erby2283

Maybe you’ll find the right one. Mine was just perfect. I double checked and looks like we paid 340 euro for 3 nights - this was back in 2019. Posted a few pics below. Totally understand about wanting a hotel though, especially traveling solo.

It's so disappointing they don't go to Venice anymore isn't it? (I understand their arguments just saying it's disappointing). When my mom died in 2017, I planned my first ever Mediterranean cruise and trip overseas because I decided life was too short to wait. Boy am I glad I did! I was away for 19 days, had an overnight cruise stop in Venice, and packed in so many different countries it was amazing. Then Covid hit - so I am forever grateful I took the plunge to go when I did.

Hello! We flew to Lisbon for three days following our cruise in Barcelona. Have you thought about possibly booking through VRBO or another type of vacation rental company? We found a fabulous one bedroom apt right on Rua Augusta and the cost was around $530 USD for all three nights. Just a thought. 🙂

In my case, it's just true. 😂

When I sailed on Anthem in Oct 2016, one of our ports we were supposed to go to Bermuda and found a letter in our stateroom upon arrival that our stop there was cancelled. I think they just gave us longer time in another port (but it was so long ago, I don't remember exactly).

Awww. They do look alike. She is beautiful. Sadly my baby passed in 2016 after getting his 4th cancer but I cantbear to change my picture. Then I got him tattooed on me so I still see him every day.

I got it on Amazon as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z2AKO3G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Can you please adopt me? I can only cruise about once every 3-4 years and have only been overseas once. I am so jealous!

So if I enjoy hot weather, you don't think September would be too cool for me to do a Turkey/Greece trip? I keep checking the temps now and it's like high 70's low 80's during the days depending on the county (Haifa, Santorini, Crete).

When we went to Barcelona in 2019 we arrived around 8 am and went to the hotel - they had lockers to store our luggage until check-in. We just walked around taking in the sights of the city. We even took a boat ride, got some lunch, walked though the gothic section, took a ton of pictures...before I knew it, it was time to check in. Got unpacked (we also had 2 days prior to cruise), enjoyed the balcony of our hotel for a bit, walked around a bit more looking for a dinner spot (most seemed to offer the same thing on our section of Las Ramblas) and by 8 pm local time we were wiped out! We had a tour scheduled to pick us up early the next morning - but going to bed early got us on schedule for the rest of the trip. Wish I could say the same for returning to the states. After 19 days in Europe it took me a good 2 weeks to get back to our time zone....uuuggghhhhh.

We did Spain Day Tours - Montserrat and City Tour. We had shortened time at Montserrat but was adequate for us. Then, we booked Sagrada Familia for the morning of embarkation because I always have the itch to board WAY too early and I figured it would be a nice distraction to spend the morning there and then board in the early afternoon. Even in August Sagrada Familia was blazing hot and muggy but 10 am and my bf wanted out of there ASAP so it was a little disappointing for me bc I would have liked more time there. Maybe this could be an option for you. 🙂 Also agree with Hank - pickpockets are always watching you. I bought a really good over the should Travelon purse that has these anti-theft zippered pockets. Made me feel much more secure. https://www.amazon.com/Travelon-Anti-Theft-Classic-Crossbody-Black/dp/B01EAFEEN4/ref=sr_1_6?crid=27S0DYV8ZMRPS&keywords=over+the+shoulder+purse+with+lock&qid=1663691737&sprefix=over+the+should+purse+with+lock%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-6 Also bought something for my bf to carry his stuff in rather than his wallet - it connects to his belt loops but then hangs down inside the pants rather than out. You can never be too careful. Have a wonderful trip....and take me with you. 🙂

We had to purchase a Skip the Line ticket for the Colosseum for a tour we were taking. It was sold out - so we had to get a ticket that had an accompanying audio - basically any ticket with a certain time slot. However, it was the security line that took forever when we got there. It was insane - although it was August. It limited our time to around 15-20 minutes by the time we got inside. I was sad I didn't get more time.

We docked in Livorno and it was about 1.5 hours. If I remember correctly they showed a brief video in the van (on Italy). There were only 6 of us on this tour and we made fast friends on this tour. We still talk today three years later. If you stop in Pisa on the way home, it kind of breaks up the ride back a bit. I think we all slept on the way to Pisa...lol.

When we were there in 2019, we had time to eat a relaxed lunch and shop for a good hour or so. However, we were there on a Monday and Accademia in Florence is closed on Monday's - not sure if that contributed to the extra time because it's normally part of the tour.

I am so glad to hear Guy is still doing this tour for them. Even though I had my mind set on seeing Italy he made this day my favorite tour day (our stop was in “Villefranche” and we went to Nice, Mionaco, Monte Carlo and Eze). Maybe it was because we only had 4 people in the van but it was so much fun. What a great guy (see what I did there….lol)!

Since this was my one trip to Barcelona, if there is a con about staying at this hotel - I don’t have one as long as I am in this room. If you read their online reviews from google many complaints about views from certain rooms and noise but I had none. We arrived at 10 am and they had lockers we could pay for to store our luggage and then we went out and explored for the day and came back later to check in. Barcelona Day Tours picked us up just two blocks away. The subway entrance is also relatively close. I will say again that most restaurants seem to offer a very similar menu so maybe that would be my one complaint. It’s at the end of La Rambla so taking a taxi to the port the next day is pretty easy. I would make sure it’s in an area you want to be in (maybe read some goggle reviews but all are gonna have some bad ones) but if the room is available, I would have no problems booking it again. All the nightmares I read about how small rooms in Europe are - this felt like a palace. We also paid for the rate that included breakfast. Had a very nice spread - not sure if that has changed since Covid though. Maybe current reviews would mention that?

To follow up on my post, here are a few pictures from that day. View of Mount Vesuvius from Pompeii Restaurant where we at lunch View while we ate lunch Picture stop along Amalfi Coast - as close as I got to Positano 😞 Amalfi Coast stop Pompeii

As Chocolate Teapot said, the drive who picks you up at the port, is more of a drive than a guide. A separate guide, knowledgeable in Pompeii, does this portion of the tour. Then the driver takes you into Sorrento for lunch and will recommend a place (it has an amazing view) and then on to the Amalfi Coast. We didn't make it to Positano (which I was hoping for) but still an amazing day!