Done this route 4 times now, twice each way. WIll be doing a 5th in october, but as I'm based in Hamburg, which is quite far away, opted for a flight back from England this time. Always traveling in Standard Premier, the light meal service, free drinks (including wine) and spacious seats are just really good. Business Premier gets a bigger meal and lounge access, but is not worth the money I'd say. It's more for people who accumulate points via Eurostar Club and get an upgrade.
Biz Prem is that fixed priced you showed, it never changes, £287 and is full flexible and refundable with lounge access and a better meal. Oh and fun fact the e320 trains are actually 2x 8car units perma-fixed together. Each end coach has a different unit number. Great video mate 🙏🏻
Cheers mate, I don’t think I’ll be writing any postcards 😂 but it’s doing ok. Didn’t know that Business Premier is a fixed price - probably just business people and successful RUclipsrs in there most of the time then 😉
@@NonstopEurotrip E* considers itself more an airline than a rail operator. So in time to come I would expect to see Biz Premier sold at varying rates (as airlines now do for their business classes).
Yes, got to admit I thought it would be busier. Last time I used it in 2019 it was packed! Glad you enjoyed the ‘Folkestone fence’ and railway sidings! Sorry, it was the only bit of footage I had coming out of the tunnel! Cheers Matt 😊
I’ve only done the Eurostar once in 2007 and it was London to Brussels! It was great obviously no brexit then and no queues atall! Walk straight thru and onto the train! Great video mark
I’ve done it to Paris there and back before. Last time was 2019. I need to get over to Amsterdam though at some point so I’ll definitely be on it again. Cheers Dan 😊👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip it seems like a great service I still get the emails with the cheap tickets! But the only issue for me is getting to London! The trains in the uk are a joke I can fly to another country and get a couple weeks worth of trains and hotels for cheaper than a last minute ticket or anything under 12 weeks ticket
@@DanUnplanned You make a good point. E* starts to lose its advantages the further you are from London. In the 1990s it was intended that E* also operated direct from the UK regions. But it never happened even though a separate fleet of regional trains was built.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 it really doesnt matter how much they reduce there ticket coming from the north east is simply unaffordable on uk trains, i would NEVER ever book that far in advance to get a "reasonable" price when you can turn up to a station in spain or poland for example and pay a 10th (or probs more) of the cost a uk train is ON THE DAY of travel
Once again another very enjoyable watch and review. I’m with you, from what I saw I don’t see the need for Business Premier. Enjoy the delights of Standard!
Enjoyable video, thanks. We're doing this route (the other way around) on 6th Sept, so it was great to hear what you thought of it. My first impressions of the 'new' Eurostar 374s is that they don't have the 'cosy' feel of the earlier trains. We've decided to go Standard Premier. Your point about comparative value for money is true and very valid, but we just find the extra legroom useful in view of our height (my other half is 6' 2"). Plus we're connecting to an ICE to Cologne for an overnight stop (and on to Switzerland down the Rhine on an SBB train the following day for week's holiday in Luzern). Just fed up with the airport experience, so have decided to do the journey by train instead as part of the holiday. Love rail travel so have bought Swiss Travel Passes to explore one of our favourite countries.
Hi buzzukfiftythree, yes had the train been busier, I may have thought differently about standard premier, a bit(?). I’m not a fan of massively busy trains so will try and head to first class in the UK if I can afford it and I’m not particularly tall so never do too bad with leg room fortunately. The ICE to Cologne is superb, if you have the chance watch my earlier video on this where I did travel in first but in hindsight would buy a standard ticket next time and sit in the restaurant car! And if you get the chance whilst in Switzerland, do try the Bernina Express (another earlier video of mine) there’s some useful info on there about how to do it best (imo). Have a great time on your travels! 😊👍
It was pretty relaxing - probably helped by the low occupancy on this train. Did look smart though, yep and for less than £50 I’d definitely do it again. Cheers 😊👍
As a synth player growing up in the 80’s, Kraftwerk were a massive influence. Thanks for the comment, I don’t get many re: the music so I’m glad you liked it 😊🎹
Many years ago, I did Premier First on Eurostar and it was complete pants! The food was worse than the worst airline food. You're absolutely correct when you say the higher priced classes aren't worth it, and also about how far in advance you need to book to get anything like a decent ticket price. Pity you were filming out of the left hand side crossing the Medway valley. If you'd been the other side, you'd have got Rochester Castle (the most original Norman Castle Keep in the world) and the site on the Medway where most of Shorts flying boats took off on their maiden flights, including the Sunderland.
