Barcelona -- City tour with airport transfer?

[daleandrews]

We are scheduled for our first Oceania cruise this November, Marina, ending up in Barcelona on November 19.  We are spending one night there before flying back on the 20th.  This is our first time in Barcelona (would like to have spent more days but need to get back for Thanksgiving).  On previous cruises on other lines there has usually been a one day tour available ending in a transfer to the airport that is offered at disembarkation ports.  Does anyone know if Oceania does this?  We are thinking of staying at an airport hotel because our flight on the 20th is in the a.m. and we want to be sure we have plenty of time but would still like to at least see something of Barcelona in the little time we have.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[LHT28]

Usually they do  not sure about BCN  hope someone can confirm this  for you

 

IME  they will have the option on the disembarkation form that is sent to the cabin a few day prior to the end of the cruise

 

[sunlover12]

I'm booked on a Sirena cruise that also disembarks in Barcelona. When I log in and look at excursions offered it says that for Barcelona it can only be booked for passengers who are on a B2B.  Maybe Marina is different. 

 

I think you'll have more options if you look at a private tour. If you Google it, you will find many good Barcelona tour operators. Some of them will customize your tour as you wish and pick you up and drop you off where you specify.  That's what we are doing. Your travel agent can also help with this.  

[gaeltrav]

PreCovid we did a tour with Spain Day tours .They picked us up at the ship when we disembarked and did a personalized tour for 4 people in a taxi.The driver spoke excellent English and took us all over the city as well as up to Monserrat and dropped us off at our hotel at the end of the day. They also brought us to the airport 3 days later. Their rates were very competitive and they answer emails very promptly

[LHT28]

31 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

I'm booked on a Sirena cruise that also disembarks in Barcelona. When I log in and look at excursions offered it says that for Barcelona it can only be booked for passengers who are on a B2B.  Maybe Marina is different. 

 

 

The tours /transfer to the airport do NOT show online 

They will be on the Disembarkation sheet  as noted above

[DENIE]

Our June Oceania cruise ended in Barcelona, and we wanted to spend a full day there.  Our flight left the following morning.  Someone on this forum suggested Runner Bean Tours (funny name, but very good company - recommended in the Rick Steves guidebooks).  We booked a private tour for the 3 of us, so they sent a van that easily accommodated us and our luggage.  The tour included the driver in addition to the tour guide, so we got lots of narration in very good English.  They offer the option to purchase, for extra cost, skip-the-line tickets to the INSIDE of the La Sagrada Familia Basilica, which is amazing.  Our guide was qualified to do the inside tour as well (so knowledgeable!).  We also saw the Olympic stadium and sites, other Gaudi buildings, and a wonderful walking tour of the Old Town.  At the end of the day, they dropped us off at our hotel.

[sunlover12]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

The tours /transfer to the airport do NOT show online 

They will be on the Disembarkation sheet  as noted above

Yes, possibly so.  Since this will be our first time in Barcelona and probably the only time, we want to book a tour well in advance instead of relying on a cruise port to airport/hotel excursion that we wouldn't be told about until 3 days before disembarkation. There is too much to see in Barcelona to take that chance. We're in the process now of looking at tours and will be booking it soon for November. 

[daleandrews]

Thanks for all of the great information and suggestions.

[arima22]

We've used Barcelona Day Tours, sister company of Spain Day Tours.  They provide tours from the cruise port to airport or from hotel to cruise port.  A variety of group tours are offered or you can have your own private tour.

[alcpa1]

If it were me I'd want to concentrate on a more private tour AND staying anywhere but the La Rambla corridor. The airport is about 20-25 minutes from the center and even if you stay north on the Diagonal you can still enjoy the city and tour until the evening. (We are waiting to book La Sagrada Familia at dusk. The light coming through the stained glass windows is reported to be a thriller.) 

Check out the Destinations board - Spain for recommendations. Trip Advisor is also a good resource.

Wish you had more time there but enjoy what you can.

[zodiacsign]

I did a walking tour in Barcelona that was very good (from guruwalk.com). Most European cities have these free walking tours, quality is high, you tip what you feel at the end (I usually go with 10-15 EURO per person).

 

City tours en route to the airport (organised by the cruise) are usually arranged for those who have flights later in the day (which may not be the case from Barcelona). Since you're staying overnight, you'll probably enjoy doing your own thing more. My 2 cents.