Train seating
May 6th, 2015, 08:55 PM
#1
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Train seating
I am booking 2 seats on a Frecciarossa train. Do most people book seats opposite each other or side by side? It seems more natural to me to be side by side to allow for easy conversation but perhaps a window seat each is better?
May 7th, 2015, 03:53 AM
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some folks just can't stand to sit going backwards - the scenes that is - and I strongly like to sit facing the front of the train.
Plus if you get two side by side seats then you don't hesitate to ask the other person if you need to get up and out - if it's your companion - get two facing window seats then you both have someone else sitting next to you and IME a bit hesitate to ask them to get u so you can get out...
Plus if you get two side by side seats then you don't hesitate to ask the other person if you need to get up and out - if it's your companion - get two facing window seats then you both have someone else sitting next to you and IME a bit hesitate to ask them to get u so you can get out...
May 7th, 2015, 06:22 AM
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Get two facing window seats if you are in First...no worries about people's legs or any of that "meet the locals" stuff.>
And that is a key for me in first class - rows with just one seat in each and they can face each other with a table in between - no bothering others or being bothered by others to get up and out, etc and an aisle and a window seat both for both! First class IME is a significantly more relaxed ride - usually there are many empty seats and you also get a free beverage and snack. For a general look at Italian trains and first and second class on European trains in general: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com
- Man in Seat 61 himself here on a thread a while ago talking about Italian trains said he 'was an aficionado of first class - first class may at times on discounted tickets be not much more than 2nd class and even though some here insist first class is not worth a single euro more than 2nd class IME I heartily disagree - there is a significant difference and if on the trip of a lifetime splurge a bit and go in a more relaxed way - also much easier IME to stow luggage as half the seats in first class are often empty - just put bags on a nearby empty seat, etc. 2nd class is typically much much fuller with more people in the same-sized train car less space for easily stowing baggage.
And that is a key for me in first class - rows with just one seat in each and they can face each other with a table in between - no bothering others or being bothered by others to get up and out, etc and an aisle and a window seat both for both! First class IME is a significantly more relaxed ride - usually there are many empty seats and you also get a free beverage and snack. For a general look at Italian trains and first and second class on European trains in general: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com
- Man in Seat 61 himself here on a thread a while ago talking about Italian trains said he 'was an aficionado of first class - first class may at times on discounted tickets be not much more than 2nd class and even though some here insist first class is not worth a single euro more than 2nd class IME I heartily disagree - there is a significant difference and if on the trip of a lifetime splurge a bit and go in a more relaxed way - also much easier IME to stow luggage as half the seats in first class are often empty - just put bags on a nearby empty seat, etc. 2nd class is typically much much fuller with more people in the same-sized train car less space for easily stowing baggage.
May 7th, 2015, 09:20 AM
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Sitting side by side staring at a seat back 6" from your nose isn't natural. They don't design restaurants or bars or lounges like that!
And why fight over who gets the window seat?
I always book face to face, that's so you can talk naturally, as you would in a restaurant, and you both get a window! And you can enjoy playing footsie, or at least, arrange your feet either side to stretch out.
In first class, a face to face table for two is perfect, you both get window and you both also get 'aisle'. The best or both worlds.
Going backwards is perfectly normal on trains, and as they ride smoothly on rails it's not a problem. Think cruise liner restaurant - half the diners are going backwards at 20 knots and nobody notices!
I find Americans obsess about facing forwards, those of us here in Europe are used to train travel and know it's not really a problem - even if we'd marginally prefer facing forwards on balance. ;0)
And why fight over who gets the window seat?
I always book face to face, that's so you can talk naturally, as you would in a restaurant, and you both get a window! And you can enjoy playing footsie, or at least, arrange your feet either side to stretch out.
In first class, a face to face table for two is perfect, you both get window and you both also get 'aisle'. The best or both worlds.
Going backwards is perfectly normal on trains, and as they ride smoothly on rails it's not a problem. Think cruise liner restaurant - half the diners are going backwards at 20 knots and nobody notices!
I find Americans obsess about facing forwards, those of us here in Europe are used to train travel and know it's not really a problem - even if we'd marginally prefer facing forwards on balance. ;0)
May 7th, 2015, 09:28 AM
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Sorry - many people - me included - easily become motion sick and there is no way I can ride sitting backwards on a train. Dramamine helps - but then I'm really sleepy the whole time and see nothing.
So we always get side by side seats. As for not being like a restaurant - tons of them have banquettes where the patrons sit side by side and usually this is more intimate that regular tables. Frankly I don;t like trains with tables - prefer airline type seating with pull down trays - unless it's the kind of train with first class compartments with plenty of room between you and other passengers.
