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CrusingJoe

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Sailing from Barcelona on October 03, 2012 and spending 4 nights precruise in Barcelona, staying at the Continental. Can anyone tell me what are the best gay things we can do while in the city? Best way to get around? and what the weather might be in late September, early October?

 

Joe

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You're in easy walking distance of everything. The university is on the other side of Placa Catalunya from you and there were gay bars around. We noticed a gay bath across from the Continental but we did not visit. You're also at the nexus of the hop-on/hop-off buses. Have a great time. Our favorite things were Park Guell, just strolling around, and having coffee and people watching, so we're not going to be much help.

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We were in Barcelona later in October a few years go and took a day trip (~ 30 minutes via train) to Sitges. In case you were thinking about it, I am writing to say you may not want to bother. That resort town seems to be very seasonal and gay life was virtually non-existent in mid to late October; it was "sleepy", although it was pleasant enough to walk around.

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Sailing from Barcelona on October 03, 2012 and spending 4 nights precruise in Barcelona, staying at the Continental. Can anyone tell me what are the best gay things we can do while in the city? Best way to get around? and what the weather might be in late September, early October?

 

Joe

 

The best way to see Barcelona is the Hop On Off Bus ... get the 2 day pass its only a little more expensive than the 1 day ... it has three different routes.

 

Barcelona is a wonderful place to walk around in the old part of town ... dont miss The Gaudi Segrada Familia ... I have a YouTube of Barcelona if you want to take a look at

 

Its a great city ... have a great time .... I will be back there in Nov.

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The bus is fantastic. Someone staying at the Continental told us, and we agree having done it, that a good thing is to walk down Las Ramblas and then catch it at the bottom. You miss the long walk back up. We're not lazy but on a jet lag day, every bit helps.

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We were in Barcelona later in October a few years go and took a day trip (~ 30 minutes via train) to Sitges. In case you were thinking about it, I am writing to say you may not want to bother. That resort town seems to be very seasonal and gay life was virtually non-existent in mid to late October; it was "sleepy", although it was pleasant enough to walk around.

 

Thanks for the tip. How's the weather first weeks of October, hoping we'll have sun bathing temps on our itenerary.

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The best way to see Barcelona is the Hop On Off Bus ... get the 2 day pass its only a little more expensive than the 1 day ... it has three different routes.

 

Barcelona is a wonderful place to walk around in the old part of town ... dont miss The Gaudi Segrada Familia ... I have a YouTube of Barcelona if you want to take a look at

 

Its a great city ... have a great time .... I will be back there in Nov.

 

Great video and the bus sounds great, thanks.

 

Joe

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The bus is fantastic. Someone staying at the Continental told us, and we agree having done it, that a good thing is to walk down Las Ramblas and then catch it at the bottom. You miss the long walk back up. We're not lazy but on a jet lag day, every bit helps.

 

I think we will do the bus pass thing for 3 days, as my partner has a hard time walking. If you think of anything else to help us that would be great. It my first time over the pond and the Med, I am looking forward to it.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

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The subway is also easy to navigate. Las Rambles is a great way to spend the afternoon, but hang on to your wallet. It is known for pickpockets. There are a lot of cafes there. Perfect for a drink and people watching.

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September weather is warm, expect around 25 celsius degrees. But there are also some rainy days.... Rain in Barcelona is more often in April and September-October.

If you like art, consider also visiting the Museum of Art (MNAC), their Romanic collection is gourgeus.

 

Josep

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Whats the best way to get from the Airport BCN to downtown? Also how about getting to the ship? I have read their public buses, taxi, and subway is good. My hotel has quoited me $50 from BCN and $40 to the ship.

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The aerobus stops about a block from the Continental. They stop on the Placa Catalunya. We took it when we stayed there (as are you, Joe). Totally convenient.

 

Great thanks, will we like the Continental? I know it's a great price.. So many questions, sorry.. We are early evening bar people 5 to 8pm, any good GLBT places in the area?

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Great thanks, will we like the Continental? I know it's a great price.. So many questions, sorry.. We are early evening bar people 5 to 8pm, any good GLBT places in the area?

 

Well, I don't know you well (ok, at all) but I can tell you that we liked it. I think that it mostly depends on what you're looking for. We wanted a place that didn't feel like it could be a Marriott in any North American city. We work hard against that impulse some people have where they want to go to a foreign country but then live as though they're back in North America. A good example of this would be the long line of people we recognised from our CC roll call at the Hard Rock Cafe because they "just wanted a taste of home." This was on the first day!!

