I've spent 75 hours on overnight Amtrak trips. I wish I had known 9 things before stepping aboard.

• I regret not knowing a few things ahead of my long-haul, overnight Amtrak rides in 2021 and 2025. • I spent 75 hours on Amtrak sleeper trains and noticed that time seemed to pass slowly on the rails. • I wish I knew internet service wouldn't be reliable, among other lessons I learned the hard way.

There were so many things I couldn't have predicted about sleeper train travel before taking my own overnight ride.

In October 2021, I booked a round-trip ride between New York City and Miami on Amtrak's overnight sleeper train for the first time. In total, I spent 60 hours on the rails.

On the way to Miami, I spent 30 hours in a $500 roomette accommodation, a 20-square-foot enclosed private space with a foldout table, two chairs that fold out into a bed, and an additional bed that pulls