Do you have a citation for that? The Plus menus on their site say otherwise.
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Eurostar Plus is becoming worse
- Thread starter lkoroes
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That's a shame! Hopefully they don't continue cutting back the Plus service; unlike Thalys Standard is actually not that much less comfortable than Plus really, so they do need a differentiator in the soft product.
STINT47
Member
I only use plus when on Interrail as the seat reservation fee is only a few pounds more.
With catering being cut back more and more and given the short journey times you may as well travel standard which is perfectly adequate for a couple of hours or so.
With catering being cut back more and more and given the short journey times you may as well travel standard which is perfectly adequate for a couple of hours or so.
Travelled in Plus twice recently on a morning train. The breakfast service has been very lacklustre (either a Raspberry muffin or a small cheese brioche + Orange Juice & Tea/Coffee). Given they now seem to be doing the bare minimum (unless I've had bad luck), is it not now worth just scrapping food altogether (especially on the morning trains)? Or they need to up their game...
STINT47
Member
I travelled back from Amsterdam and thought the service was poor.
Nothing offered between Amsterdam promoting people to go to the buffet to buy food and drink.
After Brussels we were presented with a very ordinary Chicken dish whilst desert consisted of a tiny pice of chocolate. It was all over before arrival into Lille and staff were never seen again.
I was mildly disappointed but other passengers were not happy. A couple who went to the buffet said they had assumed there was no food today after waiting nearly two hours only to then be offered a meal.
A family who got on at Lille never got any food as the staff never came round. I'm not sure if this was an oversight but it was not good.
Nothing offered between Amsterdam promoting people to go to the buffet to buy food and drink.
After Brussels we were presented with a very ordinary Chicken dish whilst desert consisted of a tiny pice of chocolate. It was all over before arrival into Lille and staff were never seen again.
I was mildly disappointed but other passengers were not happy. A couple who went to the buffet said they had assumed there was no food today after waiting nearly two hours only to then be offered a meal.
A family who got on at Lille never got any food as the staff never came round. I'm not sure if this was an oversight but it was not good.
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I sat next to the galley a couple of months ago while in plus. The train got delayed near Schiphol for an hour but the crew that got on at Amsterdam still managed to spend the whole time until Brussels prepping food - which perplexingly involved them shuffling trolleys between different fridge units over and over again. I've never seen so much work being done shuffling things around and trying to look busy for so little outcome. They spent three hours banging the fridge doors open and closed and tapping away on tablet computers. During this time they managed to do one drinks service to plus with no food. They did however spend the journey extensively catering to what they referred to as "business" taking a constant stream of wine to them. People in plus were asking for more soft and alcoholic drinks (due to the delay) but they were repeatedly promised and never delivered. When the crew changed over at Brussels, the new crew were absolutely elated that the drinks trolley had been prepared - like it was their best day ever. How much work is it to load a drinks trolley? We finally got served and the new crew were probably quite confused as to why everyone in plus was so grumpy with them.
It seems really odd that the food is loaded from Amsterdam but needs last minute assembly that takes the whole time through to Brussels. The first time I went to Amsterdam on Eurostar, the service in plus was great and they kept the drinks service going all the way through. This time the service was dire.
It seems really odd that the food is loaded from Amsterdam but needs last minute assembly that takes the whole time through to Brussels. The first time I went to Amsterdam on Eurostar, the service in plus was great and they kept the drinks service going all the way through. This time the service was dire.
STINT47
Member
From recent experiences a cold and then a hot drink have only been offered once. A cold drink with the food then a hot drink after. The service is normally offered as early as possible and then you don't see staff again.
I wasn't even aware that catering was meant to be offered between Amsterdam and Brussels as I've never had it.
There's been a lot of talk about how/whether food could be served between Amsterdam and Brussels, and it's a worthy discussion, but I think this description drives home quite how much of this problem could be solved with some very simple communication. What possible argument is there against a quick announcement of the catering plans at the start of the journey? Unless Eurostar want people wandering to the buffet in confusion...
Indeed. It seems that there is a disjoint between the service provided by the Amsterdam to Brussels crewe and the Brussels to London Crewe. On my last two trips in plus when outbound from London, a service manager actually walked the carriage and introduced themselves to all passengers. On the way back from Amsterdam you don't even get a smile unless you are in "business".
Mikey C
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Amsterdam to Brussels isn't a quick hop. It's a significant part of the Amsterdam to London journey, so it's unacceptable for the catering to be minimal for that part of the journey.
I've taken Eurostar Plus from Lille to London, and the service was excellent, but that suggests the service is a bit backloaded...
I've taken Eurostar Plus from Lille to London, and the service was excellent, but that suggests the service is a bit backloaded...
Haha a similar sort of thing happened yesterday. The train was around 30 mins late getting into Brussels from Amsterdam, yet still the staff member was still clunking around with the trolleys more or less for the whole AMS - BRU sector. Plus was only around 1/3 full too
A far cry from 10 to 15 years ago. My recollection is virtually unlimited tea or coffee and a beer or mini bottle of wine with the meal for afternoon or evening journeys. I'd usually ask for a second bottle and the request was never declined.
country_end_37
Member
I'm in Eurostar Premier right now (London to Rotterdam) and they have "run out" of any vegetarian meals by the time the service gets not very far into the front carriage, about 10 minutes before Lille. Apparently I and the three or four other people who wanted the vegetarian option were supposed to have specified "special dietary requests" when we booked, even though the vegetarian option (cold roast cauliflower and caramelised pumpkin) is listed right there on the menu as one of the main course choices, not a special request. I asked, well, could I get a voucher to get something from the café instead? Is there anything they can give me? And the answer was no, it was my fault, so it was not something Eurostar was prepared to offer. Just no meal. The person next to me took pity on me and gave me her dessert.
