Norwegian Jade 10/31/10 Pictoral Review

[omc329]

Well, I goofed. I'll throw in the part before the hotel on the next post! Pooh!

 

We arrive back at the hotel and are given rooms.

 

This is our room this time. Much roomier!

 

And a comfortable bathroom.

 

And it even comes with a patio door that opens onto our own, private little 4x4 patio!

 

Of course the patio is just a wee bit like standing in an open dungeon, surrounded on all sides by this.

 

*ROFL* You had to see it to appreciate it. TXdh stopped by to ask something and I escorted him onto our private patio. He burst out into laughter. It was just too much!

 

So, lesson to be learned. If you book the Hotel Continental, DON'T do it for the views, unless you want one of the balconies up front, and then expect a bit of noise from the halls from clumsy tourists like us if you get one near the lobby. On the other hand, I still think it was a good value and would book there again, just understanding it is NOT a 4 or 5* hotel. Perhaps not even a 3*? 2 1/2* is about right maybe.

[omc329]

On our way back to the hotel, (and should have been posted above....ooops!), we came across this at the corner.

 

They had the whole corner blocked off, and with policeman in full riot gear, we gave them a wide berth. Dh thought it was possibly the Pope. Nope! It was a demonstration, and they were keeping people Waaaay clear of it, whatever it was about.

 

After sitting with some beer and wine, sis and I are ready for just a last little bit of souvenier shopping. Dh decides he really wants to tag along, (perhaps he is afraid I'll get lost again? :rolleyes:), and strangely enough, TX wants to come. I guess that hydrocortisone is really helping! That or you just can't keep her from the shops. *L* Gn and TXdh stay back at the hotel.

 

Sis wants to pick up an extra piece of baggage. She can't fit everything she bought in her luggage. I'm not even certain what's open. We happen to meet cc'er April at the elevators. She tells us about a market one block over. So we follow her over and look about. Sis buys a cloth handbag she can use in a pinch and then we wander back to Rambla to see what is open there. Turns out most of the shops are open, despite it being Sunday.

 

Walking along I absolutely must have a gelato. Hey, I'm still hungry. My lunch was a bit on the light side, giving dh most of my steak. As dh and I eat our gelatos sis takes TX into a store to show where she had purchased her lladro.

 

But, but....I wanted to see too!

 

Sis says there is store down the way that sells the brand the apprentices to lladro make, and it would be more in my budget. So we wander down the way, and I finish my gelato. Dh, in the meantime, follows TX into a Tshirt and hat place and gets his usual souvenier ballcap. Sis follows them in and sees a handy rollon case. She was just about to buy it, when it became clear the guy was lying about it being leather. Now, she didn't really care if it was or wasn't, but she didn't like getting lied to, and walked out.

 

In the meantime I was enjoying getting picts of the city.

 

We stop at another store for luggage. Folks, bargain, that's all I can say. Sticker price is not reality. They also like to pull the bait and switch to lure you back in. Sis decided against a piece of luggage and was looking at the shawls. As we were leaving he started pricing down that piece of luggage, until it was too good to be true. Well, it was. The final numbers he was yelling at us were for the shawls! *L* Gotta watch those guys.

 

We finally give up on the luggage and the fake lladros and she takes me into a shop to show me the real lladros. I wander over towards the enameled plates. They are gorgeous! I want one, but they are just out of range. The guy brings it down to 38E for me. I'll TAKE IT!

 

This is my absolute favorite souvenier from the trip. I'm as happy as can be and cheerfully return to the hotel with the others.

[omc329]

Arriving back at the hotel we are wiped. Even I can hardly go any further. Remember all the times I went ahead and then back, downs steps to check ahead and then back, all day long? Well, it was finally taking its' toll.

 

We meet up with TXdh and gn in the lobby and send TX off to retrieve the limoncello. It is time to relax and unwind. After a shot around, we decide it is also time for supper. TXdh agreed to go out and bring back pizza. Yum.

