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Cruisin' Again 86

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    Hilton Diagonal Barcelona

    in Spain and Portugal Ports

    Posted

    We stayed there a few years ago. Location is across the street from a giant mall (much of it is below grade with escalators). The hop on hop off bus stop is also there. This is a large hotel with business and convention facilities. It is a typical Hilton hotel that could be in any large city. We felt this hotel felt cold and impersonal. We have not stayed there again because we want more local flavor. We are staying just off the Ramblas next year. We want to be with more cruisers and vacationers rather than business people.

     

    Whatever hotel you choose, have fun. You might want to check your roll call to see where others are staying.

     

    Margee

     

    Thank You !!

    We are primarily looking for a clean hotel convenient to the port, so we can rest after our flight from the US.

    Flights To Barcelona

    in Spain and Portugal Ports

    Posted

    Not expert on travel to Europe but I think it's a good price, but it is for April which is before most start traveling there. I would of loved to get that fare on Delta since I am a sky miles member.

     

    We paid $512/person one way to Barcelona from Baltimore for our October 2016 cruise... That was booked with Air2Sea

    Barcelona Air2Sea

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    From your other thread I see this is your first time in Europe. If you can swing it try to arrive more than just one day prior so you can enjoy Barcelona. Some have issues with jet lag and that extra day will allow get your body clock aligned if you have any problems.

     

    Lots of great suggestions on hotels and transportation on the Spain port of call board. Barcelona is a very easy city to get around..

     

    Hope you have a great cruise.

     

    Thanks !!!!

    Looking at hotels now for pre-cruise stay...

    Barcelona Air2Sea

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We are doing a cruise out of Barcelona next September 23 and will be leaving home on September 20 arriving Barcelona on September 21. IMHO, it's always good to allow 2 days prior to boarding the ship no matter who you book your flights with. :D

     

    Thanks ! I believe that we will be flying in 1 day prior, just unsure of hotel and surroundings ( i.e. distance to port / airport ) etc

    Barcelona Air2Sea

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We arrived two days in advance to enjoy Barcelona a bit. Lots of things to see and do there. I would not do it if I had to arrive on the same day as the cruise.

     

    Thanks ! You would not do it because you wanted to explore or you feel too rushed ? We are doing the TA following the 7 nighter and we have port days in Barcelona so site seeing would not be an issue...

    Air2sea

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We are taking American. I wanted Delta but they were $800 more than American. If the air is cheaper through Air2Sea then definitely do it through them. Since we booked, the fare has gone up and not really have gone down any where near our fare so keep that in mind.

     

    Thats my thought as well, right now its around $600 per person.

    Air2sea

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We are going on the Harmony next June and we booked our flight late June through ChoiceAir (Air2Sea) and they had the best price at the time. But you should check the airlines themselves for their pricing, you never know who will be cheaper. We are going 2 days before our cruise to sightsee in Barcelona.

     

    Can I ask which airline ? British Air is too high on their site, but crazy cheap thru RCCL...

    Allure of the Seas transatlantic from Rome, October 22 to November 6, 2015

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Karen, we did not have officers on the walk. My recollection on past walks was that we sometimes we did but I can't remember ever seeing advance publicity that "the Captain will be on the walk".

     

    Susan, take good care of Queen Victoria for me. I'm barely over 2 months from boarding her.

     

    Roy

     

    Loved traveling with you on your TA, cannot wait until December to cruise with Captain Johnny for his Birthday, and our first Med cruise and TA next October !!

    Allure of the Seas transatlantic from Rome, October 22 to November 6, 2015

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Thank you Setting sail for fun, Cruisin' Again 86, mswildeye, countess5, St. Pete Cruiser, redcrown, and Cruisincricket. Crusincricket, thank you for following up on Ana; it sounds like she is not currently on board so I'm not sure what I could have done. mswildeye, I highly recommend a TA. In fact, while the first on RCI, this is my 21st overall. You can be assured I love them.

     

    St. Pete Cruiser, I'm no expert on what would happen with a mechanical failure but I would guess it would call for a number of tugs. I suspect that, especially after a recent drydock, any lessons learned from the the Carnival Triumph have been fully implemented on the Allure, I would also guess that the ship, being hydrodynamically intact would be an easier tow than was the Costa Concordia and towing while slow would be possible.

     

    I am still discovering new things about the ship but pretty comfortable now in knowing my way around. I'm a believer in something Colonel Potter once said on MASH, "If you're not where you are you're nowhere"', and I'll hold off on comparisons until after the cruise. Let's just say I booked this expecting that this is something I would want to do once and I am still happy with that initial assessment. The ship is not me but I am immensely enjoying the moment and there is nowhere else I would want to be right now. I'll have comparisons later and will probably find a way to post them on the HAL forum as well.

