1st time solo cruiser for Epic from Barcelona July 31st

I have quite a few questions please. Bit nervous as a sigle woman traveling alone.

My flight lands in Barcelona from Atlanta to 8.25am. I want to just go to the ship. I see some say then can embark as early as 11.00am. Is this true?

When I get back I have a hotel for one night but can not check in until 1pm. I bought a hop on hop off bus pass but they do not start until 9am. Could I say on the boat that long?

I plan on having just a decent sized backpack but will have to have that on the bus until 1pm. Am I a target in Barcelona with it?

Is there any way to take fruit from the boat to have as snacks on excursions?

Thank you all so much!!!

Wendy

I have quite a few questions please. Bit nervous as a sigle woman traveling alone.

 

My flight lands in Barcelona from Atlanta to 8.25am. I want to just go to the ship. I see some say then can embark as early as 11.00am. Is this true? I got there about 10am and had a short wait before I could embark so 11 sounds about right.

 

When I get back I have a hotel for one night but can not check in until 1pm. I bought a hop on hop off bus pass but they do not start until 9am. Could I say on the boat that long? Yes, you can stay on until 9am, have a leisurely breakfast.

 

I plan on having just a decent sized backpack but will have to have that on the bus until 1pm. Am I a target in Barcelona with it? Rick Steves has some great tips for keeping your items safe in Europe. Just keep your back back either in the front of you or with it's openings turned into the side and a hand on it at all times and you will be fine. Basically treat it like you would if you didn't want it to get stolen in any big city.

 

Is there any way to take fruit from the boat to have as snacks on excursions? No, fruit is not allowed to be taken off but they may have packed foods that you can take. I can't really speak to this since I always enjoyed finding something in the towns.

 

Thank you all so much!!!

 

Wendy

Enjoy your time! I went there a couple of years ago solo on the Epic and my review link is in my signature below if you want to read it.

My flight lands in Barcelona from Atlanta to 8.25am. I want to just go to the ship. I see some say then can embark as early as 11.00am. Is this true?

 

You can go straight to the ship. Boarding will start around 11:30. You have three basic options. (1) NCL Transfer from BCN to the port (2) Private Car (booked through NCL and Groundlink); (3) Taxi.

 

The first time we went to Barcelona, we used a private car with the the driver coming into the terminal for us. After, we used a taxi (making sure to have Euros to pay for the cab).

 

When I get back I have a hotel for one night but can not check in until 1pm. I bought a hop on hop off bus pass but they do not start until 9am. Could I say on the boat that long?

Actually, the first color tag disembarkation (i.e. folks using porters to move their luggage ashore) starts around 9:00 am

 

I plan on having just a decent sized backpack but will have to have that on the bus until 1pm. Am I a target in Barcelona with it?

Best to transfer as much as you can into your suitcase before your hop on/hop off.

 

Is there any way to take fruit from the boat to have as snacks on excursions?

It is illegal to remove food from the ship (especially fruit). Out of all time time we have cruised, I have only seen them searching bags once. US Ports will sometimes have agriculture dogs sniffing bags.

Have a great cruise, Wendy. We have sailed on the Epic 5 times (3 times with Barcelona being a port call). We were there last October and spent the afternoon after disembarkation at the Gaudi Park (Park Güell).

Gosh! I am so grateful for the replies!!

I do plan to get the NCL transfer from the airport to the ship when I arrive so no worries there at all!

So I can take food with me when I go on excursions? I hate to sound like this but, I am single, I don't make a huge amount of money, I can only afford to go on a trip once ever few years and I did spend $400 on excursions in Rome and Naples so I am trying to keep to a budget!

If I do not give my bags to the ship for disembarkment (it will only be one carry on sized back pack what is the LATEST I could get off the ship when I arrive back in Barcelona?

I hope you all understand how grateful I am!

Gosh! I am so grateful for the replies!!

 

I do plan to get the NCL transfer from the airport to the ship when I arrive so no worries there at all!

 

So I can take food with me when I go on excursions? I hate to sound like this but, I am single, I don't make a huge amount of money, I can only afford to go on a trip once ever few years and I did spend $400 on excursions in Rome and Naples so I am trying to keep to a budget!

 

If I do not give my bags to the ship for disembarkment (it will only be one carry on sized back pack what is the LATEST I could get off the ship when I arrive back in Barcelona?

 

I hope you all understand how grateful I am!

No you cannot take food off the ship unless it is sealed from the factory, like a box of cereal. You can bring snacks from home that are sealed and take them with you for excursions.

