carrieluvsgreg

We went out of Barcelona around four and I don’t believe we arrived to the ship until about 2:30 and the pier was almost vacant. Super easy to get on and if you want to grab a couple of bottles of wine there is a nice liquor store at the pier. Bought a large bottle of sparkling wine and shared with a couple later in the week we had met on ship.

 

We loved Barcelona folks were so friendly and the city was easy to get around. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for this information! I already was wondering where would be the best place to pick up wine after we landed because getting it to Spain would definitely be a challenge!

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I have sailed two times out of Barcelona, I think both were between 4-6 pm. Cant recall exact time. I do recall they go on the time zone you are in, so stick with that time, not the app's time (which should be the same, anyway). We had no hassle getting on the ship in 2016/ Vista's 4 cruise.

 

 

 

You do need to worry about the new world that opened up to you now that you are cruising in Europe. Back in 2006 we took our first cruise out of Barcelona and I can now say in 2017 we have traveled all over Europe.

 

 

 

Frankly, I wish I was you, the first time you go overseas is so very exiting, so new and so memorable. There is a Mark Twain travel saying:

 

 

 

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime".

 

 

 

Its so very true, keep on traveling.

Thank you- we truly are looking forward to every minute!

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Please tell us why this would matter(???)

 

 

 

 

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....um because I was wondering about embarking and how it compared to what I’ve done on the last 14 cruises here. I was checking my hub app and it happened to be at a “0” hours mark and it was 11 am. As the title of the thread clearly states- dumb question-

I was not hanging on bated breath - simply curious.

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All I have ever noticed in the fatassotherapy pool is people that look like they should be in the hospital. :D Way to hot for my skin and it smells like dead skin cells.

 

 

 

I would take that aft cabin, and I usually avoid those cabins.

I’ve not found the T-pool to be too hot... not any hotter than any regular hot tub.

We use it at least once per day on every ship that has one.

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Now I'm a bit confused, so I'm hoping original poster doesn't mind me posing another related question. There are plenty of inexpensive prices for two days of car rental to and from the airport using Hotwire or Enterprise's airport location. However, we are flying into Miami on first day, staying that night at a Miami Beach hotel, driving down to Homestead the next day, staying that night in that area, and driving back the next day to board our ship at POM. If I use an airport company that provides a shuttle, I assume we would have to drive back on the day of our cruise to the airport, drop the car, and then take an Uber or cab to POM. Is that correct? Is there a better alternative? I know I can pick up at the airport and return it in downtown Miami, but the cost (at least with Enterprise) is almost $200 versus the $48 rate I got using the airport roundtrip.

 

What are my options? Should I call Enterprise to confirm their shuttle to POM?

 

If I need my own transportation, about how much should I expect to pay for a taxi or Uber to take the two of us and luggage to POM from the airport? Could I call one from the car rental area? (Or should we drive directly to the POM from Homestead, drop our bags, then go to the airport with the car?)

 

Thanks.

Ok- I think I follow you...

If it were me I would drop my family and luggage off at the port, drive to the airport drop the car and Uber back. That way you’d not have to mess with multiple people and luggage.

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If you're planning to eat late, there shouldn't be much wait. Most folks aim for the 7-7:30 slot....which almost always means a wait for someone!

Eating early has always been positive for us too! We aim for whenever the dining room opens, unless port gets in the way, we’ve never waited more than 5/10 minutes max.

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Tipping has always been optional. But if you are satisfied with the service (especially enough to give OVER what you pre-paid) why would you remove the tips? If a "tip" could not be removed, it is no longer a tip but a service fee. Gratuities are voluntary.

You just have to make sure your decorations are fire retardant. My sister had our room decorated from the Fun Shops for our 25th anniversary back in August and it was wonderful!

I had not heard that... No one checked them or mentioned anything to me about that. I purchased most of the stuff I brought from Dollar Tree. I am not sure if they were compliant or not.

Just curious - how strict are they about the no bottled water policy at Port Canaveral?

It is not allowed. It is "relatively" a new policy. (A couple of years?...)

They lowered the price of the bottled water that can be ordered thru the funshops and delivered to your room to help with the new policy. I'm a "water snob" and only drink Zephyrhills, so the price isn't the issue. I just drink other stuff while cruising.

It was the smugglers that made it bad for all of us...

Rum and Vodka were coming onboard by the truckload in those plastic water bottles. :(

Where are you your stops?

Barcelona, Spain----5:00 PMExplore this Port

4/16/2018Fun Day At Sea--------4/17/2018Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy7:00 AM3:30 PMExplore this Port

4/18/2018Naples (Capri/Pompeii), Italy7:00 AM7:00 PMExplore this Port

4/19/2018Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy7:00 AM8:00 PMExplore this Port

4/20/2018Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy7:00 AM7:00 PMExplore this Port

4/21/2018Marseilles (Provence), France9:00 AM6:00 PMExplore this Port

4/22/2018Barcelona, Spain

We will be arriving in Spain a couple of days early to do some sightseeing there.