So we always get side by side seats. As for not being like a restaurant - tons of them have banquettes where the patrons sit side by side and usually this is more intimate that regular tables. Frankly I don;t like trains with tables - prefer airline type seating with pull down trays - unless it's the kind of train with first class compartments with plenty of room between you and other passengers.
May 7th, 2015, 12:05 PM
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SOme people get annoyed by people talking loudly facing each other during a trip, it's kind of rude to impose your conversation on others in a public place IMO. You should read and/or listen to some music with earphones, and be quiet.
I like to face the direction I'm going and it isn't some silly "obsession" because I'm American. I enjoy the trip that way more, and physically I do sometimes notice the difference in my stomach.
Kind of odd for Man in Seat61 who is always touting how superior train travel is for the views to say your direction is irrelevant.
I like to face the direction I'm going and it isn't some silly "obsession" because I'm American. I enjoy the trip that way more, and physically I do sometimes notice the difference in my stomach.
Kind of odd for Man in Seat61 who is always touting how superior train travel is for the views to say your direction is irrelevant.
May 7th, 2015, 12:36 PM
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There's no way to guarantee you'll be facing forward on an Italian train. Many stations, including the main stations in Rome, Florence, and Venice, are pull in, back out stations, so the direction of travel changes every time you pass through one of these stations.
The best you can do is travel with someone who doesn't get motion sickness, get facing seats, and switch as necessary.
Palenq is getting ever more hysterical, and he doesn't know what he's talking about. His knowledge of Italy could be engraved on a pin head.
The people who ride first class in Italy are mostly business travelers on expense accounts (although even these are being restricted to 2nd class lately) and foreign tourists who have been sold a bill of goods about how awful 2nd class is.
I never said I wouldn't pay a penny more for first class. I have often chosen first class when a good discount brings the price down to the vicinity of 2nd class. I did say I wouldn't pay a penny more for "Premium" class, but Palenq doesn't know the difference between that and first class.
First class in Italy (although not in some other European countries) is vastly overpriced. It's not worth the extra money, and I stand by that.
The best you can do is travel with someone who doesn't get motion sickness, get facing seats, and switch as necessary.
Palenq is getting ever more hysterical, and he doesn't know what he's talking about. His knowledge of Italy could be engraved on a pin head.
The people who ride first class in Italy are mostly business travelers on expense accounts (although even these are being restricted to 2nd class lately) and foreign tourists who have been sold a bill of goods about how awful 2nd class is.
I never said I wouldn't pay a penny more for first class. I have often chosen first class when a good discount brings the price down to the vicinity of 2nd class. I did say I wouldn't pay a penny more for "Premium" class, but Palenq doesn't know the difference between that and first class.
First class in Italy (although not in some other European countries) is vastly overpriced. It's not worth the extra money, and I stand by that.
May 7th, 2015, 12:59 PM
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so at least muy point was there is a difference between classes not just "a few inches of seat" as you previously said and that is all I am quibbling with - there are a lot of differences besides "a few inches of seats" as I have pointed out as does Man in Seat 61 and anyone who knows anything about trains in Europe, Italy or Lichtenstein!
And yes on the trip of a lifetime splurge and go first class for a much more relaxed ride IME (but not in bvienci's who a few days back says where she lives she rarely rides any high speed trains!
And yes on the trip of a lifetime splurge and go first class for a much more relaxed ride IME (but not in bvienci's who a few days back says where she lives she rarely rides any high speed trains!
May 7th, 2015, 03:36 PM
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Palenq, you are misquoting me again!!! I said I don't often ride Frecciarossa trains because they don't come near where I live. However, I'd bet that I've used them far more often than you have.
The more you talk the more you reveal your ignorance about Italian trains.
For the 20th time, Frecciarossa trains don't have 1st and 2nd class anyway. They have four classes, and the two classes that have seating that differs in the slightest from the lowest class cost 50% or 125% more than Standard class, the cheapest. A real rip-off.
I do ride other types of high-speed train, such as the Frecciargento and the Frecciabianca, quite frequently. I was on a Frecciargento train just yesterday. I had two seats to myself on the way to Venice and was in a half-empty carriage on the way back, both times in 2nd class. There are no Frecciarossa trains on the line to Venice, by the way.
The only value I would get out of 1st class is a few inches of seat (3 to be exact) and a few inches of legroom (2 to be exact). Nothing else they offer has any value for me, not the single seats (which are not at all guaranteed), not the Sole 24 Ore newspaper, and certainly not the "free" beverage that I would have just paid 20 euros for.
The more you talk the more you reveal your ignorance about Italian trains.