You can stay on the ship and be one of the last off if that is what you want to do. That would be some where around 9:30 to 10:30. Why not get off earlier and walk around to see some sights?

You can stay on the ship and be one of the last off if that is what you want to do. That would be some where around 9:30 to 10:30. Why not get off earlier and walk around to see some sights?

Well, for one to sleep in as much as possible. But main reason is I don't want to walk around with my luggage. I can get on the hop off/hop off bus at 9.00am at the earliest. I can't drop my luggage at the hotel until 1pm.

Is Breakfast served the day of disembarkment?

You can stay on the ship and be one of the last off if that is what you want to do. That would be some where around 9:30 to 10:30. Why not get off earlier and walk around to see some sights?

Well, for one to sleep in as much as possible. But main reason is I don't want to walk around with my luggage. I can get on the hop off/hop off bus at 9.00am at the earliest. I can't drop my luggage at the hotel until 1pm.

Is Breakfast served the day of disembarkment?

Yes, breakfast is served until I think 9AM on day of disembarkment.

Are you sure you cannot drop luggage at hotel until 1PM? Most hotels I dealt with in Europe will allow you to drop off luggage before check in time and will hold it for you.

Are you sure you cannot drop luggage at hotel until 1PM? Most hotels I dealt with in Europe will allow you to drop off luggage before check in time and will hold it for you.

Good to know. I just sent them an email so I will see!!!

Thanks so much for all the information.

Another question, do you need your passport with you on each of the excursions in Italy?

I just came back from a med cruise on the Spirit and we handed over our passports at embarkation and got them back a few days before our last stop. I think it is to make going through customs easier at all the ports. I kept a copy of my passport in my purse but I never needed it.

I highly recommend joining the roll call for your cruise. We joined with people from our roll call for private tours in all the ports we went to. We met some great people and had more enjoyable tours with only 8 people, instead of being crammed on a bus with 50 other people for the ship excursions. And we saved a ton of money. You should not have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to Rome - you can do it on a private tour for about 75 euros.

Also, we went to drop our luggage at our hotel at about 10:30 in the morning and they had a room available so were able to go ahead and check in. Your hotel will almost certainly hold your luggage for you until check in, but you may get lucky and be able to check in early. You can also request an early check in and they will accommodate you if they can.

You are going to have a great time - enjoy!

I highly recommend joining the roll call for your cruise. We joined with people from our roll call for private tours in all the ports we went to. We met some great people and had more enjoyable tours with only 8 people, instead of being crammed on a bus with 50 other people for the ship excursions. And we saved a ton of money. You should not have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to Rome - you can do it on a private tour for about 75 euros.

You are going to have a great time - enjoy!

Can you please explain the roll call and also how I can find info on the private tour in Roma? I paid $369 to NCL for a tour from Naples to Sorrento and Positino then lunch and tour through Pompeii. I fear I was taken :confused:

I just came back from a med cruise on the Spirit and we handed over our passports at embarkation and got them back a few days before our last stop. I think it is to make going through customs easier at all the ports. I kept a copy of my passport in my purse but I never needed it.

 

I believe they only do that on the cruises that have a stop in Turkey. I was on the Epic a few weeks ago, and they did not take our passports. I kept our passports in the ship safe, but carried color paper and scanned (on my iPhone) copies with me.

Have you booked a "single cabin" on the ship? My daughter did a solo cruise on the Epic a couple of years ago. I booked it for her about a week before it left. We really knew nothing about the "solo" cabins - well, she absolutely LOVED it. Solo passengers have their own lounge, so you can meet lots of other singles. They have a special dining table as well, and their own itinerary for sightseeing and tour guides. You can do as much or as little with them as you choose.

The one question that stood out for me was your query of taking your backpack into Barcelona. First, be assured, that you will be perfectly safe in Barcelona, but the pickpockets along Los Ramblas are notorious. Although we were told time and time again to be very careful, three people came back to the ship reporting that they had money, documents and purses stolen. Invest in a small shoulder bag and keep it to the front of you - or even put it inside your jacket or coat if you are wearing one. Or invest in a money belt you wear inside your clothes. Under no circumstances take a backpack and wear it on your back.

It's nerve-wracking to be planning your first cruise - but I know you'll have a wonderful time.

Under no circumstances take a backpack and wear it on your back.

It's nerve-wracking to be planning your first cruise - but I know you'll have a wonderful time.

So this is why I bought the hop on hop off bus. I can get on with my back pack from the port. It drops about .5 miles from my hotel. I will have to get from that stop to the hotel with the backpack though.

