Crossing the Globe (Kind of) - A Pr1ma (Hopefully) Live'ish Adventure, 11/20 - 12/1

[laudergayle]

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

The line. We are not standing in that!

 

What is that line?  Besides long.

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

What is that line?  Besides long.

Folks that just have to be in a line to board the plane, first in their group. 🫠 On the plus side, the seating area has cleared out and is cooler! 

[cruiseny4life]

20 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

I do not understand how you two do it.   This is us ( the four of us) traveling for 8 nights this past March.   Plus the picture does not include the backpacks for my husband and son and my daughter's carryon.   My carryon is attached to one of my suitcases.

 

Sorry you did not get your Shake Shack.

 

 

Oh my! I may have stared at a family with that many bags thinking whyyyyyy? So, what did yall pack? Is it a lot of shoes? Jackets? An outfit every day? Genuinely curious since we obviously pack differently.

[mking8288]

33 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

About 9 AM local time. We might take the train (or is it a bus - I forgot) to Placa de Catalunya. Good to know taxis are plentiful!

With all that luggage that you 2 got, take the Aerobus from BCN T1 to Placa de Catalunya, self service machine at the airport w multi-languagr help prompt. Can combine w a day pass, 2 or 3 days pass. 

[vacation44]

20 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Oh my! I may have stared at a family with that many bags thinking whyyyyyy? So, what did yall pack? Is it a lot of shoes? Jackets? An outfit every day? Genuinely curious since we obviously pack differently.

Well to be honest, I only pack for my husband and me and our two young adult children pack for themselves but they do like to have a lot of clothes and shoe options available.   Keep in mind my daughter was 24 and my son 23 then.    Also one of my husband's suitcases (the smaller black one) contains all of our snorkel gear plus our usual snacks we take on excursions and Yetis.   The amount of Yetis we bring along is another story.  

[Sailing12Away]

11 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Astute flyers will also note there is no seat assignment. We do have specific, upgraded seats on our Air France flights or we are supposed to, at least. Delta? Not so much. We can survive being separated for a 1.5 hour flight. I'm not sure why a lot of couples think it a big deal they can rub up on each other when flying. We will just shout to each other from across the plane. Hehehe....not really.

 

At 5'2" ish I'm short, so hubby likes to be able to man spread and stretch his legs over into my foot compartment area when we get to sit next to each other. Plus being extra chunky being able to lean over into my side of the seat is nice rather than trying to keep all arms & legs and chub in your own tiny compartment area. So we typically opt for me in the window and him sitting twinkie.

 

Worst flight we had was when we took a dirt cheap flight from JFK to Chicago. We booked the lowest of the low in terms of flight options with United I think. So no carryon allowed, a single personal item to go under your feet, last to board, etc. Going there we were in rows behind each other and one of the folks in our row was kind enough to swap seats so we could be next to each other.

 

Coming home though we each sat twinkie in separate sides of the plane. Guy sitting next to me in the aisle used my head as an arm rest. I kid you not. He was on his 3rd bottle of airplane liquor and was manspreading into my footwell in addition to using my head as a personal arm rest. He finally got the hint after I kicked him for the 5th time and elbowed him to get the F off of my head.

 

So yeah.... $100 total for both of us round trip, but I'll never do it again. Meanwhile the whole time hubby is looking over at me and laughing his arse off while I'm giving stink eye and telling him I'm about to be kicked off the plane for violence.

 

Worst flight ever.

[UKstages]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Believe this sign at terminal 8!

 

i agree, i don't know how you do it, either.

 

i would have headed home with just one look at that sign at terminal 8.

[Sugar Magnolia]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Checked in Air France after the maze that is terminal 4 to 1 at JFK. Make sure to follow the signs for the shuttle bus from 4 or 8 to 1. Don't really! The shuttle doesn't exist. We got a few extra steps and 5 floors of stairs. But hey....we figured it out. 

 

The sign below....dont believe it!

 

 

Going from 4 to 1? Take the Air Train from 4 to 8. Then get on Air Train to 1. No shuttle bus option exists. 

 

Believe this sign at terminal 8!

 

 

For a non-native English speaker…what…how…why…huh?

 

[carohs]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

For a non-native English speaker…what…how…why…huh?

 

I had to read it 3x too. To go from 4 to 1 you take a shuttle. The shuttle picks up either on the ground floor of 4 or 8, but to get to 8 you take the train. The sign also says because of the closure at 1 until November. Well it's November. My guess is they forgot to take the sign down when they got the train at 1 running again. Or they never closed it down. IDK 🤷🏾‍♀️

[cruiseny4life]

When in Paris! Even the airport. Four pastries for less than €9!

 

 

Had to get a pretzel! 

 

 

 

 

So many pastries!!!

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[cruiseny4life]

My husband doesn't appreciate my "disorganization." I didn't know how to get to Placa de Catalunya, so had to use good ole Google Maps. Then, didn't know how to purchase a ticket...I figured it out and were on the A1 bus to the place we want to go. After five years he still doesn't remember I just make it work as we go. Hehehe

 

 

[mking8288]

Hola, allow fellow CC'ers on the roll call to welcome you to Barcelona as we are having breakfast not too far from you 🤓 others back home are likely asleep. 

 

Nice job figuring out the Aerobus to town.

[cruiseny4life]

21 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Hola, allow fellow CC'ers on the roll call to welcome you to Barcelona as we are having breakfast not too far from you 🤓 others back home are likely asleep. 

 

Nice job figuring out the Aerobus to town.

Much appreciated! We are already checked into our room and I've washed off the airport some in the shower! Greeted with a welcome pour of ice water. The other choice was champagne which was a nice touch, but totally not needed at 24 hours awake. 

