cavaaller

here she comes. that is the warning sound of the moving passenger bridge. it is so ok that this woke me up 😮‍💨 IMG_4515.mov

Thank you @cayman09 and @takemewithyou for your kind words and to everybody else for their reactions! Our flight was just a little late (so I cannot complain). We flew European business Class (Lufthansa) and for the second time in 2 years (and I do not fly often) they had problems with the caterer. So today it was sandwich only. For us it was ok since we had eaten in the lounge but I would have been disappointed had I counted on the "full meal" that had been advertised. But the crew was nice and we even caught a glimpse of our hotel from the plane: At the airport, our bags arrived quite promptly, then we took a regular taxi . It is really easy to catch a cab at BCN airport - it is well organized and was not expensive at all (31 € + Tipp). Check in at the hotel went fast and very friendly. So: Now we have arrived at The Eurostars Grand Marina and we are loving it. I really don't know where the bad reviews come from because we find the hotel ideal: it is older, yes, but so are we 😄 it is charming, it is ideally located, the staff are supersuper nice and our room is fabulous and has the best views! I would not rate it 5 stars deluxe but consider it a good 4 star hotel (I admit, I lack experience but it is not that much nicer than for instance the Hilton at Frankfurt (****)) So: If you are looking for a hotel near the cruise port: this seems a really good choice! I like this view from our balcony 😄 (Grand Marina Suite) "Living" Room: bedroom: bathroom (it is difficult to take photos here - it is a full bath with shower, tub, bidet and two sinks Hotels in Barcelona are really expensive - I booked this room over a year ago directly with the hotel and they gave me a "good" price - so if you intend to book this hotel do not use "booking.com" etc. but email them!

Our hotel is called Eurostars Grand Marina. The reviews are modest to say the least: you read that it is a badly outdated hotel that is forfeiting points with an enormous renovation backlog and a not so courteous staff. The rooms are described as rancid, dirty, noisy and simply dingy. Why would you book something like that!? Well - I had chosen the hotel when we were in Barcelona with the Pursuit last year. We were docked right beside the hotel and I thought to myself "how nice it must be to wake up here in the morning and see the ship out of the window... The rooms can't be that bad, we'll survive it!" I then decided on a higher category – in the hope that you would find a little more cleanliness and comfort there. A few months after booking, Barcelona had decided to ban cruise ships from the city (from the WTC). This would have eliminated the main advantage of the hotel. I still stayed with the booking, because right in front of the door the cruise bus for 4 E goes to Moll Adossat, which is also very practical. Of course, I still kept an eye on the cruise forecast, especially since the Quest and the Pursuit had already docked at the WTC several times this year. The monthly overview also gave me hope. (here you can find where the ship should dock: https://www.portdebarcelona.cat/en/business-and-services/cruise-ships/cruise-forecast ) Unfortunately, our week was not (yet?) updated and so I have to be patient until tomorrow (very difficult for me). The location of the hotel is not bad even apart from the proximity to the terminal: The Ramblas can be reached in 5 minutes, a large shopping center is next door and the Port Vel with many nice bars and restaurants is also within sight. Taxis are waiting outside and can take you to the major sights. If we land in time tonight, I would like to see a little bit of the town and/or try a Spanish restaurant. Fingers are crossed. Now we are waiting for boarding... update pending.

Breakfast at the rise restaurant was as good as anticipated. Our flight is not supposed to leave until 13 o clock - but of course - monks that we are - we are in the lounge since 10 o clock sharp. But you never know what obstacles they throw at you at FRA airport - so better safe than sorry. Last time we flew into Frankfurt I had made a mental note never to fly in or out of here again: they had taken more than 2 hours to deliver our bags. The prejudice of "german efficiency" is just that - a prejudice. But there are some advantages of flying out of FRA - more direct options - better hotels - better VIP-Lounge So here we are hoping that our flight leaves on time.

