Pre-Cruise - Barcelona

Apologies, if I am posting in the wrong area, I am New.

I have booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise for next year (July) and I am travelling from England to Barcelona to join my cruise.

I am booking everything independently, not sure if this is the best way to do it, but the package deal offered was quite expensive and the flight home was indirect ..... ??????

I have a few questions:-

1. How many nights would you recommend we book in Barcelona, pre cruise? (we are a family of four, children will be aged 10 and 11).

2. Would anybody be able to recommend any good hotels for families?

3. Would you recommend a hotel stay the night we come off the cruise? Alternatively, what time should we be looking for a return flight? We have never cruised before so have no idea what time or how long it takes to get off the ship and away from port.

4. Do we need to pre-book any transfers, or can we simply get into a taxi on any leg of the journey (airport to hotel - then hotel to port and finally port to airport/hotel).

5. I am not that keen on flying, has anybody done the Eurostar/TGV?

Sorry so many questions (especially as they do not relate to the cruise itself).

I have many questions about the cruise, but I will keep these for a later date.

Many thanks for any help and assistance anybody can give in advance.

Regards,

Our trip out of Barcelona was a while ago, so I will speak to just your items 1 & 3.

We flew in from the middle part of the US on a flight with layovers, so keep that in mind :). It was also just my husband and I, and we were in our mid thirties.

We spent 2 nights in Barcelona. We did some site seeing on our own, and took a tour of the city that we booked on our own. We spent one night after the cruise, in Barcelona. We did an excursion with the cruise ship to Mt Serat, and it was very cool. However, I think I would have preferred to just do a 2-3 day prestay, so we could have just packed and went home from the ship.

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Our trip out of Barcelona was a while ago, so I will speak to just your items 1 & 3.

 

We flew in from the middle part of the US on a flight with layovers, so keep that in mind :). It was also just my husband and I, and we were in our mid thirties.

 

We spent 2 nights in Barcelona. We did some site seeing on our own, and took a tour of the city that we booked on our own. We spent one night after the cruise, in Barcelona. We did an excursion with the cruise ship to Mt Serat, and it was very cool. However, I think I would have preferred to just do a 2-3 day prestay, so we could have just packed and went home from the ship.

 

 

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Thank you so much, I am thinking the same thing about the night after the cruise. I think I will just want to go home.

I would not stay a night in Barcelona after the cruise unless you really want to see Barcelona. The airport is only 20 mins away from the port and the ship normally docks around 6am. Our flight back to the UK is normally around noon and that is more than enough time in the airport. With four of you a taxi would be cheaper than RCCL transfers.

If you're only flying from England you could book a flight the same day of the cruise which would be the same as what RCI would offer you.

We flew out from Liverpool & Manchester to Barcelona about 6am in the past when we've got from Barcelona without issue. Obviously flying in on the day comes with it's risks but we've always done this in Europe without issue. I wouldn't do it in the USA mind! Just grab a cab after you land.

You can fly back the same day you arrive back into Barcelona. A flight after 11am would be fine.

We done a cruise from Barcelona a few years ago, I do wish we had booked a night or two pre-cruise, as we flew in From Edinburgh and our flight was delayed, along with quite a few other passengers, they were waiting on us all arriving, everyone was at their muster stations for the safety drill while we were still trying to get through check in ! so that was stressful, def think about flying in a day or 2 before, we were originally going to jump in a taxi but because our flight was late with a lot of passengers, RCL had a bus waiting and they were shouting at everyone to get on, people were actually running with their cases to get on the bus, so I would def want to avoid that happening again lol

Going home , ship docked around 6am ish we were off about 8:30am and our flight home was 1:30 and we just wanted to go home, not stay any longer, and it's not a long flight, so we sat it out at the airport.

I think I would maybe do a land holiday if I wanted to see Barcelona, there is such a lot to see, I don't think you could do it all in a few days

Hope this helps a little

Wendy

x

Barcelona is a wonderful city, I am sure staying at least two nights would be a great experience. As said, I would spend all the nights in Barcelona before the cruise, fly home the same day you get off the ship. Worked best for us.

We sailed out of Barcelona twice, and were very happy that we booked two nights pre-cruise to enjoy this beautiful city.

The last time we stayed at the Hotel Jazz, which was a reasonably-priced hotel in a nice location.

If you have never been to Barcelona then it definitely justifies 2 nights.