I keep thinking I must do the Eurostar again but the prices are constantly putting me off (I've got a £25 voucher kicking about somewhere as well!). Thing is, if you live in or near London, there are more options like earlier trains which can be cheaper. If you're miles away from the capital (like me), that necessitates an overnight stay and then it becomes cheaper to fly. It will always be that way unfortunately so it is (in my opinion) a very 'London-centric' service.
@@LetsMakeaTrip you can always send me the voucher! 🤣 I am right near London and, yes, there are many more options on timings. The downside where I am is that Eurostar seem very reluctant to restart stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford, and at Calais Frethun on the other side of the channel. I know of several business travellers around my area who've gone back to flying to Paris because it's more convenient again. But I stand by what I said - I'd only ever buy a standard ticket on Eurostar as there's no point paying for anything else because you get little more for it.
I got upgraded to Business Premier a couple of months ago as the carriage I was due to travel in had faulty air con. Access to the lounge was nice, food/service/booze was good on the train too. Would it have been worth £289 or whatever it was? No chance! I'd rather pay the £39 and go have a £250 slap up meal in Brussels, haha! When I came back, security was SLOW! I got there 55 mins before departure and it took the full 55 minutes to get through - got through by the skin of my teeth. They delayed the train by about 10 minutes so they could get the stragglers through so definitely worth getting there early if you do it again! Another good video, keep it up!
Cheers Dave. Yes I think I said to someone else I’d rather spend the difference in fare price between standard and business and have a fantastic meal (or three) in Brussels or wherever! Nice to get a free upgrade though - that kind of thing never happens to me. Being fairly quiet on this train, the security wasn’t an issue but yes I got there early as I had no idea how busy or not it was. Really poor experience in the departures hall though. No windows, no power. Drab.
Yeah, similar on my departure from London (before going to the lounge) - departures hall was absolutely rammed, just generally unpleasant and dark! Had a much more pleasant experience at Ebbsfleet when that was open. Not much help if you're coming from North London though!
@@daveheys2699 The bad news is that E* has said it will not be calling at its two Kent stations until *possibly* 2025 (owing to its financial problems).
Smashing video as always! I think the last time I went on Eurostar was in about 2009,before they had those nice looking newer trains. It was of course to the Birmingham New Street of France... Lille 😄
Haha, I hope I haven’t upset the residents of Lille! Mind you, I don’t think anyone in France subs to my channel anyway. Not sure why 🤷♂️ Gives me an idea that….
I liked Waterloo. Used it on my first Eurostar trip down to Paris. Reminds me of when I flew into the old Hong Kong Kai Tak airport and left from the new one. They shut all the roads one night and moved all the stuff between the two airports. An old KLM 747 combi that - great days 👍
@@alexmcwhirter6611 There was a red and white checker board type thing painted onto the side of a rock as I recall. Aircraft must have headed for that then turned 90 deg right to land. Went up there once - it was a great place for photos.
For the channel tunnel regulations of safety, for in case of evacuation, trains are like a double unit (of any europe high speed service: TGV (except Atlantique), ICE 3, AVE, Freciarossa 1000... ; about 200m in single, 400 in double) without intermediate cabs
Great video my friend , I noticed on the app I can’t chose seats so I guess that’s the norm , taking the wife as a surprise few days as never been in the Eurostar and never been to Brussels cheers 👍
Hello, thanks for the comment. Once you’ve completed the booking, you should be able to select different seats if you don’t like the ones they’ve allocated to you. Hope you both enjoy the trip 😊👍
Loved this one, Mark - Eurostar is such a fantastic, convenient service, good value for money if you plan ahead, and certainly beats the plane (unless you're flying out of London City, and even then it's a lot of work). I've taken Eurostar from London to Brussels (and back) and London to Paris. My daughter and a friend will be traveling via Eurostar to Amsterdam this week, then later on to Berlin via Deutsche Bahn. I've asked her to put together a video, but I'm not holding my breath.
