Barcelona embarkation

[porrah]

We have booked choice air and celebrity transfers. We are due to arrive in Barcelona at 7.30 a.m. Can anybody tell me what happens? E.g. Do they pick us up and dump us early at the port, do we hang around the airport for hours?

[Blazerboy]

You will arrive at 7:30, but likely take some time to de-plane, collect your checked luggage, and go through customs. Once you've done all that, you'll meet up with the Celebrity rep. Depending on how many flights/passengers, you may have to wait at the airport for a short amount of time, but with all the overnight flights arriving from the US at about that time, you should be boarded onto coaches for the trip to the port. I would say about 90 minutes for the total process. Once on the bus, it's about 30 minutes to the port, but longer if during the morning rush hour. We've had two things happen: 1. We go right to the port, and wait about 90 minutes, and then board ( you check in during this time), or, 2. They know the ship isn't ready, and take a roundabout route, with commentary about what you're seeing...wasn't terribly good or bad "tour."

 

Hope that helps. It's hard to wait- you're jet lagged and excited all at the same time!

 

Andrew

[dln929]

It is pretty much as Andrew says in post above. It was pretty clear once we cleared customs where we were to wait while flights arrived. Getting on the bus was a bit chaotic in that jet-lagged people apparently don't know how to queue up, much to the dismay of the guides. ;) However, once on the bus it doesn't take long to get to the port, where you line up once more. I don't know if it was a fluke or not, but we were on the ship by 11 am. There's a small liquor shop on the right once you've gone through the scanner, and you can stock up on your allotted two bottles of wine if you'd like. We made a beeline to the pool area for a nice comfortable lounger to take a nap. Afterwards we went to the Mast Bar for a burger as the Oceanview Cafe was (predictably) a mob scene. Great burger and fries, I'd recommend anytime.

[rnrcruzin]

IMHO the Barcelona embarkation was the soomthest I've ever experienced.

[CathyCruises]

Personally, for the prices Celebrity charges for its transfers, I'd cancel that and just take a cab to the port once I got my bags and cleared customs. Because Celebrity charges per person and the taxi is per carload, I am sure you would save money by doing this, not to mention waiting around time.

 

According to this site: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/airport/transport/taxi-fare-barcelona-international-airport-and-cruise-docks.html the fare would be about 35 euros including baggage charge.

 

When you get to the port, you would just drop your bags and either a) have the taxi wait and drop you in town, a short distance, so you can spend the day seeing this magnificent city; or b) take the port bus for about 1 euro each, which will drop you at the Cristobal Colon monument at the foot of Las Ramblas, where you can either meander up the pedestrian walkway to Placa Catalunya, or take the subway to see La Sagrada Familia or other Gaudi works, visit the cathedral and the Barrio Gotico--LOTS to do! You will have a lot of time on the ship, do not miss seeing Barcelona!!

[4774Papa]

Personally, for the prices Celebrity charges for its transfers, I'd cancel that and just take a cab to the port once I got my bags and cleared customs. Because Celebrity charges per person and the taxi is per carload, I am sure you would save money by doing this, not to mention waiting around time.

 

According to this site: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/airport/transport/taxi-fare-barcelona-international-airport-and-cruise-docks.html the fare would be about 35 euros including baggage charge.

 

When you get to the port, you would just drop your bags and either a) have the taxi wait and drop you in town, a short distance, so you can spend the day seeing this magnificent city; or b) take the port bus for about 1 euro each, which will drop you at the Cristobal Colon monument at the foot of Las Ramblas, where you can either meander up the pedestrian walkway to Placa Catalunya, or take the subway to see La Sagrada Familia or other Gaudi works, visit the cathedral and the Barrio Gotico--LOTS to do! You will have a lot of time on the ship, do not miss seeing Barcelona!!

Completely agree.

[dln929]

Personally, for the prices Celebrity charges for its transfers, I'd cancel that and just take a cab to the port once I got my bags and cleared customs. Because Celebrity charges per person and the taxi is per carload, I am sure you would save money by doing this, not to mention waiting around time.

 

According to this site: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/airport/transport/taxi-fare-barcelona-international-airport-and-cruise-docks.html the fare would be about 35 euros including baggage charge.

