Eurostar from St. Pancras

[pampat]

Hi all, I thought I would consult the Oracle on this one (the Dis people, obviously!). On Saturday we are taking the Eurostar to Paris. Has anyone done this and can they tell me what to expect? Such as, do we need to check in an hour before?; once we check in for the train, do we have to go through baggage check/scan, passport control; are there places to get a drink/food once we have checked in???

Ta muchly, we are very much looking forward to our time away, never travelled in Europe by train before, but we love train journeys.

Pam

 

[HappyPanda]

You should arrive at least 45 minutes before your train is due to depart. Once you have scanned in your ticket, you will go through the gates and pass through the baggage checks & passport control - normally this takes no longer than a few minutes.

Inside the terminal itself there is a Coffee place and small WHSmith, we normally pop to M&S before we go through the gate (it's right on the corner) and pick up some snacks for the train!

Enjoy your trip, Eurostar really is the nicest way to travel!

 

[sky13]

I think Eurostar says that check in closes 30 minutes before the train is due to depart. Try to get there a bit earlier than that though as there's usually a bit of a queue to get through baggage check and passport control (so the 45 minutes HappyPanda says sounds about right)...

There's also a carriage to buy food/drinks on the train itself, though their prices are somewhat inflated... Would recommend getting food/drinks before checking in as there's a much better selection in the main St Pancras terminal!

Hope you have a good journey on the Eurostar!

 

[pampat]

Thank you Helen and Sky. I feel much more comfortable now with what we are doing. I hate feeling out of control!!!

Pam

 

[HappyPanda]

Thank you Helen and Sky. I feel much more comfortable now with what we are doing. I hate feeling out of control!!!

Pam

I hate that feeling too. Honestly, Eurostar is the easiest way to travel - I really enjoy the journey every time!

 

[disneydarling07]

We are taking the Eurostar from Paris TO St. Pancras.
Is dealing with baggage a big hassle? We each have a large suitcase.
I keep hearing from others "Good luck with that" in regards to bringing our luggage....kinda has me worried....

 

[pampat]

Helen, another thing that suddenly occurred to me: do you check your bags in to Eurostar as in an airport checkin? Are they taken from you and you collect them again in Paris? Suddenly thought I might need to carry my valuables with me (not that I have any!!!).

Thanks

Pam

 

[pampat]

Wendy, when are you travelling? If it is later in the year I'll be able to tell you as we are leaving on Saturday.

Pam

 

[torsie24]

You keep your bags with you at all times. Like any train journey. There are luggage racks on each carriage. X

 

[disneydarling07]

Thanks Pam! We are leaving next month. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Do you think we will have a problem with our bags? We are doing a lot of traveling and will have large bags. And there are 5 of us...

 

[HappyPanda]

We are taking the Eurostar from Paris TO St. Pancras.
Is dealing with baggage a big hassle? We each have a large suitcase.
I keep hearing from others "Good luck with that" in regards to bringing our luggage....kinda has me worried....

There are lots of luggage racks at the end of each carriage. It can get busy, so if you have a lot of bags it might be best to make sure you get onto the train as soon as you can to make sure you get one near your seats.

Helen, another thing that suddenly occurred to me: do you check your bags in to Eurostar as in an airport checkin? Are they taken from you and you collect them again in Paris? Suddenly thought I might need to carry my valuables with me (not that I have any!!!).

Thanks

Pam

You keep your bags with you on the train. There are lots of luggage racks at the end of carriages for bigger suitcases and then ones about your seats that are perfect for flight bag size cases and coats and things.

There's also no restrictions on what you can take on board like on planes, so taking liquids is perfectly fine!

 

[pampat]

Thanks all. When we travelled from Vancouver to Seattle on the train, our bags were put in a separate car and we collected them from a carousel at our destination, just like an airport. I wondered if the Eurostar was like that.

If you have large bags I shouldn't think it would be too much of a problem, but I'll suss it out and let you know.

Pam