Trip Report - Barcelona & SOS 6/10/12 Sailing

[CyberTag]

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Embarkation Date: June 10, 2012

Length: 12 nights

Ports: Barcelona, Spain; Split, Croatia Venice, Italy (overnight); Ravenna, Italy; Naples (Salerno), Italy; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy; Monaco (Monte Carlo), France; Barcelona

 

The trip was absolutely wonderful! It already seems like an eternity since we were there! My DH (Ken), DS (Josh, 18), DS (Kyle, 16) and FIL (Ken) all traveled on Serenade of the Seas June 10, 2012. We flew to Barcelona 3 days pre-cruise from California and rented an apartment. We highly recommend a few days in Barcelona on either end as it is a wonderful place to visit and tons to do and see! The flight from California was uneventful and really couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Upon arriving in Barcelona (our last connection was in Newark, NJ), all passengers had to clear passport control. Americans had to go to the non-Eurozone passport line, which really didn’t take very long. I believe we were done within 20 minutes, line and all! The officer looked at our passport, glanced at our face, and then stamped our passport. For 3/5 of us this was our first stamp … very exciting! We then headed to the baggage area to pick up our luggage and find our van for transport to the apartment we rented.

 

Getting a taxi for more than 3 people is next to impossible since everything is very small in Europe. We used www.autosvilar.com for transportation from airport to apartment, apartment to cruise port, and cruise port back to airport. Juan was quick to respond to emails regarding questions and pricing. He was right on time and waiting for us at the airport when we arrived. The only glitch was pickup from the apartment to the port; they were 20 minutes late. In all fairness, Juan had emailed that morning that they were going to be late, and I hadn’t seen the email. We did not have to pre-pay with them or put a deposit down (although I think I did give them our credit card number), and they collected the entire fee after the last transport. We were able to put the fare on our credit card. We paid 160 euros for all 3 trips for the 5 of us. Getting around Barcelona is very doable by bus and/or train, but with jet lag, luggage and the pickpocket issue we had heard about the van was more convenient. Just an FYI, Barcelona is known to be the worst city for pickpockets (next to Rome I believe), but we didn't see or hear of anyone around us that had any issues. The apartment also had a safe in it so we

didn't carry valuables around with us.

[Iamthesea]

Is that it? Dying to hear more. :) Especially about where you stayed in Barcelona.

[CyberTag]

Is that it? Dying to hear more. :) Especially about where you stayed in Barcelona.

 

So sorry! Having a problem uploading the photos to go along with the review. Hope to get more posted this afternoon... It will be fairly lengthy, dont worry! Lots of info!!!

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Sounds like you had a great trip! Looking forward to reading more of your review!:)

[mjaruse]

Can't wait to hear more!

[CyberTag]

Review Continued:

It is really difficult to find a hotel room for 3-4 people in Europe. After a ton of research, we decided to rent an apartment as it was more economical than 2 hotel rooms, plus gave us more space. We had a 3 bedroom, 3 full bath apartment with a full kitchen, for 230 Euros per night plus 80 euros cleaning fee. Most apartments have a cleaning fee if you stay less than a week. We wanted the boys to have their own space and not have to sleep in the living room, but could have easily found a 2 bedroom with a sofa/sleeper for less. Here is the link for the apartment we rented: http://negre.us/apartments/PSJ87/14/ The company was wonderful to deal with via email and very good about answering our questions. The photos on the website were exactly as the apartment appears, and it was VERY clean! They also had a washer and dryer as well as free Wi-Fi (which the boys loved!). Toilet paper, towels, and laundry detergent were all in the apartment, and the kitchen was fully stocked with dishes. The original tile mosaics throughout the apartment were absolutely beautiful! The view on the roof was absolutely amazing. There was a sitting area up there, and we did see other guests drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers at dusk.

 

The following photo shows some of the mosaics in the entryway.

 

 

This was the room my father-in-law used. It had a really cool loft that we didn't even utilize!

 

 

This was the master bedroom. It had 2-queen sized beds, a flat screen TV, a full private bathroom, and a fireplace. It was quite large (even by American standards!).