    When I was in the theater for the lecture, there were a lot of thuds and bumps as waves hit the ship.

     

    attachment.php?attachmentid=366710

     

    The wind was howling through Central Park even though it's fully enclosed by walls going up at least 5 decks.

     

    Roy

     

    I see that you are from Central Maryland, what part ? We live in Westminster...

    Allure of the Seas transatlantic from Rome, October 22 to November 6, 2015

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Thanks all. I'll have to get back to you on the questions, today's Enrichment lecture is about to start. Cruisin' Again 86, are you keeping the same cabin for both legs?

     

    I was down on the jogging track about 5:30 and it was already closed off at the gangway points. I walked 4 laps, cutting through the Royal Promenade to avoid the closed off section. As I walked I could see some stars out.

     

    This is my second visit to Malaga with the first on the Celebrity Solstice in 2012. At that time I visited the Caves of Nerja, but this time decided to go West rather than East.

     

    We docked about sunrise (7:30); it was then cloudy but with room for the sun to shine through. We pulled into the terminal closest to town with the MSC Divina by the breakwater and Windstar’s Star Pride (ex Seabourn) at a small dock very close to town.

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/dawn1027.jpg

     

    My tour was set to meet at 8:15 and leave at 8:30; the ship was cleared just about 8. I had a bit of a wait at the Amber Theater but left on time and the bus pulled out close to 8:30. As we left the ship I could see the Zuiderdam pulling into the space between us and the Divina.

     

    Marbella, a town of about 100,000 is just over 30 miles West of Malaga but traffic in Malaga was slow and we were over an hour making the trip. Captain Johnny had suggested a chance of morning rain and as we passed through Malaga a little drizzle started. About half way to Malaga the drizzle became a downpour. It slowed down enough by the time we got off the bus so that it was fairly comfortable with my rain jacket as my walking tour started. The town is quite ancient and was an Islamic stronghold through about the 15th century. As we started walking through the lovely town square the rain got stronger. We continued to some narrow alleys and stopped at a small chapel that was originally a Mosque but converted to a Catholic church.

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/marbella1.jpg

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/marbella2.jpg

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/chapel2.jpg

     

    We continued walking around the oldest part of town and entered into the main church. It was quite ornate with many small niches and a grand organ. By the end of our hour of walking around town the dry refuge of the bus was welcome.

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/mainchurch.jpg

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/marbellaorgan.jpg

     

    We continued another 5 miles west to the resort town of Puerto Banus. It was about a 40-minute on our own shopping and scenic stop. There were picturesque streets and a bow of huge private yachts from around the world, with a few up for sale. We returned to the bus at 12:10 and were back at the port at 1.

     

    The rain had slowed again to a light drizzle but it was time to head up to my room for relaxation and drying out, followed by a trip to the Wipeout Café where the pizza was very good. It cleared up about 3 and I went out for a walk around the port about 3:30.

     

    My new table is another 6-top. I am told there were only 3 people there the first 2 nights so I make 4. I think most of us will be there each night. The other man there is from Scotland and the 2 ladies are from the midwest and from the Netherlands. The Dutch lady’s first language is German but she has very good English with just an occasional struggle to come up with the right word. I think the last 10 nights will be very pleasant.

     

    Sunset was about 6:45 and sailaway was about 8. It was a very dark sailaway despite a lovely full moon. I watched from above the bridge on deck 14 as we backed out of the port, backing at least the combined length of the Allure, Zuiderdam, and Divina before we cleared the breakwater and turned.

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/moonoverallure.jpg

     

    The main evening entertainment was Mama Mia. Instead I watched the final performance for a while of Ocean Aria., as it is sea and weather dependent and will not be repeated until we hit the Caribbean. It’s primarily a water show performed in a theater at the back of the ship. The entrance is on deck 6 with seating descending to a pool on deck 5. It’s actually cast of several specialties with aerial acts, tumblers, dancers, and divers. The pool has a false bottom that can drop low enough to allow high dives, be raised as a platform for gymnastics, or set at any level in between. A section behind the pool rotates as a platform on one side and a trampoline on the other, and there are 3 levels of diving spots with the top one even with deck 12, allowing about a 70-foot high dive. It was a very entertaining and energetic show. If It’s repeated as we approach Fort Lauderdale I may try to watch some of it from my balcony.

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/aria1.jpg

     

    https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/aria3.jpg

     

    As today’s parting shot congratulations to the Mets and (especially) Royals.

     

    Roy

     

    We were not able to get same cabin, we are deck 7 ocean balcony for 7 night and deck 8 boardwalk for T-A...

     

    Thanks in Advance !!!

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