Don't WASTE Your Money on Business Class! Standard Premier on the Eurostar London to Paris

yes this is a flight review Channel but there's truly something awesome about the Eurostar a high-speed train that goes under the English Channel linking the capitals of London and Paris in Just 2 hours and 16 minutes you can step from London Saint Pancras to gal to know without having to go out to or from an airport I took the Eurostar for the first time not long after it opened in 1995 but for some reason I haven't taken it since a lot has changed since then the trains have changed the tracks in the UK were upgraded to be high speed the primary station moved from Waterloo to Saint Pancras the routing and stops change due to covid never mind brexit so I think it's definitely worth a revisit what's it like to take the Eurostar in standard Premiere let's find out let's start with cost you'd think that the train would be cheaper than flying it's not Europe is now full of low-cost Airlines which didn't exist back in the early 90s and Eurostar knows that they hold the edge on convenience while if you book early enough you can still get good deals a few weeks out economy tickets were 168 to 207 premium tickets 229 to 377 and business class tickets were 368 and up one way let's talk about the three classes standard is your standard economy seat in a 2-2 layout there's no meal included but you can buy food and drink at the cafe car called Cafe metripol fine on the other end is the fanciest business class that comes with a three-course meal in Champaign access to lounges and Fast Track security the seats earn a 1-2 layout but for double the price I struggle to see the value that leaves what I believe is The Sweet Spot standard premiere business light would be a better description you get the exact same seat as business class you still get a meal though it's not quite as bougie ditto with the drinks the only thing you really miss are the lounges Fast Track security and additional ticket flexibility as we'll see those would have been nice to have but likely not an extra 150 dollars nice price premium of Premiere over standard was only 22 dollars for a solo seat drinks and a meal that's worth it in my eyes also unlike Airlines all classes can select seats for free Saint pancreas station is comprised of two levels the trains depart on the upper level but the Eurostar has a section of the terminal on the lower level is a very long passport and security queue that was quite a bit disorganized your business class has the advantage you go through passport control and are stamped with a French entrance right there in the terminal trains to Paris leave every hour and trains to Brussels or Amsterdam every two to three thus it's fairly common for there to be two trains departing around the same time so why then are there simply not enough seats for people the Eurostar is one of the longer trains in the world so you'd expect them to consider sufficient seating alas no so you're supposed to arrive at 90 minutes before departure to clear security and Customs but then there's not enough places to sit down I I don't know what to tell you boarding is done upstairs by a long escalator ramps the train today was a class 374 a longer version of the Siemens velaro I reviewed in Spain I was in Car 2 which while very convenient to get to means that I'll be at the very back of the train in Paris there's luggage racks at the end of each car as well as overhead space I walked through the business class cabin which looked identical to the standard Premier seats the seats earn a 1-2 both in pairs as well as Solo Seats I selected one with a table hoping nobody would sit across from me but alas someone did seats were fairly comfortable with both full power and USB there's Wi-Fi but it was fairly spotty and unusable in the tunnel itself doors closed two minutes early and we pulled out right on time back when I took this train in the mid 90s it made several stops including Ashford and the Europe but now this particular train runs direct to Paris shaving the travel time down to 2 hours and 16 minutes there's no plans to return to Ebbs Fielder Ashford until at least 2025. the trains to Brussels are now the only ones that stop service began with a bottle of water a drink and a choice of cold meal there were two options and I went with this salmon quiche served with a side of coleslaw both of which were quite decent for dessert there was a sponge cake that was also quite good no this isn't a luxurious five-star dining experience but this train is two hours and I'd much rather eat a fancy meal in Paris the meal concluded with to your coffee we entered the tunnel near folkestone it's just over 50 kilometers at a depth of 75 meters below the Channel I didn't bother to film it because you know there's nothing to see outside several minutes later we emerged in France going pretty slowly hey I thought this was supposed to be a high-speed train well fear not because we quickly accelerated to just shy of 300 kilometers per hour and maintain that speed as we zip through the countryside [Music] we passed the gold Airport before slowing to arrive at galding Island foreign we pulled in right on time unfortunately being at the very end of the train it took an eternity to disembark it arrives as a domestic French train with no further passport inspections so the Eurostar and standard Premiere it's great and I'd absolutely take it over flying it's comfortable on time and a decent light meal and you simply can't beat going downtown to downtown between two of the great cities in the world I'd absolutely recommend taking it over flying just so long as it fits in your budget thanks for watching if you like this video click that button please subscribe for my more traditional flight reviews as well as some occasional training content like this I'll see you next time for a regional train to a very special place that simply has no right to be as Geist as it is

Channel: Travelog

Views: 5,490

Keywords: Eurostar review, eurostar london to paris, eurostar standard premier, eurostar standard vs standard premier, eurostar business premier, channel tunnel, business premier, high speed train, gare du nord, eurostar paris to london, paris to london, channel tunnel train, channel tunnel train ride, Eurostar Train, Eurostar Review, Chunnel, Chunnel Train, gare du nord train station, eurostar paris to london underwater train

Id: FA1WVtWLAVw

Length: 6min 49sec (409 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 25 2023