So - if you ever need to stay in a hotel near Frankfurt Airport - I can recommend this Hilton! It is directly above the train station (easy access to Frankfurt city), in walkable distance to the terminal, rooms are lovely, staff is nice, breakfast is amazing (I have stayed here 4 times already so I can vouch for that). Even the executive lounge is nice - we did not eat, because we had just had a late lunch - but imho the offering would make for a nice dinner. There were also two stew options (veggie and meat) but I did not take a picture of those. Drinks options are good: a lot of different sodas (they were lukewarm though - I think the fridge did not work) there were also warm beers 🙂 wine etc. and water. After our Sodas we went for a walk. This is an airport hotel so of course there are no hiking trails in the forest but it was interesting to see the hustle of people/workers/taxi drivers coming and going. I am always fascinated by how much "fuller" how much richer a day is when I have experienced something – I can hardly believe that we left home only 6 hours ago… It is as if time had a different density while I am traveling. I guess I'm a bit tired now: I'm starting to ramble... so: off to bed!

Traffic was quite bad - which was to be expected given that we are in the middle of summer break. But we were rewarded with beautiful room and a view on the Ffm skyline: (well... you have to WANT to see it in the distance 🙂 ) They even had some treats waiting for us (I guess this may be due to our loyalty status?) The room is huge, comfortable, great AC (it is soooo hot in Germany) we love it! We went straight to lunch at one of the restaurants in the Squaire (some sort of building complex with shops, train station, hotels etc. under one hot roof). We chose the "Alex". Great choice. Now, we are debating whether we are too tired to go have a drink in the lounge - but I am pretty sure I know who will be winning 😉

And then it was finally cruise day - I 15 months ago, we booked a trip around the Italian boot. Our ports are Barcelona Marseille Monte Carlo Livorno Civitavecchia Sorrento Kotor Sibenik Koper Venice I would love to tell you all about it. We kick off our cruise with two pre cruise stays: One in Frankfurt, one in Barcelona. Today our son drove us down to Frankfurt where we will stay for one night in the lovely Hilton Frankfurt Airport hotel. Tomorrow we will fly down to Barcelona and stay for one night right by the cruise port and then saturday it is finally finally cruise day. I cannot wait.

Very much looking forward to reading your review. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this!

That is disappointing! We will be on the ship during the finals...

Is the european championship broadcast on board (on tv or in one of the bars.)? (specifically Pursuit)

@breadmanusa private

We had a 10:40 flight out of FCO that we made with no problem. (flying economy) (it was a saturday though!) Arrival of our ship was 6.00, disembarkation (walkoff) started before 7. We carried our own bags and had preordered cse (civitavecchia shuttle express). They werde excellent! (cost was 140 E)

Thank you!

Hello, could someone tell us the current price for the 4 or 6 bottles wine package (commodore collection)? thank you!

thank you for your lovely comment @Traveling Fools; I hope you will have a wonderful cruise - 10 days precruise sound like real luxury. enjoy! 🙂

I am sure that you will love it!

We had a fabulous cruise - staff was exceptionally kind and helpful. We loved the ports, we loved our suite. We would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you - everybody - for reading my ramblings and reacting and commenting. I hope, your cruises will be as delightful as ours was to us!

The flight back was uneventful. Only problem we encountered was the usual extremely long wait for our luggage in Francfurt (+2h) Reminder to self: Always always avoid flying in to FRA if possible! Airport staff explained to us that they don't find people willing to work for the low wage they are offering. So the problem will not go anywhere any time soon.

The suite was lovely (just extremly noisy as already mentioned so maybe avoid 6129)

Our Suite

Then we went on a last tour around the ship to the basketball court the pool deck the movie under the stars one last look at the terminal in Piräus and the sunset

With all the activities and port intensive days we had not had a single martini - so we had to squeeze that in on the last night. I do not remember the name - it was a dessert martini something like black forest sth?

After our wonderful excursion in Athens we had to pack our suitcases (so dreadful!) and then headed for our last supper at luminae. Our Amuse Bouche (Almond Cheese on Marinara Sauce) Apps: Smoked Tomato Soup: Salmon No pic of the burrata - but it was not good this time. the cheese tasted a bit fermented (like acid) Entrée: Roasted Turbot filet mignon (perfection!) and my beloved cheese-cake and look at our view:

Our last stop was the former kings palest (now the president's house) where we witnessed the changing of the guards. It was kind of cute - but personally I do not think it would be worth a big detour to witness this.