hkto

IMHO Valencia HOHO buses is not the best deal for 24H ticket. People can cover city center and City of Science and back to port in 2-3 taxi rides and they should be still cheaper than tourist bus fare for 2 @17€ pp. But if one wants to stay on the bus and see city from there then may be it's worth it.

For train buy RT as it's cheaper. Some trains may be sold out so buying in advance not a bad idea. Also bus is an option

 http://www.tgcomes.es/horarios_13.htm

They arrive at Prado SS station in Sevilla which is close to major sights like Alcazar and Plaza Espana. This September bus was 20€ RT, train is 26.60€

If you didn't see it then it's probably because it's too far out. Booking.com shows availability

Without recommending anything specific I'd stay in Puerto del Sol/Gran Via area. Central, got lots of hotels in all sorts of price points. And restaurants. Easy connection anywhere including airport. Madrid as most big cities has "free" tours (Sandeman is one of them). Just pay tips. I don't see value in a guide as most places of interest (Royal Palace, Prado, Reina Sofia) can be visited on your own and may be guided tour purchased on site like in Prado. Out of town trips (Toledo, Escorial,Segovia) are easy.

Port (at least where most cruise ships dock) is at least 30-40 min walk to actual city (start of Rambla near Columbus monument). La Rambla is the closest big tourist street with quite a few hotels in the area. Which doesn't mean that one has to stay there as more likely taxi will be used to get to the ship and couple of € difference in taxi fare is negligible.

To break hotels by different categories (price, stars, reviews, etc) use consolidator sites like Trivago or Hotelscombined. 

Don't need passport. Just take a photo and show on the phone if asked

#4 bus goes to center (stop: city hall - ayuntamiento). Also hoho bus stops in port. Taxi should be in 6-8€ ballpark to center.

Valencia's trademark City of Science ( Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is closer to port (may be 40 min walk) than city center and definitely worth a visit

Found older article discussing this issue. So just call the bank and get the PIN just in case. Doesn't mean that terminal wouldn't authorize but better to have it. Also can check if card is supported by Apple Pay or Google Pay and if so that may bypass pin requirement.

“I don’t technically know whether a card issued here without a PIN will work in every circumstance,'' he says, "but I will say if you are planning to travel overseas I’d contact my bank immediately and ask them does this card have a PIN and if not, how can I get one because I would imagine you'd be better off safe than sorry.''

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/73145306

Credit cards in US do have pin that is used for non tap transactions. Or cash withdrawals in ATM. If you don't know what it is call your company and set it up. Technically card can swiped without pin but that's old way of doing things. And so are debit cards.

Old non chipped cards do not have pin.

Drive by sounds like a ripoff. No point of even going if not walking there. As I said previously it takes at least 4 hrs to get there and back and I would allocate at least 6 if using public transportation option (taxis + Alsa bus). Plus time on site around 3 hrs. So probably not suitable for short docks but ok for longer ones (12-13 hrs). Also there is car rental company in port of Malaga (Prima) for people who want to use this option. Alhambra has paid parking. Tickets has to be purchased in advance if going on your own as they can be sold out. I personally had no issue buying, paid with Visa and received email immediately. Tickets are named and gave passport (id) #.

As far as going exclusivity with ship tours and taking risk of going on their own that is entirely consumer's choose. 

Alhambra has 3 major monuments (Nazrid, Alcazaba,Generalife) + 2 gardens (upper & lower) + minor monuments. Quite a big area with top and bottom portions. So it depends on person's pace. I'd say 3 hours is definitely enough time to cover everything. Nazrid is timed entrance everything else is not. So it's ok to break from the group and do at own pace. Buses park at same spot so it's easy to find. Tour bus is not any faster than scheduled so I estimate 4 hrs in transit rest - time on site. BTW don't forget to bring id as for some reason it's checked randomly. We didn't have ours checked but I saw it.

That logic also applies to organized tours. My experience with Alsa bus trips was positive, took them a lot and always on time. But things do happen. Once got stuck on the road from Barcelona to Valencia due to Catalonia independence demonstration. In any case if leaving Granada on 4pm bus should be enough to see Alhambra and have enough time to make 8pm departure

Check viator and getyourguide. Both will resell tours from port of Malaga but don't specify supplier. And it's not every day. Cost around $108 pp including admission.

If you want to go on your own it's doable for 13 hrs docking. Basically need to purchase bus tickets online from Alsa.es (around 2 hrs each way), Alhambra tickets online from the Alhambra.org and take taxis from port to Malaga central station (Zambrano) and taxi from Granada bus station to Alhambra (10€ each way). Alhambra tickets are 14.75€. So cost for 2 should be around 65€ pp or less (40 for taxis + 30 for Alhambra + 60 for bus). Less than tour but more hassle and planning

Epic is scheduled to arrive at 5am so technically people can disembark any time after as long as they carry their own luggage and don't leave it outside for pickup in terminal. Cruise lines try to be exact with luggage unloading times but it's never guaranteed.

We're in Spain for 2 weeks in September. CC is taken almost everywhere and had 100% acceptance. Payment processors differ from bank to bank so in some cases terminal offers to pick currency $ or € for foreign CC (which is  not a good deal if using FX free CC). 

Allure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive at 5am so catching 11:15am flight is not an issue as long as taxi is taken before 8am. Easily doable. 

Also if coming by taxi to port from either airport or hotel can definitely ask driver to stop by Carrefour express. Find closest relevant location on Google map. Most open on Sunday but not Carrefour Market (bigger stores) which are closed. All Carrefour stores take CC.

There is Carrefour express 5-7 min walk from Colon monument. Open all day Sunday. I don't remember anyone prohibiting walking from cruise terminal to Colon. But it's couple of kilometers at least.

See my post above. Barcelo Sants. It's literally above the station

You can take direct Renfe train from T2 airport terminal to Sants. They go quite often, at least 2 per hour. From 5am to 11:30pm. 

Even better, there is one on top of Santa station. Very decent property.

www.barcelo.com/en-gb/barcelo-hotels/hotels/spain/barcelona/barcelo-sants

 Usually currency cash exchanges offer poor rate as they need to make money and cover rent and salary. ATM and CC offer better rate. To locate addreses and get ratings paste " currency exchange near Barcelona" into Google maps. Also download some mobile app of your choice to get interbank rate that day and compare. 

Both Giblatar and Granada (Alhambra) are not close but doable by a tour and not by public transport due to lack of time. Mijas (Pueblo Blanco) is doable by bus, 1 hr each way.

Malaga is great place to visit, has beach, historical parts, Picasso museum, market and good restaurants. Food choices vary by taste, they got restaurants in many price points. Lots of fried fish and other seafood.If fan of sweet vine check out  Antigua Casa De Guardia bar, very unique experience. 

Can go to Santiago de Compostela, 30-40 min by train. Or stay in Corina and eat decent seafood with local ribiero wine. Or both

Barcelona airport is one of the places where staying in airport hotels doesn't buy that much time or cost savings. None of the hotels are on property and in walking distance, typically 5-10 min shuttle drive. City center is may be 25-30 min by taxi or public transport. Taxis are 24/7. Both Renfe train to T2 and aerobus from plaza Catalynia start at 5am every day.