Canadian Railroads > Prestige Class TV feed???

I’m curious to know: in the Prestige Class sleepers, what feed is the TV running off of? Satellite? DVD’s? Bring your own DVD’s or is there a selection onboard? If DVD’s, is it the same DVD or BluRay format as commonly used in the US? Or, is it like at a hotel, where you select from menu options? Would like to know. Thanks.

Streamliner Wrote:
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> I’m curious to know: in the Prestige Class
> sleepers, what feed is the TV running off of?
> Satellite? DVD’s? Bring your own DVD’s or is
> there a selection onboard? If DVD’s, is it the
> same DVD or BluRay format as commonly used in the
> US? Or, is it like at a hotel, where you select
> from menu options? Would like to know. Thanks.


We never bothered to turn ours on. Too many other beautiful distractions to be glued to the tube. There is no wi-fi except in stations and spotty i phone connections. We rode Vancouver to Toronto Aug 2016.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/18 22:22 by CarolVoss.

Streamliner Wrote:
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> ......................... If DVD’s, is it the
> same DVD or BluRay format as commonly used in the
> US? ...............

Yup.....ame NTSC format as the US. And no need to bring power converters either.....electric grids are interconnected between Canada and the US. And phones too: just dial the area code first + local number like you would at home.

Cell Phones: Spotty service across Northern Ontario and in the mountains of BC....but pretty good coverage elsewhere. Major carriers here are Bell, Rogers and Telus. Just see who your provider teams up with here and get a roaming package before you leave home.

Why there are TV's on a train are beyond me. Unless it's to watch railroad videos while the train is stuck in the hole waiting for 20+ trains to pass.

We don’t plan on watching TV much and certainly not during daylight hours. However, I’m sure we are paying for it and would like to know how it works. So far, there have been 124 “views” of this thread, and NOBODY has been able to answer my questions. Anybody???

A telephone call to VIA should result in answers, but I know these days many people have a reluctance to speak to a human.

I have never travelled in Prestige Class - and likely never will - but I have been on the Canadian a few times in the off-peak season when there has not been a single Prestige room occupied. The Prestige crew will offer tours of the facilities and answer questions from those of us whose rooms are in the "low-rent district."

That is not a television, as such, but a monitor. It is not connected to satellite. It only plays DVDs. VIA has a few but you can bring your own.

Three years ago I was on the eastbound Canadian when Prestige was full except for one room. A couple approached the Service Manager shortly before Winnipeg and asked about upgrading to that room from their regular "cabin." The SM made a call and found out the upgrade fee would be $3,000 from Winnipeg to Toronto. The passengers thought that was reasonable and paid cash. (The SM told me she wasn't happy about having to take care of that much cash.) During the trip to Toronto I walked through the Prestige Château sleeper many times and the door to this couple's suite was always open and I couldn't help notice they were watching the monitor every time. One of my friends quipped: "$3,000 is a lot to pay to watch videos for a day and a half."

DrawingroomA Wrote:
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> A telephone call to VIA should result in answers,
> but I know these days many people have a
> reluctance to speak to a human.
>
> I have never travelled in Prestige Class - and
> likely never will - but I have been on the
> Canadian a few times in the off-peak season when
> there has not been a single Prestige room
> occupied. The Prestige crew will offer tours of
> the facilities and answer questions from those of
> us whose rooms are in the "low-rent district."
>
> That is not a television, as such, but a monitor.
> It is not connected to satellite. It only plays
> DVDs. VIA has a few but you can bring your own.
>
> Three years ago I was on the eastbound Canadian
> when Prestige was full except for one room. A
> couple approached the Service Manager shortly
> before Winnipeg and asked about upgrading to that
> room from their regular "cabin." The SM made a
> call and found out the upgrade fee would be $3,000
> from Winnipeg to Toronto. The passengers thought
> that was reasonable and paid cash. (The SM told me
> she wasn't happy about having to take care of that
> much cash.) During the trip to Toronto I walked
> through the Prestige Château sleeper many times
> and the door to this couple's suite was always
> open and I couldn't help notice they were watching
> the monitor every time. One of my friends
> quipped: "$3,000 is a lot to pay to watch videos
> for a day and a half."

