Die Bahn P2P Tix - Another Seat Res Question

Seat reservations are optional on most DB ICE/IC trains. While its possible that all seats are reserved, more than likely DB hasn't started taking reservations yet. So yes keep checking the DB site, most ICE trains I've taken have been standing-room. Its best to have those seat reservations.

Thanks for the quick reply. Does the date of trave matter? It is a Wednesday in early July? Does the class of travel matter? I'ts a first class ticket.

I just went back to Bahn.de. It says a straight seat reservation is not available, and neither is the fare I paid. I paid 178 euros for three people and now the fare has gone up to 278 euros.

Should I call DB to fix this? The thought of standing in a train or sitting on the floor of a train from Cologne to Copenhagen seems unpleasant.

What are your travel times from Cologne to Hamburg and on? If it's not a Friday afternoon it's not necessary to make seat reservations for 1st class. However, if it made you feel more comfortable you can still make a seat reservation up to 10mins prior to departure of your train at the red ticket vending machines that you'll find all across the train stations. That way you can assure you'll get adjacent seats... keep in mind though that seat config on ICE 1st class is 1-2.

I'm on IC 2114 leaving Cologne at 1:11 pm and departing Hamburg HBF on ICE 37 departing 5:28 pm.

Rick

Rick, just buy the seat reservations for both of your German trains at the Cologne station. That should be sufficient. 2nd class will be packed but 1st most likely is rather going to feel empty...

I would agree with Andreas that you probably won't need reservations, but, considering the length of the trip, it might not be a bad idea. I have only once had to stand on a German express train, and that was an ICE from FRA to Karlsruhe on a holiday. All seats were occupied, but few were reserved. We could have made reservations right up to train time and had reserved seats.

Although German Rail does not make reservations-only online on the Hamburg-Köbenhavn leg, it does for Köln-Hamburg. It would cost a little more, but you could get them for that leg now, and reserve for Hamburg-Köbenhavn in Köln.

In fact, you could reserve all the way to Puttgarden online now, and hope that everyone on that train is reserving from Hamburg to Köbenhavn and therefore your seats would still be available from Puttgarden to Köbenhavn when you reserve them in Köln.

However, there is something I don't understand. For every express connection until Aug 6, which is too far in advance to purchase today (May 8), I find that you can book tickets with reservations. Did you forget to make reservations at the time? Or did you get the tickets from a different website? I can't find the same prices you mention, plus DB.com is Deutsche Bank, not German Rail.

Thank you all for the input. I tried to purchase the ticket with a seat reservation and bahn.de would not process it.

I ran it without the reservation and it went right through. I figured that this was Amtrak. Most Amtrak services require a pre-purchased ticket. This ticket gives you access to any seat in the coach. Nobody has a reserved seat.

Some train journeys I was looking at on bahn.de required a reservation. I figured that reservations were required on that and that everybody on that train would have a reserved seat. I think some people having reserved seats and others not having reserved seats would just create chaos in the coach.

I like the idea of buying a seat reservation from Koln to Puttgarden. Would German Rail be able to sell a ticket for a purely domestic Danish train trip? Would the rules of cabotage prevent this? If so, then it would be fair to presume that the seat I'm in to Puttgarden would be available all the way to Copenhagen.

Rick

I've never seen any choas in the coach. There's a little light over the seat saying it is reserved. If someone else sits in the seat, they have to expect to give it up to the reservation holder.

I think (maybe Andreas can answer this for sure - perhaps call DB) that German Rail could sell a ticket or reservation for a purely domestic Danish trip at the counter, but have chosen not to do so online.

I think if you call German Rail, they can advise you, maybe even sell those reservations to you. Their number, in Germany, after your international access code, is 49 (country code for Germany), then 1805-996633. When I have called in the past, the person answering didn't speak English, but there were English speakers available. The first time I called I said, "Do you speak English", figuring if she did I wouldn't have to do it in Germany (I speak a little). She said "Moment", and put me on hold a few minutes for an English speaker. The second time I just started in German, figuring once she heard my thick American accent she would switch to English if she could. She didn't, and I got my answer in German.

I was poking around on bahn.de and found something interesting:

It says that a seat reservation is not required but, "that for some trains there are special prices and booking conditions, as for example Thalys, most night trains, ICE Sprinter, some Eurocity-Trains (e.g. Hamburg-Copenhagen)..."

the URL for this page is http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/travelservice/service_seat-reservation.shtml

I'm not on a EuroCity train, but ICE. Do y'all think I could be subject to the special conditions mentioned here?

Lee: the db.com reference in my initial post was made before the first cup of coffee this morning. :)

Rick

Rick...yes, those "special prices and booking conditions" do indeed mean that a reservation is required for those journeys. Best thing to do is check your schedule against the Bahn website and look for the little red circle with the "R" in it...that's your best indication of where reservations are required. While ICE Sprinter trains require reservations, not all of the Hamburg-Copenhagen runs require them.

Hi Rick, I have a question:
did you buy your tickets at DB Bahn.com? Can they mail tickeys to the US? I'm trying to buy tickets from Brussels to Cologne and the only option they have is mail. Please let me know. Thank you. Gil

I did not buy my Brussels - Cologne tickets from German Rail. I bought my tickets from Thalys on Thalys.com and will pick them up at a train station in France.