Originally Posted by
moretimeoffguy
Just came into the 90 day window for booking theCity Night Line (CNL) train from Munich to Venice. The only cabins I'm interested are "2 persons in Deluxe Double" but it's rather pricey: 480,80 euros total for two adults (~$644 US).
Is there any way to get discounts on these tickets or are these somehow considered the advance purchase fare already?
There are some problems with this train because the Italians are being difficult. At the moment it's only bookable until april the 7th. When the DB knows for 100% sure they can offer this journey they will open bookings to a later date.
"2 persons in Deluxe Double" should cost 268 euro's when purchased far in advance (I noticed these fares are already gone for most trains until april the 7th so they're sold pretty quickly in most cases)
Originally Posted by
moretimeoffguy
* What about cancellation policies? Even at this what-seems-to-me-to-be-too-expensive-at-the-moment-price, what does it cost to cancel? Sometimes I like having reservations in my back pocket so I can decide later.
AFAIK with full fare tickets (the 480 euro's one) you can get everything back if you cancel until the day before travel. With the advance fare you can only get 15 euro's back (or maybe 30 in this case because of 2 persons). I don't know all of this entirely sure, although someone here probably does...
Originally Posted by
moretimeoffguy
* Saw a self-print option online, but read elsewhere that it requires an "A4" paper size vs. what U.S. citizens would be familiar with in printing boarding passes. So if I purchase tickets should I have them mailed?
If you print your ticket on 'letter' size paper you should be fine. I recommended it over sending tickets by mail anytime!
Originally Posted by
moretimeoffguy
UPDATE: There's a point in the booking engine where it asks for passenger ages and has a "No Reduction" drop-down, in which there are items like BahnCard 25, BahnCard 50, etc. Is possessing one of these the only way to get advance purchase discount fares? And can a U.S. citizen purchase one of these online? Would the cost of one off-set the train fare sufficiently to make it worth while?
Bahncard 25/50 are normally really good value even when someone only makes a few trips. You can play around a bit with the booking system to see if it's advantageous but for one trip I guess it's not. Buying a Bahncard from outside Germany should be possible but in my experience it's quite a hassle. But no worries, you can buy it on the day of travel at Munich (or any other German ralway station) if necessary.
Originally Posted by
moretimeoffguy
Finally, can I book CNL tickets with something like Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, or BA Avios points? Thinking "no" here but thought I'd ask anyway.
I'm pretty sure a "no" is correct here
