Live From The Carnival Freedom: Crossing the Atlantic for a New Whale Tail

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, fla33023 said:

Yeah, that's really cool because you totally got the whole "cloud" aspect.  I love seeing all of the pictures you post of every day life. I like just sitting and watching the locals.

Me too. I love people watching especially of cultures that are different than my own.

[jam19872016]

Good morning.

 

One final day in Barcelona. I'm ready. I am definitely more of a cruiser than land traveler. I am going to get out and use this transit pass though and maybe I see something interesting again.

 

I got my arrival time for the return leg yesterday. I was up at about 230 eastern time and the earliest check in was 1-1:30 which according to the roll call the earliest they had was 12:30-1. I am hoping there will be some wiggle room since I will be getting off one Carnival brand going to another.

 

My check in time for tomorrow was assigned to me, you don't choose on Cunard. They gave me 2:45. I really hope there is some wiggle room on that one because surely they don't expect people to hang around their hotel that late. Even if they drop off luggage and go tour, that is an extra stop. Why make people jump through those kinds of hoops. Hotel check out is noon, part of me knows that if you arrive super early, you beat the lines and arriving around 12:30 you are going to have massive lines, but I don't know how well check in times will be enforced and I hate the thought of being made to wait for hours and hours for showing up early.

[jam19872016]

I am making progress on my weight which is the nice thing about being on land and not having food tempting me almost 24/7. I will no doubt put it back on in a day or two but so far here are the results:

 

Friday: -1.6

Saturday: -1.4

Sunday: -1.4 (preliminary, i've been taking a am weight and a pm weight and taking the lower of the two)

 

I did break down a little yesterday and eat some foods that weren't the greatest for me, but I did maintain my fast and calorie goals. 

 

From the hotel restaurant I ordered croquets  (€6) and fish and chips (€15)

 

 

 

 

Unlike my first trip here, I found the portions to be generous but then again it could be that I am used to eating smaller portions again. Everything was hot and tasty.

[jam19872016]

Did I get pickpocketed? My key card for the room is missing. Nothing else I had is gone but my card is. Maybe I am just a moron who dropped it somewhere. Or maybe I got lucky that was all they lifted.

 

I got my two bottles of carryon from a nearby store. Glad I did that first it took a while to find it and navigate the busses back. The metro is so much easier to figure out.

 

I'm going to head back out for a little while and try not to have anything else come up missing.

[pe4all]

2 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Did I get pickpocketed? My key card for the room is missing. Nothing else I had is gone but my card is. Maybe I am just a moron who dropped it somewhere. Or maybe I got lucky that was all they lifted.

 

I'm going to head back out for a little while and try not to have anything else come up missing.

You could have been.  I can't tell you how many people I know that were pickpocketed in Barcelona, or other places. (Rome, also).  My MIL had her pocketbook slit open and they got her wallet. She didn't even know it happened.   My friend had her pocketbook stolen right off her chair in a restaurant. (not the smartest place to put it).   If all you lost was your room key card you are lucky.  

[jam19872016]

2 minutes ago, pe4all said:

You could have been.  I can't tell you how many people I know that were pickpocketed in Barcelona, or other places. (Rome, also).  My MIL had her pocketbook slit open and they got her wallet. She didn't even know it happened.   My friend had her pocketbook stolen right off her chair in a restaurant. (not the smartest place to put it).   If all you lost was your room key card you are lucky.  

It's crazy cause I thought I was being careful. Now I'm being vigilant to the point of Paranoia. 

[pe4all]

11 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

It's crazy cause I thought I was being careful. Now I'm being vigilant to the point of Paranoia. 

I have Travelon bags that have locking zippers that I use when traveling.  They also have slash-proof bodies and straps, and RFID inside pockets.  Have never had a problem.  My bag never leaves my body (even in a restaurant) and is held tightly against the front of my body (I use the strap cross-body) while walking.  Even my cell phone goes in there.  Nothing in my pockets except maybe a tissue and some small bills I don't mind losing if need be.  Bags are pricey,  but worth the $$ for my sanity.

[jam19872016]

I'm just a moron. I picked up my laptop just now to plug it in, and there it was underneath 😳 

[Petersonfcu]

13 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I'm just a moron. I picked up my laptop just now to plug it in, and there it was underneath 😳 

Lol  . . . it didn't make sense that a pick pocket would take something as small and flat as a room key.  

We have traveled in dozens of foreign cities and have never had anything stolen from us.   I am hyper sensitive in crowds though.  I will carry my phone and wallet in my hand whenever the distance between people goes down.  

[jam19872016]

7 minutes ago, Petersonfcu said:

Lol  . . . it didn't make sense that a pick pocket would take something as small and flat as a room key.  

We have traveled in dozens of foreign cities and have never had anything stolen from us.   I am hyper sensitive in crowds though.  I will carry my phone and wallet in my hand whenever the distance between people goes down.  