Our granddaughter will be celebrating her birthday when we are on our cruise. I know there is a package you can buy, but I was wondering does the ship decorate the cabin door?? On other cruise lines they do decorate cabin doors for special occasions. Anyone celebrate a special occasion on board?? If so what about decorations??

 

Thank you for your responses. Have a good day:)

You are also able to bring your own decorations onboard for the door/cabin. I have done that for graduation celebrations as the Fun Shops do not offer that as a choice. The cabin stewards were even kind enough to let me in early to decorate the room before she got in there. (It was before we were platinum and before FTTF.) I brought everything I needed, tape included. It turned out cute and she loved it.

Cities in Europe will certainly be different than cruising and visiting islands in the Caribbean. You won't be just laying out on a beach. You will actually be seeing fascinating historically rich places.

I hope you enjoy it. You cannot possibly see it all in just a one day cruise stop so pace yourself so you don't get worn out.

Our cruising in the Caribbean never involves laying on any beach. We live in Florida-10 miles from the beach and only go there when we want to walk. We look for things to do on all of our trips, sometimes that is an excursion, sometimes that is walking around the port town to see the sights. We are building up endurance now so that we make sure we are up to hikes like Vesuvius. We realize we will most likely be exhausted but are contemplating extending our stay a day afterward just to prepare for the flight home.

We LOVE the Cloud 9 Spa! BUT- mainly because of the T-pool. I really enjoy the thermosuites, but my husband doesn't care for them all that much. He likes the wet steam room but you can only be in there for short bursts, the other rooms are meant to lounge, relax and stay longer- he's not a huge fan of those. He does like the relax room where you can fix hot tea or iced fruit infused water and watch the sea. That is what he does while I completely enjoy those other areas. So- without the thalassotherapy pool, I would opt for the L shaped room.

Barcelona is (or at least was last year) a hassle for boarding. It took us quite a while. I'd think you should try to get there around 11:00 a.m.(Barcelona time) and plan on waiting. The interesting thing was the Platinum and Diamond boarders took LONGER to board, because there were so many-----and the S&S cards were in that area, so they couldn't go to the shorter red, gold blue lines.

Ok- then that sounds like a typical time for us with the 4 pm sailings. I just wondered if they made you wait later to board since we leave later. I know it’ll all be on the cruise docs but we don’t sail til April and I’m trying to figure out our hotel/ time in Barcelona prior to leaning on Sunday. Sounds like we can check out if our hotel at a standard time and head to the port. I thought we might have to “dally” somewhere first.

Thank you!!

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Hi there - I could be wrong, but I believe the App just looks at you leaving at noon on the day you enter.

 

Enjoy your cruise!! We did a med sailing from Athens to Barcelona on the Vista and it was incredible!

Thank you! I can’t wait- but I feel like a fish out of water. We’ve traveled so much in the Caribbean, it’s old hat. This all seems so different!

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Thanks for the reminder. Ours actually went up. [emoji15]

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Can you request to be seated at the same table in order to establish a rapoir with the staff.

 

In our Alaska cruise with the family it was nice that the staff knew all our names, including the grandchildren. Made them feel grown up.

 

It is also easier to reward for excellent service.:)

Yes! For us that’s what makes this the “best of both worlds”. And in the off chance you don’t click with your dining crew, you can change it up.

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St. Maarten is NOT a tender port. Ship docks alongside the pier. Our favorite port of call ever.

 

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Thanks for the clarification... it’s been a few cruises ago and some of them begin to run together. I knew we boarded a small boat with our photographer but I thought we boarded a tender boat with her too. [emoji51]

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I’m not sure if this is best posted here in on the Europe board. We are sailing on the Horizon out of Barcelona next April. My Carnival countdown on my hub app shows that I’m 159 days and “00” hours before boarding. Currently it’s just past 11 in the morning here. Our ship is set to leave at 6 pm. Is the app taking into account the time differential? Also- since I’m accustomed to the standard 4 pm departure for Caribbean cruises- what time should we plan to be able to board in Barcelona?

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We've never partaken of the buffet at dinner but it does raise another question- how busy is the buffet during the dinner hour?

A ghost town compared to breakfast and lunch.

We eat early in the MDR and have been up to Lido before the buffet line shuts down to get iced tea or cocoa, it is basically empty.

ok. I know to some this will seem like a “duh” decision because the general consensus is “more days is always better”.

 

I am planning a surprise cruise for our 25th anniversary in March 2019. We got married during spring break, so all our celebrations usually happen during the same time. So yes, higher prices and more kids.