Cheers David, I think LCY to BRU yep might be close time-wise but like you said, it’d still be a faff getting to and from the airports. I do like LCY though - easier than LHR though not much in terms of lounges 😐. I haven’t been to Amsterdam on Eurostar yet but am hoping to sometime soon. I hope your daughter has a good trip but yeh, if I asked my daughter to do a video she’d just say no 🤣
@@LetsMakeaTrip There has been no air service from LCY to Brussels or Paris for a number of years. It is true that LCY did offer an Antwerp service but it failed twice.
Not such "good value" this summer. Prices are very high owing to increased demand from air travellers defecting to rail (because of aviation's problems).
Usually the Premier passengers are in a separate seating area but the same type of seat the food service is better. Standard premier has a full meal served just not as good as premier . You can not use the premier lounge or fast boarding service on a standard premier ticket .
If I'm correct, then Standard Premier and Business Premier are the same coach, but with supposedly better food, more luggage and lounges in Business Premier. Although it's a hefty price to pay, apparently Standard starts from £78 return, Standard Premier from £199 return and Business Premier from £490 return!
Hi Matthew. Yes, you are correct with the standard return pricing. I must admit, I’ve never looked at the Business Premier return fare but if that’s the price, I can see why! That’s just eye-watering! I’d rather spend the money on a posh hotel/restaurant once I get there tbh. Cheers for the comment, Mark 😊👍
Yes mate, definitely the way to go if you live near London but, although as some have commented, it does get harder to justify, the further away from the capital you get. I guess that works the other way round too. For me, I have to get down to St Pancras early and take a later train, or go down the night before and stay over. Either way you’re looking at approx £100 min. I can fly from BHX for less than that. Btw, the trains are 2 x 8 units coupled together. Not sure if there are any longer ones. Maybe the commuter trains in the south?
Standard premiere over standard was just under £10 difference on your screenshot. Seems a no brainer for a slightly less crowded, comfier carriage imho.
Hi John, thanks mate and good to hear from you. I wasn't sure if you were having issues with it or not! I'll pop over the latest update for you anyway and thanks very much for the super thanks - very much appreciated!
Not correct. Business Premier has better, more upmarket catering to justify its higher price. Last May Eurostar said it was launching a summer menu for Business Premier, designed by chef Raymond Blanc OBE.
@@phild3657 No problem at all. The menus for Business Premier are revised from time to time and are normally created by a celebrity chef. The info is available online. As an aside Eurostar has been very busy this month owing to aviation's misfortunes. Some trains have been sold out in all classes... even Business Premier ! Trains to Amsterdam are especially busy as Eurostar will not be adding its fourth direct service until next month.
if your going from london to belguim you can get a ticket to any station in belguim with eurostar saves buying another ticket just to sau upur going to liege its inclded on a any belguim ticket
i also wanted to go from brussels to london for 3-4 days. What is the passport check like? How long does it take, or is it already checked on the train
Have to ask, does it have really bright inside lighting, the same as the LNER Azuma trains? It’s makes it feel like your sitting in a bright office and you can’t see anything at all when it’s dark outside
Hi Walter, hope you’re good. It’s definitely brighter than say the Avanti coaches though it’s not over the top. Good point about times when it’s dark outside. I haven’t been on Eurostar at night but in the tunnel part the coaches seem to retain the same brightness(?). Never really thought about it before, are some trains able to dim the lights when evening comes? I’d be really interested to find out if anyone on here knows.
Sam, I have absolutely no idea tbh! I’ve never seen it myself and wouldn’t fancy it either. Having said that, you can stand up on the WCML for longer than this and I bet that’s worse.
