Oceania transfers in Barcelona

Taking Oceania's air (no deviation) into Barcelona and their transfer to the ship. How will we identify our transportation? Imagine there will be more than just the 2 of us on the flight looking for O's transport. Are we directed to a certain desk or kiosk, or will there be someone outside of customs holding a sign?

Thanks!!!

There is always someone at baggage claim with a clipboard. But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros, you go immediately and privately to the ship. Unless you have a walker, wheelchair or a large amount of luggage I suggest you cancel the O transfer and just take a cab.

There is always someone at baggage claim with a clipboard. But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros, you go immediately and privately to the ship. Unless you have a walker, wheelchair or a large amount of luggage I suggest you cancel the O transfer and just take a cab.

+1! That's what we do.

" But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros"

Does this mean I'll need to convert some US$ to euros, or is there a chance the taxi driver will be willing to take US$ for the fare? I hadn't intended to exchange any currency, if it could be helped.

" But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros"

 

Does this mean I'll need to convert some US$ to euros, or is there a chance the taxi driver will be willing to take US$ for the fare? I hadn't intended to exchange any currency, if it could be helped.

I bet they will not take USD

If it is too much trouble to exchange to Euro then just take the transfers from O ...I bet they are 3 times or more of the price of a taxi :eek:

JMO

I would make the effort to exchange some currency either before you go or at the airport

There are ATM's at the airport. Can't believe you are considering a cruise from Barcelona without some Euros.

There are ATM's at the airport. Can't believe you are considering a cruise from Barcelona without some Euros.

+1 on ATMs at the airport and the "Euros dilemma".

This reminds me of a funny (actually a very sad) story from our cruise this past June.

Cruise was from London to Copenhagen.

We met a very nice couple on our trivia team. They shared this story with us.

When the ship arrived in Amsterdam (4th stop in EU) they offered to show the city to some friends they met at a dinner as our friends had been to Amsterdam many times before. The couple agreed. At lunch time their "new friends" offered to treat our friends for lunch for their kindness. However, they had no Euros (didn't they know they had no Euros before they offered to pay for lunch?) and our friends had to pay for the lunch. In addition they also had to pay for the taxi back (for the same reason). Their new friends promised to pay them back on the ship but they made themselves scarce. It took several additional contacts for them to finally return the money they owed.

Can you imagine the nerve of some people :eek: How does one venture into Amsterdam without a single Euro in their pocket much less offer to pay for lunch?

Disclaimer - I am not implying that this has anything to do with OP.

[quote name='Paulchili;51101533 us.

When the ship arrived in Amsterdam (4th stop in EU) they offered to show the city to some friends they met at a dinner as our friends had been to Amsterdam many times before. The couple agreed. At lunch time their "new friends" offered to treat our friends for lunch for their kindness. However' date=' they had no Euros (didn't they know they had no Euros before they offered to pay for lunch?) and our friends had to pay for the lunch. In addition they also had to pay for the taxi back (for the same reason). Their new friends promised to pay them back on the ship but they made themselves scarce. It took several additional contacts for them to finally return the money they owed.

[/quote']

WOW

sounds like a scam ;)

I have heard of people doing that on private tours ..forgetting to bring cash then disappearing for the remainder of the cruise :eek:

There are ATM's at the airport. Can't believe you are considering a cruise from Barcelona without some Euros.

I never order Euros in advance. If I have some leftover from a previous trip, I bring those, otherwise, I always hit the ATM in the first European airport we hit for our initial supply. Generally they are very plentiful. We almost always connect in Amsterdam and there are lots in the shopping concourse that you are channeled through....

Joe

I'm with Joe. (Hi Joe! Still trying to meet up on a cruise some day ...)

When we were in Bruges in July I purchased euros from an ATM, knowing that the exchange rate for once is pretty much in our favor and we were going to be in Euro country in October. We will use them on our upcoming Barcelona-NYC cruise on Sirena and get more if need be.

