Advice please.

[swabs]

Good morning from the Uk.

 

I have just booked 10 days on Riviera - Venetian revelations 1st June really looking forward to it!

 

Have previously taken 2 cruises with Regent- wonderful but their prices have increased and the number of days decreased ... Hence a move to Oceania.

 

Please can you tell me -

 

On Regent after 18:00 one had to be 'appropriately dressed' ie not in beach wear if in any of the lounges. Is this the case with Oceania?

 

We have booked a B4 veranda - in view of this can you advise what time we should expect to board?

We are flying out on the Saturday and making our own way to the ship.

 

Also anyone who has stayed in Barcelona ... Would be grateful for names of hotels relatively near the cruise terminal but also near restaurants etc for the Saturday night.

 

All comments gratefully received.

 

Swabs

[pacheco18]

Good morning from the Uk.

 

I have just booked 10 days on Riviera - Venetian revelations 1st June really looking forward to it!

 

Have previously taken 2 cruises with Regent- wonderful but their prices have increased and the number of days decreased ... Hence a move to Oceania.

 

Please can you tell me -

 

On Regent after 18:00 one had to be 'appropriately dressed' ie not in beach wear if in any of the lounges. Is this the case with Oceania?

 

We have booked a B4 veranda - in view of this can you advise what time we should expect to board?

We are flying out on the Saturday and making our own way to the ship.

 

Also anyone who has stayed in Barcelona ... Would be grateful for names of hotels relatively near the cruise terminal but also near restaurants etc for the Saturday night.

 

All comments gratefully received.

 

Swabs

 

You will not see swimwear after 1800 but you will see folks casually dressed in jeans and even in shorts.

 

You will not board before noon or one-- the information will be in your cruise documents

 

The best place to stay in Barcelona is near the Plaza De Cataluna -- lots of restaurants and great area for an evening stroll. I would not stay near the port. Taxi to port not expensive.

 

The Hotel Regina and the Hotel 1898 are popular choices. There are MANY others. Check the Ports of Call boards for suggestions.

[swabs]

Many thanks for your helpful advice .

I will explore your suggestions

Thanks

 

 

 

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[Andee]

We had a very good experience at the Hotel Lleo in Barcelona.

[findacruise]

We had a good experience at Hotel Avenida Palace. Several good restaurants in walking distance. http://www.avenidapalace.com/en/

We had a nice size room and bath.

 

A great Tapas place on the corner. If you are ever in Lisbon, her sister hotel is super.

[orchestrapal]

Hotel Colon,we stayed there years ago and loved the location. Get a room facing the cathedral. Very reasonable too.

 

We have moved to the Arts ( Ritz Carlton) for our last three stays and LOVE it. The views, food and service can not be faulted. This is a true 5 star. The location is suburb for the port as well as many local less touristy restaurants. You can easily walk to all the overly touristy areas from there.

Edited March 15, 2014 by orchestrapal

[Cruise Junky]

Hotel Colon,we stayed there years ago and loved the location. Get a room facing the cathedral. Very reasonable too.

 

We have moved to the Arts ( Ritz Carlton) for our last three stays and LOVE it. The views, food and service can not be faulted. This is a true 5 star. The location is suburb for the port as well as many local less touristy restaurants. You can easily walk to all the overly touristy areas from there.

 

I was going to suggest something similar, we stayed at the W last time and loved being away from the masses but perhaps for a first timer being closer to the action might be ideal.

[Joywrk]

Loved Hotel Colon. Close to La Rambla and shops and restaurants as well as the port.

[GeorgesGal]

Just LOVED 1898! What a classy hotel. Formerly hq of West Indies Tea Co., so you can just imagine!

[Jancruz]

Another vote for the Colon..

Jancruz1

[swabs]

Thanks everyone for the hotel advice I will now do some following up on your advice.

 

Swabs

[2busy]

We enjoyed our 4 day stay at the Hotel Montecarlo on las Ramblas last year in May prior to our cruise. It is diagonally across the street from Hotel 1898. While not a 5 star hotel, still very nice. I suggest a balcony overlooking las Ramblas but at the 3rd or 4th floor.

 

While in Barcelona, I highly recommend a visit to Casa Batlo by the brilliant architect Gaudi as well as the market La Boqueria. Another suggestion is the chocolate museum where you will see a near 6 foot long chocolate Kimono Dragon and other specialties.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[JPR]

1898 in Downtown Barcelona. Reasonable prices through TripAdvisor. Great restaurant too. Close to the port, the spectacular Arts--but it's much more expensive.