 

 

The view from the rooftop.

 

An outdoor sitting area with tables we were able to use on the rooftop.

[CyberTag]

Review Continued:

 

We really liked the area we stayed as quite a few places were within walking distance and/or close to the train, and it wasn't too noisy. We chose not to stay on Las Ramblas as it's very busy, crowded and noisy, as well as pricey. We read horrible stories about pickpockets in that area as well, but if you are aware of your surroundings and take precautions you should be fine. I did buy a PacSafe purse, and the guys all kept their wallets in a zippered pocket in front.

 

This is our apartment building. Ken went across the street and took the photo.

 

The apartments in Barcelona had the most beautiful, largest doors I have ever seen! This is the door to our apartment building.

[CyberTag]

Review Continued:

 

While in Barcelona:

We really did not have any specific plans while in Barcelona and wanted to just explore day by day. We considered buying a ticket for the hop-on/hop-off busses that run from Pl. Catalunya (around 25 euros p/p for a day or 35 euros p/p for 2 days), but when we looked at them, there were some big lines, and it was more than we wanted to spend. We spent a lot of time walking EVERYWHERE! We explored La Rambla, strolled along the marina, explored the Gothic Quarter, visited the Olympic stadium, as well as the arena where they used to have bull riding, walked by the Picasso museum, saw the Gaudi house, walked by the Columbus Monument, and I’m sure many others that I can’t recall. We also used the metro and purchased 2-10 ticket cards for 10 euros. Once we figured out the train routes (or I should say Ken figured out the train routes), it was very easy to use. There were automated kiosks in the stations that were fairly self-explanatory and could be changed to English. There was a separate automated kiosk if you wanted to use a credit card. I found the signage of the metro to be clearly marked, directions were clear, and it felt clean and safe. Our limited high school Spanish did not hurt us either. Visiting La Sagrada Familia is a must, at least the outside. Ken, his dad and Kyle all went inside. Josh and I opted to stay outside and just toured around the beautiful building. Note: Credit cards are not accepted for the entrance fee. They did have to wait in line, but it moved fairly quickly.

 

Euros were needed for most of the ports we visited (except Croatia, which uses Kuna, although a few places in Croatia did take euros as well). We exchanged some money before leaving the states and hit the ATMs on multiple days in Barcelona, and once in Venice, for the bulk of our euros.

 

This was the coolest fascade around the corner from our apartment. The buidling was demolished, but they preserved the front so they can maintain the historical charm.

 

This cafe was right outside our apartment. We didn't have the opportunity to try it, but we always saw people sitting outside.

 

The beginning of La Rambla. The escalator goes to the train stop.

[CyberTag]

This is the backside of the Barcelona Cathedral in Barri Gothic area.

 

We were very overwhelmed when we went inside the Mercat de la Boqueria. You can't miss it! Everything inside is so fresh and colorful, especially all of the fruit and vegetable stalls.

 

 

 

 

 

[CyberTag]

La Sagrada Familia from a distance.

 

 

This photo shows you how large it actually is ... look at the size of the visitors!

 

[CyberTag]

We ate one night at what we later discovered was a chain restaurant (Tapa Tapa), but it was very good.The Sangria was delicious (as you can see it's all gone!)

 

 

Kyle, our 15 year old, ordered nachos and was very surprised at the size when it was delivered. We aren't in California any more!!

 

[CyberTag]

This is one of Gaudi's famous buildings:

 

 

And another....

 

[Gordo]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We will be on Liberty out of Barcelona in September and we are so excited to be along with you for the ride.

 

Have a fabulous vacation.

[CyberTag]

We saw several bike rental stations where you could rent a bike at one location and return it to another. Barcelona is very bike friendly!

 

 

On our walk up to Gaudi Park, we saw this street performer. He sat here for quite a long time! He must have some strong calves and thighs!

 

Cars in Barcelona are very small (we didn't see any SUVs and very few mini-vans). They park wherever they can find a spot in whichever direction.

 

This is one of the many beautiful church buildings.

[CyberTag]

One of our visits was to the Arenas de Barcelona which used to be a bullfighting arena. Bullfighting is now banned in Catalonia. The arena was converted into a high end shopping mall. The top of the arena had some amazing views.

