Air & hotel to barcelona through cruise line??

[Dave4120]

Hello...We will be going on a cruise to Europe, next May 3rd, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's "Vision Of The Seas. The cruise begins and ends in Barcelona.

 

Since we have never been to Europe, and, do want to stay one night prior to our cruise departure, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions as to whether we might be better to book our air, hotel, and transfers through the cruise line, versus, making our own arrangements?

 

I know everyone is different in the opinion and/or experience, but, I must admit, I'm a bit nervous booking everything on our own. I don't really know why. I think it's more of the transfers to the hotel and port than anything else, and, being a bit scared of getting lost on our own.

 

I know...sounds foolish...but I guess i worry about silly things more than others.

 

Any advice you can provide would be very helpful.

 

Dave

[bugeater2]

Hello...We will be going on a cruise to Europe, next May 3rd, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's "Vision Of The Seas. The cruise begins and ends in Barcelona.

 

Since we have never been to Europe, and, do want to stay one night prior to our cruise departure, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions as to whether we might be better to book our air, hotel, and transfers through the cruise line, versus, making our own arrangements?

 

I know everyone is different in the opinion and/or experience, but, I must admit, I'm a bit nervous booking everything on our own. I don't really know why. I think it's more of the transfers to the hotel and port than anything else, and, being a bit scared of getting lost on our own.

 

I know...sounds foolish...but I guess i worry about silly things more than others.

 

Any advice you can provide would be very helpful.

 

Dave

 

I can tell you that about 95% of the people are going to tell you to book your own air and hotel.

 

You really need to just read through the various posts on this Spain board. All of the questions you have right now have been asked 20 times before.

 

Also get familiar with the cruise air board as well.

 

You will start to find out that as you become more informed, your anxiety level will lower.

 

There are some very nice people here that can help with suggestions for airfare once the flights become available. Your flights wont be open until this June.

[RollieUK]

My advice is to cost out the two options. I am sure you will find that the cruise line option will be more expensive. You need to decide whether the extra cost is worth it to you.

 

Do not worry about getting lost in Barcelona. It is very easy to find you way around. You could always use taxis (which are plentiful and relatively inexpensive) and you will then never get lost.

 

Apart from language differences it is really not that much different going to Europe than to another city in the US. In fact, I have experienced language problems in Florida (especially Miami airport) as much as in Spain :D

[LondonTowner]

I would also make my own arrangements, but would check out the cruise line costings first. Very easy and relatively cheap (30€) to take a taxi from the airport to the port.

[Dave4120]

Thanks very much for the information and suggestions. I obviously have plenty of time to research your suggestions and look forward in doing so. Everything sounds exciting and will keep me active and less bored on the different threads.

 

Dave

[Budget Queen]

Hello...We will be going on a cruise to Europe, next May 3rd, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's "Vision Of The Seas. The cruise begins and ends in Barcelona.

 

Since we have never been to Europe, and, do want to stay one night prior to our cruise departure, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions as to whether we might be better to book our air, hotel, and transfers through the cruise line, versus, making our own arrangements?

 

I know everyone is different in the opinion and/or experience, but, I must admit, I'm a bit nervous booking everything on our own. I don't really know why. I think it's more of the transfers to the hotel and port than anything else, and, being a bit scared of getting lost on our own.

 

I know...sounds foolish...but I guess i worry about silly things more than others.

 

Any advice you can provide would be very helpful.

 

Dave

I would first suggest you go even earlier (or stay later). Barcelona is well worth the time with plenty to see and do. At the least 2 days would get you on the bargain HOHO buses. :)

 

 

Since you are looking for the "easiest", you may be better off going with the inclusive cruise booked package. It will be the most costly choice.

 

IF you want to consider a budget option, there is a cheap airport bus, I like staying on La Rambla at The Continental. I then walk to the other end and get on the bus to the cruise ship. Of course you can't be hauling over packed bags, and have any mobility issues. In my case, it works out excellent. Add to the mix, some great walking tours to sign up with. :) I usually go for at least 4/5 extra days. A great city.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Barcelona is a great city and if at all possible, you need to stay at least two nights or more...price it out,..we generally find cruise line hotels to be way overpriced but lately their air has been competitive...

[eandj]

You really need to rethink the one night precruise stay. Never flying to Europe before, you don't know what you will feel like upon arrival. Can you say jet lag? We FORCE....and I mean FORCE ourselves to stay up and moving as long as we can on the morning of arrival. Our first trip to BCN was so exciting that we actually didn't drag ourselves to bed until almost 10 pm. The next morning we slept till 10 am. We had two more days in BCN before boarding so it didn't matter that we caught up on the sleep. If you don't have at least another day/night you really will miss out on a fantastic walking city with amazing architecture, art, people, music, food etc. You'll instead just be having to board the ship.

 

I would arrange the air on your own. Or just use a travel agent in town to steer you to the good flights. If you book transfers and hotel with the cruise lines, you will pay double what you can do on your own. And the location of the hotel may not be conducive to the area you want to spend most time in. We always stay in Hotel Jazz. Excellent location.

Get a good travel book and use this site below to learn about the city and all it has to offer. Have a wonderful time!!

