Passenger Trains > Wine and Cheese BACK on the Starlight

For a fee of $7.50 per person, the wine and cheese is back on the Starlight - in the Parlor Car. The Parlor Car is also back to offering a limited meal service. Helps offset the business of the diner at least for lunch! Kudos to Amtrak for at least putting this program back, even if at a charge and the wine and cheese may not be the best! It's a great event for socialization!

Has Amtrak ever tried promotional tie-in's for the wine and cheese tastings with West Coast wineries and cheese makers?

When not bad ordered, these historic cars which are limited to sleeping car passengers are to me what makes the Starlight a superior product to the other Amtrak long distance trains. And it's not the wine and cheese. I don't like either. Its having a first class environment to relax and meet fellow passengers who have also paid a higher fare for the experience. Too bad Amtrak doesn't have enough equipment to have a dedicated first class lounge on all it's long distance trains.

ts1457 Wrote:
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> Has Amtrak ever tried promotional tie-in's for the
> wine and cheese tastings with West Coast wineries
> and cheese makers?


I always assumed the wine and cheese companies offered their product at a reduced cost if not for free. It would be a great promotion. I hope Amtrak management would have thought to pitch it that way to the companies.

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> When not bad ordered, these historic cars which
> are limited to sleeping car passengers are to me
> what makes the Starlight a superior product to the
> other Amtrak long distance trains. And it's not
> the wine and cheese. I don't like either. Its
> having a first class environment to relax and meet
> fellow passengers who have also paid a higher fare
> for the experience. Too bad Amtrak doesn't have
> enough equipment to have a dedicated first class
> lounge on all it's long distance trains.

Its why Amtrak needs to return to the concept of a sleeper-lounge-observation car for long distance trains. These cars should include tables and the ability to host at least a limited part of the sleeper population for meals as on the Coast Starlight. It is certainly a delightful experience.

A sleeper lounge is certainly needed on the eastern trains. The Amlounge is just nasty. Perhaps if Amtrak exercises an option for more Viewliners, a dorm/lounge would work.

Or, perhaps Mr. Ellis could supply one of those NP dome-lge-sleepers discussed elsewhere.

Posted from iPhone

I will be blunt. Is it worth paying extra to get away from the drunks, dopers and assorted scumbags that populate the regular lounge car in ever increasing numbers?

I thought a Superlineur lounge for every ld sprln trn would have tbe lounge ares where the 10 roomettes are; then lounge car large windows. The rest of the car would be as currently configured with the five 1st class bedrooms & lower floor the same.

Posted from Android

First, Amtrak needs to stay in business despite a 'hostile' environment!!

We were on the Coast Starlight and used the Parlor Car. Nice feature. However, I think the trip would in many respects be more pleasant were they to eliminate the wi-fi if they can't augment it. I had a short file I needed to get onto my computer, and it took at least five tries to get on, and I was soon thrown off. The problem, according to the attendant is that it only can carry ten connections at a time. And so when someone walks through the car (say, on the way to the lounge) with a cell phone, it tries to link onto the network, so so throws someone else off. Amtrak should poll the attendants about how often this problem arises (I just have this one bit of anecdotal information). On the other hand, an important part of the route is between Portland and Seattle, where the Cascades trains advertise wi-fi (probably the California trains have it too).

The car was in good condition, the attendant very pleasant, etc. We did take a salad for lunch in the car.

korotaj Wrote:
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> I will be blunt. Is it worth paying extra to get
> away from the drunks, dopers and assorted scumbags
> that populate the regular lounge car in ever
> increasing numbers?


I don't think this is an indictment of Amtrak as I think these types of people exist on a larger scale in our society everywhere. It is the result of a generation that has grown up being told that the rules of society no longer apply. There are no rules, morals, ethics, code of conduct, dress code, etc etc anymore.

jp1822 Wrote:
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> For a fee of $7.50 per person, the wine and cheese
> is back on the Starlight - in the Parlor Car. The
> Parlor Car is also back to offering a limited meal
> service. Helps offset the business of the diner at
> least for lunch! Kudos to Amtrak for at least
> putting this program back, even if at a charge and
> the wine and cheese may not be the best! It's a
> great event for socialization!