Well, for the sake of what would have cost Eurostar €5 or so for a toasted sandwich or whatever, I will never pay extra for Premier again, so there they are. Not impressed. The service, the attitude, and the food are very much worse than they were just a few years ago. Roll on ending their monopoly.
Well, for the sake of what would have cost Eurostar €5 or so for a toasted sandwich or whatever, I will never pay extra for Premier again, so there they are. Not impressed. The service, the attitude, and the food are very much worse than they were just a few years ago. Roll on ending their monopoly.
brooklynbound
Member
I think it must be down to the individual management of a train's crew. You get good journeys and bad journeys. That said when I complain afterwards about poor service I usually get a decent refund. I assume they work on the basis that few people will take the trouble to complain.
I’m definitely thinking of flying in future.
In the past I’d use a sensible First Advance Wilmslow to London, then Eurostar Plus to Paris. Both legs were decent. In the return direction in particular I’d have lunch in London between trips, so connection times didn’t matter.
Now Avanti First is too expensive and - from reports - not very good. Nor is Eurostar. So a cramped flight with rubbish or non-existent food for a short period is a better option. Not slower for sure. But I’m not part of Eurostar’s key market I guess.
In the past I’d use a sensible First Advance Wilmslow to London, then Eurostar Plus to Paris. Both legs were decent. In the return direction in particular I’d have lunch in London between trips, so connection times didn’t matter.
Now Avanti First is too expensive and - from reports - not very good. Nor is Eurostar. So a cramped flight with rubbish or non-existent food for a short period is a better option. Not slower for sure. But I’m not part of Eurostar’s key market I guess.
So always complain. No complaints means there's no problem.
It was the opposite for me earlier in the year. The vegetarian option was the only one left and I'm not vegetarian. I complained and it was suggested that in future I should book a seat closer to where they start serving. Incredible.
Flying Snail
Established Member
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I must have missed that note on the seat map.
Perhaps they should re-number the seats in order of the likelihood of getting served.
Trainbike46
Established Member
I think offering a vegetarian meal to a non-vegetarian is more acceptable than the reverse though!
I'll have my first Eurostar plus journey (free upgrade!) from December, I've pre-booked my meal due to me having dietary requirements somewhat more complicated than vegetarian, so I'm curious how that will work.
STINT47
Member
I got the same reply when they only had one of the two options left.
I said has it been busier than expected as I really wanted the other option. I was told that they don't guarantee any food will be available so I should be happy that a meal is left. In future you should book into the other carriage if you want an option.
Eurostar staff seem to have become worse. Not all of them but some are frankly lazy and rude.
D6130
Established Member
Maybe that's because of a change in the way the company are treating them?
voyagerdude220
Established Member
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Annoyingly I got a very similar response on a Virgin service several years ago when I mentioned my evening meal was cold- I was sat on coach H, which was much less crowded than J and K- "Sit closer to the Kitchen next time."
Absolutely though I think there’s a huge amount of one off non European tourist traffic on London to Paris in particular, highly unlikely to complain or return.
MisterM
Member
From my experience the Belgian staff are decent, Dutch staff are great and British and French staff aren't as customer friendly.
Whilst the Vegetarian option is present on the menu, the Eurostar Premier Dining Experience page on their website does mention a requirement to pre-book "special" meals (24 hours for vegetarian; 48 hours for vegan, diabetic, halal, kosher, low fat, low salt or kids meals.)
That's in line with Eurostar trying to position themselves as a ground-based airline, though it should probably be flagged up as part of the purchase flow when buying a Plus or Premier ticket.
Gerald Fiennes
Member
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- 7 Jan 2009
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- 1,031
My understanding is that there is no longer any drink/snack service between the Netherlands and Brussels (and v.v.)....
Given the premium fare that goes with Business Premier, the experiences above do sound disappointing. Demand, though, seems to be strong (on the London-Brussels (and v.v.) leg at least) so maybe the cost accountants have got a point here (ie. scaling back on-train catering doesn't affect revenue much)....
Given the premium fare that goes with Business Premier, the experiences above do sound disappointing. Demand, though, seems to be strong (on the London-Brussels (and v.v.) leg at least) so maybe the cost accountants have got a point here (ie. scaling back on-train catering doesn't affect revenue much)....
The last time I travelled (less than two months ago) there was a drinks and snacks service in Plus from Amsterdam. The problem was that they did the drinks service immediately and then neglected customers (even after they had been promised another service) for more than three hours, due to delay. Premier, or "business" as the staff referred to it, had a non-stop drinks and presumably snacks service.
Just to reiterate, all of the food and drink for the full journey was loaded prior to departure. They have the food and drink onboard but won't serve it until the Brussels customers have boarded,even when encountering serious delay.
There was no service in Plus on my trip from Rotterdam last weekend, and we didn’t get served until Lille. Quite a few customers complained and eventually went to the cafe eventually.