What to do flying in morning of cruise - Barcelona

[odysee]

I've heard all sorts of stories of how taxis try to scam people...any thoughts?

 

scrappydoo

 

IMO these are just stories and are probably caused by the system of surcharges. The amount on the meter is augmented by all kinds of official and ligit surchanges, i.e. for pick up/drop off at airport and/or port, weekend holiday extra, charge per piece of luggage. Therefore people having concentrated on the meter are shocked when presented with the final bill which is then higher (and it can make ca Euro 10 extra if combining several factors as listed before) and feel ripped off.

By-the-way, these rates and surcharges are are listed and detailed in each official cab and it should not be difficult to reconstruct the total to be paid.

[TLCOhio]

Just curious- you are flying into Barcelona from San Francisco (I presume) and arriving the morning of the cruise departure. Have you done this before? What is your reason if I may ask. I was considering doing the same thing, but the vast majority opinion was that I should arrive at least one day earlier.

 

rebeccalouiseagain: The Barcelona airport is close to the port and chances are you won't miss the ship due to flight issues but because of the remote chance- I'd do an overnight at least in Barcelona.

 

Excellent points are noted above. Most important is the key' date=' priority message about [b']getting into Barcelona a day before your cruise[/b]. Yes, it provides "safety" in the event of any airline/weather delays! BUT, also because Barcelona is such a super wonderful, interesting, charming and historic city. Lots of wonderful classic and modern architecture, design, art, styling, etc. Plus, great food and people, etc.

 

Both of the hop-on, hop-off bus lines do a nice job of getting your around to see and sample this great city. Below are some of those visual samples for what is there to see and experience in Barcelona. Enjoy this city, too, whether before and/or after your cruise in the Med.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 102,165 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

For Barcelona, one of the most famous sites is its main and historic Cathedral that is over 700-years old and right around the corner from our Hotel Regincia Colon. It is also near where you catch the hop-on buses circling the town.:

 

 

 

Overlooking the harbor is this statute/column to Christopher Columbus, plus a couple of government buildings.:

 

 

 

Overlooking the Barcelona harbor is this old warehouse building that is now a museum for this area with many water-front dining places.:

 

 

 

This is a closer look at the top of one of Gaudi’s most famous buildings in Barcelona.:

 

 

 

Barcelona has many apartment building with interesting architectural details. Here the iron railings are wonderfully designed with a local lady taking a look as we passed below on the top level of our hop-on bus.:

 

 

 

Gaudi’s new Cathedral is still under construction, making progress toward a potential 2026 completion. The Pope was here in the fall of 2010 for a dedication. This design is “unique”, innovative and in some ways strange. Here is one small sampling what is being done, so far.:

 

[ontheweb]

IMO these are just stories and are probably caused by the system of surcharges. The amount on the meter is augmented by all kinds of official and ligit surchanges, i.e. for pick up/drop off at airport and/or port, weekend holiday extra, charge per piece of luggage. Therefore people having concentrated on the meter are shocked when presented with the final bill which is then higher (and it can make ca Euro 10 extra if combining several factors as listed before) and feel ripped off.

By-the-way, these rates and surcharges are are listed and detailed in each official cab and it should not be difficult to reconstruct the total to be paid.

 

As for Barcelonna, I agree with you. I know both times we took cabs last month, the driver hit something, and a modest surcharge was added. Coming from the airport, the driver told us the fare would be in the 30-35 Euros range. The meter got to almost 30, and then switched to not quite 32. (I gave him 35 to include a tip.) So, the fare was right where he said it would be.

 

Howver, that does not mean you cannot get ripped off by cab drivers. Three years ago in Athens, a cab driver gave us an approximate fare when asked, and then the charge came up to close to triple what he had quoted us. He shrugged and said, lot of traffic. (Needless to say there was not an adequate tip added.)

[odysee]

Howver, that does not mean you cannot get ripped off by cab drivers. Three years ago in Athens, a cab driver gave us an approximate fare when asked, and then the charge came up to close to triple what he had quoted us. He shrugged and said, lot of traffic. (Needless to say there was not an adequate tip added.)

 

 

Of course, I agree with you that one can get ripped off by cab drivers as I learned the hard way as well. It happened to me a while ago, when in a place where I had never before taken a cab and had no idea of possible price. I found out afterwards that cab driver had switched meter to double tariff, although it was during day during week and I paid twice as much as I should have.

 

But here I was referring to the many tales you hear about Barcelona rip offs and these are most often because of the final correct "add-ons" to meter.