 

We waited, drank some more, waited, chatted. He came back with no pizza?! He couldn't find any pizza places. Well, I can tell you for a fact they are out there, but the problem is I'm too tired to be bothered going myself. Dh is beyond shot and in pain. TX is hurting again. Sis can't be bothered to go......

 

Oh well. When in doubt, send TXdh across the street to the local BK. He KNOWS where that is. Another round of whoppers it shall be!

 

Ok, so we were pathetic. :o

 

In the meantime, everyone was getting their boarding passes printed off. There are two computers in the hotel. One was in a hallway. That one is not connected to a printer. The other is in the lobby. That one is connected to the printer, and the hotel cheerfully printed all our boarding passes for us.

 

We sat in the lobby a good long while and then headed off to bed early. TX had a VERY early plane to catch and we had a 9:30 plane.

 

We were up at 5:30 and out of the hotel at 6:45. We walked the quarter block up to the taxi stand and grabbed a taxi for sis, gn, dh and myself. The driver asked which terminal.

 

Uh.....Someone, quick, get out the boarding passes......

Not on there.....Uhhhhhhhh

 

Well, what can I say? As he came up to the terminal we saw a Continental sign and hoped for the best. It was 40E for the ride. Quite a bit more than the ride out. I don't know why.

 

I made two mistakes this morning, well...three if you include that little thing about the terminal. First mistake was that they don't start checking in until 7:50, and we had to do a checkthru even with the passes. Second big mistake? Our flight left at 10:30, not 9:30. Ooooops! Well, better early than late, eh? ;)

 

While we stood around waiting I recommended keeping all luggage to the center of the group, remembering warnings about that stuff here. Because we were there as they opened, it was a mass rush of people attempting to get into the ques for lines. Ugh. But we survived. Dh and I were interviewed for some sort of security thing as we waited. I guess we got the lucky draw. They tagged the back of our passports and then we were asked questions about our carryons a couple more times that morning at various check points.

 

We got our final boarding passes and headed through security. On the other side of that sis met up with us............

 

I'm glad this was the end of the trip. I couldn't have taken another day. I just couldn't.

 

....Sis had been chosen for a pat down. She was in a panic attack, full blown, screaming her head off at me. I was responsible for the panic attack! I was the one that had her so uptight about all the pickpockets! I was the one who kept saying things like keep the luggage to the center. I was the one who made her get the safepac that was so hard to get in and out. She HATED Barcelona. She would NEVER return! blah, blah, blah.....

 

I told her to shut up and put as much distance between us as I could, given that we were headed out on the same plane.

 

30 minutes or so later someone said that they had changed our departure gate to another terminal. After some checking around, sure enough we had to all gather up our things and drag ourselves across the airport to another gate, about 10-15 minutes walk away, where we resettled for the duration.

 

Again, I kept my distance. I had no desire to talk with my sis.

 

Finally we boarded, right on time. We all got into our seats and an announcement came on. We would be sitting there just a bit while they attempted to figure out how to get us across the ocean without running out of fuel. There were to be strong headwinds, and the current routing would have us run short of land.

 

Ok. We wait. They don't want to turn on the air because that would waste fuel. It gets hot. The gal in the seat next to me moves up into an empty seat and the stewards say nothing, thank goodness. I move over to the empty aisle seat. It is a little bit cooler.

 

I'm getting real red now. It is getting hotter. They bring out water. I take mine and roll the glass over my face and spray water on pulse points in an attempt to cool down.

 

2 hours later we FINALLY head off to the runways. Yippee!!!!!!

 

It is a long flight of games and movies. And then the next bit of news. They didn't have enough fuel to get us to Newark, we were diverting to Boston to refuel.

 

Folks are concerned now. We will be WELL over two hours late. It is looking like closer to 4 hours. Flights WILL be missed.

 

But let's stir it up some more and have a lady faint in the aisle behind us. That ought to delay us even a bit more!