For the 20th time, Frecciarossa trains don't have 1st and 2nd class anyway. They have four classes, and the two classes that have seating that differs in the slightest from the lowest class cost 50% or 125% more than Standard class, the cheapest. A real rip-off.
I do ride other types of high-speed train, such as the Frecciargento and the Frecciabianca, quite frequently. I was on a Frecciargento train just yesterday. I had two seats to myself on the way to Venice and was in a half-empty carriage on the way back, both times in 2nd class. There are no Frecciarossa trains on the line to Venice, by the way.
The only value I would get out of 1st class is a few inches of seat (3 to be exact) and a few inches of legroom (2 to be exact). Nothing else they offer has any value for me, not the single seats (which are not at all guaranteed), not the Sole 24 Ore newspaper, and certainly not the "free" beverage that I would have just paid 20 euros for.
May 8th, 2015, 04:59 AM
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For the 20th time, Frecciarossa trains don't have 1st and 2nd class anyway>
Whatever class my first class pass gets me into is to me first class and that is anything above the highest 2nd class - trains havea 1 in a circle on them to indicate first-class cars do they not (no have not seen the newest of the new high-speed ETR technolocy trains) but I bet they have a 1 in a circle on the outside of cars that are first class - whatever first class or whatever you chose to call it that my pass lets me use is in my experience much more than the "few inches of extra seat and leg room" you keep saying is the only difference - that is what I call first class and that is anything I guess above Premium class.
You should express your opinion on what you find adequate but not IMO comletely distort the very significant difference between classes - and I am not the only one by far to feel so.
Locals have different views and needs on trains than do foriengers who yes are on the trip of a lifetime - another thing you have disdained in comments - and with a lot of luggage especially first class has significant benefits - you said before that first class is usually half-empty - well that is one key difference between it and a generally packed IME 2nd class.
I think you should be more objective and don't say the difference between classes is just a few inches of seat as you continually say is the only difference - that is far far off the mark and I think you know it - perplexed why you do it? Outline the differences and let the person make their own judgment - not distort and say you are foolish to even spend a few extra euros on first class.
Whatever class my first class pass gets me into is to me first class and that is anything above the highest 2nd class - trains havea 1 in a circle on them to indicate first-class cars do they not (no have not seen the newest of the new high-speed ETR technolocy trains) but I bet they have a 1 in a circle on the outside of cars that are first class - whatever first class or whatever you chose to call it that my pass lets me use is in my experience much more than the "few inches of extra seat and leg room" you keep saying is the only difference - that is what I call first class and that is anything I guess above Premium class.
You should express your opinion on what you find adequate but not IMO comletely distort the very significant difference between classes - and I am not the only one by far to feel so.
Locals have different views and needs on trains than do foriengers who yes are on the trip of a lifetime - another thing you have disdained in comments - and with a lot of luggage especially first class has significant benefits - you said before that first class is usually half-empty - well that is one key difference between it and a generally packed IME 2nd class.
I think you should be more objective and don't say the difference between classes is just a few inches of seat as you continually say is the only difference - that is far far off the mark and I think you know it - perplexed why you do it? Outline the differences and let the person make their own judgment - not distort and say you are foolish to even spend a few extra euros on first class.
May 9th, 2015, 03:47 AM
#17
I like window seats and usually book opposite each other, but either choice will still allow conversation. You used to see people across from each other to play cards. Not so much now as everyone is on their phone or tablet these days.
Here's a picture of 2nd class on a Frecce train to give you an idea of the space and table widths. The tables have leaves that flip out.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ssainterno.jpg
If this is a short trip such as Rome/Florence, Rome/Naples, etc., it's not going to matter much about the seating. You will have barely settled in and relaxed before it's time to gather your things to get off.
Here's a picture of 2nd class on a Frecce train to give you an idea of the space and table widths. The tables have leaves that flip out.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ssainterno.jpg
If this is a short trip such as Rome/Florence, Rome/Naples, etc., it's not going to matter much about the seating. You will have barely settled in and relaxed before it's time to gather your things to get off.
May 9th, 2015, 05:48 AM
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don't expect any 2nd class train car to look like that promo photo kybourbon always drags out - put people in every seat and bags all over plus that is the very newest train car - very misleading IME of what to expect in 2nd class - why not show a more realistic photo?
May 9th, 2015, 07:39 AM
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It seems more natural to me to be side by side to allow for easy conversation but perhaps a window seat each is better?>
Back to the original question - I like sitting side by side with folks I know because then to get out of a seat you need not bother strangers - with both in one row you only bother each other - plus I like many love to sit as the train goes forward!
Back to the original question - I like sitting side by side with folks I know because then to get out of a seat you need not bother strangers - with both in one row you only bother each other - plus I like many love to sit as the train goes forward!