I so far have travelled on ICE, TGV, Frecciarossa/Frecciargento/Frecciabianca (in Italy), and on the High Speed railway in China, but I have yet to try the Eurostar. I'd love to try it though 😁. And keep in mind that now you can even take a train between Milan and London just by changing trains in Paris as Frecciarossa services now run between Milan and Paris and are over 1h faster than the TGV (different options rather than in Malta where we don't even have (we had in the past) a railway to begin with 😅
I didn’t know that about the Frecciarossa going from Paris now, might have to try that some day. When I went to Malta I did have a look first to see if there had ever been any rail network and yep, I did see there was something. Shame it’s long gone but I was fairly impressed by the number of buses (and the price). I went to China on he train once, just over the border. Unfortunately it was a bit of a wash out (literally) as the station had a flash flood and we had to wade back through to the train!
Indeed as Frecciarossa will be running within Spain from November under the Iryo brand. As an aside Frecciarossa is faster because it can use HS lines within Italy whereas SNCF's TGVs cannot.
@@enricomonti156 I imagine Trenitalia would like to operate such a route. However SNCF wouldn't be happy... especially as its current TGVs aren't permitted to use the HS lines within Italy. Maybe when TGV-M (the next generation of TGVs) enters service in 2024 we might see some changes.
That’s true yes. I’d travelled out by plane tbh. Being some way from London, it’s easier to fly out and come back on the Eurostar because otherwise, getting the cheapest fares can necessitate an overnight stopover in the capital. Hopefully, this may be alleviated once frequency of trains is ramped up. Cheers 👍
“Lille. It’s like Birmingham New Street, but with less platforms and in France”
That’s the voiceover I come back for 👍
Haha, thanks Johnny, good to know my poor attempts at humour aren’t wasted on you mate! Cheers 😂👍
Done this route 4 times now, twice each way. WIll be doing a 5th in october, but as I'm based in Hamburg, which is quite far away, opted for a flight back from England this time.
Always traveling in Standard Premier, the light meal service, free drinks (including wine) and spacious seats are just really good. Business Premier gets a bigger meal and lounge access, but is not worth the money I'd say. It's more for people who accumulate points via Eurostar Club and get an upgrade.
Well a quick and efficient service I have passed through St Pancras once very impressive building thanks for sharing your video
Thanks Myra. St Pancras is beautiful isn’t it, one of my favourite London termini 😊👍
Thank you . I’m going to Brussels next week
Biz Prem is that fixed priced you showed, it never changes, £287 and is full flexible and refundable with lounge access and a better meal. Oh and fun fact the e320 trains are actually 2x 8car units perma-fixed together. Each end coach has a different unit number. Great video mate 🙏🏻
Cheers mate, I don’t think I’ll be writing any postcards 😂 but it’s doing ok. Didn’t know that Business Premier is a fixed price - probably just business people and successful RUclipsrs in there most of the time then 😉
@@LetsMakeaTrip Another fun fact. I've never done it 😆
@@NonstopEurotrip E* considers itself more an airline than a rail operator. So in time to come I would expect to see Biz Premier sold at varying rates (as airlines now do for their business classes).
Will watch tomorrow mate, then will re-comment 🤓
I look forward it it 😊👍
Great video, Mark! Every time I thought of a question, you answered it a moment later 😊
Lol, thanks Maria. Glad I could help 😊
Thank you for this video 🤗
Excellent video as always Mark
Cheers Andrew, glad you enjoyed it 😊👍
Extremely lightly loaded train... Good to see Folkestone getting a shout out even if its brief!
Yes, got to admit I thought it would be busier. Last time I used it in 2019 it was packed! Glad you enjoyed the ‘Folkestone fence’ and railway sidings! Sorry, it was the only bit of footage I had coming out of the tunnel! Cheers Matt 😊
I’ve only done the Eurostar once in 2007 and it was London to Brussels! It was great obviously no brexit then and no queues atall! Walk straight thru and onto the train! Great video mark
I’ve done it to Paris there and back before. Last time was 2019. I need to get over to Amsterdam though at some point so I’ll definitely be on it again. Cheers Dan 😊👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip it seems like a great service I still get the emails with the cheap tickets! But the only issue for me is getting to London! The trains in the uk are a joke I can fly to another country and get a couple weeks worth of trains and hotels for cheaper than a last minute ticket or anything under 12 weeks ticket
@@DanUnplanned You make a good point. E* starts to lose its advantages the further you are from London. In the 1990s it was intended that E* also operated direct from the UK regions. But it never happened even though a separate fleet of regional trains was built.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 it really doesnt matter how much they reduce there ticket coming from the north east is simply unaffordable on uk trains, i would NEVER ever book that far in advance to get a "reasonable" price when you can turn up to a station in spain or poland for example and pay a 10th (or probs more) of the cost a uk train is ON THE DAY of travel
@@DanUnplanned I agree. It would have been better had E* operated those direct daytime trains from the regions. But alas that wasn't to be.