 

We finally take off again and arrive in Newark. I continue to attempt to ignore sis. I'm past my tolerance level with her.

 

She gets off the plane and I hear her go ballistic on some poor gals who were holding wheel chairs for passengers. She had asked a steward to call ahead for one for her gd, (the knee), because she was worried they wouldn't be able to make their connection otherwise. Mind, at this point they have about 20 minutes to clear customs, more security and get to the connecting flight.

 

She screams at these poor innocent people because there is no wheelchair there for gn. She storms off in a huff dragging gn along.

 

I met up with her at a checkpoint with the luggage. They were diverting those who would not make their flights to one spot, and those that still could to another. Works for me. We had a 6 hour layover. We're still good.

 

I leave sis and gn to figure out their life and dh and I start hoofing it to our terminal. I have dh huffing and puffing but we get there, run up to the board to check our gate, .....

 

It is running 2 hours late. *sigh*

 

I burst out laughing. And I laughed and I laughed. Ok, I was getting punchy. I was also so very relieved to be down to dh and myself. It was like a weight had been lifted.

 

Well, that connection of ours, it changed times at least a half dozen times. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, than shorter again. At one point it moved to 10:30PM. I cried. I couldn't help it. I hadn't slept in over 24 hours now. I just quietly cried.

 

We finally made it back to WI around 12:30AM central. I was ever so thankful that we had booked the stay n fly with the stay at the end!

 

And so concludes our trip. Sis and I are back on speaking terms now. I did take several weeks off from her first though. I never did, nor never will get an apology, after all, it was MY fault. But, family is family. :rolleyes:

 

We had a trip of a lifetime, and for the most part it was great. I do hope dh and I, and possibly even TX, might make it back to Barcelona and spend a week doing all the things we never got to, like going inside Casa Batlo, getting to Montserrat, doing the other Runnerbean tour, Poble Espanyol, the history museum, the inside of the cathedral in the gottic district, wandering the gottic district and enjoying all the performers, catching a show at the Palau, and so forth on. We may make it back. I hope so.

 

After a break, I'll make a few brief notes and comparison of Norwegian and Carnival. I've typed enough for now.

[Marilyn08]

Wow!! That was some adventure for you all. You have the patience of an angel and amazing writing ability. So enjoyed it all. So entertaining. Felt as if I was reading a short story, and kept checking back for the next chapter. Was able to relate to many of your activities. It was a wonderful trip and, we also, look forward to returning someday to enjoy more of Barcelona.

 

Wishing you all the very best and a happy and health New Year.

 

Thank you again for arranging the Meet and Greet. It was fun!!! ;)

 

Marilyn

[coka]

Omc329, Thank you for taking all the time you did to write about your trip and to include the photos. You have a keen eye for photography. Many of your photos are noticeably "wow" that give a unique perspective/angle/light/captured moment. I feel like I went on a cruise to Europe tonight! I agree with the others, you have the patience of biblical Job. Thank you again and I look forward to reading your comparisons.

 

coka

[ariawoman]

Is it sad that I really want to smack your sis? LOL.

 

I went to Barcelona for the first time this past October and wow, need to go back someday (once I learn some spanish - i had a hard time even in Mc Donalds LOL). How anyone can go there and hate it is beyond me, and we had a fairly bad hotel stay there (which I fought and ended up getting 50% back, so that helped some).

 

Don't feel bad about choosing BK. It happens. Each time we go to Europe, we eat at least once at a Mc Ds, just because, and this time it was in Barcelona lol. Last time, it was the one across from the Pantheon in Rome. What an odd place.

 

I too was chosen in the barcelona airport (at 6am no less) for a pat down. No idea why. I thought it was funny and chalked it up to a new experience. It's a shame your sis isn't able to do the same (seemingly).

 

Thanks for your great review. I've never really been on the NCL boards, but somehow meandered over via the ports of call board :-) It was nice to reminisce (even though it was only 2 months ago that i too was in barcelona).

