mlmdaisy

We cannot stay away from home for long. Overall, we are gone less than two weeks....always, too many obligations for now. We have just one and a half days in Barcelona. Our hotel is in the gothic quarter so we can get to some sites easily. We already have tickets to Sagrada Familia. We are taking the train to Granada, but no high speed option is available. We have two nights there and already have Alhambra tickets. I realize that this will only be a small sample, but with full days at six cruise ports I am hoping we will get a sense of the region.

Thank you for the explanation. I will come prepared. I didn't mean to offend by using the term "obscure", These are wonderful little cities we will be visiting. They are just not on other cruise itineraries and it's difficult to find information for DIY planning very easily.

I totally agree with you and, yes, these are cultural destinations. The small ship experience is very different, indeed. Even when we choose a Caribbean cruise, we try to visit the small, lesser known islands. I was attracted to this Atlas itinerary because I prefer small cities and try to avoid crowds. This is why the Azores appealed so much to me, and we will be back there someday. That said, we look forward to our time in Barcelona, but especially in Granada after the cruise. I also very much enjoy planning travel, and I voluntarily do so for others as well, on a forum elsewhere. DYI is very much my thing. Costa Rica is very familiar, but Europe is all new to me, and I do hope to do what the Romans do.

If the Peniscola castle is right by the port, I am less inclined to book a ship excursion. We can study up on the history on our own. Sometimes we opt for private guides, but I'm not a big fan of group tours, although we will do a few. We'll think about Roses. It would be a disaster if, for some reason, the driver didn't come back for us. I will price the ship's tour that includes Cadaques (I know there is one). As for tipping, Atlas fares include gratuities (which we may add to), all beverages, and an epicurean tour in Mallorca.

Once again, Alserrod, you are very helpful. I am identifying which ports to book a ship's excursion with. Then it's easy to choose from the Atlas offerings. They all seem quite good and not unreasonably priced. We've found, much to our surprise, that the more upscale cruise lines don't charge more for their excursions than Carnival, NCL, or the other companies do. Of course the costs are marked up from what you'd pay independently, but it's good to know that the ship won't leave without you. As for swimming, haha, we're accustomed to tropical waters. It's been too long since I've swam at NYC beaches. The water in May would be muy frio for us.

Thank you for the reassurance. That's what I'm hoping to do, but I need a doctor's visit (mine retired) to get a new Rx. I can call Atlas, but they're a new cruise line and the agents I've spoken to so far only have experience on their Antarctica itineraries (someday........) An alternative is to bring Dramamine. I'll add that one disadvantage of the smaller ship companies is that they switch up their itineraries so often that personnel often have no experience with the more obscure ports. That certainly adds to the adventure.

This is very helpful. Thank you so much!

This is all great, but I wonder about this: "Mahon.... I would surf here on cruisecritic. There are more threads about Mahon and Menorca. Read there." Is there a better place for me to ask my questions? I did start a thread on the France board, too.

I apologize. Since I don't know what that means, I guess not. Ours is 7 day, RT Barcelona. The other ports are in Spain.

We will be on an Atlas itinerary in May that has full days at these two ports. I'm trying to figure out where we can tour independently and for which ports (four in Spain, too) and for which we should take a ship excursion. Does anyone have specific ideas for Montpellier and Collioure? I can see what the highlights are by studying the Atlas brochure, but we need to choose attractions that are easy to get to by taxi, and more importantly, back to the port the same way. Thanks!

This is all incredibly useful information. I am now ready to study the excursions offered by Atlas and decide where we are comfortable going independently. I would be reluctant to go too far by taxi unless I'm assured we can find one afterwards to get back to our port. For example, if we went to Cadaques on our own, would it be easy to find a ride back to the port in Roses? We know enough Spanish to ask our driver if he could come back for us at a certain time, but there's some risk to that. The same would be the situation to visit the castle in Peniscola. The only other port in Spain I need to plan for is Mahon, Menorca. Alserrod, do you have any ideas for there? I would be so grateful!

We have 60+ euros left over from a trip to the Azores, I think enough for what we need, especially if taxis take cc, and I know they do in Barcelona. Our credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. One phone will have an esim and the other I can use an international plan any day I need it (for 10 USD). I am hoping to get by with hotel and cruise ship wifi for most of what I do. Our passports are good for another year plus. I hope that I'm not forgetting anything. We travel frequently. mostly to Central America, so I know some of the big mistakes.

