Cross Country 1st class catering experiences

[wellhouse]

Just did a return XC First Class trip over Easter from Manchester to Banbury, and catering was on offer both ways, both sides of Birmingham, although from New Street to Banbury, First Class was attended to by the trolley steward before she went through the rest of the unit.

All 4 of our stewards were the most generous I've encountered on XC, one even offering sandwiches as well as snacks. Pre Covid I recall always having to ask for sandwiches, as the menu just hinted at their availability for longer journeys. I wonder if there's a new policy?

 

[voyagerdude220]

Pre Covid I recall always having to ask for sandwiches, as the menu just hinted at their availability for longer journeys. I wonder if there's a new policy?

I remember travelling pre Covid on a Cross Country Voyager between Bristol and Birmingham. There were only a maximum of around 5 or 6 of us in First Class. Even with how quiet we were, I remember the First Class Host deliberately only offered drinks and "anything else?"

I asked for a sandwich, which I was happily offered- I was given a choice of sandwiches to choose from, but later on in the journey a fellow passenger asked about hot meals- and the Host gave them a completely separate menu with hot options on it.

A complete contrast to the (at the time) Virgin Super Voyager I had travelled on earlier the same week which had menus on every table listing every option available.

 

[NoOnesFool]

XC Homepage | CrossCountry Trains

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Their website for months has been saying the following:-

On-board service

Please bear with us.

We are currently reviewing our catering offer, as such some of our services won’t have the advertised catering on board over the coming weeks. Please travel with adequate refreshments in case your service is one of those affected. First Class customers who have booked via CrossCountry and provided their email address will have received information about their travel options.

We hope to be back to a full service soon.

I hope this means that hot meals will become "official" again. With regards to previous posts on this thread, I have never seen any menus on the tables for a year or so. I find it a generally poor service and use other intercity operators where possible. My CrossCountry First Class journey last week had no Host at all, despite being scheduled for one.