Very impressive and enjoyable as always. He puts a lot of effort into it and is well appreciated. Thanks so much.
Cheers Roger, thanks very much for the nice comments 😊👍
Great video, thanks Mark and take care and stay safe,cheers.
Cheers Simon, thanks for watching and commenting as usual. Much appreciated 👍😊
Once again another very enjoyable watch and review. I’m with you, from what I saw I don’t see the need for Business Premier. Enjoy the delights of Standard!
Yep, spend the money you've saved on an expensive present for the wife!
@@LetsMakeaTrip life hack!
E* considers itself more an airline...hence it's emulating airline business class with its top product. It also wants to woo the corporate customer.
I will be doing that same trip next April 2023, London-Amsterdam-Brussels-London can't wait.
Cheers Bill and have a good trip 😊👍
Brilliant, I'm off to Amsterdam next week via Eurostar so hoping to video the journey
You should! Have a great trip and let me know if you post-up the video. 👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip Hi there. My Eurostar report is up on my channel 😁 let me know what you think
Good to know this option and thank you for the coverage and good information, enjoyed , cheers 👍
Cheers Kcsnew and thanks for the kind words. 👍😊
Enjoyable video, thanks. We're doing this route (the other way around) on 6th Sept, so it was great to hear what you thought of it. My first impressions of the 'new' Eurostar 374s is that they don't have the 'cosy' feel of the earlier trains. We've decided to go Standard Premier. Your point about comparative value for money is true and very valid, but we just find the extra legroom useful in view of our height (my other half is 6' 2"). Plus we're connecting to an ICE to Cologne for an overnight stop (and on to Switzerland down the Rhine on an SBB train the following day for week's holiday in Luzern). Just fed up with the airport experience, so have decided to do the journey by train instead as part of the holiday. Love rail travel so have bought Swiss Travel Passes to explore one of our favourite countries.
Hi buzzukfiftythree, yes had the train been busier, I may have thought differently about standard premier, a bit(?). I’m not a fan of massively busy trains so will try and head to first class in the UK if I can afford it and I’m not particularly tall so never do too bad with leg room fortunately. The ICE to Cologne is superb, if you have the chance watch my earlier video on this where I did travel in first but in hindsight would buy a standard ticket next time and sit in the restaurant car! And if you get the chance whilst in Switzerland, do try the Bernina Express (another earlier video of mine) there’s some useful info on there about how to do it best (imo). Have a great time on your travels! 😊👍
Looked like a great, relaxing trip mate. Nice livery on the outside!
It was pretty relaxing - probably helped by the low occupancy on this train. Did look smart though, yep and for less than £50 I’d definitely do it again. Cheers 😊👍
Loved the tunes. Couldn't help but remind me of Kraftwerk's Trans-Euro Express.
As a synth player growing up in the 80’s, Kraftwerk were a massive influence. Thanks for the comment, I don’t get many re: the music so I’m glad you liked it 😊🎹
Another great trip and review! I’m thinking of taking this route early next year.
Thanks Phil. Yes I’ll definitely be doing it again - thinking about Amsterdam actually next 👍
Many years ago, I did Premier First on Eurostar and it was complete pants! The food was worse than the worst airline food. You're absolutely correct when you say the higher priced classes aren't worth it, and also about how far in advance you need to book to get anything like a decent ticket price.
Pity you were filming out of the left hand side crossing the Medway valley. If you'd been the other side, you'd have got Rochester Castle (the most original Norman Castle Keep in the world) and the site on the Medway where most of Shorts flying boats took off on their maiden flights, including the Sunderland.
