Mediterranean Cruise out of Barcelona

[grandmarnnurse]

I know I’m way early for asking this, but I want some input before I look for a cruise out of Barcelona when 2021 cruises are posted (I already have cruises booked for 2019 and 2020). What I need information on, is how far from the port is the airport in Barcelona, and where would be a good hotel in close proximity to port. We will want to fly in a couple days prior to sightsee, but I like to be near my ports. Any input will be welcome, and thank you in advance. This was supposed to be for our 50th Anniversary in 2020, but because our family also wanted to cruise with us for this special anniversary, we booked a Southern Caribbean cruise with Carnival so they all could come, and will put this Mediterranean cruise off to 2021.

 

 

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[ColinIllinois]

You need to check out the ports of call forums. Here is the link to the Spain forum. It's a treasure trove of information. Enjoy. Here's the link to it:

 

 

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

[Captain Canuck]

Port is close to Las Ramblas...Columbus statue at the end of this street which just outside the port. cabs are pretty cheap. We stayed on Las Ramblas..think Oriente...important to get a hotel with soundproof windows as street is noisy. Las Ramblas shut off to traffic so could place to stay

[Visigoth]

Barcelona is a great choice for your 50th. It is our favorite port in Europe. Presumably you will fly into BCN international airport. There are a lot of transportation options but since you will have luggage I would suggest you just grab a Taxi. They have stops in front of both terminal 1 and Terminal 2. It is about a 20 to 25 minute cab ride into the city center of Barcelona and it will cost about 20 Euros. My suggestion for a place to stay is somewhere close to or on "Las Ramblas". It is Barcelona's equivalent of Bourbon Street, only clean. If you take this advice there are lots of walking tours that will be more than enough to occupy your short stay. I have one unsolicited suggestions that I think you should consider. You might want to plan to stay a few more days in Barcelona. Since you will have to fly on a long (probably overnight) flight into Spain you will probably be too tired too enjoy day one. I would suggest a minimum of three more days before you sail out. the people are wonderful and you will not be sorry. There are so many wonderful things to see that you will not begin to accomplish it even in three days. (Watch out for the pick-pockets on Las Ramblas.)

[MS52]

We stayed at the Jazz Hotel which is close to Las Ramblas, a quick taxi ride to the port. Hotel was very nice, reasonably priced, included breakfast and located close to the metro.

 

 

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[mvh]

We stayed at the Jazz Hotel which is close to Las Ramblas, a quick taxi ride to the port. Hotel was very nice, reasonably priced, included breakfast and located close to the metro.

 

 

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Hotel Jazz was awesome. Perfect location, great breakfast, great rooftop pool and bar too. You could see the whole city and cruise port. It was just under $200 US dollars per night last September. Could walk just about anywhere. Highly recommended.

 

 

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[ollienbertsmum]

I know I’m way early for asking this, but I want some input before I look for a cruise out of Barcelona when 2021 cruises are posted (I already have cruises booked for 2019 and 2020). What I need information on, is how far from the port is the airport in Barcelona, and where would be a good hotel in close proximity to port. We will want to fly in a couple days prior to sightsee, but I like to be near my ports. Any input will be welcome, and thank you in advance. This was supposed to be for our 50th Anniversary in 2020, but because our family also wanted to cruise with us for this special anniversary, we booked a Southern Caribbean cruise with Carnival so they all could come, and will put this Mediterranean cruise off to 2021.

 

 

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Planning early always helps.!

 

Don't forget to use the BCN board for advice.

 

It is easy to get a taxi from the airport to your downtown hotel. It is a fixed price (around 35 euro I think).

 

Barcelona has a great transport system. It is a walkable and lovely city, but some of the most popular tourist sites are somewhat spread out, so I think for a first trip somewhere near to the Gothic/Ramblas area is the best.

 

The last time we went we stayed in Hotel Suizo and thought that we had a bargain. It was right beside a metro stop and really central for wandering around. I have stayed in more expensive hotels in the past and never had a complaint, but the Suizo was clean and of a good standard and the room was huge. I don't think breakfast was included but there was somewhere up the street that did coffee and toast for two for about five euro.

 

The best thing to do is to go on a booking site, snag somewhere cancellable within the area you are considering and within your price range - and then go back from time to time to see if you can get somewhere better. It is best to not go looking for specific hotels because they have been recommended by someone on CC. There are so many good hotels, the advice may not always be giving you the best value on the particular dates that you want to be in BCN.

 

Take a taxi from your hotel to the ship. You are on vacation!!

[4774Papa]

Worst thing about some of the MED cruises out of Barcelona is having to pay the Spanish VAT tax. You will pay it unless the cruise stops at a non-EU port on the cruise.

 

Barcelona is great, make sure you go inside the Sagrada Familia. Have some tapas one late afternoon and if you have time go to Monserratt.

[rxlowry]

We stayed at Eurostars Grand Marina. Gorgeous hotel! It is the closest to the port. We didn't sail on NCL so we could walk mere steps to the ship. However, on NCL you'd have to get a very short cab ride. The hotel is a short walk to Las Ramblas as well.

[Pretty Woman]

We are doing this cruise from Barcelona on 8th July staying at Lleo hotel. (Opposite Jazz hotel). They are just around the corner from Las Ramblas.