There is a very good HOHO bus network that gets you to see the major sights

The NeuCamp is a must for football fans.

Fabulous shopping if they are not!

The metro system is also very good for getting around.

Flights from England are only 1 1/2 hrs - so it takes no time at all. Many cabs outside the airport to run you into town.

A million hotels in Barcelona - I'd look for one in the region of Las Ramblas or around Placa Catalunya so you are close to the centre.

Even with kids I would visit places like the amazing Boqueria market to get a flavour of the real Spain.

And after the cruise making an 11.30/noon flight is very easy to do.

You will find these subjects covered in the Spain port of call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596

We cruised out of Barcelona two years ago, 12 night rccl cruise, we spent two nights at Barcelona universal hotel, wish we had more time there great city, we also did a really nice tour with fellow roll call members by Barcelona day tour. I do not think it is needed to spend a night in Barcelona when you return. Also recommend joining roll call .

We stayed at Hotel Leon. It was a great location. Took the areo bus from airport to Playa Cantelonya and walked the couple of blocks to hotel. At least 2 nights if you arrive early morning. Adding a third night if possible .

I love train travel but that is a long trip. The train station is not far from the port though.

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I have a few questions also, We are traveling with a person in a wheelchair. Any ideas of Handicap accessible hotels?

Also, any idea of transportation from the airport to hotel that is wheelchair accessible. We are planning on flying in on Friday so we have Friday and Saturday to explore Barcelona. Are the HOHO buses accessible?

Thanks for your help

I have a few questions also, We are traveling with a person in a wheelchair. Any ideas of Handicap accessible hotels?

Also, any idea of transportation from the airport to hotel that is wheelchair accessible. We are planning on flying in on Friday so we have Friday and Saturday to explore Barcelona. Are the HOHO buses accessible?

 

Thanks for your help

Spain forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596

I think 2 or 3 nights would be good.

Where are you flying from? Check out flights for different days to see which works best cost wise.

We stayed at the Silken Concorda for one night before which is near the port and the Magic fountains, nice to see in the evening and the Hotel Lleo after which is at the Place de Catalunia at the top of Las Rambles.

You could also look at apartments as well near this area.

Look at TripAdvisor for prices and reviews.

Enjoy your trip.

We are traveling from Australia for our RCI cruise in September this year.

How many nights would you recommend we book in Barcelona, pre cruise? (we are a family of four, children will be aged 10 and 11).

We booked 3 nights pre cruise which will give us 2 full days to explore Barcelona & recover from the 28 hours of flying & transit.

2. Would anybody be able to recommend any good hotels for families?

We booked an apartment which makes it easier to self cater & do laundry prior to the cruise. Plus you get more room than a hotel.

3. Would you recommend a hotel stay the night we come off the cruise? Alternatively, what time should we be looking for a return flight? We have never cruised before so have no idea what time or how long it takes to get off the ship and away from port.

We are taking the bus at 10:30am to Andorra and then spending another 6 nights in the same apartment building that we are staying in prior to the cruise. To get our bus we are going to carry our luggage off ourselves.

4. Do we need to pre-book any transfers, or can we simply get into a taxi on any leg of the journey (airport to hotel - then hotel to port and finally port to airport/hotel).

From what I have read taxis are easy to get and reasonable in price. They have maxi taxis which would be perfect for a family of 4 with luggage.

5. I am not that keen on flying, has anybody done the Eurostar/TGV?

I have done the TGV fast train on a previous trip to Europe. It's a lot of fun and more comfortable than an airline seat plus you get to see things as you speed by. My son loved the trains. You could look at the cost of doing 1 way on each.

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When we cruised out of Barcelona, we flew in the day of- I think because I was being cheap and didn't want to pay for hotels. It's not the best idea, even from the UK- if your flight is majorly delayed or cancelled then you're in trouble. I've flown in the day-of 3 times and never had a problem, but that doesn't mean it can't happen!

I'd go for 2 or 3 nights pre cruise, which will give you 1 or 2 full days. My highlights would be the Sagrada Familia (although could be a bit of a snooze for the kids) and Park Guell, which kids should find interesting enough. We also did the aquarium on our last visit as it was raining, which is fun. Lots of other things to do too, including beaches if the weather is nice. I'd stick to days pre cruise rather than post.