 

When you get to the port, you would just drop your bags and either a) have the taxi wait and drop you in town, a short distance, so you can spend the day seeing this magnificent city; or b) take the port bus for about 1 euro each, which will drop you at the Cristobal Colon monument at the foot of Las Ramblas, where you can either meander up the pedestrian walkway to Placa Catalunya, or take the subway to see La Sagrada Familia or other Gaudi works, visit the cathedral and the Barrio Gotico--LOTS to do! You will have a lot of time on the ship, do not miss seeing Barcelona!!

 

We had high hopes of doing that very same thing but we knew that given the many connections our flight had and the busy work week we had just endured, we'd be exhausted upon arrival. If someone has an easy flight to Barcelona, I'd say, sure, go the taxi route and explore Barcelona before boarding. I agree that it's really magnificent! But if you arrive wiped out from flying, it's the path of least resistance to allow yourself to be mindlessly and blissfully herded onto the Celebrity bus and taken directly to the port. Everyone should take their own limitations into account and plan accordingly. ;)

[boogs]

We had high hopes of doing that very same thing but we knew that given the many connections our flight had and the busy work week we had just endured, we'd be exhausted upon arrival. If someone has an easy flight to Barcelona, I'd say, sure, go the taxi route and explore Barcelona before boarding. I agree that it's really magnificent! But if you arrive wiped out from flying, it's the path of least resistance to allow yourself to be mindlessly and blissfully herded onto the Celebrity bus and taken directly to the port. Everyone should take their own limitations into account and plan accordingly. ;)

 

Not bad advice, at all. When we flew into Barcelona, we had a few days before our cruise. After a 10 hour overnight flight, the only thing we wanted to do was get to the hotel, shower and rest up for a couple of hours before exploring the city. There is no reason to feel rushed, even if your are in Barcelona for the first time. You would only have a very few short hours to spend in the city, so you would not have much of a chance to enjoy it, being tired and stiff from all that flying.

 

Celebrity often offers a pre-cruise tour that picks you up at the airport, shows you some of the sights, and delivers you to your ship. That might be a reasonable option to give you the peace of mind of not having to deal with figuring out how to get to the ship, and still have a quick tour of the city.

[ariawoman]

I'd try to get in a day or two early, take the aerobus from the airport to Placa de Catalunya, and then stay at Hotel Jazz for a few nights which is a few minute walk from the bus stop at placa de catalunya. :-) (and a tip - there's a coca cola machine on the way to the hotel that only charges 1 euro for a bottle of soda! lol)

 

Love Barcelona, such a beautiful city.

 

It's all about how much time you have and whatnot of course.

[megfla]

We leave in 19 days for our cruise and will be spending 3 nights in Barcelona prior to the cruise. Our first time there...can't wait!

[boogs]

We leave in 19 days for our cruise and will be spending 3 nights in Barcelona prior to the cruise. Our first time there...can't wait!

 

A truly wonderful city. The most fun we had during our three night stay was to take a three hour Segway tour of the old town and waterfront. Never having been on one before, we were a bit anxious as to how difficult these were. Not to worry - they were surprisingly easy to operate, and great fun!

 

[CathyCruises]

We had high hopes of doing that very same thing but we knew that given the many connections our flight had and the busy work week we had just endured, we'd be exhausted upon arrival. If someone has an easy flight to Barcelona, I'd say, sure, go the taxi route and explore Barcelona before boarding. I agree that it's really magnificent! But if you arrive wiped out from flying, it's the path of least resistance to allow yourself to be mindlessly and blissfully herded onto the Celebrity bus and taken directly to the port. Everyone should take their own limitations into account and plan accordingly. ;)

 

Well, we fly in from California so I certainly understand travel fatigue. In our case, we find the best way is just to plow through until a normal bedtime at our destination--it makes us recover faster. If we start calculating, "well, at home it would be X o'clock and I've missed 6 hours of sleep" etc., it just seems to prolong the adjustment--so we hit the ground running and don't look back. And BTW we are 60 and 63, definitely not spring chickens!

 

All that aside, it's just as 'mindless' to step into a taxi and head for the port as it is to step on a Celebrity bus. . .and probably pay more and wait longer. . .