Thank you for the information. Believe it or not, a phone call WAS made to VIA and they were unable to answer my questions, thus my post. You know, some folks travel a lot, while others much less. Many believe that they would rather go as far as they can, as often as they can on their travel dollars. Others feel that since they don’t go all that often, when they do go, they are going to go first class. Everyone has their own priorities—which, like they say, is what makes the world go ‘round.

On our trip from Vancouver to Toronto last week we met a couple who were traveling in Prestige and they invited us in for a tour of their room. I had glanced into rooms before but never had a detailed "tour". The decor is very nice and the "L" shaped couch and small coffee table look very comfortable for daytime travel, although the L shape makes the couch a bit short for a midday nap if you are into that. The large window is nice, so long as the scenery is on your side of the train. The room has a private "annex" with a shower, which looks very nice but the space is minuscule. The couple said the shower was okay but the husband said it was a tight squeeze for him. There was surprisingly little storage room, just a shallow shelf for a few little things above the couch and a very small drawer in the coffee table. The "closet" did not look any larger than in a standard bedroom, and the luggage went under the couch which made it difficult to get to once the bed was made up. I was surprised by the lack of a "dresser" drawer to put things in. The big negative for me is the way the double bed is set up, since the person sleeping on the inside has to crawl over his or her partner to answer the call of nature during the night. My take away is the decor is very nice, the couch is nice during the day, and having a private shower is convenient, but in many other respects the Prestige room is either no better or less comfortable than a regular bedroom. You eat exactly the same food in the dining car as everyone else. Of course another issue during the peak season is access to the Park car. Perhaps if I were traveling with my wife during the peak season the extra cost of Prestige would make more sense since it gets you onto the rear of the train with easy access to the Park car. And of course you get upscale snacks, "free" booze, and the service people are outstanding. It is a good but far from perfect product, and very expensive for what you get.

My idea of luxury for two people on The Canadian is a double bedroom suite that gives you two lower beds that can be made into a double bed, each having its own aisle and two (his and her) annexes. And two closets instead of one, plus the former shoe boxes. The only shortcoming is the shower is down the hall (but larger) and the room decor is not as attractive. But the price would be perhaps $6K instead of $8K. During offseason you would have full access to the Park car, but during peak season access to the Park car would be very limited.

Whether it is Prestige or the Amtrak superliner and viewliner accommodations, I am forced to wonder if the modern designers ever bothered to really learn why Budd and Pullman did what they did based on years of experience, or to talk to people who have actually made a lot of trips in sleeping cars. Most of the frustrations associated with these modern accommodations have easy solutions if only the designers did a bit more homework. It is a classic case of reinventing the wheel and pretty much ignoring what others have learned the hard way.

JBWX



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/18 10:34 by jbwest.

With regard to passenger car design, especially the overwhelming superiority of the "heritage" carbuilders, JB hit the nail squarely on the head.

AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

Streamliner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Thank you for the information. Believe it or not,
> a phone call WAS made to VIA and they were unable
> to answer my questions, thus my post. You know,
> some folks travel a lot, while others much less.
> Many believe that they would rather go as far as
> they can, as often as they can on their travel
> dollars. Others feel that since they don’t go
> all that often, when they do go, they are going to
> go first class. Everyone has their own
> priorities—which, like they say, is what makes
> the world go ‘round.

Sorry to hear that VIA's telephone agent couldn't answer the question. (I'm glad I said "should" and not "would" regarding this.) Perhaps the agent didn't see this page on VIA's site which gives some clarification:

http://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/lecanadien/AMENITIES_ENG.pdf?ga_pdf=compare-amenities

I agree about splurging. My other great passion in travel is ocean liner travel - mainly Atlantic crossings as opposed to cruises. My wife and I have occasionally splurged on a suite with upgraded amenities on the Queen Mary 2. It was a fabulous experience, which will never be something we do often. The cost, per day, was actually well below the per day cost of Prestige. Our first two times in a Cunard suite (not really a suite, but a huge stateroom) were complimentary upgrades in the off-peak season given to us presumably because we are loyal passengers. (VIA - hint, hint.)

I'm pleased that Prestige has been successful for VIA - except in the off-peak season when it is often empty - as it has helped the bottom line and should impress the bean-counters.