 

There are two cruises I can book, and based on my budget, this is what it would look like:

 

Carnival Sunshine 8-day

Oceanview room

Grand Turk

San Juan

St. Kitts

St. Maarten

 

Carnival Breeze 7-day

Balcony room

Cozumel

Belize

Mahagony Bay

Costa Maya

 

Now before you tell me your opinion, let me give u a little background on us to help you decide. :)

 

The ship and all that it has to offer, is the first reason why we love cruising. The ports are second to us. Our favorite ships at this point, have been the Magic and the Dream. We really enjoy the Dream class. We’ve been to Cozumel and Mahogany Bay. We never get off the ship at the Belize stop. Never stopped at Costa Maya or anywhere on the Sunshine cruise.

 

We usually enjoy the beach when we do cruise, but that may be because we always have the kids with us and they beg to go to the beach. We’ve never cruised without our kids! I’ll freely admit that I’m not one to spend a lot on excursions, so we wouldn’t be likely to do anything like that at any ports.

 

We’ve never been on either of these ships, so that part is new to us no matter which we choose. It will be spring break so is there a better choice based on that?

 

Please help me decide! I was all set to take the Breeze cruise since we have always wanted to try that ship, but the idea of cruising without kids for a special celebration has me wondering if we would finally get to enjoy a nice serenity area along with seeing places we’ve never been.

I would personally pick the Breeze over the Sunshine but only for one fact- The Sunshine has not Thalassotherapy pool in its Cloud 9 Spa. We love that feature of the Dream Class ships that we have sailed on and if the price were similar, that is the way I would go...

That said- if I removed the spa from my decision, I would probably pick the Sunshine itinerary. The southern Caribbean is so beautiful! (Remember, I have not been there since the recent hurricane... so that should be considered as well- however you are talking way out so, the rebound should be in full swing by then...)

In Grand Turk you could get your "beach fix" as the dock is right by a beach and Margaritaville with a huge pool and swim up bar.

San Juan is full of history, and the port is in town.

St. Kitts (I have not personally been to this location....)

St. Marten- I am pretty sure this is a tender port. Also, I remember riding another boat into the town/beach area. For us this was a great stop because one of the ships photographers came off with us and did a family photoshoot on the beach. It was tons of fun and the pics were amazing... alert- you don't have to buy, but you will want to.... after the photos we were near town and we walked around shopping and such.

On the other itinerary you have Cozumel and Mahogany Bay, which you have visited before so I won't go into detail about those.

Belize is a port where you really have two options, book a tour or visit just the port area (or stay on the boat). We have been there three times and booked a tour twice. Once we saw ruins... I wouldn't do that one again. Second time we booked a cave-tubing/zip lining excursion thru Jaguar Paw Resort. It was AMAZING!

The third time we relaxed within the port gates by making customized chocolate bars and enjoying free wifi at a little bar on the water. This is a long tender port (you can barely see the ship from shore). There is no beach near the town.

Costa Maya - we like this "sleepy little beach stop". We take a taxi or the city bus from the port to the beach and get a $20 massage. There will be ladies all up and down the beach in front of the beach bars offering their services. After the massage, many of the beach bars offer free wifi with purchase so we just relax, order drinks connect with family at home and mosey back to the ship.

Like I said- I would personally choose the Breeze, but you won't go wrong with either.

I would imagine you mean Diagonal Mar, Barcelona and Alexandra right? If so, it's a no-brainer: Alexandra!.... the other two are far from the centre, which is where you're likely to spend most of your time (not necessarily all, but most of it!)

Thank you- and yes- I should have clarified. When I searched the Hilton site I just remembered three choices were options

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My husband and I will be sailing out of Barcelona next April and have decided to go a few days early to both rest from the flight and see a few things around town. He travels for work and has boocoodles if points with hilton. We have researched and found there are three choices available. I was wondering if anyone has any insight into which would be best and if there are things to consider when deciding between the three. I have noticed two are typical in the points per night (compared to what we have paid elsewhere) one is considerably higher.

Any help is much appreciated- it’s my first time in Europe and my husbands first time in Spain.

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In the US, banks may not charge an outright "fee", but the exchange rate they offer usually is less advantageous than the official exchange, which has the same effect -- that is, they make money from it. Even if you are a customer.

Ok- that makes sense.

We spent a week in Cancun this summer and used our credit card to pay for what meals we could. We had a converter to see what we were being charged in USD when they brought the machine out for us to sign. So I guess for the most part- we should be able to do the same thing in Europe.

I’m just so accustomed to most of the Caribbean where they usually prefer USD and we never exchange anything.

Thank you!

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ok... now I am more confused than before I read this thread.

We will be traveling to Europe for a cruise on the Carnival Horizon next April. We plan on flying into Barcelona a few days early to see the sights there and "rest up" before we begin our voyage. My husband and I talked about our options to exchange our cash into Euros. I asked if we could do it at the airport and he stated that he thought it would be easiest to do it at a local bank.

The part that now has me confused is the "fees" that are being mentioned. I understand that ATMs have fees (that is typical even stateside.) But I thought if I went to my bank where I have an account we would be dealing with the exchange rate only.

In case you can't tell- this is my first experience in Europe... I am freaking out a bit...