Is it worth to pay 40 euros more to sit in first class for this 7-hour journey?
Are the second class seats that close for the ones facing each other? Would there be more room to have a table in between the seats? Are there seats that are like on the plane where you just face the back of the seats in front of you?
If you bought second class online, can you upgrade to first class at the Munich Train Station?
Is this train packed on Mondays in June?
Thank you!
I never take 1st class unless I can get it free or next to free. EC trains are perfectly comfortable in 2nd class. They have face to face seats with tables, but they are 2x2, whereas you can get 1 to 1 table seats in 1st class.
In the on-line purchase process, you will be asked if you want face-to-face with a table and if you want window or aisle seats. So 2nd class you may be seated with another couple or single person. Not always a bad thing.
Edit- If you upgrade last minute, I would imagine the upgrade would be to a nondiscounted price. The 40 euro differential now is with the "Europa-Spezial Italien" price. That adds another 49 euro per person.
Thanks, Sam for your reply. When I selected open saloon with table, I get a warning about it being unaccomplishable (forgot exact wording). So all that are left are compartment or open saloon. There are 5 of us. I found a photo of the 2x2 facing each other on seat61.com and thought the space for legroom was rather small, although the tallest of may only be 5' 8". So, I thought I would ask someone who has actually been on this train.
I'm sure the seats with tables are the first to get booked up when tickets go on sale 3 months ahead of the travel date. If the train has compartments, then the first-class compartment usually holds 6 people, which would be a good fit for your group, or the second-class compartment holds 8. The open saloon is also comfortable enough. You should choose your class and price now through DB for best price and selection, not try to change at the station. (You would not only be upgrading to a full-priced ticket, but also would have less seat selection.)
I haven't been on the EC from Italy to Munich, but I have been on other ECs, and in the only two where I was in a compartment, it was 2nd class and seated 6 people. I'm pretty sure the ECs seat 4 people in 1st class.
When I was in Munich Ostbahnhof, one of the ECs went by on it's way to Italy, and some of the cars had Trenitalia markings. I can't speak for Italian cars on an EC.
Thanks, Lee. I have been on the EC from Venice to Munich in 2012, but in the open seating area and wasn't aware whether the train also had compartment cars. When I took another German service roundtrip from Amsterdam to Hannover, I swear the compartments were the same in both 1st and 2nd class, but I did sleep through one of those legs, straight off the airplane. Unless you see a seating chart online, you can't reliably predict the layout.
It's not official Bahn, but here is a seating diagram from the "The Man in Seat 61" website. It show 6 person compartments in both 1st and 2nd class. The second class compartments are shown in a car which also has open seating. It looks like the compartments are the same width, but the 1st class seats are wider and fill the compartment, whereas the 2nd class seats are narrower and there is some extra space next to the door.
I'm sure I remember seeing a 1st class four seat compartment and realizing I could not use it since I had a second class ticket, but that was probably 15 years ago.
This is not an EC, but the CNL website has a seating map for compartments (2nd class) with 6 seats for its night trains.
I ended up getting a compartment in 2nd class. Unfortunately, I forgot to check "window" so the 5 of us are on the aisle, middle and 1 window!! Hopefully, they don't put a single person in the compartment or maybe that person would leave us if we make enough effort to bother him/her - HAHA! Thank you all for your feedback/comments.