 

Sagrada Familia was beautiful wasn't it? I'd like to go back once it's completed in 2026, at least that's the current end date, who knows if they'll make it. The detail on the outside of that place is just insane. We didn't go inside either, time constraints being a major factor. We were only in Barcelona for the day (overnight) and had a really early flight.

 

We used the Bus Touristic for most of our transportation in Barcelona and I have to say it was nice as we got to see a lot but not walk a ton (as barcelona was our last stop after a 12 day mediterranean itinerary). The subway system was decent too, we had no issues getting from la sagrada familia back to Diagonal, where we hopped back onto the bus touristic.

 

Hope you go on another trip in the near future so we can read more!

[petesweet]

Give your sis my regards. I'm sure I traveled with her in London!!!:eek: I can so relate about having to round up your group. You put in twice as many steps as the rest of them (or even more). I can remember doing the same thing. I had a group of six in London. One was very difficult (and it was an individual whose way I had paid to help her out!!). I am just reliving it all through your experiences.

I'm glad you came away happy about your overall experience. I don't know if I mentioned earlier in this thread that I had to cancel my Med cruise that just finished - DH is sick. Of 61 in our senior group, 8 are "mine," and my SIL will be complaining like mad because they are still stranded in Barcelona because of the strike. Hope they can fly out today.

Here's hoping you get back to Spain again sometime - maybe just you and your husband this time!!:D

Kathy

[omc329]

Thank you all for bearing with my long tales. Thank you for any compliments and for tolerating a ton of typos, spelling and grammatical errors, and a rather haphazard go at reviewing my trip.

 

Comparison time.

 

Our first two cruises were on Carnival, Spirit class, one out of Tampa and one out of Baltimore.

 

Embarkation/debarkation: I don't know about all of Norwegian ports, but this one was a breeze! No lines. No waiting. Zip, zip, zip. Even reboarding we only had to wait more than a few minutes just the one time in Monaco. Carnival had lines, but there was always seating waiting around on embarkations. Debarkations, especially in Baltimore, were a pain. Norwegian wins hands down.

 

Rooms: This goes easily to Carnival. Carnival has much larger/spacier rooms, and they didn't put the bed directly under the window in the ov's I saw.

 

Ship layout: Again to Carnival, at least their spirit class which is the only one I've done. I like the adult area in the back of the ship, separate from the main pools, open to the elements and no glassing us in on all sides. For this reason alone I give this category to Carnival. Truthfully, inside, not a big difference so far as I can see. One learns their way around.

 

Ship decor: Norwegian wins, despite being a Hawaiian theme in the Mediterranean. Norwegian just isn't quite so gawdy as Carnival. I prefer the slightly more subdued decorating style on Norwegian.

 

Smoke: A major issue for us as I physically react to the stuff. Norwegian wins this one. I never got to enjoy much in the way of indoor venues on Carnival, at least outside of the main theater and restaurant. They allowed smoking in so many places indoors. And their atrium served as a chimney for all the smoke from the casino, dragging it into every corner of the ship. It was horrid.

 

Norwegian doesn't permit smoking indoors, except a few spots like private cabins and the casino. We simply avoided the casino. It worked for us! Now up top was more of an issue. Then again, the one time we enjoyed the whirlpool nobody was hanging around. ;) Not a problem for us. Sis on the other hand was furious that she couldn't seem to find a smoke free place to enjoy her book up top. I wouldn't know about that, and perhaps on a Caribbean cruise that might be more of an issue for us. Still, I give this category to Norwegian, just because I was able to enjoy a foofoo and guitar music in a relaxed, smoke-free environment. :)

 

Dining: This is sort of a toss up, unless you divide this into subcategories.

 

Food itself, I give to Carnival. It wasn't a major difference, and I really liked many of the things on Norwegian, but it was hit or miss. The only thing I ever really hated on Carnival was duck, and it wasn't their fault. I had never tasted duck. Turns out, I don't like it!