 

Your right made no sense but I looked all over or so I thought 😆. Happy I'm just dumb because I was always careful. 

[fla33023]

1 hour ago, jam19872016 said:

 

Your right made no sense but I looked all over or so I thought 😆. Happy I'm just dumb because I was always careful. 

Glad it was just an oversight. I'm not a world traveler so I appreciate these types of reminders to watch your belongings and keep things close to your body.  I just bookmarked the Travelon bag that @pe4all mentioned. Is your mom excited for tomorrow? I know I am! lol

Edited October 8, 2023 by fla33023

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, fla33023 said:

Glad it was just an oversight. I'm not a world traveler so I appreciate these types of reminders to watch your belongings and keep things close to your body.  I just bookmarked the Travelon bag that @pe4all mentioned. Looking forward to seeing what you found today! Is your mom excited for tomorrow? I know I am! lol

I'm excited for tomorrow it's hard to tell with my mom. I know we are both ready for a change of scenery. 

 

I went to the mall. That's it for today 😆. I was too wore out to do any other traveling and the mall was over an hour one way. 

 

To call it a mall may be generous. I would call it a food court with one or two stores. Seriously, there was nothing there but restaurants.

 

It's OK it gave me something to do, I got my steps in, and tomorrow I'm on a ship again 😀

[lazydayz]

Looking forward to your new adventure!

[Etta1213]

2 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I'm just a moron. I picked up my laptop just now to plug it in, and there it was underneath 😳 

Good!!!! You became wiser, more watchful, without suffering loss👍

[Petersonfcu]

3 hours ago, lazydayz said:

Looking forward to your new adventure!

+1   Cunard appears to be so different from Carnival.  Will be interesting to hear how they compare. 

[jam19872016]

So I talked it over with my mom and I guess we are going to shoot for an early arrival to hopefully beat the crowds. She is worried about having to stand outside if they won't let us in but she does not want to hang around the hotel. I think she is as ready to get back on a ship as I am 🙂.

 

If there is no where to sit we will ask for handicap assistance for her which we have not needed to do so far this trip, but she simply cannot stand for long periods. We have no problem waiting to board, just let us in and have a seat. Hopefully the experience will match other lines I sail with no priority, as long as there are no lines (and there aren't if you are early enough) they don't pay any attention to boarding times.

 

I still need to purchase wifi. I waited too long and it will not let me purchase it online now. I believe the cost is the same onboard, but I could be wrong. I hope not, as it is it will be $210 for the basic package which is all I guess I'm going for. The premium is $270. 

 

Next stop: Boarding the Queen Elizabeth!

[Essiesmom]

Some of your questions can be answered if you ask on the Cunard board.  EM

[jam19872016]

It's cruise day!!!!

 

Wifi was not working at the hotel this morning.

 

We waited until just after 10 to check out. There were taxis waiting for pickups we flagged one down and were whisked off.

 

My boarding pass never indicated which terminal we were docked at and I had no internet to Google it but the signage at the pier was clear and we were able to easily find our ship.

 

 

[jam19872016]

At the terminal the agents at two checkpoints insisted I had to check my bag. I am not sure why this happens but it always fits. I just let them know if it doesn't fit I will turn around and check it.

 

It fit, as it always does. No problem with my waters that I had left over. No problem with my fan coming on board. No problem checking in so early.

 

Boarding will not begin until 12:30 but at least we are inside and sitting. There is a large duty free shop in the terminal and I think I'll take a look around while I wait, see if I made a good decision buying my carry-on wine outside of the tourist areas.

[jam19872016]

First difference, no large groups wearing matching boarding day shirts. 

 

Instead, I see people already dressed in their formal wear. Formal wear....to board a cruise.

[jam19872016]

13 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Some of your questions can be answered if you ask on the Cunard board.  EM

In my experience, the can you arrive early question gets a different answer than my actual experience arriving early for royal and celebrity. So I couldn't really rely on the answer.

 

The Cunard board is very quiet and I've kept up with it to get an idea of what to expect but I haven't really engaged their knowledge like I could have.

 

I'll learn as I go I suppose 😀

[jam19872016]

I've only got 30 minutes wifi in the terminal so I'll see you all once I get on-board and can get a wifi account set up.

[jam19872016]

It let me get another 30 minutes just had to fill out the forms again.

 

The terminal is about full at 1210 boarding is about 20 minutes out still.

 

Rooms will be ready at 1.

Edited October 9, 2023 by jam19872016

[jam19872016]

Boarding starting at 1220.

 

We are group 9. 

 

Calling 9 at 1246.

 

The handout we got says lunch on 9 but I'm wondering if there is a sit down option instead of just buffet. If so we are going to do that 

 

Rooms were ready already so we are here cooling off for a minute. 

 

I see a sit down lunch is offered at The Golden Lion which is a British pub so we are heading there now for lunch. 

 

[jam19872016]

The menu.

 

 

My mom said are you sure it's free, it looks fancy in here 🤣.