While there are areas where dollars are preferred, from my experience they are in third world countries. (Not always -- when we were in Seville on Renaissance in Oct '99 there were people selling postcards when we got off the ship's tour bus and they definitely wanted $1 bills US.)

When we did the Black Sea cruise in 2012 most of our guides wanted dollars. Pristine dollars, at that. No tears, should look brand new.

But a cab driver in western Europe isn't going to want the hassle of changing the money ...now, for the OP -- it still might be worth it if you really insist on not getting local currency. If a driver accepts US dollars he probably will really shaft you on the exchange rate. But that still might be a lot cheaper than paying the ship's transfer fee.

We always bring local currency with us and NEVER assume they will want dollars unless they ask for them in advance. That has never happened to us in Barcelona ...

Mura

You can always exchange a small amount of currency at the airport....a taxi will be much less expensive than Oceania's transfers.

I would also suggest you do an internet search of private or semi-private transfers from the airport to the port. We routinely do that in many cities....and usually you can prepay the transfers in advance via credit card.

Appreciate your helpful input. You've given me something to think about.

The fare from port to airport (or vice-versa) is fixed at 39 euros.

It looks expensive when there's little traffic and ok when there's plenty. It overrides whatever the taximeter shows; it includes luggage.

There's info here.

http://www.aeropuertobarcelona-elprat.com/ingl/barcelona_airport_taxis.htm

The fare from port to airport (or vice-versa) is fixed at 39 euros.

It looks expensive when there's little traffic and ok when there's plenty. It overrides whatever the taximeter shows; it includes luggage.

 

There's info here.

 

http://www.aeropuertobarcelona-elprat.com/ingl/barcelona_airport_taxis.htm

Too bad it is just to/from the cruise terminal and not city center as well.

That's still a welcome (and long overdue) change - much like in NYC and other large cities where visitors are no longer prey to local taxi drivers.

During one stay in Barcelona we had 2 RT to airport/same hotel and each of the 4 fares was VERY different (same time of the day).

We did this in august

Started our cruise off orly because the oceania greeters weren't there. Make sure you get every detail.before buying the transfers

+1 on ATMs at the airport and the "Euros dilemma".

This reminds me of a funny (actually a very sad) story from our cruise this past June.

Cruise was from London to Copenhagen.

We met a very nice couple on our trivia team. They shared this story with us.

When the ship arrived in Amsterdam (4th stop in EU) they offered to show the city to some friends they met at a dinner as our friends had been to Amsterdam many times before. The couple agreed. At lunch time their "new friends" offered to treat our friends for lunch for their kindness. However, they had no Euros (didn't they know they had no Euros before they offered to pay for lunch?) and our friends had to pay for the lunch. In addition they also had to pay for the taxi back (for the same reason). Their new friends promised to pay them back on the ship but they made themselves scarce. It took several additional contacts for them to finally return the money they owed.

Can you imagine the nerve of some people :eek: How does one venture into Amsterdam without a single Euro in their pocket much less offer to pay for lunch?

Disclaimer - I am not implying that this has anything to do with OP.

Have been there many times and most places you go will take credit cards. They usually want the one's with the chips which all the banks in the US are using now. Have never gone for a meal where they would not take credit cards. Also some taxis will take them. Have to ask before you start. A lot of them do. Last summer we spent 3 and a half weeks in Europe with only 25 euros and had to take some home with me for next time.

There are ATM's at the airport. Can't believe you are considering a cruise from Barcelona without some Euros.

+2 or 3

Have been there many times and most places you go will take credit cards. They usually want the one's with the chips which all the banks in the US are using now. Have never gone for a meal where they would not take credit cards. Also some taxis will take them. Have to ask before you start. A lot of them do. Last summer we spent 3 and a half weeks in Europe with only 25 euros and had to take some home with me for next time.