 

Availability, now this is more complicated. Firstly, calling the Blue Lagoon 24 hours is a joke. Carnival's 24 hour food is limited. I don't recall precisely, but I'm thinking mainly pizza and ice cream, but that sure beats pastry, in the cold, and on wet, slippery floors, when I'm starved. I don't really know when Carnival opens the breakfast items, having never been up that early on their ships. I didn't have those 8AM tours to catch, and I didn't have jetlag.

 

Norwegian has the anytime eating, but we had that once on Carnival as well. Still, I would give the edge to Norwegian on this one, mainly because you don't have to concern yourself with getting onto the anytime list. In Baltimore one couple across from us had gotten 8PM dining. They were furious. And in Tampa we stood in line to get out of the late dining, jumping on the opportunity for anytime. We had no issues with the anytime on Carnival, other than being certain you will get ON it to begin with.

 

Service: In the dining room most definitely Carnival over Norwegian. Norwegian was slower than molasses in the dining room!

 

Service other than dining,ie, stewards, etc, a toss up. Our stewards on all three ships learned to call us by name, ask if everything was ok, made up beds, etc. Folks at desks in the lobbies on all ships were always polite, (but then we never went up complaining about something so who knows?)

 

Billing: This goes to Carnival. I really preferred being able to check my bill on the television nightly. It drove me nuts not having that ability on Norwegian.

 

Entertainment: This one is tough. Firstly, we only caught two shows on the Jade. If you want to put the one production show against the ones I saw on Carnival, I give the edge to Norwegian, but that might be partially taste. I just liked it better.

 

I definitely preferred the quieter theater on Norwegian. I felt like I was going to go deaf in Carnival's. I actually kept earplugs in the entire time in Carnival's theater, including preshow. They couldn't even allow a lower volumn so folks could chat before shows. Ugh.

 

On the other hand, Carnival's seating in the main theater was MUCH more comfortable than Norwegian's.

 

Smaller entertainment throughout the ship has to go to Norwegian strictly because I was ABLE to enjoy them!

 

Sea day activities were much better and a wider selection on Carnival. Instead of watching towel folding, (I didn't bother on Norwegian just because of it not being interactive), I got to experience towel folding. And there were lots of other things like a free tour on Carnival, pay on Norwegian. There just didn't seem as much to keep one busy. I would not want a lot of sea days on a Norwegian cruise. Then again, I'm not overly fond of sea days anyway. ;)

 

Cruise critic meets: This easily goes to Norwegian. They did a terrific job setting us up, providing refreshments, introducing the crew, etc. My only complaint is that they prefer them in the mornings, which pushed us near the end of the cruise. We ended up having two, one informal on our own, and one formal with Norwegian. It worked though, and it was fun comparing notes at the end.

The cc meets I saw on Carnival were always made by cc members, not by the cruise line. There is just something about having a private space, refreshments and ship's crew that makes you feel like you matter.

 

Overall: Well, dh is sold on Norwegian. I'm still hmmhawing. There were pluses and minuses. The smoke is a HUGE issue on Carnival. I think that might be what tips us towards Norwegian. I guess I would sail either again, with the edge towards Norwegian.

[Eileen G]

So, off we go to find the street of discord. As we wander we see a 'castle' on a hill. I don't know what this building was, but throughout our stays in Barcelona, it marked our way to let us know which direction was which at a glance.

 

 

After wandering north for a bit we headed back to Placa Catalunya and down the Rambla for a bit. My sis noticed an alley to the west and off we went.

 

 

 

 

We finally made it to the Boqueria after wandering side streets a bit, but didn't go in far. Sis just did NOT like the crowds in there so we didn't stick around. Even the Rambla seemed crowded. We were glad to return to the hotel and meet up with TX friends.

