Eurostar - They Just Moved Europe 20 Mins Nearer

Advantages: More than just travel details
Disadvantages: Oh God! He's a train spotter!

...REVISED (19/10/03) TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SECTION OF HIGH SPEED LINE IN KENT. I thought I?d already written about Eurostar, but that was a trip to Brussels, so I won?t be forced to resurrect it. With the first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) open (since 28th September), this seems like as good a time as any to take stock, as I?ve now been to Brussels three times and Lille twice (yesterday being the last time. We went there for lunch at ?À L?Huitrière?* ? ?550 for four! Decadent? Moi?). *probably the best meal I?ve had in living memory, but I digress. Sorry, Paris lovers, you can take the place and stick it ?where the sun don?t shine?. If I wanted to get insulted and generally sh*t on, I could stay in London, where at least I?m somewhat more fluent in the local language. On the subject...

BNibbles 30.08.2003 (19.10.2003) · Read review
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frequent travellers guide to eurostar

Advantages: Hassle free, can change the ticket once
Disadvantages: Cheaper from france than UK, time consuming

...I am currently living in France and thus have to travel quite frequently between the two countries. I have used eurostar for the majority of my journeys, but this is mainly because it is usually cheaper than flying. It is a convenient way to travel, very comfortable and doesn't take an excessive amount of time considering that a train journey within Britain can take just as long as the London to Paris crossing! Checkin is conveniently short, although the staff do get unnecessarily arsey with you if your connecting train is delayed and you happen to arrive a few minutes later than the usual 20 minute checkin. However, the short checkin means that it can be just as quick to go on the Eurostar as it is to fly, and if your luggage gets lost then it can only be your own forgetfulness that is at fault! The price discrepency between buying...

NATI 14.02.2001 · Read review
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Don't use Eurostar - fly instead!

Advantages: Paris Nord train station is well situated and convenient
Disadvantages: unreliable online booking service, high prices, poor customer service

...I would not recommend Eurostar to anyone who values good customer service, value for money or reliability. I was looking forward to my journey having heard good things from friends and family. Having booked my tickets online a few weeks in advance and received instructions to collect my tickets at the train station on the day of travel, I did this and was then told my credit card hadn't been debited and the tickets had been cancelled just days before we travelled. Despite having provided both my mobile number and email address on the form, I was not notified that this problem had occurred and was forced to purchase tickets at a much higher price on the day of departure. Had I been notified I could have come in to the Paris Nord station and paid for them in person, as I was staying nearby. All my efforts to seek compensation...

JGramp 13.07.2008 · Read review
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eurostar my ass

Advantages: Reliable
Disadvantages: expensive

...ok then maybe my title is a bit unfair but Eurostar isn't all it's cracked up to be! Yes, it's realible, yes, it's a quick, but having the choice again I think i'd take a plane! My boyfriend treated me to a weekend in paris this valentines and i was thoroughly looking forwards to it! He said we would be taking the eurostar which i had never been on before. When i stepped on we found our seats. The seats were basic enough, but didn't contain that much legroom and personally i didn't find them that comfortable. However it wasn't going to be a long journey i thought so off i went to the canteen to get a snack for both of us. Nearly an HOUR later i returned to my boyfriend!!! I went to the canteen as soon as the train started but everyone else must have thought there would be a queue too and did the same! The staff in the canteen made...

carinajones 18.03.2003 (28.03.2003) · Read review
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Using the Eurostar to travel to France

Advantages: Quick journey times, comfortable, excellent customer service, internet booking
Disadvantages: the pricing system

...I have used Eurostar several times to travel into France. Overall I would absolutely recommend travelling by Eurostar to visit France, whether for a short weekend break, a business trip or a longer holiday. It is a quick and comfortable way of travelling and although perhaps slightly longer than an equivalent flight, if you add on the time it takes to check in and pick up baggage the other end in an Airport, the Eurostar compares very well with flying with regards to time. Also, if you are in any way scared of flying (which I am!) it is a great alternative to having to board a plane, and is a lovely stress-free way to travel. I have used Eurostar to travel to Paris, Lille and Avignon and each time have been impressed with the speed, comfort and customer service. You can get to Lille in just 1 hour 45 minutes from London Waterloo...

tamar01 16.02.2004 · Read review
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An Ear Popping Experience