Under no circumstances take a backpack and wear it on your back.

 

It's nerve-wracking to be planning your first cruise - but I know you'll have a wonderful time.

I would like to disagree. If you have a large backpack and put your money deep inside then it would be difficult to be pickpocketed. You need to make sure your money and passport are really tucked away and have just about 30 euro handy for your day out.

I have walked around Barcelona a number of times and never had a problem. I was robbed by a taxi driver in Malaga because I left my purse near the top of my bag and took my eye off it. A colleague who foolishly (she said it) left her bag on the floor beside her whilst on a bar stool with her family was robbed, but I do not know anyone else who has been robbed whilst in Barcelona.

When you arrive, if you go straight to the port you will not be alone. I think you will have to wait to board, but when we disembarked at about 6.45 am from our April cruise there were already folk waiting to board. They looked as if they had come transatlantic.

As to your last day, you don't need to stay late on the ship. You can leave your room at about 8 am, go and have a last good breakfast (to last you until supper :D) and walk off the ship with your backpack. If you stay any later you will feel awkward. They are preparing for the next lot of passengers.

There is so much to see in Barcelona you will want to disembark and explore.

If you have booked in a reasonable hotel you should go there first and try to drop off your bags. We always do this and often are allowed to check in early. In Barcelona they are used to cruise passengers so they will not be surprised, any decent hotel will at the very least store your bags. You have then got the Gothic Quarter, ParkGuell, Casa Batllo, La Sagrada Familia, MontJuic, Las Ramblas, Camp Nou....... So much to see.

Don't be worried about travelling alone. Lots of people go solo and they have a great time. It is different to travelling in a group, but it is still fun. I have had some memorable travel experiences alone.

You don't have to spend a fortune on tours. Avoid going to buy the photographs because they are really very expensive (if you feel pressured into having an embarkation photo just smile and do not go and buy it). The 'bargain' sales are rarely a bargain.

Depending on what you have in the backpack, you can probably leave it at the hotel prior to 1:00 if you aren't too worried about anything in it. Every hotel I've ever stayed at allows you to drop off luggage early and then go off sight seeing to return when your room is ready. However, hotels vary in how secure they keep that luggage. If it's just clothes (and you can take your money and other valuables with you), there's probably no harm in leaving it with the hotel.

I highly recommend joining the roll call for your cruise. We joined with people from our roll call for private tours in all the ports we went to. We met some great people and had more enjoyable tours with only 8 people, instead of being crammed on a bus with 50 other people for the ship excursions. And we saved a ton of money. You should not have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to Rome - you can do it on a private tour for about 75 euros.

 

 

You are going to have a great time - enjoy!

Can you please explain the roll call and also how I can find info on the private tour in Roma? I paid $369 to NCL for a tour from Naples to Sorrento and Positino then lunch and tour through Pompeii. I fear I was taken :confused:

If you look at the top of the Norwegian Board there is a link titled "Find your Norwegian roll call". Click on that and then find the roll call for your ship and date. If there isn't one it's because nobody has started it yet. You can either create a post to get it started, or wait for someone else to post and then join.

Regarding the back pack - you can buy an anti-theft bag. The brand I know about is called Travelon, and they are available on Amazon. The zippers lock and they have other safety features as well. I got one for my trip and I really liked it. I think I would have been okay with just a regular purse, but I liked the security of knowing it would be almost impossible for someone to pick pocket me. They come in all shapes and sizes. I agree with the poster who advised you not to wear the back pack in the back. The last thing you need is to be robbed when you just want to enjoy the vacation of a lifetime. It's better to be safe than sorry!

Can you please explain the roll call and also how I can find info on the private tour in Roma? I paid $369 to NCL for a tour from Naples to Sorrento and Positino then lunch and tour through Pompeii. I fear I was taken :confused:

That's pretty expensive. Like TMS9539 said, try your roll call and see if anyone is doing anything similar in a private tour and if you can join. Also, check Rome in Limo's tour sharing site here https://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/

I kept an eye on it to see if there was anything that I wanted to do but nothing really topped what I planned to do on my own but you may find something. It really is easy though to get from Naples to Sorrento and Pompeii on the train as well as much, much cheaper if you decide to try it by yourself. I'm really not sure about Positino though since it wasn't on my list to go to.

I have quite a few questions please. Bit nervous as a sigle woman traveling alone.

 

My flight lands in Barcelona from Atlanta to 8.25am. I want to just go to the ship. I see some say then can embark as early as 11.00am. Is this true?