 

So what is the Continental like? It really is a small hotel. It's only two or three floors of a small building. You reach it by walking up the stairs or taking the very small elevator (two people and their luggage is a snug fit). The lobby is small ad consists of the front desk, a luggage storage area and the breakfast room. We had heard they would let us store our luggage the day we arrived but in the end, we didn't need to because they checked us in at 9 a.m., which won them big points in our ledger.

 

The hotel itself is only about 35 rooms. If we went back, we'd get a Ramblas view but we were shy about wanting that, fearing street noise, but our friends said the windows were really effective about blocking out noise. We had a room with a view on the side street, which was fine. There are interior view rooms which look into an air shaft. Essentially, it was too gloomy for us and not worth the saving.

 

The room was fine. A King bed or two twins seems to be the same thing in most hotels there, which is to say when it's a king, they push it together and make it as one bed. We opted for two twins because we thought we might sleep fitfully after the jetlag and all. The bathroom was quite large and had a bidet, a first for us.

 

The decor of the hotel is a little over the top floral, but in a way, that added to the quirky charm for us. Orwell stayed there once, and I could imagine that. I can't imagine him staying at the W. :)

 

You are one block from the Boqueria (the big market; not to be missed) but make sure you don't save it for Sunday as it will be closed. You're across the Placa Catalunya from El Corte Ingles, which is sort of like a Spanish Macys, but a bit more upscale. Placa Catalunya seems to be the nexus for a lot of the things that happen in the city and all the hop on hop offs pass there, I think. The Gothis quarter is just down the hill a block and to the left.

 

We didn't really go out to gay bars because we were pooped. I do think there were a lot of them and there is a gay hotel (the Axel) a few blocks away that has a bar.

 

Our only challenge in Barcelona was time. Some of the restaurants didn't even open until 8 or so and between jetlag ad our own natural inclination to be early people when we travel, food was a slight challenge, but not a huge one. The Gothic Quarter had a few restaurants that opened early (as early as 7! :) )so that helped. The breakfast at the hotel is good but more of a European breakfast. Don't expect bacon and eggs so much as cereal, cheese and bread. The hotel provides free beer and bottled water. The cruisers took full advantage of this, to a point where it was a little grubby on the last night. It seemed that they were trying to stock their cruise cabins for the whole trip.

 

Someone from CC arranged for the hotel to get vans for the trip to the port. Not wanting to be waiting on other people, we just went out into the street and got a cab. Our ride was cheaper and we didn't have to wait for anyone.

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I agree with with the others ... The Aerobus is the best way in to the City. From the Hotel to Ship the best way is a cab as you will have bags and its not that far (don't try walking as from the harbour gates to the area the cruise ships berth is a long walk with bags).

 

Eating is late in Spain (its the way they live). If you eat early you will get places to yourself (maybe other tourists), whilst eat late its the locals and you can have a lot of fun. To adjust have a Tapas some place in the afternoon they will keep you going .... plus they are very nice with a glass of the local wine.

 

Neil

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Well, I don't know you well (ok, at all) but I can tell you that we liked it. I think that it mostly depends on what you're looking for. We wanted a place that didn't feel like it could be a Marriott in any North American city. We work hard against that impulse some people have where they want to go to a foreign country but then live as though they're back in North America. A good example of this would be the long line of people we recognised from our CC roll call at the Hard Rock Cafe because they "just wanted a taste of home." This was on the first day!!

 

So what is the Continental like? It really is a small hotel. It's only two or three floors of a small building. You reach it by walking up the stairs or taking the very small elevator (two people and their luggage is a snug fit). The lobby is small ad consists of the front desk, a luggage storage area and the breakfast room. We had heard they would let us store our luggage the day we arrived but in the end, we didn't need to because they checked us in at 9 a.m., which won them big points in our ledger.

 

The hotel itself is only about 35 rooms. If we went back, we'd get a Ramblas view but we were shy about wanting that, fearing street noise, but our friends said the windows were really effective about blocking out noise. We had a room with a view on the side street, which was fine. There are interior view rooms which look into an air shaft. Essentially, it was too gloomy for us and not worth the saving.

