Eurostar 'Family' seating - have you travelled in this section?

blue_monkey_2

Hi all,

Has anyone else sat in the family seating area of the Eurostar at all and if so what did you think? I am not too fussed about having the table and we are taking our own snacks for the train, but I am trying to work out if it is better to get a seat for my son or not.

We do not need one for him as he is under the age limit but there is no way he will sit on my lap for 2 hours - let alone sit in the seat for 2 hours, thought I might give him the seat and sit my daughter on my lap instead as she will be fine with this, but I am not sure what to do. Whatever will be wrong and my husband will moan at me (too noisy, too far from the toilets, no table, he WILL find a reason!! miserable moaning git!!) but seeking a 2nd opinion for my fellow MSE'rs!

Are they likely to sit anyone else in the section with us (meaning people who hate children! Especially other people children) - the seating area is available as it is giving us the choice, we got a free upgrade last time to Leisure Select and had to spend the whole journey apologising to all the business people for my son jumping all over the place and being very noisy - but this time I would prefer to sit in the family section as it says you are kind of seperated from other travellers. Perfect. Or is it??

So, is it worth getting the seat, or should I only get the 3 seats (family section is 4) and risk them sitting someone where who hates kids.

What are your experiences with this.

Thanks.

Pinklepurr

Yep, I've sat in the family section before. In my experience, it was a small section at the end of the carriage near the luggage/toilet area. From what I remember there were 4 seat sections - 2 on each side so a maximum of 16 people. It was separated from the toilet by a sliding door and there was another sliding door separating this area from the rest of the carriage. Technically, if you son is being noisy, then the majority of the carriage will not be affected, just the people in the same family section as you - who, hopefully, will be likeminded people and would have chosen the family section.

I guess it also depends on when/where you are travelling. My only experience of the Eurostar is the direct Disneyland Paris service which was PACKED with families and young children. It was lively but not noisy and a good journey. If you are travelling a commuter time/destination then there will be more businessmen on board who may be less tolerant.

IMHO I would book a seat for your son. That would be preferable to having a stranger next to you. You would then have your own section and your son could move around/swap seats/make a mess as much as he likes. You are also close to the toilet for hand washing/toilet dashes and you are more likely (although not guaranteed) to be seated with other families.

I hope this helps.

blue_monkey_2

That is great, just the kind of info I needed. Thank you.

Last time we got the direct service, I was actually surprised there were business people on the train as I found that odd, but there were more business people in our section than families. That is a great idea about the mess and the like and makes perfect sense, at least we won't have to keep on worrying about apologising for his behaviour (too often!!).