It's super easy to get to and from the airport, about 20 minutes from the port and the taxi fares are fixed so you can't get ripped off. You could also pre book- we used SunTransfers who cost the same as picking up a taxi, but it was nice to have someone waiting for us.

Book a return flight around midday and you'll have bags of time to get to the airport. One tip at the airport which the check in agent kindly told us, was that once you go through security don't immediately proceed to passport control and your gate area. All the shops and restaurants are in between these two areas- once you go through to the gates there is practically nothing!

My friend and I cruised out of Barcelona in March 2017.

Apologies, if I am posting in the wrong area, I am New.

 

I have booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise for next year (July) and I am travelling from England to Barcelona to join my cruise.

 

I am booking everything independently, not sure if this is the best way to do it, but the package deal offered was quite expensive and the flight home was indirect ..... ??????

 

I have a few questions:-

 

1. How many nights would you recommend we book in Barcelona, pre cruise? (we are a family of four, children will be aged 10 and 11). Barcelona is a fascinating city, and Las Ramblas in the evening is quite nice, and a good place to have dinner. If your flight gets in early/mid afternoon, then 1 or 2 nights would be nice. We arrived around 5pm, and had a lovely walk that evening along Las Ramblas and dinner al fresco along the promenade.

 

2. Would anybody be able to recommend any good hotels for families? We stayed at the Serhs Hotel del Port, which is a few blocks from Las Ramblas, and you can walk to the shuttle that will take you into the port and to your ship. This is located near the statue of Columbus, which is also where the hop on/off bus picks up. A very good location for a lot of reasons.

The hotel includes an amazing breakfast buffet, which eliminates having to go hunting for breakfast. We were truly delighted with the food; stellar and quite a variety.

3. Would you recommend a hotel stay the night we come off the cruise? Alternatively, what time should we be looking for a return flight? We have never cruised before so have no idea what time or how long it takes to get off the ship and away from port. It really isn't necessary to book after the cruise unless you want to see more of Barcelona than a day or two of touring. A flight after 12pm would work fine. The ride to the airport isn't that far.

 

4. Do we need to pre-book any transfers, or can we simply get into a taxi on any leg of the journey (airport to hotel - then hotel to port and finally port to airport/hotel). A taxi might be more convenient with 4 people, and you pay for the car and not per person.

 

5. I am not that keen on flying, has anybody done the Eurostar/TGV? I have used Eurostar from London to Paris and found it very easy. As long as your connection to TGV allows enough time, I think it would be a good option from England. Plus, you get to see some of the scenery in Spain! I would recommend booking direct on both instead of a Eurorail Pass, which would be more expensive.

 

Sorry so many questions (especially as they do not relate to the cruise itself).

 

I have many questions about the cruise, but I will keep these for a later date.

 

Many thanks for any help and assistance anybody can give in advance.

 

Regards,

Apologies, if I am posting in the wrong area, I am New.

 

I have booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise for next year (July) and I am travelling from England to Barcelona to join my cruise.

 

I am booking everything independently, not sure if this is the best way to do it, but the package deal offered was quite expensive and the flight home was indirect ..... ??????

 

 

 

 

I have a few questions:-

 

1. How many nights would you recommend we book in Barcelona, pre cruise? (we are a family of four, children will be aged 10 and 11).

 

2. Would anybody be able to recommend any good hotels for families?

 

3. Would you recommend a hotel stay the night we come off the cruise? Alternatively, what time should we be looking for a return flight? We have never cruised before so have no idea what time or how long it takes to get off the ship and away from port.

 

4. Do we need to pre-book any transfers, or can we simply get into a taxi on any leg of the journey (airport to hotel - then hotel to port and finally port to airport/hotel).

 

5. I am not that keen on flying, has anybody done the Eurostar/TGV?

 

Sorry so many questions (especially as they do not relate to the cruise itself).

 

I have many questions about the cruise, but I will keep these for a later date.

 

Many thanks for any help and assistance anybody can give in advance.

 

 

 

Regards,

We flew from the U.S. and arrived two nights prior to cruise. Our was Hotel Gaudi, not a 5 star but nice and clean. The hotel was off of Las Ramblas. There are lots to do in Barcelona. We booked all the tours independently. Barcelona is very walkable. We did a hop on hop off bus to get a birds eye view of Barcelona and then went independently from there. Great restaurants. Very safe but lots of pick pockets so be forewarned and be careful.

Most return flights to the U.S. leave in the AM and we were able to obtain a late morning flight.

