Hi everyone,
After a ridiculous number of hitches, we finally booked tickets on a eurostar train, Rome to Bologna. Since for some reason my credit card was declined (Visa said that they hadn't even been asked for approval--it was something in the trentitalia site/how I was using it), we ended up using the card belonging to the mom of one person travelling with us.
You may here get an ominous feeling that you know which I new disaster I think I have precipitated: no, the mom will not be travelling with us. No, we therefore won't have her credit card or passport or matching face!! And I now gather we are supposed to show all 3 on board the train when we display our ticketless tickets.
So should we cave, and ask for refunds? (now, on-line? [shudder. . . ]; or when we arrive in Rome, 4 days before this scheduled train trip? if the latter, I suppose we would need to have at least a photocopy of her credit card for the refund process, wouldn't we.] Or should we try getting on the train with a photocopy of the mom's credit card, a little letter from her attesting to her having bought these tx. for her daughter and their (foolish) companions, her paid bill, a blood sample, fingerprints,whatever, and hope for the best? or maybe just plan to walk to Bologna??
All my struggles with the on-line purchasing process was just so we could presumably get 29 E. fares for what would otherwise be 57 E. (1st class) seats. In the end, we got only one at this price, and had to buy a full-fare seat beside it, since there were by then no other 29E. seats on the train and otherwise this cheap-seat member of our group would be all alone, 4 carriages away from the rest of us!! The other 4 of us ended up with regular 2nd-class fares (37E) (if I had been paying attention in the beginning to this 2nd-class fare, I wouldn't have tried for this @*$# 29E. fare!! DUH!)
So I've e-mailed trenitalia (their site proudly assures visitors that their policy is to reply within 30 days: we'll be there by then!); I've tried phoning them using their web-site #("the call cannot be connected as dialed." operator said it was probably just busy, but a strange kind of busy. In the following hours, no better luck). I realize I am cursed, and that you normal people DO manage to make on-line bookings easily and correctly, saunter onto the train without a care, and hardly even recall the process of acquiring the tickets. For me, this is one of the memorable events of our trip, although we haven't physically started it yet!
All I can hope for is that someone out there will have some imaginative advice for me that includes redeeming myself in the eyes of my skeptical family and friends, not losing the mom's money, and actually making that train!
Aiuto!!

Lauram, I've been following your Trenitalia adventures with interest and sympathy.

I think someone answered your question - as I recall, no blood samples required! - on your original post about 29 Euro tickets.

Take comfort from the fact that you have probably managed to put your largest confrontation with Italian bureaucracy behind you before ever getting there. After all this, Italy will be smooth sailing.

D'accordo. I've never had to show anything but the reservation code to the conductor. Although it may seem so with your experiences up to this point, no one is out to get you...and it's true, the number on the site can only be dialed from within Italy.

Just get in the train in the assigned seats and show them you ticketless code (you can even have it text-messaged to you). It will be fine.

Grazie, donne!

I had copied into a file of useful bits (several months ago) someone's comments about the ticketless system being so easy to use, just show the cc and passport and you're away! and then come across those comments right after we finally got the tx. That's what made me panic. On my previous tale of woe about this whole booking fiasco (nice Italian word!) after I raised that concern, AllisonK mentioned that she had just had to show her passport, not the credit card. And fortunately, the travelling companion's name (Chelsea) (rather than her credit-card-wielding mom's) is the one on the reservation. I couldn't see anything on the purchase details print-out that gives the reservation code about what documentation one should be prepared to show (though Chelsea has given me only the first sheets of each of the reservations--maybe there were details on the 2nd page?? I will see if she can check.)

So if you're pretty sure that we'll have to show only the reservation code (and maybe Chelsea, her passport) I think we should be fine!!!

ok, you're going to think I'm really neurotic, but here's (I hope) my last question on this topic, and then I shall entirely put the whole thing out of my mind: Since 2 of us are in carriage 1 and 4 of us in carriage 5 (but not quite all together there, either), is there a less problematic place for Chelsea to sit, assuming that she may have to show her passport for all of our tx and then ask the conductor to keep that in mind when he gets to the rest of us eventually? I guess I'm really wondering whether the conductor tends to work back to front or front to back of the train. Or is that too linear a question for Italy?

Yes, I do have other things to do today. Don't worry!!

Thank you!

The critical thing is the reservation code, which will reflect your name original seats. If everyone knows these two bits of info, you should have no problem, even if you've switched seating.

The conductor's are usually pretty with-it, actually.

ok, so Chelsea's name is on the reservation print-out, and of course she'll have her passport, and we'll all having seat reservations in her name, so everything will be fine then?
WHEW! you guys have put my mind to rest. I think it was overdue for one! Mille grazie indeed.

I purchased tickets several time for my father.. Well. not actually purchased, I purchased them using my frequent traveller points! So, the tickets were purchased with my own code (and the mail was sent to me), with points from my own frequent traveller "card", and which in turn were paid with my own credit card. once on the trin, my fahter showed the code to the conductor and the conductor gave him the recepit: that's all. And no ID was ever asked, if you don't hand the passoport to the conductor I honestly doubt he will ask it.

quote:

Originally posted by Alice Twain:
...no ID was ever asked, if you don't hand the passport to the conductor I honestly doubt he will ask for it.

This has been my experience 1000 percent of the time, for myself, and everyone I've every booked ticketless for. I have NEVER been asked for any form of ID, passport or otherwise. The reservation # (and the change # should you need it) are all that count.

Tranquillo!

My recollection was that I only had to show the PNR but I thought at most a passport in addition. I'm glad you Italians were able to sort it all out.

Thank you all, once again.

What would I do without this web-site and all of the expertise it so easily organizes?? Thank you slow-travel gods/goddesses!

I think that because there are six of us, I'm being much more careful about organizing all of these little details than I would be if it were just me zipping off to bella Italia. But now I can return to day-dreaming about all of the lovely experiences I hope to have, no more bureaucracy anxieties, at least for the time being.

Grazie, e grazie anchora. (?)