I keep thinking I must do the Eurostar again but the prices are constantly putting me off (I've got a £25 voucher kicking about somewhere as well!). Thing is, if you live in or near London, there are more options like earlier trains which can be cheaper. If you're miles away from the capital (like me), that necessitates an overnight stay and then it becomes cheaper to fly. It will always be that way unfortunately so it is (in my opinion) a very 'London-centric' service.
@@LetsMakeaTrip you can always send me the voucher! 🤣 I am right near London and, yes, there are many more options on timings. The downside where I am is that Eurostar seem very reluctant to restart stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford, and at Calais Frethun on the other side of the channel. I know of several business travellers around my area who've gone back to flying to Paris because it's more convenient again.
But I stand by what I said - I'd only ever buy a standard ticket on Eurostar as there's no point paying for anything else because you get little more for it.
OMG 2 hrs & 5 minutes. That is the way to go.
Yep, city centre to city centre too!
I got upgraded to Business Premier a couple of months ago as the carriage I was due to travel in had faulty air con. Access to the lounge was nice, food/service/booze was good on the train too. Would it have been worth £289 or whatever it was? No chance! I'd rather pay the £39 and go have a £250 slap up meal in Brussels, haha!
When I came back, security was SLOW! I got there 55 mins before departure and it took the full 55 minutes to get through - got through by the skin of my teeth. They delayed the train by about 10 minutes so they could get the stragglers through so definitely worth getting there early if you do it again!
Another good video, keep it up!
Cheers Dave. Yes I think I said to someone else I’d rather spend the difference in fare price between standard and business and have a fantastic meal (or three) in Brussels or wherever! Nice to get a free upgrade though - that kind of thing never happens to me. Being fairly quiet on this train, the security wasn’t an issue but yes I got there early as I had no idea how busy or not it was. Really poor experience in the departures hall though. No windows, no power. Drab.
Yeah, similar on my departure from London (before going to the lounge) - departures hall was absolutely rammed, just generally unpleasant and dark! Had a much more pleasant experience at Ebbsfleet when that was open. Not much help if you're coming from North London though!
@@daveheys2699 The bad news is that E* has said it will not be calling at its two Kent stations until *possibly* 2025 (owing to its financial problems).
thank you for adding subtitles
I had you in mind today Zuuu1 when I was finishing it off 😊
@@LetsMakeaTrip thank you so much awesome video aswell btw
Smashing video as always!
I think the last time I went on Eurostar was in about 2009,before they had those nice looking newer trains. It was of course to the Birmingham New Street of France... Lille 😄
Haha, I hope I haven’t upset the residents of Lille! Mind you, I don’t think anyone in France subs to my channel anyway. Not sure why 🤷♂️ Gives me an idea that….
@@LetsMakeaTrip if anything you've made Birmingham seem a little more exotic! 😂
I did this trip a few years back. Well put it this way. I travelled Waterloo to Brussels Midi and a week later arrived back to St Pancras.
I liked Waterloo. Used it on my first Eurostar trip down to Paris. Reminds me of when I flew into the old Hong Kong Kai Tak airport and left from the new one. They shut all the roads one night and moved all the stuff between the two airports. An old KLM 747 combi that - great days 👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip It was the same scenario when the new MUC opened.
I flew into Kai-Tak. Can remember the dragon air prop place (from Beijing) turn sidewise to avoid the washing lines
@@colinbodger321 Yes landing at Kai Tak was one of aviation's best experiences.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 There was a red and white checker board type thing painted onto the side of a rock as I recall. Aircraft must have headed for that then turned 90 deg right to land. Went up there once - it was a great place for photos.
For the channel tunnel regulations of safety, for in case of evacuation, trains are like a double unit (of any europe high speed service: TGV (except Atlantique), ICE 3, AVE, Freciarossa 1000... ; about 200m in single, 400 in double) without intermediate cabs
Yes these trains are 2 x 8 coaches as Nonstop reminded me in one of the other comments. Cheers for the info 😊👍
Great video my friend , I noticed on the app I can’t chose seats so I guess that’s the norm , taking the wife as a surprise few days as never been in the Eurostar and never been to Brussels cheers 👍
Hello, thanks for the comment. Once you’ve completed the booking, you should be able to select different seats if you don’t like the ones they’ve allocated to you. Hope you both enjoy the trip 😊👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip I know my comment is much later than the video but having since booked with Eurostar , it was the same for me .