[Toranut97]

One more vote for Hotel Colon here. Cathedral view rooms are great. The square in front of the hotel (the Cathedral Square) is pedestrian only. And the HOHO bus (Hop On Hop Off) stops just a few steps away from the entrance. So wonderful. I reviewed it on Trip Advisor and posted photos: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d190823-Reviews-Colon_Hotel-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

 

Have a great time! Barcelona is enchanting!

[globevest]

Hello Swabs,

May I ask where in Cumbria you are from?

Barry

[CintiPam]

We have enjoyed two stays at the Hotel Jazz, just a few minutes walk from Las Ramblas, and right on the bus route from the airport to Placa Catalyuna. If the weather is nice, the pool on the top floor has lovely views and lots of great lounge chairs. Check it out on sister website tripadvisor.

Edited March 15, 2014 by CintiPam

[swabs]

We live near Whitehaven, on a clear day ( we don't get many) I can see the Isle of Man from our landing window!

[wiks]

We have stayed at both Hotel 1898 and Hotel Monte Carlo in the past and they are both in a great location on Las Ramblas and are both good choices if you are comfortable with their respective price points.

 

The staff was great at both hotels.

 

Wiks

 

 

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[marne-c]

Three answers, one to a question you didn't ask.

 

1. My wife and I love the Hotel Barcelona Catedral/en. It's in the Gothic Quarter, next to the Cathedral, and a short walk from both Plaza Catalunya and La Rambla.

 

2. Our favorite places to eat are at the outdoor restaurants at Plaça Reial. This palm-bedecked plaza hums with activity, but compared to the tumult of La Rambla just a block away, it’s a quiet retreat. Locals eat here, and visitors. Generally, we go for paella (a dish from Valencia, not Barcelona), but there also are restaurants offering great seafood and meat. Plaça Reial is a 3-7 minute walk from any of the hotels folks have mentioned here.

 

3. Given the cruise you describe in your opening post, you should take a look at the roll-call thread here on Cruise Critic for your (nay, our!) cruise. There's some good info there.

 

Happy Sailing. I'll see you on-board!

 

 

--Marne

Edited March 16, 2014 by marne-c

[Mcobean]

Hotel 1898 was fantastic, they had a power outage while we were there, set up candles throughout the hotel and the atmosphere on the roof was the tops, They managed the crisis very well. Then breakfast on the roof was among the best I have ever had.

 

Close to the port and on the rambles, we were very happy with them

 

 

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[globevest]

We live near Whitehaven, on a clear day ( we don't get many) I can see the Isle of Man from our landing window!

 

Swabs, thank you for responding. You have brought back a lot of memories for me particularly the Isle of Man reference. I grew up looking at the Isle of Man (on a rare clear day) from Walney Island. Last month we cruised in the Caribbean with my daughter and her husband who live on the Isle of Man. It was their first cruise and we had a wonderful time. My wife (an American) and I love the Cumbrian coast and last year visited St Bees where I used to play cricket, as a visitor, many, many years ago. We had a great time at a sheep show at Cockermouth followed by visits to many of the western Cumbrian lakes.....Wast Water being my favorite. The weather was good all week we were there, which was amazing.:rolleyes:

Have a great cruise in June. We did a very similar one on Marina two yeas ago.

We love Oceania.

Edited March 16, 2014 by globevest

[yorkiemomjn]

We have enjoyed two stays at the Hotel Jazz, just a few minutes walk from Las Ramblas, and right on the bus route from the airport to Placa Catalyuna. If the weather is nice, the pool on the top floor has lovely views and lots of great lounge chairs. Check it out on sister website tripadvisor.

 

Another vote for this hotel. Reasonable and a great location!

[neepawa]

Another vote for the Hotel Jazz. There is a great little restaurant nearby where all the locals have breakfast. A number of restaurants/cafes for tapas and sangria are within easy walking distance. In addition, a main stop for the HOHO buses is one block away.

Cheers,

Don

[swabs]

Hi Globevest, thanks for your reply, the world is so small these days! and its amazing who one comes across on CC.

Take care.

Swabs - on a very cool March evening!

[Fairfield Nana]

We stayed for 3 nights in Hotel Jazz in he summer of 2012-- it was fantastic! Perfect location as some have mentioned. They have a nice breakfast for a moderate added cost, but there are tons of super restaurants & tapas pubs in the local area with wonderful menu items! Out the front door is the start of La Rambla--totally cool place to shop, eat, drink, and just plain old "people watch"!!