While certainly in the minority there are many cafes, restaurants and stores that operate on cash only. I've seen this in the USA as well as abroad.

Having said that I usually always try to pay with a CC everywhere, but there are many times that you need the local currency.

is a well-priced limo service in many cities; I recently reserved on-line (and paid for with a cc) a transfer from BCN to my hotel. I was met by a driver with my name on a sign and driven in a Mercedes van to my hotel. Very professional and clean. Check them out.

We always prefer the cab ride over the bus. On one cruise, we stayed in Barcelona at the Oceania Hotel precruise. We planned to put our luggage on the bus, walk around Las Rambla and then take a cab to the ship until we saw how haphazard the hotel was with everyone's luggage. The bus was to arrive at noon and we were still there at 1:30 and luggage was all over the place. As is my frequent custom, I had too many bags and was concerned that one would walk off by itself.

You'll find it helpful to have a few euros for the ports of call. You won't find many Spaniards, French or Italians taking dollars - we've never tried to spend euros in the US!

Get a few Euros from the ATM. Be aware the fees are high using ATM's in Europe, so try not to make too many ATM transactions.

Use a Credit Card as much as you can. Be sure to use a Credit Card that does not charge Foreign Transaction Fees. These fees can be 2-4% of the transaction amount.

" But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros"

 

Does this mean I'll need to convert some US$ to euros, or is there a chance the taxi driver will be willing to take US$ for the fare? I hadn't intended to exchange any currency, if it could be helped.

As others no doubt will post, there are ATMS in the airport so you can use your debit card to obtain a small amount of Euros or just exchange some US cash at your departure airport or at Barcelona from the currency exchange in the airport. Although the exchange rates at airports are usually REALLY bad, if you are not exchanging much it doesn't matter. And many taxis take both debit and credit cards now. I cannot remember if the ones we used in Barcelona did or not but am sure someone will soon reply with that info. Have a great trip.

GolfGuy,

I think you may have gathered from other comments that you can't expect a taxi driver in a major european city to accept dollars. If he would, it would be at a severe discount. Probably more than paying the service fee at an airport ATM.

It's not unusual for U.S. citizens to think dollars are accepted everywhere ... but they are not. Yes, in some areas they are. But not by taxi drivers in a major city.

You can always go to a local bank and get euros ...not sure if that's cheaper than just using an overpriced airport ATM, though.

We got extra euros when we were in Europe this summer which we will use on our upcoming cruise. If we hadn't have been there (at a time when the exchange rate is favorable to the U.S. dollar), we would just have hit the first ATM.

There are many taxis in western Europe that accept credit cards but that has not been our experience in Barcelona ... we may just have been unobservant.

Mura

Get a few Euros from the ATM. Be aware the fees are high using ATM's in Europe, so try not to make too many ATM transactions.

 

Use a Credit Card as much as you can. Be sure to use a Credit Card that does not charge Foreign Transaction Fees. These fees can be 2-4% of the transaction amount.

Very surprised to see the comment about high fees for ATM's in Europe. Just back from Iceland and Amsterdam and checked the exchange and right on the posted rate for that day with no added fees. Also during other trips, have found that any fees at foreign ATM's have been extremely small to zero and much lower than using ATM's in the US not affiliated with my Credit Union. Completely agree with the use credit card as much as possible as in addition to great exchange rates also got points that will help with free flights. Did a 15 nite cruise thru only Norway and used credit cards in every port and did not have to get Norwegian Kroner at all so no ATM's needed in Norway.

Dave,

I'm not sure if you were advising the use of credit cards at ATMs because usually that isn't the case ... unless, of course, you have a credit card that doesn't charge conversion, etc., fees. You certainly don't want a cash advance using your credit card .. unless you can immediately repay it. At least that is what I have always heard.

We usually use our no-conversion-fee credit cards for purchases and our debit card for cash at ATMs. (Our debit card reimburses us for the fees and doesn't charge a conversion fee.)

Mura