I have a few questions also, We are traveling with a person in a wheelchair. Any ideas of Handicap accessible hotels?

Also, any idea of transportation from the airport to hotel that is wheelchair accessible. We are planning on flying in on Friday so we have Friday and Saturday to explore Barcelona. Are the HOHO buses accessible?

 

Thanks for your help

Don't you get so frustrated when you ask a handicapped question and the only response you get is a link to an entire message board and no clue where to start? I know I do. That is my least favorite part of Cruise Critic, there is really very little info on handicapped accessibility, period and what you can find may be years out of date! We are leaving from Barcelona this October and we ended up booking with Hilton.com because we were able to speak with someone about handicapped needs. We found that the HOHO bus in Barcelona is handicapped accessible from http://www.accessiblespaintravel.com which was helpful for several things. The private tours we have found for accessibility are rather expensive, we are still undecided whether to book or just muddle through being a tourist. I hope that at least gives you a place to start!

Apologies, if I am posting in the wrong area, I am New.

 

I have booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise for next year (July) and I am travelling from England to Barcelona to join my cruise.

 

I am booking everything independently, not sure if this is the best way to do it, but the package deal offered was quite expensive and the flight home was indirect ..... ??????

 

I have a few questions:-

 

1. How many nights would you recommend we book in Barcelona, pre cruise? (we are a family of four, children will be aged 10 and 11). Last year, before joining Brilliance, we spent two nights pre-cruise. 2 nights is recommended. You get to see most of the city and be able to relax.

 

2. Would anybody be able to recommend any good hotels for families? Hotel Jazz. We are going there also next July for Vision boarding, July 5th. Very clean hotel. Awesome pool on roof and full bar with food. Great Tapas! Not bad rates!

 

3. Would you recommend a hotel stay the night we come off the cruise? Alternatively, what time should we be looking for a return flight? We have never cruised before so have no idea what time or how long it takes to get off the ship and away from port. That's preferential. Realizing you're from the UK, with such a short flight back, I'd head back unless you missed something cool in Barcelona and want to stay over. With us being from the US, our return flight was that afternoon. Not sure the frequency of flights back to the UK.

 

4. Do we need to pre-book any transfers, or can we simply get into a taxi on any leg of the journey (airport to hotel - then hotel to port and finally port to airport/hotel). We took the Aerobus from the airport directly to the downtown Barcelona area. Only thing being, we had to walk a few blocks with our luggage, but again you may find a hotel nearest city centre where the bus stops at. Hotel Jazz was a few blocks down, but it was funny seeing us jet lagged with our luggage.

 

5. I am not that keen on flying, has anybody done the Eurostar/TGV? Did that a few years back during visit to Belgium seeing daughter and son in law; took it from Brussels direct to the chunnel and onward to St. Pancras in London. You can take connections via TGV/high speed down to Spain though.

 

Sorry so many questions (especially as they do not relate to the cruise itself).

 

I have many questions about the cruise, but I will keep these for a later date.

 

Many thanks for any help and assistance anybody can give in advance.

 

Regards,

Good luck - maybe we're on that same cruise in July, who knows?

Our trip out of Barcelona was a while ago, so I will speak to just your items 1 & 3.

 

We flew in from the middle part of the US on a flight with layovers, so keep that in mind :). It was also just my husband and I, and we were in our mid thirties.

 

We spent 2 nights in Barcelona. We did some site seeing on our own, and took a tour of the city that we booked on our own. We spent one night after the cruise, in Barcelona. We did an excursion with the cruise ship to Mt Serat, and it was very cool. However, I think I would have preferred to just do a 2-3 day prestay, so we could have just packed and went home from the ship.

 

 

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Thank you so much for your advice. I definitely think we will fly home the same day as cruise ends and are going to look at 2/3 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise.

Thank you to everybody who has replied on my post. I have definitely decided to leave Barcelona on the day that the cruise gets into Port and it is good to hear from people who have done this trip that it is easily doable.

I have been looking at all the Hotel recommendations too, as all your advice has convinced me that we shall stay 2/3 nights pre-cruise, to do a bit of a sightseeing, and to just relax a bit before the Cruise.

Thank you again everybody, I am really pleased I have found this forum.

Have a great trip!!

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One magical treat they have in Barcelona is the hot chocolate (it’s thick and unlike anything I’ve ever had before). You guys should try it for sure :)

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