It seems that Thalys trains no longer allow the choice of a specific seat selection: Enter your seating preferences:
"We will do our best to meet your request based on the availability on your train." Any suggestions on which preference might be best for a group of 4 and a group of 6 planning on booking Comfort Class? I have the possible seating charts saved from the Man in Seat 61's website, but I guess it no longer matters since we have no choice......
Posted by
Washington DC
28073 posts
What are the choices?
I've been on trains where there wasn't much leg room for people seated face to face at tables, but I'd guess the Thalys is somewhat more spacious than the trains I was on. Extremely tall folks might prefer something other than table seating, though the table space is handy if you plan to consume food along the way.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4853 posts
I watch a lot of train vlogs and the latest Thalys reviews have not been very good. And now apparently they are part of Eurostar so people are not holding out hope for improvement.
Dig around on Youtube, you'll find videos.
Posted by
OP
234 posts
Is it worth paying more for "comfort" class? I think we could survive standard if the seats aren't unbearable. We are traveling one-way from Gare du Nord to Amsterdam Centraal.
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
Standard seats definitely aren't "unbearable". How much more are we talking about? If it's 25-30% more and still within your budget, then maybe splurge, but paying 1.5-2x is not worth it.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4853 posts
the train vlogs rate the seats and show the different classes on the train
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
We rode the Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris and second class was plenty comfortable. I don't remember whether we had a choice of seats, but probably not because we ended up facing backwards, which I found uncomfortable. If you can choose forward-facing seats I'd recommend that, or a table for four people who can take turns facing forward and back if necessary.
Sorry to hear that Thalys service might not be what it was. Still, it's just 3+ hours out of your trip to get between these two great cities.
Posted by
OP
234 posts
Thanks for the comment on 2nd class seating on Thalys! I did watch some videos and vlogs- for 3 hours and an @40 euro savings per passenger I think we will be fine.
New worry is how secure will our bags be if we use the racks at the end of the car? Will a roll aboard carryon that fits in an airplane overhead fit above our seats?
Appreciate all the comments!
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
They will be secure. If you're super worried, you can always get up and keep an eye on them at the intermediate stops, but there is no really need to do so.
And I do believe that overhead racks are large enough for carry-on bags on Thalys anyway. It's been a while, so not 100% sure, but almost sure.