Barcelona - day of cruise

[travellgirl]

We are arriving in Barcelona at 7:45 am on the day of embarkation. The ship leaves at 7:00 pm. Any suggestions on what we can do during the day after we check in? Can you walk to anywhere from the pier, something for lunch, etc. Thanks.

[wwinfl91]

If your ship is docked at the regular cruise ship docks, I don't think you will find it possible to walk to anything easily. There are cabs available outside the cruise terminal. The area between the dock area and the city is a commercial port that has lots of truck traffic and at least in my opinion would not be a safe area to walk in. There may also be a shuttle bus system to Ramblas section of Barcelona.

 

Here are a couple of links that may help you find some ideas on where the port is and what you may be able to do. We did a half day ship sponsered tour to the Sacred Family Cathedral which was worth the time and money to see.

 

http://www.onthewater.nl/portofbarcelona.htm

 

http://www.apb.es/en/PORT

 

http://www.medcruise.com/page.asp?p=1691&l=1

 

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/barcelona-cruise-port.html

 

Hopefully you can find some information on one of them that might help you.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[ldnrdh]

wwinfl ~ fantastic resources, thank you. Leslie

[DMPalmieri]

We will also be arriving early the morning that we cruise..are you by chance flying with delta out of philly? We are unsure of what to do because when I spoke with RCCL, the lady told me that we cannot check in until 4 hours prior to departure and said we cannot drop off luggage either. We would love to go out and see things in Barcelona so we don't know what we are going to do, do you know what you will be doing?

[usavvy2]

last fall, the Royal Princess docked right next to that 5* hotel and was an easy walk (~8min.) to the Columbus monument which is at the bottom of La Rambla. But I guess we were lucky to be berthed so close. Have you considered hiring a guide for 1/2 day to show you the sites (then you could leave the luggage in his car). Or check with a nearby hotel to see if they offer luggage storage for a fee. (They might offer that at the airport too but that would mean another 40-50e rt to get the luggage after you're done with your sightseeing.) How about checking with the cruise line to see if they have any ideas and checking with BCN tourism board to see if they can offer any suggestions (i.e., other nearby hotels provide luggage service). If that doesn't work, perhaps you could get enough folks together to rent the room for the day (maybe day rates?) and split the cost just to store your luggage.

 

We're arriving in BCN a day early & our hotel will keep our luggage even after we check out so we don't have a storage problem. Good luck!

[josiem]

I arrived in Barcelona around 8:30 am and had scheduled a RCCL bus transfer to the ship (Legend of the Seas). Maybe (?) because there was a full bus of early arrivers who could not board the ship till after 11:30, RCCL took us on a bus tour of Barcelona. It was a great tour - as I recall we even had a tour guide explaining where we were, what we were seeing, etc. It included stops for a scenic view of the city, Gaudi's famous "Familia" cathedral - among others. I certainly wouldn't guarantee that this is done with every early arrival. Maybe it was just our good fortune.

[Marika]

Last summer we sailed with Celebrity starting in Venice and ending in Barcelona. We took a taxi from the ship to our hotel but I know the ship docked at the foot of Las Ramblas and to the west, would you be able to walk it, I don't know because I wasn't paying much attention to that. BUT, if you can find somewhere to keep your luggage, you will have plenty of time to explore the city. There is a hop-on/hop-off tourist bus, it's a red double-decker bus. You can pick it up at any one of it's stops and pay the attendent. There are 3 routes, it's a good way to see the whole city. You probably won't have time to do all 3 but 1 should be fine, I liked the RED route the best. If you don't want to do that you can just walk up Las Ramblas, get lost in the old part of town, great shopping. The pier is situated in good location so that you can experience the city in a relatively short period of time.

[andydee]

Second the hop on, hop off bus. It's a great way to see the highlights.

Andy

[belgiancruiser]

(...) BUT, if you can find somewhere to keep your luggage, you will have plenty of time to explore the city. There is a hop-on/hop-off tourist bus, it's a red double-decker bus. (...). If you don't want to do that you can just walk up Las Ramblas, get lost in the old part of town, great shopping. QUOTE]

 

There are lockers in the SANTS station in downtown Barcelona.

