[djplong]

I've taken the Auto-Train several times since 1990, the last time being a trip to Florida this past July/August.

One clarification - many people have mentioned "roomettes" when they actually mean "bedrooms". There are five classes of accomodations on the Auto-Train.

1) Coach seat. That's what a basic ticket gets you.

2) Roomette. A VERY small room that sleeps two and does NOT have a bathroom.

3) Bedroom. This is the class of room that DOES have it's own shower in the airline-like private bathroom. A bit odd to get used to (taking a shower sitting down for the most part) but it works great.

4) Family Bedroom. This room sleeps 4, if two are smaller or are kids. It takes up the entire "end" on one of the lower levels of a Superliner coach. Note there is no private bathroom - you have to use one of the 'public' ones just outside the door.

5) Accessible Bedroom. This takes up the OTHER 'end' of the lower level of a Superliner coach and is designed for wheelchair-bound passengers and their attendant or helper.

You can reserve 2 bedrooms and have them create a 'suite' by opening the folding partition between two bedrooms - but there are very few of these and you'd have to reserve early. Obviously the cost is 2x a regular bedroom.

You also have to buy a ticket for your car.

That being said, it can be cheaper to take the Auto-Train than to fly.

My fiancee and I went to Florida for 10 days, planned well in advance. We priced the Auto-Train with 1st class bedrooms BOTH ways. The price was within $100 of flying down and renting a car for the same amount of time - it was the car rental price that shocked the daylights out of me. ...and the best airline price was from Southwest. If we 'reduced' the room to a 'roomette', it would have been cheaper to take the Auto-Train by a couple hundred dollars, cheaper still if we "went coach only".

I love the Auto-Train. As this is one of only two train routes on Amtrak that turns a profit, they put their best people on this train. The service has uniformly been outstanding. The comfort beats the heck out of the airports - again, provided you have the time. If I have the time, I will *always* take the Auto-Train over flying/renting.

Feel free to ask if anyone has any specific questions.