Advantages: fast, frequent trains, affordable when booked in advance
Disadvantages: trains getting a little tatty, legroom, limited stations

...The other weekend a friend and I went to Brussels for a day to do some Christmas shopping and visit their Christmas market. We had booked our Eurostar tickets way back in September. I had voted for Brussels in December rather than Paris for my birthday in October (mainly due to the fact that I cannot stand Paris - well, Paris is kind of alright, it's the Parisians I have a problem with). Living just inside the M25 motorway in the north, I was highly delighted when in November the Eurostar terminal changed from Waterloo International to St Pancras International. It was a long time coming but finally the UK got its fast track to the continent. Booking Eurostar Tickets There are a number of ways to book tickets for the Eurostar service. We had opted for the official Eurostar website where we scoured the 'special offers...

Tempus_Fugit 23.12.2007 · Read review
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Foreign Travel

Advantages: Convenient, cheap, quick
Disadvantages: None

...The Eurostar is a high speed railway passenger service connecting London with France and Belgium. All its trains cross under the English Channel via the channel tunnel, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel. The official opening took place in May 1994. In England the train has stops in Ashford, Kent and St Pancras London, in France, Pairs and Lille with some stops at EuroDisney and in Belgium, Brussels. To me, this train is just a fantastic way to get to Europe, a different choice from the ferry or flying and one that it convenient, quick and quite fun in my opinion. I have actually only been on the Eurostar once but am going on it again to Paris at the weekend. My first and only experience so far was a very good one. Firstly I found booking on the Eurostar very easy. I used their website at Eurostar.com which is easy to use...

Spottydog11 08.09.2009 · Read review
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Champagne «:u:» «:n:» «:d:»«:e:» «:r:»The Sea!

Advantages: Quick, Easy and Oh So Comfortable In First Class!
Disadvantages: Trains Are Getting On A Bit, Not As Romantic As The Ferry, Queues At Paris End.

...Ah, the Eurostar, the last word in state of the art travel within Europe. The Boyfriend telephoned his little brother living in a remote part of Spain and explained that we would be travelling to Paris on a high speed train which would, via a tunnel under the sea, deliver us in luxury from London Waterloo to the Gare Du Nord in Paris. After something of a pause his little brother said sweetly ?Yeah?. I don?t believe you.? And, even now that we in the UK can reminisce about that night on the news when all the French and English engineers met in that dusty tunnel under the sea, refer to ?taking the chunnel? and expect it to be part of holiday packages and business trips, the whole thing is quite remarkable. Last time we went to Paris, we arrived at Calais by ferry. Having learnt from experience that the trip from London to Dover by rail...

Malibu_jenny 13.05.2007 · Read review
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Sex on wheels... and it lasts for three hours

Advantages: Fast, efficient, comfortable
Disadvantages: Still a bit expensive

...Fog In Channel, Continent Cut off... so ran a famous newspaper headline a half-century ago or so. And yes, there are still people who'd put it that way, as the rest of Europe cut adrift from this tiny island of waning significance on the edge of Europe. But at least these days, there's much less excuse. For now we have the sleek, shining glory that is the Channel Tunnel Eurostar service to show us, in its chic and efficient manner, just how easy it is to do the continental. Now, the Eurostar service has I think copped a fair amount of flak from problems with the tunnel in general. As far as I can tell, this is pretty unjustified. With the exception of one horrible journey home when storms flooded the whole of Northern France (not something even the railway services can really be held accountable for), I have nothing but praise...

ImogenW 02.04.2001 · Read review
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A journey of two halves

Advantages: Speed, convenience, pleasant UK facilities
Disadvantages: Delays, cost, unpleasant French facilities

...?That?ll teach you to bomb Iraq,? announced the French official at Lille Europe station, as he grudgingly switched the escalator from up to down to allow the weary British travellers to descend to the platform. He didn?t say anything of the sort, of course. But the mixture of pride and contempt in his voice as he said ?the service is exactly 18 minutes late? was anything but apologetic. His attitude only served to confirm the impression of Eurostar I built up during my brief encounter with the company. Their task seemed simple: to transport my family and me from Ashford in Kent to Lille so that we could transfer to a TGV service to Disneyland Paris, and to do the reverse three days later on our return. That this experience managed to combine delays, malfunctions, inconvenience and questionable customer care does not bode well...

Silverback 08.11.2003 (10.11.2003) · Read review
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