GiuliaPiraino

I am looking at two one way tickets from Paris to London on Eurostar leaving March 24 at 11:13am #9023 for $358 for "standard premier" on www.eurostar.com. This is the non-refundable fare for their premier class.

I am confused because I found the same journey #9023 at 11:13am on www.raileurope.com in what they are calling "comfort restricted 1st class" for $284. It also says on the raileurope website that the meal is for a fee whereas Eurostar's website says that standard premier gets a "light meal served to your seat" included in the fare. Could this be the price difference? I'm more interested in the seat comfort than the meal so if I could truly save a little money and get the same thing that would be great, but I want to make sure it's the same thing!

Is it possible this website has lower prices? Also they are calling it first class when Eurostar's website calls it "standard premier", can I assume it's the same thing just $74 less?

schnauzer

By tradition Raileurope is always more expensive, so for it to show cheaper, me thinks they are not the same. I know Eurostar have been changing their "classes", maybe Raileurope haven't updated theirs, thus you are looking at two different things.

I would do some further investigating and wait for some more responses from here.

Schnauzer

GiuliaPiraino

Thank you Shnauzer, I think I will call Raileurope in the morning and see what the deal is. If you look through their FAQ's, it does state the classes correctly as "standard premier" and "business premier" but it's not reflected in the actual booking process. Just trying to save a buck or two here!

PatrickLondon

"Comfort restricted 1st class" sounds like a contradiction in terms. Here's what Eurostar has to say, complte with seating plans:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/5wqfle3

For a 2-3 hour journey, seating in ordinary standard is perfectly OK (Eurostar tels you seat-widths and leg-room, and lets you choose your seat). I don't see any real advantage to anything based on getting onboard catering rolled up in the price. First class seating does have more space around you, but standard isn't exactly sitting on someone else's knee (and you can always get up and walk around - and at that time of the morning, there might well some vacant spaces to spread around into).

GiuliaPiraino

Yes, it does seem like a contradiction. Also looks like with Raileurope you cant select a seat when booking online but you can over the phone, so I guess I'll know tomorrow when I call them. I thought having a larger seat and less crowding would be nice since I'll have a squirmy baby on my lap. I thought it would be nice to have a duo with a table so we could sit across from eachother. Looks like in the standard coaches they have tables but they are for 4 people. Just thought it would be nice and less stressful!

nytraveler

"Comfort resricted" sounds like you have seats that won't recline - or are situatated in a corner or something.I'm sure these are not the same seats.

PatrickLondon

The seats around tables are not reserved for four people booking together, though they may well have got in there first. Nothing to stop you getting one if there's one free (and if the train is empty enough when you get on it, there's nothing to stop you moving to one if you want - be careful if it's stopping en route, though, as someone getting on later might have booked it).

avalon

And belive me the meal is not worth the extra cost! I've done both 1st and regular and there is not that much difference. You might look into booking a R/T sometimes that is cheaper than one way and you toss the ticket you don't need

flanneruk

There are just two kinds of seat on Eurostar.

Business Premier and Standard Premier use the same seats with the same legroom in a 2+1 configuration: the classes merely differ in things like 10 min vs 30 min checkin, the meals and the lounges.

Standard Class seats are 2+2, with less legroom and no frills.

That's it. Raileurope is babbling.

GiuliaPiraino

Flanneruk, Eurostar's website shows the seats are much larger and more spacious in first, maybe they've updated the seats because they changed the names of their classes, not sure but they're definitely not the same seats as in 2nd class.

GiuliaPiraino

Very interesting about Eurorail.com, I called them this morning and they said that the prices on the website are an estimate. You place your order and then someone processes your ticket, which she said takes 3-5 days and if that rate is available then you get it. If it's higher than what was on the web they contact you to proceed. So it could likely end up being close to the same as on eurostar.com and with them you don't get to choose your seat, the computer puts you as close together as possible. The agent on the phone quoted 316 for the same trip that's 284 online because of the web pricing. There's also a $27.50 fee to book online with them which is the only way you can get an assigned seat, which we prefer to choose ourselves.

As far as the name discrepancy regarding how they label the different classes, this is the response I got back from The Man in Seat 61:

"The meal is always included - no extra fee. 'Comfort restricted 1st class' is indeed Standard Premier. Buy from whichever system throws up the cheapest price - the fare starts at £107 each way per person at eurostar.com, which is what, about $155 per person, if you get the cheapest rate. Eurostar prices vary like air fares."

Never dealt with buying train tickets before, this is all new to me!