Another Barcelona Port Question

[tel2]

We are going round trip Rome on the Epic. Thus, when we have our port day in Barcelona, the majority of the ship's passengers will be disembarking. So, I am trying to figure out where the cab lines are, and whether, given that thousands will be disembarking and many of them likely to be in the cab line, whether it would be faster to take the port shuttle to the Columbus monument and take a cab from there? Only thing was I wasn't sure how plentiful cabs were in the area of the monument, and if it would be better to just wait in cab line. Will be taking taxi to Parc Guell, and then Sagrada, and am trying to figure out times to book tickets.... Thanks.

 

Terry

[Hlitner]

We have never had much problem finding a taxi in Barcelona (except at the Port) but have you considered just using the excellent Metro system? As to a shuttle to near the Columbus statue, I wonder if they will even run a shuttle from your pier location since it is being utilized as a debarkation/embarkation pier. So keep in mind there is also a local bus that you can catch right across the street from the pier (for less money then cruise lines charge for their shuttle). Your comment about tickets for Parc Guell got my attention. The last time we were at the park it was still completely free. We did know they were going to charge admission and wonder how it has impacted on the attendance. It used to be very popular with the locals who would often bring their families and picnic in the park.

 

Hank

[MADflyer]

We have never had much problem finding a taxi in Barcelona (except at the Port) but have you considered just using the excellent Metro system? As to a shuttle to near the Columbus statue, I wonder if they will even run a shuttle from your pier location since it is being utilized as a debarkation/embarkation pier. So keep in mind there is also a local bus that you can catch right across the street from the pier (for less money then cruise lines charge for their shuttle). Your comment about tickets for Parc Guell got my attention. The last time we were at the park it was still completely free. We did know they were going to charge admission and wonder how it has impacted on the attendance. It used to be very popular with the locals who would often bring their families and picnic in the park.

 

Hank

 

Hank, I think this 'local bus' you are referring to, is now the T3 Port bus. There are no city busses that enter the port area.

 

Most cruise lines do not offer line specific shuttle busses any longer.

 

The T3 Port busses always run while any ship is at any Terminal. They are more frequent during busy times.

 

A local bus map can be downloaded here:

 

http://www.tmb.cat/en/el-teu-transport

 

The taxi system was completely revamped 3 seasons ago and taxis now line in a remote area and 20 taxis are called to each terminal almost every minute.

 

Taxi availability from the Colon monument area will be easy. A big advantage is also that you do not need to pay the current 4.20 fee for a port taxi.

[MADflyer]

We are going round trip Rome on the Epic. Thus, when we have our port day in Barcelona, the majority of the ship's passengers will be disembarking. So, I am trying to figure out where the cab lines are, and whether, given that thousands will be disembarking and many of them likely to be in the cab line, whether it would be faster to take the port shuttle to the Columbus monument and take a cab from there? Only thing was I wasn't sure how plentiful cabs were in the area of the monument, and if it would be better to just wait in cab line. Will be taking taxi to Parc Guell, and then Sagrada, and am trying to figure out times to book tickets.... Thanks.

 

Terry

 

Taxi lines will be heavy at peak disembarkation times between 08:30 and 10:30 and after that will be much less of a problem throughout the day.

 

The port bus adds extra busses based on volume and they can run every 5 minutes at times.

 

Taxi waits can just exceed 30 minutes at peak moments.