 

At this point we checked into our rooms and 'attempted' to catch a nap. I was just too wound. Our friends arrived around 4PM and got their room, we all caught another snack and back out to see La Sagrada.[/quote

 

 

I very much enjoyed your review. I have never been on NCL but we have done several Med cruises. We have been able to spend several days pre and postcruise in Barcelona. That castle on the hill is at Tibidabo, an amusement park. The castle is actually a church and the views from there are fantastic. Our first two times we also wondered what it was so the third trip we went up there.

 

[omc329]

I very much enjoyed your review. I have never been on NCL but we have done several Med cruises. We have been able to spend several days pre and postcruise in Barcelona. That castle on the hill is at Tibidabo, an amusement park. The castle is actually a church and the views from there are fantastic. Our first two times we also wondered what it was so the third trip we went up there.

 

 

Thanks! Now I finally know! :)

[cruiseman111111]

What a great review, nice pix...We will be on the Jade 4-29-2011 for 15 nights...

[April7901]

Awesome recap. It was fun to read - and compare :-)

 

I've given up all hope of doing one of my own. I can't *believe* how swamped I am at work.

[bruinliz]

Your review was awesome. It was like reading a book...and btw, you're my favorite character.

 

My boyfriend and I are going on the Epic in June and will have almost the same itineray, expect no Monaco. We will be doing 2 full days pre-cruise and one day will be spent on Montserrat so that leaves us one day in the city. I have no idea how I'm going to fit it all in, but it'll be fun trying. You mentioned you did a tour of Palau de La Musica. My boyfriend is really into music and I think he would love to check this place out. Where did you get tickets for this tour? I had also never heard of the runnerbean tours but after reading your rave review I'm off to google them. Any information you can provide on the tour tickets would be greatly appreciated.

[omc329]

Your review was awesome. It was like reading a book...and btw, you're my favorite character.

 

My boyfriend and I are going on the Epic in June and will have almost the same itineray, expect no Monaco. We will be doing 2 full days pre-cruise and one day will be spent on Montserrat so that leaves us one day in the city. I have no idea how I'm going to fit it all in, but it'll be fun trying. You mentioned you did a tour of Palau de La Musica. My boyfriend is really into music and I think he would love to check this place out. Where did you get tickets for this tour? I had also never heard of the runnerbean tours but after reading your rave review I'm off to google them. Any information you can provide on the tour tickets would be greatly appreciated.

 

http://www.palaumusica.org/

 

It is under guided tours. You can only order the tickets one week in advance, but was easily done via the internet. You can also purchase tickets to whatever performances might be when your are visiting.

 

http://www.runnerbeantours.com/

 

Runnerbean tours are free and guides live off of the tips they receive. No tickets required.

 

Also, this is an old thread I had used for Montserrat, though we never made it there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1021206

[bruinliz]

Thank you...all that is very helpful.

[elsplace2]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time in posting it! I have been doing these types of reviews from my last 2 cruises and I know how time consuming they can be! We will also, be doing the Western Med on the Epic, in the same ports as you minus Monaco, in May/June. Can't wait and reading your review, makes it more exciting! I wish more people would write them like this including the pics! I will be writing one like this, as well, when we get back.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the awesome review! I really enjoyed reading it!

[samavarcruiser]

Thanks for sharing, great pictures, a lot of details, loved your review, very helpful :)

[hylasgirl]

Fantastic review! Thanks for posting it! I had a Med trip planned for this summer and unfortunately it had to be put on hold. I will have to live vicariously through the Cruise Critic this year :( I'm glad that you enjoyed your tours with Romeinlimo. We have had priceless days with that company. When you talked of tears from so much laughter... that was our van in Naples. We had so much fun. I can't wait to return.

 

Thanks again!

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Thanks so much for providing such a detailed review. As I was reading it, it felt like I was along. We are going to the Med next Sept and will be doing Barcelona pre-cruise for 3 days and then stopping at the 3 Italian ports of Livorno, Naples and Rome.