This is fabulous! Thank you again. I don't know where your cruise goes, Alserrod, but I am learning a lot about options by searching through excursions offered by Atlas. We will choose a few of those since we have the shipboard credit and all beverages and gratuities are already included. We also have an included "epicurean" tour included in Mallorca. I will assume that we can get a taxi when we want to explore independently, but if the attractions are more than a few km away, it may be better to go with a ship group. We've been choosing these smaller vessels not only because we enjoy the intimacy; the Atlas yachts have a capacity of 198 and we've been on Windstar cruises with fewer. The smaller vessels tend to visit more interesting ports, a different one every day, and they stay at each one for at least 8-10 hours.

I can sometimes do without a scopolamine patch if currents aren't too strong. This next cruise is new territory for me, so I don't know if I need the Rx. We'll be on a small ship/ yacht during the first half of May. The cruise is RT Barcelona, spanning the coast between Peniscola and Sete, deviating out to Menorca and Mallorca. Can anyone suggest how strong the currents might be? At first I assuming calm waters since we're pretty much hugging the coast, but I have no experience in the Mediterranean. Thanks!

This is very interesting, muchas gracias! We have lectures every evening on our ship and I do hope to learn about the history of every port. Also Alserrod, your English is mas mejor than my Espanol!

Thanks so much for sharing the photo! We have a full day in each port. It looks like an excursion might make sense for Peniscola; otherwise we will find a way to get to the castle. Could we find a ride near the port or would we have to arrange it in advance? We are not interested in beaches. Out of the other four ports, are there any others where we would have to travel to see the best sites, for example architecture and markets? If we need transportation for more than a few km it makes more sense to book an excursion. Thanks!

We'll be on an Atlas RT Barcelona cruise in May and have to decide which excursions to use our shipboard credit for. Ideally, these would be those where it's more difficult to fill a day on our own. We're looking for Roses, Mahon/ Menorca, and Peniscola, Spain, and Sete/ Montpellier, Collioure, France. Out of these five places, which are good to wander around independently? Thanks!

This is actually one of those ports where you're dropped off at a beautiful little city, so you can spend hours wandering around. Anything else you do is weather dependent, and that's a very fickle thing in the Azores. When we were there we were told that tour operators make last minute changes. For example, if you book Cete Cidada and there's zero visibility they take you somewhere else. Whale watching is another possibility. I'm one who generally books my excursions independently, but study up on what your ship offers to see what's possible. It's great that you have a full day. We were really impressed with everything on that island, so enjoy!

Thank you, that should be fine.

Thanks for the report! Worst comes to worst, I can use the Verizon plan, but e mailing and FB messaging shouldn't use that much data. Was the 1 GB pp or per cabin? Trivia is a nice way to meet others. It sounds like how they did it on Oceania. It was almost like they were still figuring it out.

To clarify, this is an Atlas consultant. I first spoke to him when I called Atlas to book my cruise. At the time, several months ago, I was told (in convoluted language) that Atlas outsourced the booking and consulting tasks to selected travel agencies. I was told that there was nobody who worked directly with Atlas that I could speak with. Windstar works the same way, and results in one of the weaknesses associated with their customer service. My interpretation is that when there are so few cruise passengers, some services have to be outsourced. Another example is that Atlas offers no pre- or post-cruise tours or help with flights, which surprised me. This puts Atlas at a disadvantage compared to Oceania, but so much else looks better. Being new and different, I do appreciate any insight offered by those who have sailed with Atlas recently, especially to Mediterranean ports.

Thanks, Twiga. When I contacted my Atlas consultant he told me to wait until I was on the ship. My concern is that there will be options added closer to our sailing date, and his reply suggested that, too. It may depend upon which ports you're visiting.

Thank you again, Marazul. I have added that to my list. We are studying maps now and will create a loop of "wish list" sites.

One more thing, please. Can I assume that many passengers dress casually in the evenings? We have always felt comfortable in slacks and shirts/ blouses on the small ships/ yachts. In fact, we've noted many other guests wearing what they toured in during the day, with no time to change for dinner after excursions. Promotional brochures always depict sports jackets and dresses, of course (not that I don't usually pack one dress).

We'll be on the Traveller in May, RT Barcelona, and I also wonder about the onboard experience. I've read that the WIFI isn't good and that concerns me. I work online and, while I am taking the time off, I do need to respond to e mail messages. Will I have to resort to my Verizon travel plan? We are waiting to consider excursions since I strongly suspect that more will be added to what's in the printed document. Nothing is even listed for one port, Peniscola. I am not concerned by the food; we may not be as picky as most. We've been delighted with offerings on Windstar and, more recently, Oceania. From what I've researched, Atlas may be even better. We're fine without the big evening shows and prefer the educational presentations. I see trivia mentioned; can anyone comment on that? We are, indeed, trivia nerds, although we usually lose. Since Atlas is so new, I'd prefer not to depend upon experiences from their early days. Problems are hopefully being corrected, right?