 

 

This is the view from the rooftop:

 

 

After leaving the arena, we headed to where the 1992 Olympics took place. If you look at the bottom photo, you can see the bull fighting stadium ... we walked all the way to the olympic stadium. Thankfully it wasn't too warm. Once we got to the olympic stadium, we were very thirsty and could not locate a water fountain. We did find a vendor selling small bottles of water for 3 euros each!

 

 

The boys got a real kick out of seeing where the Olympics took place. Probably the only building in Barcelona that they don't charge you to go in!

[CyberTag]

Getting to Pier/Check-in at Port:

We arrived at the pier via private transport (www.autosvilar.com) and a porter came right over to take our bags. We did not tip him, and it did not appear to be expected like it is in the U.S. Check-in at port went very smooth and didn't take very much time. We had forgotten to bring the credit card we had signed up online with for all ship charges, so had to make an adjustment to our account while checking in, which took a little bit of time. Everything else went very smooth and probably didn't take longer than 40 minutes. There was a duty free store for shopping prior to getting on the ship (after one of the security check points, but before the second), but RCCL was confiscating all alcohol bought here prior to boarding the ship. We were on the boat by 12:20 pm.

 

[Pushka]

Thank you for all the photos. My husband was in the Australian Olympic team that went to Barcelona in 1992 and this is our first return to Barcelona, 20 years later. We were just saying last night that top on the list is to visit all those places. I reckon the athletes village will be out of bounds now.

[ucfknight07]

Thank you for sharing your trip review! We will be on the July 16 sailing of Serenade which visits many of the same ports. I think the only difference is that we go to Livorno instead of La Spezia and Cannes instead of Monte Carlo.

 

Look forward to reading the rest!

 

edit: ok... I see you were on the Venice itinerary. Our cruise is the other that does the Greek isles, but I'm still looking forward to your review just as much!

Edited July 1, 2012 by ucfknight07

[Iamthesea]

So sorry! Having a problem uploading the photos to go along with the review. Hope to get more posted this afternoon... It will be fairly lengthy, dont worry! Lots of info!!!

 

Thank you so much. Very informative review. :) Now that I have seen the inside of one of those apartments, I am looking into them again. Can you please give me the name of your apartment or the building?

[StlGal]

Thank you for your review and posting all of the information and pictures on Barcelona. DH and I will be sailing on Splendour in the Fall from Venice ending in Barcelona. We are planning on spending a couple of days in Barcelona at the end of the cruise so this is very helpful.

 

Great review, keep it coming!

[CyberTag]

Thank you so much. Very informative review. :) Now that I have seen the inside of one of those apartments, I am looking into them again. Can you please give me the name of your apartment or the building?

 

I will have some more of the review up tomorrow. Here is the link for the apartment we rented:

http://negre.us/apartments/PSJ87/14/

If the link doesn't work, the website is negre.us/apartments in Barcelona. It was the pink suite (3 bd/3ba). Lauren, Angela and Marcela were all a delight to work with. There should be photos on their website that really do portray what the apartment looked like.

[CyberTag]

Thank you for all the photos. My husband was in the Australian Olympic team that went to Barcelona in 1992 and this is our first return to Barcelona, 20 years later. We were just saying last night that top on the list is to visit all those places. I reckon the athletes village will be out of bounds now.

 

I hope to have some more up today... We were told the athletes village has been converted to shops, hotels and condos. We never made it over there. Hope you enjoy your visit.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you CyberTag. Did you have safe?

 

I like that you did your own thing in Barcelona. We are planning on the HOHO bus. I have been told to pay a little more and take the line that cost most. Because of the cost, and there will not be any lines. With only two of us, the cost is affordable. Can't wait to read more of your review :).

Edited July 1, 2012 by Iamthesea

[CyberTag]

After We Checked In and Were on the Ship:

We proceeded to head to our cabins (deck 9) to drop off our luggage that we had carried on, but were stopped when exiting the elevator and told cabins wouldn’t be ready until after 1:00 pm. So, up to the Windjammer we headed!

