NYP to PVD on the Acela

My return back up to Providence on the 2250 was much nicer than my trip down to Philly. I headed up to New York on Saturday with some of my friends via NJ transit, and spent the night in midtown. I was able to get my upgrade processed via phone, so all I had to do was have them print my ticket when I checked in at the Club Acela in Penn Station. They collected my upgrade coupon at that point, and again, I mentioned that I would like some assistance with my bags. It turned out that our train was running about 10-15 minutes late, so we didn't get called down to board until about 12:05 pm, the scheduled time for departure. They called my name at the counter and I headed over to meet Maurice the redcap. Maurice had assisted me several times before and was very friendly. He brought us over to the escalator and sent us down to the platform, where we actually still had to wait a few minutes for the train to arrive. There were many people waiting for the train, so it looked like it would probably be sold out again.

Grilled Chicken Tandoori Ceasar Salad

When the train arrived, I was thrilled to see my favorite attendant step off the train for the departing passengers! I don't know her name, but she is a young woman and also works in conjunction with another woman. I snagged a single seat on the left hand side of the train, and before we left NYP, the car was full with just one seat open in a foursome to the right of me. I was not feeling 100% after a late night out in NYC the night before, so I stuck to non-alcoholic beverages. I was surprised to see that the menu was identical to the southbound menu from Wednesday. Since the small bites involved shrimp (I am allergic) and I didn't think the ribs were that great, I went with the grilled chicken tandoori ceasar salad again. It was excellent. The dressing was delicious with spicy hints of tandoori!

The attendants were amazing and came by to offer drink refills and newspapers on multiple occasions. They did come through with hot towels and a tray with a cup for tips right before we hit Providence, and I happily tipped them for their great job. The car was quite loud, though, and I was happy I head my headphones so I could chill with some music.  We were perfectly on time, and I detrained in Providence after another great ride on the acela.

Boston to Philly and back

Last weekend I had another opportunity to take a trip via train, this time down to Philadelphia to attend my little brother's college graduation. Since amtrak was running a special triple points promotion, I decided to take the regional up to Boston rather than boarding the Acela in Providence. This time, I visited the station at 7 AM in order to get myself a 12 hour upgrade to first class. Having obtained my ticket, I ran off to work for the morning.

I took the regional up to Boston that was running about thirty minutes late. I comfortably waited at the station in Providence, which is equipped with pretty fast wifi. When I boarded the 170, it was pretty empty and I grabbed a pair of seats to myself. The ride was quick and we were in Boston in about 45 minutes. Once I got to South Station, I head directly to the Club Acela. I checked in and let the attendant know I wanted assistance from a redcap. After waiting in the seats for a few minutes, Frank, the redcap came over. He took my suitcase and gave me a little card with his name on it. He also let me know that we would be boarding at 2:45 pm, which was 30 minutes prior to the train's departure time.

At exactly 2:45 PM Frank came back into the Club Acela to collect his charges. He led us out to the platform, which was being guarded by a gate agent. The gate agent let us through and we boarded the rear car of the train, where the first class car was. There was a male african-american attendant aged about 30 today who was the main interface with the passengers. He seemed stressed out when we boarded and mentioned to Frank that the train was completely sold out. I was glad I went up to BOS to board early! I snagged a single seat on the left hand side (ocean side)

Jack & Diet Pepsi with peanuts

Rib Dinner

The service left something to be desired today. We all had drink orders taken before we left BOS, and the train kept getting more crowded at each stop we made. He didn't come by to take dinner orders until after we left PVD, at which point every single seat in the car was occupied. It was like pulling teeth to get drink refills, and they ran out of the dish I wanted for dinner. I got the ribs rather than go hungry. They were OK.

Right outside of PVD, we stopped for about half an hour. Apparently there was a problem with the pantographs which was announced by the conductor. The staff did a great job of letting us know exactly what was going on during the delay, and I was very impressed by that. We arrived late into NYP, and the car almost completely cleared out. I think I was one of only three people continuing farther south. The attendant came by to take food orders again after we left, and he seemed annoyed when I ordered the ceasar salad, which is what they had been out of during the first half of the trip. I told him I was getting off in Philly, and I had my food pretty quickly. I asked him for another drink and he eventually slammed down a plastic cup of bourbon on my table. The next thing I knew, we were in Philly and I was running off the train, almost nervous for a second that I was going to miss the stop.