Hi folks,

Could anyone who's been on Eurostar from Waterloo comment on how early
it's worth checking-in? The tickets say I must arrive no later than 30
mins before the departure (which is fair enough) - is it worth turning
up much earlier than this in practice?

Thanks for any advice,

Sam
--
Sam Holloway, Cambridge

"Sam Holloway" wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

Could anyone who's been on Eurostar from Waterloo comment on how early
it's worth checking-in? The tickets say I must arrive no later than 30
mins before the departure (which is fair enough) - is it worth turning
up much earlier than this in practice?

Thanks for any advice,

Sam
--
Sam Holloway, Cambridge

Not really IMHO. As long as you put your ticket in the check in barrier 30
minutes before departure time, personally I'd leave it as late as possible.

After that point there is a bag scan, and you have to check the screens to
work out which platform / access escalator you need to use. Also worth
filling in some bag labels if you have large bags to leave in the train
vestibules. Allow 10-15 minutes (depending on popularity of travel day) for
all of that.

All there is in the terminal itself are a couple of WHsmiths and Coffee
Bars. So unless you are looking to pick up some reading material for your
trip I wouldn't bother.

Trains aren't loaded with pax until 10 minutes before departure IIRC when
there is the usual minor scuffle the same as you get with pax trying to get
past the check-in assistant for aeroplanes.

Colin

"Sam Holloway" wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

Could anyone who's been on Eurostar from Waterloo comment on how early
it's worth checking-in? The tickets say I must arrive no later than 30
mins before the departure (which is fair enough) - is it worth turning
up much earlier than this in practice?

Thanks for any advice,

Sam
--
Sam Holloway, Cambridge

Took forever to get through the queues when we went on a Friday evening rush
hour, I'd give it an hour to be sure, especially with a cheap
non-transferable ticket.

OTOH off peak the queues look empty, at 30 minutes is plenty of time.

On Mon, 17 May 2004 11:54:00 +0100, Sam Holloway
wrote:

Hi folks,

Could anyone who's been on Eurostar from Waterloo comment on how early
it's worth checking-in? The tickets say I must arrive no later than 30
mins before the departure (which is fair enough) - is it worth turning
up much earlier than this in practice?

Be very careful as to which day you are travelling. If it is mid week
and not at peak times I doubt you'd face any queues whatsoever - 30 mins
will be fine. However Friday / Sunday evenings - for the usual weekend
dash home (for those working in either capital) or weekend away can
cause Waterloo to jam solid. Be careful about school holidays / ski
breaks or similar. Allow loads of check in time if travelling at a peak
time.

I once took well over an hour to reach the train having had to queue on
Waterloo main concourse, then in line in the Eurostar ticket hall, then
to get through security and immigration, then to get to the platform and
on to the train. It was absolutely horrendous. All the trains were late
and everyone was very tense and fed up with people panicking that they
were going to miss their trains. It took over 30 minutes for Eurostar
management to wake up to the fact that they had a crisis on their hands
and that they needed to reassure their customers that they would not be
left stranded.

Also take care to pack your luggage sensibly, don't carry anything that
is likely to cause problems at the security check and make sure you can
transfer all keys, coins etc into your hand luggage for the x ray check.
All that helps get through security faster.

On the return be aware that you have to clear French and UK immigration
in Paris and then French customs. Oh and then you may have to clear UK
immigration (again) and UK customs in London - I really do find this to
be completely ludicrous. Still it keeps civil servants employed I
suppose.

Enjoy Eurostar - just try to ignore the tedium in getting through the
terminals.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Mon, 17 May 2004 13:44:16 +0100 Barry Salter
said...

Whilst there are no extra facilities after check-in (and the last place
you can get a Pre-Pay Mobile Phone Top-Up is before check-in),

Really? Not even at WH Smiths inside the waiting lounge?

--
Phil Richards
London, N4

On Mon, 17 May 2004 11:54:00 +0100, Sam Holloway
wrote:
Could anyone who's been on Eurostar from Waterloo comment on how early
it's worth checking-in? The tickets say I must arrive no later than 30
mins before the departure (which is fair enough) - is it worth turning
up much earlier than this in practice?