 

The room was fine. A King bed or two twins seems to be the same thing in most hotels there, which is to say when it's a king, they push it together and make it as one bed. We opted for two twins because we thought we might sleep fitfully after the jetlag and all. The bathroom was quite large and had a bidet, a first for us.

 

The decor of the hotel is a little over the top floral, but in a way, that added to the quirky charm for us. Orwell stayed there once, and I could imagine that. I can't imagine him staying at the W. :)

 

You are one block from the Boqueria (the big market; not to be missed) but make sure you don't save it for Sunday as it will be closed. You're across the Placa Catalunya from El Corte Ingles, which is sort of like a Spanish Macys, but a bit more upscale. Placa Catalunya seems to be the nexus for a lot of the things that happen in the city and all the hop on hop offs pass there, I think. The Gothis quarter is just down the hill a block and to the left.

 

We didn't really go out to gay bars because we were pooped. I do think there were a lot of them and there is a gay hotel (the Axel) a few blocks away that has a bar.

 

Our only challenge in Barcelona was time. Some of the restaurants didn't even open until 8 or so and between jetlag ad our own natural inclination to be early people when we travel, food was a slight challenge, but not a huge one. The Gothic Quarter had a few restaurants that opened early (as early as 7! :) )so that helped. The breakfast at the hotel is good but more of a European breakfast. Don't expect bacon and eggs so much as cereal, cheese and bread. The hotel provides free beer and bottled water. The cruisers took full advantage of this, to a point where it was a little grubby on the last night. It seemed that they were trying to stock their cruise cabins for the whole trip.

 

Someone from CC arranged for the hotel to get vans for the trip to the port. Not wanting to be waiting on other people, we just went out into the street and got a cab. Our ride was cheaper and we didn't have to wait for anyone.

 

If we keep this up we might become best friends;) Thanks for your help. We feel the same way as you do about trying a local hotel. I asked for a hotel room on the top floor over looking the street, hope I get it. We will be in the city for four days before the cruise so it should give us plenty of time to see a lot. We are flying BOS DUB BCN and arriving at 10am and will try to sleep from BOS DUB so not have jet lag. Have a good weekend, hope it's warm as here it's cool and damp this weekend.

 

Joe & Jim

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I asked for a hotel room on the top floor over looking the street, hope I get it.

 

Sit on the balcony at night and watch the pickpockets. Very entertaining, and you'll learn what not to do. You can't easily see how they work the crowd while you're in it, but it's obvious from above. If your room doesn't have a balcony, you can watch from the lobby.

 

We stayed at the Continental for a few days before a cruise. It was a good place for a short first visit, easy to find and centrally located. If I go back, I will find somewhere else that's farther from tourist central, and therefore a better bargain, but there's nothing wrong with the Continental. A dozen or so people from the cruise stayed there, so we got to know each other before boarding.

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The airport bus is a bargain and a short walk from the drop off to the Continental. Be aware there are 2 different hop on-hop off bus lines. One has 2 routes- orange and blue, one has 3- red green and blue I think. Prices are similar and both cover pretty much the same tourist sites. Both leave from Plaza Catalunya.

 

The cab to the pier is pricey. The cab itself is 10-12 Euros, plus a 2 Euro per bag supplement, plus a 2-3 Euro pier drop off fee. The best solution is to try to hook up, I mean meet up, with others on your cruise before you leave. Try your Roll Call on Cruise Critic. We started with a 35 Euro 6 person Mercedes van (plus the 2-3 Euro port fee-no baggage fee) and ended up with a 50 passenger bus for 6 Euros per person leaving from Hard Rock Cafe right around the corner from the Continental. Continental has the 24 hr free food, beer, wine, juice etc buffet so you will never go hungry or thirsty.

 

As mentioned above, dinner usually starts 8-10pm, but you can find food somewhere anytime, even if it's just the (pricey) BurgerKing across the street. Doug

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Don't be too freaked about pickpockets, just plan for it and then enjoy yourself. We got travel bags from Magellan which were pricy but then again, we never worried. It turned out, the people who we would hear were pickpocketed were either foolhardy or naiive. One woman at our hotel claimed a person was going through her open bag that was dangling from her wrist on a bus. Another woman had her money in the outside pocket of her napsack that was on her back. Money and documents should always be as close to your body as possible, in an area not normally accessible to others. I will say we heard of pickpocketing a lot in our hotel but we also feel that being aware of your surroundings and taking precautions (without needing to be paranoid) is enough.

