Ruby Princess Med. cruise 7/15/09

[Kathy130]

I'm already actively involved on the roll call, but since there's only a few on at the moment, I thought I'd throw my questions to a larger group.

 

1. The ship leaves Barcelona at 7pm on the 15th. If we came in the morning of the cruise, where would we keep our lugguge before embarkation?

2. Are transfers from the airport recommended or cabs, at the moment we arrive, sufficient? Has anyone taken and recommends the ship's transers?

 

3.I looked at and read reviews on the Hotel Jazz, Hotel Colon, Hotel Continental and the Hotel Jardi? Will the jet lag be tough if we come in the morning of? Is flying out from New York to Barcelone better if we fly out the night of the 13th in NY?

 

Any ideas from those that have started out in Barcelona would be so appreciated.

[chipmaster]

I'm already actively involved on the roll call, but since there's only a few on at the moment, I thought I'd throw my questions to a larger group.

 

1. The ship leaves Barcelona at 7pm on the 15th. If we came in the morning of the cruise, where would we keep our lugguge before embarkation?

2. Are transfers from the airport recommended or cabs, at the moment we arrive, sufficient? Has anyone taken and recommends the ship's transers?

 

3.I looked at and read reviews on the Hotel Jazz, Hotel Colon, Hotel Continental and the Hotel Jardi? Will the jet lag be tough if we come in the morning of? Is flying out from New York to Barcelone better if we fly out the night of the 13th in NY?

 

Any ideas from those that have started out in Barcelona would be so appreciated.

 

Its pretty straight forward taking a cab. They are all licensed and its about 30 euros give or take a few for a car. Some of the larger cars can take 3 or even 4 riders and 4 larger pieces of luggage. They charge extra for each person and luggage thus the 30 Euros +/-.

 

I would really suggest coming in at least a day earlier. There is at least a full day of neat sight seening there; Gaudi architecture and Las Rambla are really two must sees! Also coming in early gives you time to acclimate to the time change if you are flying across many timezone.

 

As to jet lag everyone reacts differently, if you take an overnight and manage to really sleep 4 hours on the plane and land in the morning you can go probably 4-6 hours before you hit the wall. If you can survive the sleepies from 2pm to 5pm and last till 8-9pm you'll be well on you way to adjustment. Our kids hit the wall right around 3pm and need a short nap, if you do a long nap you will take another 24 hours best case to get your internal clock adjusted

 

As to Hotel's we didn't get to book some of the more "popular" hotels, we got one called the Olivia right on Las Rambla that worked out great for a day of easy access to the sights. http://www.oliviahotels.es/

 

 

Enjoy Barcelona!

[as19111]

Kathy, I don't know where you are flying from, but on the east coast, July is prime thunderstorm season. If you don't leave a day ahead, you risk a delayed or cancelled flight due to weather, and that could get complicated.

 

Last year we did the Baltic cruise (which I highly recommend) and we flew in the day before. When the plane landed, we checked our luggage at the hotel and ran around Copenhagen, taking in as much as we could. It was important to keep moving to fight the jet lag. I hit the wall at 8 p.m., and called it a night. If you fly in the day of the cruise, you'll be sound asleep by sailaway!:D

 

Keep in mind that the times will continue to advance during the cruise and you will continue to lose time as you move east. By mid cruise, your body doesn't know what the devil is going on!

 

So, I agree with chipmaster, if you can come in a day early, it really is a good thing.

 

Andrea

[Keith1010]

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to fly in at least a day before the cruise. If you fly in the day of the cruise you run the risk of missing your ship should your flight be canceled or delayed signficantly and at the same time you will be jet lagged. It's good to get over the jet lag.

 

It is easy to get cabs at the airport. I would book a hotel and take a cab from the airport to the hotel and the next day from the hotel to the cruise ship.

 

Keith