Def beats flying by a huge margin
Loved this one, Mark - Eurostar is such a fantastic, convenient service, good value for money if you plan ahead, and certainly beats the plane (unless you're flying out of London City, and even then it's a lot of work). I've taken Eurostar from London to Brussels (and back) and London to Paris. My daughter and a friend will be traveling via Eurostar to Amsterdam this week, then later on to Berlin via Deutsche Bahn. I've asked her to put together a video, but I'm not holding my breath.
Cheers David, I think LCY to BRU yep might be close time-wise but like you said, it’d still be a faff getting to and from the airports. I do like LCY though - easier than LHR though not much in terms of lounges 😐. I haven’t been to Amsterdam on Eurostar yet but am hoping to sometime soon. I hope your daughter has a good trip but yeh, if I asked my daughter to do a video she’d just say no 🤣
@@LetsMakeaTrip There has been no air service from LCY to Brussels or Paris for a number of years. It is true that LCY did offer an Antwerp service but it failed twice.
Not such "good value" this summer. Prices are very high owing to increased demand from air travellers defecting to rail (because of aviation's problems).
Eurostar is great but it was such a shame when they removed their UK domestic sales department. Now you have to pay full price to get to London
Usually the Premier passengers are in a separate seating area but the same type of seat the food service is better.
Standard premier has a full meal served just not as good as premier .
You can not use the premier lounge or fast boarding service on a standard premier ticket .
If I'm correct, then Standard Premier and Business Premier are the same coach, but with supposedly better food, more luggage and lounges in Business Premier. Although it's a hefty price to pay, apparently Standard starts from £78 return, Standard Premier from £199 return and Business Premier from £490 return!
Hi Matthew. Yes, you are correct with the standard return pricing. I must admit, I’ve never looked at the Business Premier return fare but if that’s the price, I can see why! That’s just eye-watering! I’d rather spend the money on a posh hotel/restaurant once I get there tbh. Cheers for the comment, Mark 😊👍
Great trip report
Thanks Luis, cheers mate!
Why you don't have as many subs as Geoff baffles me.
Haha, I obviously don’t have his sparkling wit and personality 🤣
Thanks
Looks a fantastic value trip, its definitely the way to go to Brussels IMO. Is there a longer train operating in the UK?
Yes mate, definitely the way to go if you live near London but, although as some have commented, it does get harder to justify, the further away from the capital you get. I guess that works the other way round too. For me, I have to get down to St Pancras early and take a later train, or go down the night before and stay over. Either way you’re looking at approx £100 min. I can fly from BHX for less than that. Btw, the trains are 2 x 8 units coupled together. Not sure if there are any longer ones. Maybe the commuter trains in the south?
Standard premiere over standard was just under £10 difference on your screenshot. Seems a no brainer for a slightly less crowded, comfier carriage imho.
I’ve given up on Kofi. Hope you get these 👍
Hi John, thanks mate and good to hear from you. I wasn't sure if you were having issues with it or not! I'll pop over the latest update for you anyway and thanks very much for the super thanks - very much appreciated!
I think the business ticket means its transferrable at no further cost. The meal and seats are the same 😁
Ah yep, cheers Phil. I know business get access to the lounge in the terminal as well which I should’ve mentioned. 👍
Not correct. Business Premier has better, more upmarket catering to justify its higher price. Last May Eurostar said it was launching a summer menu for Business Premier, designed by chef Raymond Blanc OBE.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 I stand corrected...thanks.
@@phild3657 No problem at all. The menus for Business Premier are revised from time to time and are normally created by a celebrity chef. The info is available online. As an aside Eurostar has been very busy this month owing to aviation's misfortunes. Some trains have been sold out in all classes... even Business Premier ! Trains to Amsterdam are especially busy as Eurostar will not be adding its fourth direct service until next month.
if your going from london to belguim you can get a ticket to any station in belguim with eurostar saves buying another ticket just to sau upur going to liege its inclded on a any belguim ticket
Vernon, thanks for the tip mate. I’ll bear that in mind next trip 👍
Could you do a flixbus from london to Ghent
Hadn’t thought of that one Uma. I will do another Flixbus so I’ll have a look. I was thinking of the Manchester to Paris direct coach at some point.
