I have only been on this board for a short time but thought I would share the following story in the hopes that it won't happen to anybody else. A gentleman that I work with took his family to Europe this summer. Italy then onto Paris finishing up in London. Normally a thorough planner he thought that he could just turn up on the day at Gare Du Nord and get the cheapest seats on the Eurostar to travel to London. Unfortunately for him and his family of four the only seats were in first class. He ended up having to pay nearly $4000 [canadian] to get to London. He had timed his holiday so tightly that they couldnt even afford to wait one day for cheaper seats.
So the moral of this story
1. Don't travel with this guy!
2. Plan the important stuff and wing the rest!
Posted by
Carrollton, Georgia, USA
242 posts
I'm trying come up with an analogy, but all I can manage is "poor little rich kid"!
Seated in first class and not able to enjoy it.
Dang!
B~
Posted by
Ardmore, PA, US
225 posts
Eurostar is one of a few transit systems that you CAN'T wait until the day of travel if you want cheap fares. The cheap ones sell out months in advance in many cases. They also could have taken alternate transport to London via local trains or buses and a ferry, so spending $4000 on a train wasn't really necessary unless they had such strict time constraints that didn't allow them an extra half-day.
Posted by
Paris, France
506 posts
Years ago last minute booking would have been an option - this is no longer a consideration especially with the new system into St Pancras. More and more business is being handled via Eurostar and it is not uncommon for entire trains throughout the day to be sold out.
This is much more of a bad assumption story (and not such a good planner) rather than a horror. Moral of the story - check this forum for such advise.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1556 posts
Most people that travel know that even if you plan to buy your tickets in the city, you try and do it a day or two in advance so that you can find alternative transport if you need to.
I'm sure the person would have been able to fly cheaper than what he paid for the Eurostar but its hard to think of all the options when faced with a situation like his.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
I keep remembering the saying, "Failing to plan is planning to fail."
As for there being less expensive ways to get to England, had he planned for contingencies, he would have known that, but again, failing to plan...
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
The report above is about the Eurostar between London and Paris. This is not to be confused with the Italian Eurostars where you most often can show up on the day of travel and easily get seats.
Posted by
Bristol, UK
619 posts
Your friend was unlucky if he had to pay $4000 Canadian. I have just checked the price of one-way tickets London-Paris for tonight and tomorrow, and standard class cost £154.50 each. Five tickets would cost £772.50, which is £1545 Canadian.
First class can be a lot more expensive, but it is hard to believe that all the standard class tickets on Eurostar on a particular day had been sold out.
Prices for Easyjet for tomorrow from Luton to Paris range from £84.99 to £149.99, to which must be added the cost of getting to Luton. Low cost airlines are not always cheaper, unless you book well in advance.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
1317 posts
Ouch! Expensive lesson learned.
The rule when traveling is Murphy's Law Redux: What can go wrong, will. What does go wrong, will go wrong in the most spectacular, expensive, and unimaginable ways possible.
There is nothing wrong with 'winging it' so long as you have at least one of the following: time, money, back-up plans.
If he had more time, they could have waited. If he had back-up plans, he could have found alternatives. Instead, he had to go with money.