D-Bahn says "Please reserve" for Oslo-Bergen the day I arrive in Oslo. Rail Europe charges $18 for reservation and $18 to mail- they won't email. I thought reservations were free with first-class railpasses. Where can I get it for free before I leave the states?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Reservations are never free - can't imagine where you heard that. Sometimes they are included if you buy a ticket on the highspeed trains like the TGVs . Stay away from RailEurope. No matter what the RS people who post here regularly tell you, RE is never a good idea.
Posted by
Green Bay
20015 posts
It seems that a 1st class ticket reservation is 90 NWK, about $14.56 at today's exchange rate, so Rail Europe is turning a bit of a profit on the transaction.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23238 posts
Just buy it when you get there. No point in buying now.
Posted by
OP
Cleveland, Oh
23 posts
No time to buy it when I get there - very tight schedule.
Posted by
OP
Cleveland, Oh
23 posts
Just found this on website Europetrainsguide.com
in Norway:
Long distance trains (Regiontog) from Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger & Trondheim & from Trondheim to Bodoe - 52,5 NOK (≈6,3 euro) seat in 2nd class & free in 1st class (if to aquire reservation at the station)
But, is it true?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19091 posts
Maybe that means that if you purchase a full fare, point-point ticket in 1st class, a reservation is included, not that you get a free reservation with a rail pass. Looking at the Norwegian Rail website, it looks like reservations are included with both 1st and 2nd class full fare tickets.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
You might try contacting the Norwegian Rail directly:
Questions? Here are our contact points. We respond well to questions on both Twitter and Facebook.
Information
Support, schedule information and tickets in Norway and abroad. Call us at 815 00 888, or alternatively (+47) 61 05 19 10 if calling from abroad.
OR
Do you need assistance to purchase tickets online?
Contact our call centre at 815 00 888 or (+47) 23 62 00 00. Press 9 for information in English.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
I do believe the 1st class Norwegian reservation is free in the train station if you have a 1st class Eurail Global or Select pass. Note that passes for just Scandinavia are only sold in 2nd class. The most important departure (most popular) to reserve is the 8:00 a.m. from Oslo to Bergen in high season (June-Aug). If you want that departure and have a second-class pass, then it may be worth it for you to reserve now, or you could reserve at another train station in Scandinavia.
Rail Europe can't do everything as well as we might hope, but they do plenty of things right, contrary to Tim's opinion.
Posted by
OP
Cleveland, Oh
23 posts
I ended up asking my travel agent to get me 5 different reservations over 1 month time to use with my first class global railpass. She went to Rail Europe - and it cost me $110. I feel ripped off because I think most of these should be free.
Jan
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23238 posts
Reading that it sounds like it is free IF you get the reservation in the station. Remember, Rail Europe is a travel agency that has to make money somewhere. In fact, this is one of the main reasons most of us will recommend not getting rail passes because it is hard to make them cost effective. The big advantage and, maybe, the only real advantage is the last minute, flexibility that a pass might provide. Cannot believe that your schedule is so tight you cannot take ten minutes to get a reservation in a train station as you are passing through. Pay RE for your reservations is called convenience.