kctraveler09

I am having too many difficulties with the Eurostar site to book our R/T London-Paris tix. Going to attempt Rail Europe (prices seem to be the same at this moment in time). Does anyone know if you can make seat selections on Rail Europe site like you can on Eurostar's website?

Can you change seat assignment after tickets have been purchased?

Many thanks.

PatrickLondon

What's the problem with the Eurostar site?

alanRow

At a guess getting it accept the card

PalenQ

Well for any RailEurope product I suggest calling Byron at BETS 800-441-2387 - a RE agent with RE pricing you can talk to and request the type of seating you want and IME of buying railpasses from him for years a real expert. That said if you can select your seat on eurostar.com the price could be cheaper perhaps. Very few folks have reported any real problems with booking on eurostar.com in the past. Perhaps call you credit card issuing bank and alert them of a foreign transaction - could be as a security measure they are blocking foreign transactions - before going to Europe I always call my bank and tell them exactly what countris I am going to and never had a problem.

kctraveler09

Yes, the Eurostar issue I assume is the credit card one. I have tried 2 different cards, both preauthorizing with the credit card companies and jumping through the extra layer of security (Mastercard secure code) that Eurostar uses. Still I get rejected and Eurostar continues to place "holds" on my credit card for the amount of purchase but then sends me emails saying the transaction is rejected. So very frustrating....

I did finally see a note on the rail europe site that they "try to get seats together" but I can't select seats. This is just not acceptable to me as we are traveling with small children. At this point, I think my only option is going to a travel agent. @PalenQ, thanks for the recommendation....

Weekender

The owner of Paris/London Perfect travels between the two cities regularly and these are her tips from the Paris Perfect blog:


"Choosing Your Seats
You can change your compartment and seat after you've confirmed your train time. Definitely change your seating. If the train is full, taxi queues can be very long, so you'll want to be at the ‘right' end of the train.

Beat Seats London to Paris
Switch to any of the cars from car 14 to 18 as they are closest to the exit. Car 14 has electric sockets and don't forget an adaptor for your plug. Computers are always 110/220 but watch out if you are thinking of recharging your camera or other small appliance as you may fry it.

Best Seats Paris to London
The closest compartment to the exit is Car 1. Car 5 is good because it has the electric plugs."

PalenQ

I have often changed my seats on Eurostars Paris to London after the train departs but more and more these trains are more full - sometimes all full - and check to make sure the train does not stop at Lille-Europe or Calais-Frethun or some place in England en route as those empty seats may be reserved from there. But many Eurostar trains only stop perhaps at Lille-Europe.

PalenQ

Due to the Byzantine Eurostar fare structure , with x number of seats at $XXX and then up a tier of limited in number higher fares, etc. sometimes I have found that a first-class leisure or senior or whatever fare may be marginally more expensive than the cheapest standard (2nd) class leisure fare - and if anywhere close IMO opt for first class as IME there is a significance difference between classes on Eurostar trains - seats are much much bigger - if tall or immobile or obese, etc this could make for a much more relaxed ride - 2nd class seats are smaller than the average European train, due I believe to the fact that Eurostar train sets are thinner - originally designed so to fit within narrower British train bridges (a factor before the new High Speed line in England was oepn but the old train sets mainly remain until the new German-designed and built Eurostar train sets take over in the next few years perhaps) - anyway second class IME is rather cramped - not unlkike an airline coach seat. And in first class you get a full meal with beaucoup wine or champagne gratis with the fare - at your seat as well as priority boarding.

kctraveler09

Thanks all for the info. Right now for the trains we want the fares are significantly different. I was able to get the carre that I wanted for my family in a good carriage close to front of train. Now if May can just get here so we can leave on the holiday!

PalenQ

ktraveler - curious as to what you paid?

thanks

kctraveler09

PalenQ - My tickets were around $450 US total for R/T London-Paris for 2 adults, 1 youth and 1 child

PalenQ

thanks - sound like you got a good deal! 6 trips for about $70 a trip!