenever you wish to get a quote for railfare and accommodations for a specific Amtrak rail journey, go to http://reservations.amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL or your travel agent.