We are looking at booking with Rome In Limo and was wondering if you picked out your days itinerary or did you go by what they suggested with a few changes ?

I know the days are hectic but were you at all concerned with RIL not getting you back to the ship on time ? We arrive at each of these ports at 7am and leave each of them at 7pm.

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Oooops !!!! sorry for the duplicate

[joiedanslavie]

OMC....I just returned Monday from my cruise on The Pearl to the Eastern Caribbean. While onboard I put down a deposit on a cruise on the Epic -- Barcelona, Italy & back to Barcelona. I thought my daughter or sister would go for sure, but they say no, for various reasons. My question is that I find I may be doing this alone, as a single woman, or I'd lose my deposit, I think. I'm wondering if I do go alone & spend a couple days in Barcelona if you think this is safe enough to do as a single? Just wondering what your thoughts are. I've so enjoyed your review, thanks so much for posting this!

[omc329]

Thanks so much for providing such a detailed review. As I was reading it, it felt like I was along. We are going to the Med next Sept and will be doing Barcelona pre-cruise for 3 days and then stopping at the 3 Italian ports of Livorno, Naples and Rome.

We are looking at booking with Rome In Limo and was wondering if you picked out your days itinerary or did you go by what they suggested with a few changes ?

I know the days are hectic but were you at all concerned with RIL not getting you back to the ship on time ? We arrive at each of these ports at 7am and leave each of them at 7pm.

 

For Rome and Naples we let ril plan out our days. Our drivers asked if there was anything specific we wanted from the day, and about lunches. For these two ports, we left the tour plans to them.

 

In Livorno, I had wanted a leisurely morning in Lucca, not one of their typical tours. It didn't quite work out that way, and should you decide on something like that, be certain everyone is on board.

 

Do your research. Know what it is you want from your days. Whether you choose one of their standard tours, or adjust it to something more specific to your interests, ril will work with you to make it the day you want.

 

I was never really concerned with making it back to the ship on time. Ril times things to get back to the ship early. They are also in contact with each other and are warned of detours and the like. Moreover, odds are good that if your private tour is stuck in traffic someplace, good chance the big tour buses may be stuck in the same exact traffic jams. The one traffic issue that arose coming back in Naples, I wasn't even aware of the issue until we arrived 20 minutes later than planned, (and still a good hour and twenty minutes before departure).

 

Hope that helps. :)

[omc329]

OMC....I just returned Monday from my cruise on The Pearl to the Eastern Caribbean. While onboard I put down a deposit on a cruise on the Epic -- Barcelona, Italy & back to Barcelona. I thought my daughter or sister would go for sure, but they say no, for various reasons. My question is that I find I may be doing this alone, as a single woman, or I'd lose my deposit, I think. I'm wondering if I do go alone & spend a couple days in Barcelona if you think this is safe enough to do as a single? Just wondering what your thoughts are. I've so enjoyed your review, thanks so much for posting this!

 

Although Barcelona has a huge pickpocket issue, muggings are much less common. I'd avoid late nights out alone on the streets. The part of La Rambla closer to the port, (I've read), tends to be seedier than other parts of the Rambla. Do a bit of research and know which areas to avoid after dark.

 

I'd also recommend getting to know folks on your roll call. You might be able to meet up with some of them in Barcelona, and most definitely for private tours. It will give you a foot up on making friends and having folks to hang with on and off the ship.

[omc329]

And again, thanks for all the feedback folks. It is nice to know folks appreciated the review. :)

[joiedanslavie]

I'd also recommend getting to know folks on your roll call. You might be able to meet up with some of them in Barcelona, and most definitely for private tours. It will give you a foot up on making friends and having folks to hang with on and off the ship.

 

 

Excellent idea!! I wouldn't have thought of that. As soon as I pick a date, I'll do that. I'm looking at a studio on the Epic, but really wondering if I can do with absolutely no natural light. Thanks again for your indepth review; it was wonderful.