Mark O

Thanks for all the info on this post. Regarding the shuttle to/from the cruise port, should I expect a long line and a long wait? If so, where is the best place in the area where the shuttle stops in La Rambla to get a taxi?

Thanks for that great suggestion. Did you need to take any transportation on that journey?

Thanks - I'm interested.

Thanks for those suggestions - you made some good choices on your trips. We're actually going to be there for one day on a cruise stop (and I can't edit the original post) but we'll look into your suggestions.

My wife and I will be arriving in Barcelona on April 2nd. As we've previously seen many of the major sights (La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, La Pedrera-Casa Mila, Jewish Quarter, Gothic Quarter, Basilica de Santa Maria, Barcelona Museum, Picasso Museum, Barceloneta Beach, Els 4Gats Restaurant and Las Ramblas), we're focused on seeing Casa Batlló, stopping for some tapas and wine (not on Las Ramblas) and we're looking for any other suggestions of things to do within walking distance. Also, we plan to take a taxi to/from the port and city and would like some hints on how much to expect to pay, how not to get scammed, and where in the city would we be able to find a reputable taxi, etc. I know this is a lot, but we'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks, walkingsoon, for the comprehensive reply. We haven't cruised since the pandemic, and everything we've read about quality and service on some of the other lines has been worrisome, so we are looking forward to experiencing Princess's new ship.

My wife and I are frequent cruisers but new to Princess. We're planning on booking the Sun Princess 10-Day Grand Western Mediterranean in March. We've pretty much decided to take the Princess Premier pricing option as it seems to be a good value. I realize that the Sun Princess is a new ship, but I'd appreciate if the experienced Princess cruisers can help answer a few questions: Should we expect to arrive at the main dining room and be seated? Will we need reservations for the main dining room? When can reservations be made? If we have reservations for the main dining room, would we expect to arrive and be seated or would there likely be a wait? If a wait, what is typical? When can we make reservations for specialty restaurants? Is there typically a wait for a table? We're thinking of booking a Deluxe Balcony, maybe stateroom 11403. We prefer to be nowhere near a smoking section. Does this look like a good choice? Any other tips are much appreciated. Thanks so much.

After booking a Viking River Cruise with "free air," I must say I am very disappointed. The flights they offered did not have a sufficient (for me) connection time, so I immediately paid the Air Plus upgrade and was able to switch to flights that met my needs. A few months later, the outgoing flight was cancelled and they rebooked me on a flight with a 2-hour connection time in Dublin, which is insufficient for me. It's virtually impossible to get an economy flight with sufficient connection time without having to pay between $650 and $1,500 per person. To avoid the connection time problem, I thought I might go a day or two early and spend the night in Dublin. I went back to the Viking Air website and although it offers me the ability to change flights and add stops, Dublin cannot be selected even though but they put me on a flight that connects in Dublin. I will never take a vacation with "free air" again, unless I can opt out and get a reduced price.

How did this work out for you?

I'm in the process of booking a Viking River Cruise with free air. Having Air Plus is very important to me as I need to have sufficient connection time to allow me to have some of my diabetes equipment hand-checked. In a chat they told me I could add Air Plus, but on the proposal they sent, it said "Air Plus - requested." This makes me think that it's not guaranteed that I will get that. Have to inquire further. And by the way, they increased the price for Air Plus from $799 per person to $999 within the past few days.