Was being provided as you describe when I was on the Starlight in early July. The wine is $7.50, the cheese package is an additional $5.50. I bought one and took back to my room. I'm not a wine drinker but, beer...I'd go for a beer tasting!
I did discover that the meals served in the PPC are not the same as in the published PPC menus on amtrak.com. Very limited availability as well.
John

---

when are thay going to put the f c lounge and wine and cheese back on auto train

korotaj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I will be blunt. Is it worth paying extra to get
> away from the drunks, dopers and assorted scumbags
> that populate the regular lounge car in ever
> increasing numbers?

Most definitely, yes. I wouldn't subject my wife and kids to a long distance, overnight (or multiple night) trip in coach. Just the smell alone in some of those cars would put my marriage in jeopardy. The Starlight is by far Amtrak's premier train if for no other reason than the Pacific Parlour Car. It is too bad Amtrak's current management, who has probably for the most part never even set foot on a long distance train, doesn't see the value that Brian Rosenwald and others of that time frame saw in the revenue that can be generated from the minuscule costs of the service enhancements that were made under his tenure. From the clientele on up, Amtrak is becoming more and more like a Greyhound on rails.

Good news, seems like a reasonable solution as I had suggested a while back. Glad to see that!

No draft. No military service. No discipline or standards. Plus poor parenting.
And that's what we have.


P Wrote:
> I don't think this is an indictment of Amtrak as I
> think these types of people exist on a larger
> scale in our society everywhere. It is the
> result of a generation that has grown up being
> told that the rules of society no longer apply.
> There are no rules, morals, ethics, code of
> conduct, dress code, etc etc anymore.

Ha!!
That's not "Wine and Cheese"... that's a Lunchable!!
Sheesh. Very deceptive headline for this thread.

Of course, I'd guess this was their solution to binging "wine and cheese" back to the Starlight. Pre-packaged offerings rather than a real sampler with a couple of nice vintages and various cheeses... that would probably go by handfuls into purses and the pockets of gym shorts anyway.
Danny Harmon
Tampa

A couple weeks ago when I rode the southbound Starlight I was happy to hear the announcement from the Parlor Attendant, that the wine tasting was back (albeit with a $7.50 charge). I promptly paid and got my reservation for 2. After SLO when the Parlor Attendant called for the wine tasting, I was worried about getting a seat, because I took about 5 minutes to make my way back to the Parlor Car...

Turns out I was the only one to pony up the $7.50 each, and we got extra "personalized" service. I even ponied up the extra $5 something for the cheese and cracker platter (which was not included in the price)...

I had a great time, and it surprised me how cheap the sleeper passengers were being. However it was also a "strange crowd" on that particular train in the sleepers, with a lot of kids, and others (this is going to sound really elitist of me) that "didn't seem to usually buy sleeper accommodations"...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/14 04:20 by ats90mph.

ats90mph Wrote:
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> A couple weeks ago when I rode the southbound
> Starlight I was happy to hear the announcement
> from the Parlor Attendant, that the wine tasting
> was back (albeit with a $7.50 charge). I promptly
> paid and got my reservation for 2. After SLO when
> the Parlor Attendant called for the wine tasting,
> I was worried about getting a seat, because I took
> about 5 minutes to make my way back to the Parlor
> Car...
>
> Turns out I was the only one to pony up the $7.50
> each, and we got extra "personalized" service. I
> even ponied up the extra $5 something for the
> cheese and cracker platter (which was not included
> in the price)...
>
> I had a great time, and it surprised me how cheap
> the sleeper passengers were being. However it was
> also a "strange crowd" on that particular train in
> the sleepers, with a lot of kids, and others (this
> is going to sound really elitist of me) that
> "didn't seem to usually buy sleeper
> accommodations"...

I rode recently with my wife and five kids on the Starlight in two bedrooms and a roomette. Yours wasn't the same run because three or four other couples bought the wine tasting with us. There were other kids in the sleepers too - lots of grandparents with grandkids from what I could tell. We were there on Guest Rewards Points, one of the benefits of frequent riding of Amtrak in the NEC.

I agree the comment up thread that they should do a beer tasting too ... maybe in the Pacific NW portion of the trip, or maybe as a complementary offering.

Narr8rdanny Wrote:
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> Ha!!
> That's not "Wine and Cheese"... that's a
> Lunchable!!

I think you nailed the description. Looks like a forgettable experience to me (or maybe it is unforgettable not in the best way).