Many thanks for all the advice! Sounds like off-peak is a doddle, but
on-peak can be congested.

As I'm going to be travelling on the first day of the school holidays
(Sat 29th May), I'll allow a good chunk of extra time. I predict that
there'll be quite a few people heading for the continent for a few
days away...

Thanks again,

Sam
--
Sam Holloway, Cambridge

On Mon, 17 May 2004 22:51:00 +0100, Barry Salter
wrote:



Really? Not even at WH Smiths inside the waiting lounge?

They certainly didn't last time I travelled Eurostar, though that may
have changed recently.


They had (at least) one last week. And when I went on it last year.
I don't know how long its been there though.

Paul Corfield wrote:

I once took well over an hour to reach the train having had to queue on
Waterloo main concourse, then in line in the Eurostar ticket hall, then
to get through security and immigration, then to get to the platform and
on to the train. It was absolutely horrendous. All the trains were late
and everyone was very tense and fed up with people panicking that they
were going to miss their trains. It took over 30 minutes for Eurostar
management to wake up to the fact that they had a crisis on their hands
and that they needed to reassure their customers that they would not be
left stranded.

The fact that Eurostar staff routinely refuse to let anyone through the
gates until about five minutes before the train is due to go, don't
bother explaining the situation to anyone, make no announcements and are
generally unhelpful is a right pain in the arse.

People understandably assume that a lot of the queues are people who are
there early for a later train and that the people on the next one have
already gone though, and the staff do nothing to explain that this is
not the case, hence the generally panicky atmosphere before the
gateline.

Going back a few years, this ALWAYS happened at the Gare Du Nord, whilst
the Waterloo end ran really smoothly. Nowadays, it's the complete
opposite (though GdN still needs more space after check-in for people to
stand).

During peak hours, the huge lounge at Waterloo is useless, since you
never actually get a chance to sit down, due to not being let through
until it's time to go. I'm sure the shops in the lounge are *delighted*
at losing so much custom.

On the return be aware that you have to clear French and UK immigration
in Paris and then French customs. Oh and then you may have to clear UK
immigration (again) and UK customs in London - I really do find this to
be completely ludicrous. Still it keeps civil servants employed I
suppose.

And French immigration in London too.

Enjoy Eurostar - just try to ignore the tedium in getting through the
terminals.

Oh and if your train is over an hour late and you need to claim, I
suggest written or photographic evidence - Eurostar customer service
have told outright lies about arrival times to me on at least one
occasion.

Dave (used to travel on Eurostar a lot, and wished there was a choice,
as they have gone right downhill over the past five years)

In message , Dave Newt
writes
During peak hours, the huge lounge at Waterloo is useless, since you
never actually get a chance to sit down, due to not being let through
until it's time to go. I'm sure the shops in the lounge are *delighted*
at losing so much custom.

I've not been on E* from Waterloo for about a year, but I was always
allowed through the ticket barrier and into the long-fishy-space
whenever I arrived.

By contrast, at Brussels they normally only let people past the ticket
barriers and into the rather spartan second waiting area on a "just in
time" (or possibly "almost too late") basis. With typically less than
one train an hour it's not as if that area would ever fill up (and it's
bigger than the outside waiting room anyway) or that people would get
confused and board the wrong train.
--
Roland Perry

Barry Salter wrote:
On Tue, 18 May 2004 16:08:19 +0100, Dave Newt
wrote:


Oh and if your train is over an hour late and you need to claim, I
suggest written or photographic evidence - Eurostar customer service
have told outright lies about arrival times to me on at least one
occasion.


Ask the Train Manager (or whatever Eurostar call them) to endorse your
ticket...Failing that, try and find a friendly soul in the main Travel
Centre or Ticket Office at Waterloo to look up the TRUST report for your
train, which they can do from the Train Number on your E* ticket.

The time it happened to me, the train manager made a public announcement
saying "welcome to waterloo. the time is xx.xx, which means that we are
65 minutes late" (which is what all the clocks said). Eurostar's reply
to my claim denied that this happened, and thay claimed that the train
had actually arrived only 55 minutes late.

I would certainly do what you said in future, but on this occasion,
there appeared no reason not to trust them.