The e320 Class 374 I have to say are smooth, fast and quiet. Eurostar could order more Class 374 e320 and to replace the e300 Class 373.
Agree, a lovely ride. Like I said, it hardly felt like you were moving - at any stage of the journey too. Great train! 👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip I totally agree. 👍
E* has no funds to acquire more trains unfortunately.
i also wanted to go from brussels to london for 3-4 days. What is the passport check like? How long does it take, or is it already checked on the train
are seats reservation require?
Have to ask, does it have really bright inside lighting, the same as the LNER Azuma trains? It’s makes it feel like your sitting in a bright office and you can’t see anything at all when it’s dark outside
Hi Walter, hope you’re good. It’s definitely brighter than say the Avanti coaches though it’s not over the top. Good point about times when it’s dark outside. I haven’t been on Eurostar at night but in the tunnel part the coaches seem to retain the same brightness(?). Never really thought about it before, are some trains able to dim the lights when evening comes? I’d be really interested to find out if anyone on here knows.
It's not as bad as Class 800s, but definitely brighter than the ICE 3 Velaro D version which have mood lighting.
@@LetsMakeaTrip In fact that was one of the first complaints made by users of the Siemens units. Not sure if the lighting was modified or not.
@@NonstopEurotrip 5ey should have dimmable windows like the Dreamliner- that would be pretty cool!
Where do you hit UK customs? In Belgium or the UK?
Belgium
i have dome it in frist class
How long uk border check passport?
do they allow standing on the eurostar ?
Sam, I have absolutely no idea tbh! I’ve never seen it myself and wouldn’t fancy it either. Having said that, you can stand up on the WCML for longer than this and I bet that’s worse.
E* considers itself more an airline than a train operator. No standing allowed. Reservations mandatory.
Once you’ve passed uk immigration in Brussels you are back in the uk.
How fast i can do the check in? Can i be 15 minutes before departure?
I wouldn’t leave it that late tbh. Details should be on the Eurostar website
I so far have travelled on ICE, TGV, Frecciarossa/Frecciargento/Frecciabianca (in Italy), and on the High Speed railway in China, but I have yet to try the Eurostar.
I'd love to try it though 😁. And keep in mind that now you can even take a train between Milan and London just by changing trains in Paris as Frecciarossa services now run between Milan and Paris and are over 1h faster than the TGV (different options rather than in Malta where we don't even have (we had in the past) a railway to begin with 😅
I didn’t know that about the Frecciarossa going from Paris now, might have to try that some day. When I went to Malta I did have a look first to see if there had ever been any rail network and yep, I did see there was something. Shame it’s long gone but I was fairly impressed by the number of buses (and the price). I went to China on he train once, just over the border. Unfortunately it was a bit of a wash out (literally) as the station had a flash flood and we had to wade back through to the train!
Indeed as Frecciarossa will be running within Spain from November under the Iryo brand. As an aside Frecciarossa is faster because it can use HS lines within Italy whereas SNCF's TGVs cannot.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 true, and it could do a whole trip Rome to Paris in about 8 hours
@@enricomonti156 I imagine Trenitalia would like to operate such a route. However SNCF wouldn't be happy... especially as its current TGVs aren't permitted to use the HS lines within Italy. Maybe when TGV-M (the next generation of TGVs) enters service in 2024 we might see some changes.
One interesting thing is that everybody reviewing the Eurostar is traveling to London and nobody in the opposite direction.
That’s true yes. I’d travelled out by plane tbh. Being some way from London, it’s easier to fly out and come back on the Eurostar because otherwise, getting the cheapest fares can necessitate an overnight stopover in the capital. Hopefully, this may be alleviated once frequency of trains is ramped up. Cheers 👍
Love the 1970s porno movie music!
Haha, thanks!
Havig to wear a mask in a near empty coach what a load of nonsense.