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Pickpockets are a fact of life in Barcelona and many other parts of Europe (in fact not just Europe) ... one has to live with it.

 

I am always in wonder at the items people carry around with them when on holiday. I always place my passport, tickets, moiney etc in the room safe or hotel security box ... then take with me one credit card and a small amount of cash when I go out (plus camera).

 

I often walk along and see people with wallets in a back pocket, bags with zips on peoples backs and even passports in back pockets. Also people getting money from machines or change in shops and waving it around in public ..... its no wonder you get pickpockets.

 

Its not a problem in Europe if one takes care ... and if one lost a credit card and small amount of money its not the end of the world.

 

Neil

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Don't be too freaked about pickpockets, just plan for it and then enjoy yourself. We got travel bags from Magellan which were pricy but then again, we never worried. It turned out, the people who we would hear were pickpocketed were either foolhardy or naiive. One woman at our hotel claimed a person was going through her open bag that was dangling from her wrist on a bus. Another woman had her money in the outside pocket of her napsack that was on her back. Money and documents should always be as close to your body as possible, in an area not normally accessible to others. I will say we heard of pickpocketing a lot in our hotel but we also feel that being aware of your surroundings and taking precautions (without needing to be paranoid) is enough.

 

Pickpockets are a fact of life in Barcelona and many other parts of Europe (in fact not just Europe) ... one has to live with it.

 

I am always in wonder at the items people carry around with them when on holiday. I always place my passport, tickets, moiney etc in the room safe or hotel security box ... then take with me one credit card and a small amount of cash when I go out (plus camera).

 

I often walk along and see people with wallets in a back pocket, bags with zips on peoples backs and even passports in back pockets. Also people getting money from machines or change in shops and waving it around in public ..... its no wonder you get pickpockets.

 

Its not a problem in Europe if one takes care ... and if one lost a credit card and small amount of money its not the end of the world.

 

Neil

 

 

I totally agree with Schplinky and Doonan (Neil) - by the way my name is Neil too. We were in Barcelona 5 years ago and had a wonderful time. So much to see and do there. We are going back this summer on a TA from Miami in June on Oceania. Don't miss getting the DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide to Barcelona. It is great pocket size including maps, etc..

The hot gay area is Example (also known as Gay Example to the locals).It is just like the Village in NYC (where I am originally from); nice little restaurants and bars and the people and merchants were so friendly. We utilzed the subway during the day and cabs at night. We are staying this time on Diagonal (main boulevard) as it is close to Example. Though Spain is a religious Catholic country - gays are well respected, can marry and live quite openly. We personally are conservative and like to keep a low profile, especially these days, as an American in a foreign country. You will find it is a lot of walking and forget ADA rules here - steps and ramps everywhere...

As you guys said, you must use good judgement -- no wallets in back pocket. minimal or no jewelry, no flashing cash. We also put valuables in the safe and take only what is needed; also have an extra photocopy of your passport put away.

As I am sure you are aware, Spain is having a terrible financial crisis. I am sure things have deteriorated (from our last trip) a bit with 24% unemployment in the general population and 50% among teenagers.

I try to utilize all of the things I learned growing up on the streets of NY.

Cruising Joe - Go and have a great trip... Be safe and use good judgement...:)

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I try to utilize all of the things I learned growing up on the streets of NY.

 

Cruising Joe - Go and have a great trip... Be safe and use good judgement...:)

 

Hi Neil ... I think you are right ... I learned to be street wise growing up on the street of London ... both great cities.

Neil

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Hi Neil ... I think you are right ... I learned to be street wise growing up on the street of London ... both great cities.

Neil

 

Hi Neil: We were in London last summer, prior to our cruise, and had a wonderful time. My husband (who has been there before) took me to all of the tourist attractions. We utilized the bus and subway system and it was great. We saw Precilla in the West End and had a wonderful time.

 

To save some money we took the National Express Bus Service from London to Dover to catch our ship back to Florida - we highly recommend it. It cost us together US$40 -compared to US$400 for private car service and they took us right to the ship. It is about 55 miles. We booked everything here in the US and saved quite a bit, as you know the US$ is having a tough time in Europe.

 

We still made sure we used good judgement in London as well, as we came upon some rough areas - but all was fine...

 

Have you visited other parts of the U.S.? Our country is an extremely diverse country due to its size.

 

Take care.:)

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