"Annabel Smyth" wrote in message
...
Arthur Figgis wrote to uk.transport.london on Wed, 29 Sep 2004:

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:30:19 +0100, Annabel Smyth
wrote:

Well, it's not free, as it's about the only reason to pay a huge premium
for travel in First Class! Me, I'd rather pack a sandwich and sit in
Economy.

The huge premium was about a tenner last time I travelled first. It
can be worth checking the foreign prices as well as the UK ones, and
if you are lucky special offers can make first similar to steerage.

Oh, I didn't know that - maybe I will check. But mostly we go on the
Shuttle, anyway.

You also get better seats (2+1) (and a newspaper). You don't get let
into the lounges unless you have the right sort of first class ticket,
which I think is a bit rude.

It is, rather. Still, I suppose the poor business travellers on
expenses feel they need to be sheltered from the oiks.
--
But the "right sort" of First - Premium First - is set at quite a premium
(rather appropriate given the name!) - when we went to Paris from Ashford
earlier this month we paid about £130 each in normal First Class, whilst the
cheapest in Premium First was a smidgin over £500! I suppose you could
compare it to airlines - with First being the equivilant of business class
(albeit rather cheaper than on an airline!).

I personally think the little bit extra for First is very worthwhile - you
don;t have to queue for your food and drink (and there appear to be no
limitations on how much you can drink), the seats and seat-pitch are larger
and more comfortable, and most appealling of all, you are very unlucky if
you have to put up with a screaming baby next to you for the whole journey.

Of course there are disadvantages as well - mostly for those joining at
Ashford, who tend to miss out on their free class of champagne and are lucky
if their starter arrives before everyone else has finished their dessert.

Robert

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 1.4...
Annabel Smyth ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Well, it's not free, as it's about the only reason to pay a huge premium
for travel in First Class! Me, I'd rather pack a sandwich and sit in
Economy.

Last time I went on Eurostar (to Brussels), it was actually *cheaper* to
go
first than economy for the train times we wanted.

I went Eurostar to Brussels in March 2003 and booked a cheap ticket. Around
£90-£100 return. Travelling out of Waterloo on a Friday around 10am.
Unintentionally I had booked a 1st class seat and got free papers, decent
food, wine and champagne on tap for the journey. Apart from the slowdown
around Ashford I have to say it really was a very pleasant journey. Can't
knock that!

M.

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 16:47:37 +0000 (UTC), "Johnson Family"
wrote:

(and there appear to be no
limitations on how much you can drink),

Unfortunately they did have a limitation on one trip where we got
stuck behind a fallen tree near Ashford for rather a long while...!

Coming back from Brussels recently I was quite surprised how few
business-looking passengers ate or drank anything - it was mostly us
holiday types who were pigging out.
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

In article , Arthur Figgis
] writes
On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 16:47:37 +0000 (UTC), "Johnson Family"
wrote:

(and there appear to be no
limitations on how much you can drink),

Unfortunately they did have a limitation on one trip where we got
stuck behind a fallen tree near Ashford for rather a long while...!

Coming back from Brussels recently I was quite surprised how few
business-looking passengers ate or drank anything - it was mostly us
holiday types who were pigging out.
Which is perhaps why they are proposing having some of the first class
for business and some for leisure travellers so the business can soberly
get on with their work and the leisure can make merry.
--
John Alexander,

Arthur Figgis ]) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

(and there appear to be no
limitations on how much you can drink),

Unfortunately they did have a limitation on one trip where we got
stuck behind a fallen tree near Ashford for rather a long while...!

Was it a limitation, or did they just run out?

Morton wrote to uk.transport.london on Thu, 30 Sep 2004:

"Adrian" wrote in message
.1.4...
Annabel Smyth ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Well, it's not free, as it's about the only reason to pay a huge premium
for travel in First Class! Me, I'd rather pack a sandwich and sit in
Economy.

Last time I went on Eurostar (to Brussels), it was actually *cheaper* to
go
first than economy for the train times we wanted.

I went Eurostar to Brussels in March 2003 and booked a cheap ticket. Around
£90-£100 return. Travelling out of Waterloo on a Friday around 10am.
Unintentionally I had booked a 1st class seat and got free papers, decent
food, wine and champagne on tap for the journey. Apart from the slowdown
around Ashford I have to say it really was a very pleasant journey. Can't
knock that!

Of course, it occurs to me that most times we go on Eurostar we are
changing at Lille (from where we have gone on to either Lyon or
Bordeaux), and at that time, they used to run packages so that you could
do this for £105 return, or some similar amount (actually, it was
cheaper to Bordeaux as there was a 10% discount the week I booked!).
So, had we tried to go first class, it would probably have cost over
twice as much!
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 26 September 2004

In article , Adrian
writes
Last time I went on Eurostar (to Brussels), it was actually *cheaper* to go
first than economy for the train times we wanted.

The last two times I went on Eurostar (one Brussels, one Paris, each
plus return) the cheapest solution was to book a package tour including
hotel (whether or not I actually stayed in the hotel room, though I did
in these cases). For both trips, the (different) package tour companies
threw in a free upgrade to first.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org
Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work:
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Annabel Smyth ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

Of course, it occurs to me that most times we go on Eurostar we are
changing at Lille (from where we have gone on to either Lyon or
Bordeaux), and at that time, they used to run packages so that you
could do this for £105 return, or some similar amount (actually, it
was cheaper to Bordeaux as there was a 10% discount the week I
booked!). So, had we tried to go first class, it would probably have
cost over twice as much!

Mebbe not. The Brussels trip I mentioned was about £120 return, first.

Clive Feather:
The last two times I went on Eurostar (one Brussels, one Paris, each
plus return) the cheapest solution was to book a package tour including
hotel (whether or not I actually stayed in the hotel room...)

So, in the spirit of companies that require you to use both halves of
a return ticket or else bill you for the higher one-way fare, we can
now expect people to be billed for the difference in cost if they fail
to check in at their booked hotel room. And then, later, if they fail
to *sleep* in their booked hotel room.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Don't try this at work."
-- Dennis Ritchie

My text in this article is in the public domain.

"Mark Brader" wrote in message
...
Clive Feather:
The last two times I went on Eurostar (one Brussels, one Paris, each
plus return) the cheapest solution was to book a package tour including
hotel (whether or not I actually stayed in the hotel room...)

So, in the spirit of companies that require you to use both halves of
a return ticket or else bill you for the higher one-way fare, we can
now expect people to be billed for the difference in cost if they fail
to check in at their booked hotel room. And then, later, if they fail
to *sleep* in their booked hotel room.

Quite a few "inclusive tours" didn't expect you to use the room which was
included.
--
Terry Harper, Web Co-ordinator, The Omnibus Society
75th Anniversary 2004, see http://www.omnibussoc.org/75th.htm
E-mail:
URL: http://www.terry.harper.btinternet.co.uk/