 

When I get back I have a hotel for one night but can not check in until 1pm. I bought a hop on hop off bus pass but they do not start until 9am. Could I say on the boat that long?

 

I plan on having just a decent sized backpack but will have to have that on the bus until 1pm. Am I a target in Barcelona with it?

 

Is there any way to take fruit from the boat to have as snacks on excursions?

 

Thank you all so much!!!

 

Wendy

Enjoy your cruise.

That's pretty expensive. Like TMS9539 said, try your roll call and see if anyone is doing anything similar in a private tour and if you can join. Also, check Rome in Limo's tour sharing site here https://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/

 

I kept an eye on it to see if there was anything that I wanted to do but nothing really topped what I planned to do on my own but you may find something. It really is easy though to get from Naples to Sorrento and Pompeii on the train as well as much, much cheaper if you decide to try it by yourself. I'm really not sure about Positino though since it wasn't on my list to go to.

Naples is one of the easiest cities to visit. For a low cost Naples tour what I would do is just walk off the ship (the ship docks right downtown), get a good tour map and do a self guided walking tour of Naples. head back to the ship for lunch and then do the ships half day tour of Pompeii in the afternoon.

As to your last day, you don't need to stay late on the ship. You can leave your room at about 8 am, go and have a last good breakfast (to last you until supper :D) and walk off the ship with your backpack. If you stay any later you will feel awkward. They are preparing for the next lot of passengers.

 

You are not on a standard cruise where everyone gets off. For this cruise in Europe there are three different ports where passengers can join or leave the cruise. The ship never empties out in any one city.

1. I would try to drop off the luggage at the hotel in the morning. Never had a problem doing that. 2. I used the hop on buses two years ago, it was ok the first 2h in the morning, then it got really crowded so leaving the bus and getting on took a lot of time. There were lines for reembarking, sometimes people had two wait for a 2nd or 3rd bus. I would consider that for planning my day. 3. You have to get from the ship to the hotel / bus stop. There is a port bus going from ship to Columbus monument. First bus is around 8a, I don´t know how often they go. 2€. 4. You don´t need your passport for stops within the EU. Just a picture ID. Leave the passport in the safe, there is lot of pickpoketing! 5. Western Med cruises are great for doing excursions on your own. There are lots of public transportation options and it is very safe (for women travelling alone, too). Search for “toms port guides”. Lots of detailed helpful information to each port. For Rome search for “civitatours”. 6. Don´t use your normal purse/wallet, leave it on the ship. Just cash, ID, maybe credit card in your pocket.

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You are not on a standard cruise where everyone gets off. For this cruise in Europe there are three different ports where passengers can join or leave the cruise. The ship never empties out in any one city.

We joined and left the Epic in Barcelona - granted there were those that got on in Rome and Marseilles - but The cruise was based around Barcelona being Day One for most people.

I want the OP to get off nice and early and enjoy Barcelona. It is a fabulous city. Too nice to waste having a lie in on the ship.

Can you please explain the roll call and also how I can find info on the private tour in Roma? I paid $369 to NCL for a tour from Naples to Sorrento and Positino then lunch and tour through Pompeii. I fear I was taken :confused:

That sounds like the going rate for that sort of ship tour. It will be interesting. You can however cancel as long as you give at least 48 hrs notice so if you go on the Roll Call and find you can join a private tour you should be able to get your money back

You are going to have so much fun

i just did the same cruise a couple weeks ago. DON'T OVERTHINK THIS. A taxi from the airpot to port/hotel will run you abut 30euro. I spent my time in Barca before the cruise but my flight landed at 7am and after I grabbed breakfast I hopped a cab to my hotel (Hilton) and while my room wasn't ready at 8:30 or so they took my luggage and stored it for me no charge. And I was not the only one. I was then able to walk around and get a feel for the area.

E

 

We joined and left the Epic in Barcelona - granted there were those that got on in Rome and Marseilles - but The cruise was based around Barcelona being Day One for most people.

 

I want the OP to get off nice and early and enjoy Barcelona. It is a fabulous city. Too nice to waste having a lie in on the ship.

I agree Barcelona is a grate city to be in. It would be a shame to hang around the ship instead of going out and exploring.

That said, the OP should make up her/his mind.

Another piece of advise for the OP. Depending on what you like for breakfast. You can head to buffet or the dinning rooms for a hot breakfast. However because your in a studio there is also usually a spread in the studio lounge with a basic continental breakfast. I find it a less crowded start to the day.