 

Last july, before boarding the Oceanic, we put our luggage there (coming by train from the Airport) and took a metro ride from the Station to the Ramblas, walked it, and the Barrio Gotic, with the cathedral and all, and took a cab back to fetch the luggage, and one to the ship.

 

It was all rather easy, and I had a good impression of Barcelona, on foot that is.

 

J

[arsws]

My husband and I are also arriving in Barcelona on 5/21 @ 7:45am, Delta out of NYC - then on the Splendour that eve. Any of you doing the same date and cruise?

There is sooo much info on these boards. It's getting overwhelming....trying to use the idea of putting them on a word document. It is hard to find them again once you've read them.

Tks to everyone for all the tips. This is our first cruise and am alittle nervous when I read about the language problems, doing your own tours compared with the ship tours, bathrooms... : )

Susan

arswsanders@yahoo.com

[L Jane]

I have been really working on this issue too! I had even gone so far as to book a hotel room just for luggage and checked out renting a car for the day!

 

We arrive in Barcelona at the end of our cruise, but don't have a flight back to Rome until late evening. We will not be going to the main airport, but taking a RyanAir flight from Girona Airport. In this case, the train station (which has luggage locker service) is not convenient for us since it is on an opposite side of town from the NORD station (bus station) where we will pick up our Ryan Air shuttle bus to the airport. Also, the port site

http://www.apb.es/en/PORT/Cruises/Terminals/Sant_Bertran_Terminal

appears to show luggage storage actually at the port: "Located on Sant Bertran Pier and designed primarily to handle ferries, this terminal is sometimes used as a passenger terminal for cruise ships. It offers all the services required by cruise passengers and complies with our strict quality and security standards.

Services :Air conditioning; Public telephones; Bank; Gift shops; Left luggage;

Bar-Restaurant; Taxi stand; X-ray machine;Metal detector;Customs service;

Immigration Police..." The site also has a map of the port and lists the buses that get to it from Plaça de Catalunya!). This sounded ok, but that also would have meant that we would need to get back to the port area to collect luggage before leaving!

 

Yes, I was at my wits end! Then, I FINALLY found the site for the NORD station (thanks to a youth hostel web site!).

 

So..I sent and email and got an IMMEDIATE reply! Wow! Here is the reply and the translated English version:

 

Good afternoon, indeed the service of bus Barcelona-Airport of Girona, leaves the station of the North, to leave its luggage have automatic slogans of two sizes different with prices from 3 Eur small and the 4.5Eur the large one, this price is for 24 hours.

-----Original Message-----

From: Reservas Estacio [mailto:bcnnord@bsmsa.es]

Subject: RE: Bienvenido a Barcelona Nord!

Buenas tardes, efectivamente el servicio de autobús Barcelona-Aeropuerto de Girona, sale de la estación del Norte, para dejar sus equipajes disponen de unas consignas automáticas de dos tamaños diferentes con precios de 3€ la pequeña y 4.5€ la grande, este precio es para 24 horas.

 

This is really great too, because the NORD bus station is near the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum (which a turist site says is free on the first sunday of the month and that's when we'll be there - woo hoo!). So we can take the bus from the port, get to the station, drop off luggage, then head out to sightsee! The Barri Gotic district is close by - where the Cathedral La Seu is supposed to have a Sardana at noon on Sunday if we can make it (national dance of Spain in front of the Cathedral). After our day of sightseeing, we can got back to one place for both the luggage and the shuttle. We are SOOOO relieved!!!

 

Bottom line, there appears to be luggage storage at the port, the train station, and the bus station. Whatever works best for YOU.

 

Happy travels,

L Jane

[shelly1128]

I know two people arriving about 8:00 am on June 5th. They too do not know what to do with the luggage. Anyone interested in sharing an inexpensive room to store the luggage or with any other ideas what to do with luggage, please respond.

 

Thanks.

 

Shelly