This is our 3rd time doing this cruise so I think that says a lot. Taxi from airport is to hotel is 38euros.(booked in advance). There is a taxi rank outside hotel, fare approx. 25euros. Taxi from cruiseport to airport 36euros(booked in advance) Enjoy....and don't read too much into negative comments..

[CG3H]

We are doing this cruise from Barcelona on 8th July staying at Lleo hotel. (Opposite Jazz hotel). They are just around the corner from Las Ramblas.

This is our 3rd time doing this cruise so I think that says a lot. Taxi from airport is to hotel is 38euros.(booked in advance). There is a taxi rank outside hotel, fare approx. 25euros. Taxi from cruiseport to airport 36euros(booked in advance) Enjoy....and don't read too much into negative comments..

 

Thank you. This is very useful to my planning also.

[grandmarnnurse]

We stayed at Eurostars Grand Marina. Gorgeous hotel! It is the closest to the port. We didn't sail on NCL so we could walk mere steps to the ship. However, on NCL you'd have to get a very short cab ride. The hotel is a short walk to Las Ramblas as well.

Thank you! How far is airport from this area?

[grandmarnnurse]

This is all great advice! Thank you everyone!

[BirdTravels]

We always stay at the Hilton Diagonal Mar pre-cruise and post-cruise.

 

The Hilton use to be a NCL hotel in Barcelona. It is a bit further out from the port, but it is across a shopping mall, near the subway, and on the hop-on-hop-off bus lines.

 

We usually catch cabs which are plentiful and relatively cheap.

 

We don’t stay in the Las Ramblas area because we don’t like the crowds and don’t like feeling like we are going to be pick pocketed every time we step out of the hotel.

[Captain Canuck]

pick pockets are everywhere...on the metro a guy tried the dropping keys at my feet trick and going for my wallet as he bent down to pick them up..wallet in my front pocket..local guy punched this guy in the back of the head to stop him..probably helped that I was wearing a Barcelona soccer shirt for the guy to help me out

[descal13]

My DH and I stayed in Hotel Montecarlo on Las Ramblas and it was wonderful. So much so, I designed my home bathroom to be like theirs! The location was wonderful and the staff lovely and very helpful. I echo previous posters urging you to stay a couple of days before cruising. The overnight flights are killer. You would be very close to the Medieval part of the city which is beautiful to walk through. La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell are must-sees, and we used Barcelona Day Tours for an intimate guided tour of both that also included Montserrat. We toured the Picasso Museum, highly recommended, and also the Dali museum across the street, and went to La Palau de Musica Catalan which is an exceptional example of Modernista art and architecture. There is the Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the Medieval city that has geese in it, awesome gargoyles and architecture and we visited several markets and street fairs that will stay with me forever. Barcelona is my favorite European city. There are pickpockets everywhere (Rome, Dublin, every city) just be careful and limit the valuables you carry. The hotel had a safe they were pleased to keep anything we asked, including our passports and travel cash.

[Kattus]

We stayed at Hotel Europark before our cruise last month-it's in a very nice neighborhood and close to a lot of the Gaudi sites like Casa Batllo, Casa Mila and La Sagrada Familia. Was very reasonably priced, too, with breakfast included in the cost and a nice terrace that looked out over the street. Was a 12-15 euro cab ride to the port.

[kokopelli-az]

What I need information on, is how far from the port is the airport in Barcelona,

 

 

and where would be a good hotel in close proximity to port. We will want to fly in a couple days prior to sightsee, but I like to be near my ports.

 

The Barcelona airport (El Prat) is about 20km/12 miles from the Barcelona cruise ship port Moll Adossat. I assume this is where your ship will be docked.

 

We are going to be on the Epic out of Barcelona on Sept 30 and last fall I began making reservations (refundable) at a few hotels since at that time I didn't know exactly where we would be wanting to stay. The reservation we made near the port was at the H10 Port Vell. https://www.h10hotels.com/en/barcelona-hotels/h10-port-vell You can see from their website the distance they are from different areas. (By the way, if you sign up for the H10 Hotel chain's emails, they send you a 15% discount code on your birthday. So I booked the H10 Port Vell 13 months ahead of time to take advantage of the discount.) I booked a room with a port view.

 

I found that the earlier you make your hotel reservation the less expensive it is.

[happiness is cruising]

Was on the Spirit in March....Airport bus to top of La Ramplas is 8.00 USA...very fast into Central BARCELONA...

Cabs at end of cruise to airport...lined up ..very early am...took very little time..was on an 11am flight back to JFK

Agree ...any hotel near Las Ramblas is perfect!!

[firstcarib]

Some folk will suggest you take the Aerobus from the airport into the city, its cheap....but theres usually a long queue & if you have heavy cases theres very little room on board, plus you have to heft them around yourself. Its not really that much more for 2 people( even better for 3) to take a taxi. Just hope you dont get stuck in heavy traffic as of course the meter keeps running. A weird & wacky hotel is Hotel Continental, at the top of Las Ramblas. A free running snack buffet plus free beer & wine on tap makes it a convivial place to stay...theres often a cruise group there who have met up on this site! All rooms are decorated in pink...like I said, its weird & wacky, not for everyone. But we loved it. A Balcony room overlooking Las Ramblas is great for people watching...but pack earplugs. Visit La Boqueria market, just over the road...fantastic foodie place but I think its closed Sundays.

[jetsfan]

My husband and I are on the September 30th sailing as well! I agree, planning early is a smart idea and so much fun.