I am trying to make reservations for a round trip train tickets from Paris to Bayeux for May 9th returning May 11th 2015. The reservation process is easy (already figured that out) but when I get to the end and they show me our seats it looks like we are separated (seat 12 and 18, same carriage). There is a section that shows Seating with a drop down box with the selection of "indifference" or "next to". I made the selection of Next to and the separated seats show up. I cannot find a train seating chart on line to see where these seats would be. I am using the captaine train website. Can someone explain what I might be missing on the seating information? Any information on making these reservations would be appreciated.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
SNCF seat numbering can be strange and illogical. Adjacent seats can have non-consecutive numbers. If they say seats 12 and 18 are next to each other, you must just hope they are.
I once booked a seat "facing direction of travel". When I got on the train it was facing backwards. When the ticket inspector came round I complained, showing him my booking which clearly said "facing direction of travel". He just gave a very gallic shrug and said I could find another seat. This was on a fully occupied TGV. Bon voyage.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
These seats could be facing each other, which I consider ideal. Seat reservations are optional on the Paris-Bayeux regional trains, so moving can be easier than on a fully reserved TGV.
Any way, you should choose "indifferent." Any booking system will attempt to seat all passengers together. The "next to" option is for people who are trying to specify a seat close to someone else who already has a ticket.
Posted by
OP
Tallahassee, FL
177 posts
I want to thank Chris and Laura for the helpful information on my train question. I also sent an e-mail to captaine train website and they responded. I have purchased the tickets knowing I should have seats sitting next to each other. They informed me that the "next to" was to be used when requesting seats next to someone else's seat reservation. We are good to go on the train tickets.