 

I'm wishing you the best Barcelona breakfast! 

[cruiseny4life]

Gotta have the clean room view. 

 

 

Those handles are separate shower and toilet (WC, right)  rooms.

 

View from our fifth floor room overlooking Placa de Catalunya. I could camp out here all day! 

 

[cruiseny4life]

We had an interesting landing in Barcelona today. I didn't know passenger planes could shoot almost straight up! At least it felt like it even the pilot aborted our landing. He let us know that the speed he was going was too fast so instead of landing we shot up into the sky! 

 

Aborted landing first for me! 

 

 

[brookie848]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We had an interesting landing in Barcelona today. I didn't know passenger planes could shoot almost straight up! At least it felt like it even the pilot aborted our landing. He let us know that the speed he was going was too fast so instead of landing we shot up into the sky! 

 

Aborted landing first for me! 

 

On one flight to FLL,we bounced on the ground a couple of times before shooting back up to the sky. The passengers were very nervous until we safely and smoothly landed a little while later.

 

Glad you made it safely! Your hotel looks great. Enjoy the city before boarding the Prima.

[laudergayle]

8 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

When in Paris! Even the airport. Four pastries for less than €9!

SCORE!  It’s breakfast time in the states and that sure would go good with my coffee.  Especially that chocolate croissant.  Nice location in BCN.  Have fun today.  Remember the pick-pockets.

[graphicguy]

17 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I do not understand how you two do it.   This is us ( the four of us) traveling for 8 nights this past March.   Plus the picture does not include the backpacks for my husband and son and my daughter's carryon.   My carryon is attached to one of my suitcases.

 

Sorry you did not get your Shake Shack.

 

 

WOW!  Not the OP, but I don’t know how you can possibly need that much luggage.  You drag all that on board?  And off again at disembarkation?  To/from the airport?

 

I do a back pack and roll aboard that fits in the overhead for 7 nite cruises.  

 

How?

 

Toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash (all travel size)

deoderant

hair brush

electric razor

7 days of boxers

4 shirts

4 shorts

1 pr khakis

1 swim trunks

tennis shoes (that I wear when traveling/boarding)

All clothes except boxers have 2 day’s of duty.  I spill something, and I either wash in the sink, or use the laundry service on board

pr of every day crocs

3 pr socks (to wear with khakis)

iPad

iPhone (in my pocket)

misc cables

meds case, travel bandaids, travel antiseptic, Tylenol, aspirin

 

HOw much more can you possibly need?

[graphicguy]

Have had more than a few landings abort at first attempt.  And yeah, they climb up fast to miss whatever in on and around the airport.

 

Sometimes the plane is coming in too “hot”.  Have had a couple have a “wind shear” issue that caused the pilots to abort the landing.  Sometimes the runway isn’t sufficiently cleared of debris causing the pilot to decide to climb again and find another runway to land on.

[cruiseny4life]

18 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Well to be honest, I only pack for my husband and me and our two young adult children pack for themselves but they do like to have a lot of clothes and shoe options available.   Keep in mind my daughter was 24 and my son 23 then.    Also one of my husband's suitcases (the smaller black one) contains all of our snorkel gear plus our usual snacks we take on excursions and Yetis.   The amount of Yetis we bring along is another story.  

I have sooooo many Nalgene bottles!! Probably somewhere around 30 and 15 coffee thermoss. How many you can one possibly need? I still want more! 

 

And ok, that makes sense!! Hey, if it works for yall, then it works for me. Trust me the side eye I give you isn't judgment. It's just curiosity about what all is packed! 

 

Snorkel gear takes up a bunch of room! Dry it in the bathroom??

[cruiseny4life]

Just posting a quick photo from Plaza de Catalunya this evening (top right of the plaza photo in post #129). Small protest going on as we were wandering back to the hotel - I won't be sharing any personal views. Just a part of international - heck, domestic travel! Venture as close as you feel comfortable. Or, stay away. It's your comfort level that is important. Be aware, but know a small and quick protest can pop up anywhere. 

 

And, if you don't have your passport physically on you, don't get much closer than I did. 

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

SCORE!  It’s breakfast time in the states and that sure would go good with my coffee.  Especially that chocolate croissant.  Nice location in BCN.  Have fun today.  Remember the pick-pockets.

Oh they went well with my water this morning (1230 am EST, 630 Paris). I was too dehydrated to drink coffee today. So yummmmmy!

[graphicguy]

I have ONE thermos (not sure the brand, but bought at Costco) that fits in my back pack side pocket.  I use it for coffee, rinse it, use it for water, rinse it, use it for beer.

 

After 20 something cruises, I realize the vast majority of what I USED TO PACK just wasn’t worth schlepping around and very unnecessary.

[KKB]

20 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I do not understand how you two do it.   This is us ( the four of us) traveling for 8 nights this past March.   Plus the picture does not include the backpacks for my husband and son and my daughter's carryon.   My carryon is attached to one of my suitcases.

 

Sorry you did not get your Shake Shack.

 

 

Oh, I did 28 days in N. Europe in May with 19" Carry on (22lbs packed) & backpack!

I took Rick Steves approach: take what you NEED, not what you MIGHT need.

I washed a few things in the sink & brought a lot of merino wool that is odor repellent--you can wear multiple times. (some inexpensive Costco tops, some pricier, but worth it, Wool& pieces)

[justhappy]

14 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

When in Paris! Even the airport. Four pastries for less than €9!

 

 

Had to get a pretzel! 

 

 

 

 

So many pastries!!!

 

A simple thank you is not enough 😋