Arline

If the train is crowded or whatever in 2nd class on an Italian train, can we upgrade to 1st and pay the difference once we are on board, assuming there's room of course? Also, if there are many departing trains during the day to our specific destination, and we have reserved a space on a certain train and miss it, will we have a problem being able to use our tickets for a subsequent train? (We have 2nd class tickets now for the train, but they're not dated and only have an expiration date. Does this mean, by the way, that we have to get in line at the train station when we arrive and "process" our tickets, or can we just board the train upon our arrival? We will be under a tremendous time hack when arriving at the train depot in order to attempt to catch the most convenient train.)

terrell

<BR>I believe it is no problem to upgrade. However, it is a good idea with 1st class tickets on popular routes to reserve seats. Trains can get crowded. With your tickets, just hop on board. You need no further check in. In fact, you can get on an off the train between your beginning city and terminus (we explored Ovieto this way). Except for your seat reservation, tickets are good on all trains of the same class. Remember you may have to pay more (supplemento) for the faster trains. We've done two Italian rr vacations and have found everyone very helpful. Train stations have baggage checks, taxis and tourist info. Don't you wish we had that in the U.S.?

Monica

Check with Rail Europe (1-800-438-7245). They should be able to help you with your questions. I don't believe you can change your tickets from 2nd to 1st class once on board the trains. When I was in Italy in May, I purchased my tickets in advance to go from Rome to Naples. They were for 2nd class. They already had our seat assignments marked on them. However, our tickets from Venice to Milan were "open" 2nd class seats. We could pick seats anywhere in 2nd class. We purchased them in advance in Venice. We did give the dates/times we wanted to travel, which I knew in advance what our plans were.

monica

you can upgrade paying extra charge. <BR>tickets haven't got any date on them .before getting on a train pass your ticket through a machine that prints departure date on ticket.if you don't you may be fined.there is more than one machine along the platform. <BR>check your ticket expiry date at station. <BR>have fun

Joyce

Yes, you definitely can upgrade to 1st from 2nd after boarding the train. We have done it. I don't think the fellow who was handling our upgrade really knew what he was doing, as he charged us an arm and half a leg for the upgrade but we were in no position to argue. However, if you have a seat reservation in 2nd, which we didn't and you don't always need, there is no need to worry. The only reason we were forced to do it was because I had gracefully managed to stumble off a sidewalk, severely sprained my foot and was unable to walk through the already crowded train which we were boarding in Pisa. The 1st class car was right there, the adjoining 2nd class was full, so we were forced to upgrade.