Moosey Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Quick question for anyone who's travelled by Eurostar please. We're off to Disney next month, by eurostar. Just wondering if anyone who's been on it can tell me... - What time should we get to St Pancras? I know with flights, it says ideally two hours before, but I always go for three, just to be safe. Eurostar says 30mins, so should I aim for say an hour, just in case there's any mad queues or anything? - Is there a lot of room on the trains for luggage, or should I be pegging it to the seat as soon as they announce boarding, so that I can get a space in the luggage rack? - Is the food on board extortionate? If anyone could answer that, or if there's any other advice, it'd be most appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Are you travelling during, or shortly after the Olympics? If so I would allow lots of time in case of delays at St Pancras. It will be very very busy as they are running high speed trains between there and Stratford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosey Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Are you travelling during, or shortly after the Olympics? If so I would allow lots of time in case of delays at St Pancras. It will be very very busy as they are running high speed trains between there and Stratford. Oops sorry should have said - definitely after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernboy Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 When we travelled by Eurostar a couple of years ago, the departure area was quite crowded with people sitting on the floor but the queues for checkin/passport control etc were not too bad. Luggage space on the train - generally insufficient, as with most trains! but no worse than on a regular British train. Likewise for on-train food. On the positive side, we had a comfortable and speedy journey and had a great time! Hope you enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expat owl Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Moosey, depending on the time of day that you are travelling I would say an hour before departure would be fine. There is generally plenty of room for luggage with areas at each end of the carriage and then overhead racks. In some carriages there is also space between the backs of the seats. Providing you aren't travelling with massive cases you should be fine to take your time and enjoy the experience. Food costs. Not sure what you class as extortionate but be prepared to spend £5+ on a bacon sandwich whilst a lasagne is, I think, about £8. Why not take a few of your own snacks with you?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs grissom Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Everything should be straight forward Moosey. We found no problems with luggage on the train ,only having a small wheeled 'cabin' style bag each. However, an American couple sitting near us had HUGE cases and were having major problems getting them on and off the train. Be prepared for more security at St Pancras. It's obviously more like an airport style passport check scenario . The one thing we didn't like was just how small the seats were on the train. Very little leg room and fold down aeroplane type trays that left little room to move and me and Mr G aren't big by any means. Having said that , lovely smooth journey , though it seems to take forever once you've 'surfaced ' on the French side so be prepared . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alternageek Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 EuroStar says you only need to be there a half hour before departure. We had no issues with security and they barely even looked at our passports. We only had one large suitcase with us and it was no issue for storage. I would suggest popping into the M&S across the way and grabbing some snacks, sandwiches to eat on your travels, though the on board catering car isnt too terrible cost and taste wise. The only troubles we had was getting to and from London! Travel on the EuroStar was HEAVEN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosey Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thanks guys - much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pb1977 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I was at St Pancras on Saturday, the que for the Eurostar was massive and this is people leaving the UK. Next month will still be the school holidays, I personally wouldn't turn up 30 minutes before departure during the busy school summer holiday period. I'd say an hour to 90 minutes to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FANAdeLdF Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 EuroStar says you only need to be there a half hour before departure. The turnstiles before you get to luggage and passport control only open about 90 minutes before departure. They do this so that the waiting room doesn't get too crammed I suppose. Good to bear in mind when booking your transport there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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