 

This is the display on the first day when we entered the Windjammer cafe.

 

 

Since it was still early, the Windjammer wasn’t too crowded. We all loaded up on the honey stung chicken since we know it’s only offered on the room service menu and embarkation day. It’s definitely not to be missed. After lunch, we were able to go to our cabins and drop off our carry-ons. On past cruises, we had always booked a junior suite for myself and Ken, and put the boys on an inside cabin across the hall (or they shared the JS with us). However, the JS was very pricey on this cruise so we originally opted for a D2 balcony cabin for ourselves and an inside cabin for the boys across the hall from us. About a week or 2 before final payment was due, we switched both cabins to a balcony guarantee and ended up saving close to $2300. We did get a smaller cabin (an E1) but the savings of $1300 on our cabin alone was well worth it. The boys went from an inside to a balcony guarantee, saving us $1,000 on their cabin! We received our cabin assignments about a week after switching, 2 months before sailing! We were booked in cabins 9022 and 9026, practically next door to each other. Ken’s dad also switched from an inside to a balcony guarantee and was booked in the opposite side of the ship, across the hall (9526). Our cabins had the old style “tube TVs”, and Ken’s dad’s cabin had a flat screen TV. Otherwise, they were all identical. The beds in the boy’s cabin were together so we asked the cabin steward to separate the beds. I also asked for the refrigerator to be emptied in both cabins so we did not have to worry about being charged for the mini bar. I also asked for an egg crate mattress since the bed seemed a little firm for my comfort. Our cabin steward (Jeffrey) did all of the above with no problem. Our balcony had 2 chairs and a table and was plenty big for the two of us. Our luggage arrived a few hours later, and we got everything put away. Once we stored the suitcases under the beds, filled the closet and drawers and found “homes” for all of our items, the cabin size was not an issue.

 

Our E1 cabin balcony with the beds together.

 

 

 

This is a photo of the closed. The shelves were very nice. For a 12 day cruise, I could have used a few more hangers. I probably could have asked for a few more, but made due.

 

 

 

The boys E1 balcony cabin (9526) with the beds a part. Both our cabins had pullmans above beds, but we didn't pull them down to check them out.

 

 

 

The food being loaded on the ship. That's quite a lot of kegs of beer, but then we are on here for 12 days!

[CyberTag]

The Serenade of the Seas

We were originally concerned about the condition of the ship since we knew it was going into dry dock at the end of the year. The ship is showing normal wear and tear, but nothing stood out at being horribly worn. The TVs in the staterooms are outdated (we still had the old tube TVs, although some of the cabins do have flat screens). We were happy to see that the ship was broadcasting Euro 2012 so we were able to catch up on the soccer games while getting ready for bed at night. The crew is constantly cleaning the stairwells, carpets, dusting, etc. I am disappointed to hear they are doing away with the Sea View Café as it was one of our favorite places for snacks. We also heard they are reducing the size of the Windjammer, which I find hard to believe as it wasn’t always easy to find seating.

 

The ship has a self-leveling pool table on board near the Safari Club/Schooner Bar. It was complimenary and the boys found it pretty cool.

 

 

 

In the same location as the pool table, checkers and chess were set up. It was never difficult to find an available board for playing.

 

 

 

The children's pool area had a water slide, but it was available for anyone to use (no weight limit). It was slow moving, but was definitely enjoyed by the younger passengers.

 

 

There were 2 ping pong tables on board. We were glad to see that they were in more of an enclosed area so the wind didn't ruin the game.

 

 

This is the adults only "solarium" area. This was also in an enclosed area and was very comfortable for lounging around.

 

 

 

Staff:

The staff all seem very friendly. Jeffrey was our cabin steward and he did a wonderful job. We teased the boys that he was hiding under our bed because we would leave for a few minutes, return to our cabin and it would be made up/or turned down! Our waiter was Judas and our assistant waiter was Sami. Sami was a kick and kept us laughing. Judas warmed up to us after the 3rd night and was quite honest with us on more than one occasion when we chose an entree or dessert (“and you’re 2nd choice will be?”). It was quite funny, and he was right on 100% of the time!