 

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/

[LondonTowner]

Good advice from eandj. Barcelona is a great city for sightseeing and very easy to get around by public transport. I used to know Barcelona very well, but hadn't been there for a number of years, until we went for a long weekend at the end of January. It had changed so much for the better and we had a great time, but 3 nights were not enough.

 

We stayed in the Hotel Pulitzer, which is very central, about 50m off the Plaza Catalunya. We took the Aerobus from the airport as it is cheap and stopped very close to our hotel. Admittedley, we didn't have lots of luggage, but a taxi is only 30€.

 

For me, part of the fun of the holiday is the research and planning. These days it is easy with all the information on the internet and sites like Cruise critic and Tripadvisor. So, good luck with your planning.

[Dave4120]

Thanks for all of the valuable information. I do know that while on the ship, we do have a full day in Barcelona, then, the following morning, the cruise disembarks. Even with this positive news, I can understand what many of you are saying when you advise it's better to stay two night prior to the cruise. It does make sense, so you don't have to rush, and, have at least a full day or more to settle down, unwind and be more relaxed when boarding the ship.

 

Not sure why I'm having a tough time figuring out when to fly to Barcelona and stay for two nights prior to the cruise. Must be because of the time difference.

 

If our cruise leaves on May 3rd, 2015, and we want to stay two nights prior, I think we would have to fly out on April 30th, because we would arrive in Barcelona on May 1st in the morning????? Then we stay overnight May 1st and 2nd, and get on the ship May 3rd??

 

Thanks again for the help.

[Helenalee]

If you have never been to Barcelona before, I strongly recommend a 2 days pre cruise stay. This is a wonderful city with lots to see, shop and enjoy. Of coz, depending on your time and budget. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mountainmare]

Do you have a trusted travel agent? It sounds like you may be in over your head here (no offense). We travel a lot but for some things we use a travel agent. When cruising to Europe or transatlantic we use her to figure out the best air option.

First we look at the price of cruise air--plus any additional cost for non-stop flights, going in early or staying late.

Then I do look at Kayak to get an idea about which flights are available. I have never been able to come up with a better plan than she does. We are lucky to be within reasonable (a few hours at most) driving distance from several airport cities so that does help, but for air I do get help.

For hotels I go to tripadvisor.

[2ptu/000]

I'm going to suggest you combine the best of both worlds. Book your own air and hotel but book the same hotel as your cruise line. The cruise line will probably have a desk set up and you will be able to arrange tours of Barcelona. Barcelona is a lovely city. Stay so you have at least two full days there. Your first day will be lost as you will probably be exhausted.

 

A taxi from the airport is easy just have a print out of your hotel name to show the taxi driver. The driver may or may not speak English. Carry this print out with you when you are out and about. Taxis are easy to get. Just look for a taxi cue. The Hop on Hop off bus is easy but do your homework so you know where to hop on and hop off. You will want to see the old cathedral and the Sagrada Famila. That will probably be enough for one day. We did a cruise line sponsored tour on our first visit and it was well worth the money.

 

On your overnight day you might want to do a ships tour to Monserrat.

 

Take a taxi from the hotel to the ship. It will be cheaper and nicer.

[John Bull]

A couple of potential negatives with cruise-air, apart from price:

 

Cruise lines have their "preferred" airline, I'm guessing to get bulk discounts, & they tend to use that airline regardless of how convenient or inconvenient for the passenger. Even though another airline may have direct flights New York to Barcelona, if their preferred airline doesn't then you'll be booked on their preferred airline to, say, Madrid then switch to a flight from Madrid to Barcelona.

Last year we fixed our own direct flights London to Istanbul.

Folk who'd booked cruise air went London to Amsterdam, a stop-over of several hours, then Amsterdam to Istanbul.

We arrived late morning and they arrived early evening, losing most of a day.

And I've heard of a lot worse.

 

Cruise lines do book perfectly decent hotels, but sometimes they're in remote & inconvenient locations - presumably cos that's cheaper. I've heard plenty of examples of that, and when you've only got part of a day you don't want to be spending a lot of your time travelling to places of interest - or worse, deciding it's not worthwhile for the time available.

....................................................................................

As a previous post, it's a simple taxi ride of about €30 from Barcelona's main airport to the city centre or port by just taking a cab from the airport rank. So much easier than worrying whether the person meeting you will be there or whether you'll have to hunt for them. All you need is a note off your hotel address for the taxi driver.

 

Hotels are easy to choose & book by using one of the major on-line booking agencies such as http://www.booking.com

Their websites show the hotels' location on a map, plenty of detail, plenty of photos, plenty of reviews by folk who've stayed there.

I use booking.com to choose, then hunt to see if I can find that hotel cheaper on any other agencies' websites or direct from the hotel.

 

Flights can be a little more daunting, you might want to use a travel agent but that's likely to still be a lot cheaper than cruise air. Mebbe even cheaper than direct with the airline.:)

 

Of course you do need to check availability of both flights & cruise before booking either, then book both on the same day.

 

As well as saving money & choosing what you want to choose, you'll be proud of yourselves doing it yourself

 

No worries. :cool:

 

JB :)

Edited April 25, 2014 by John Bull

[mskaufman]

When I have priced this I have found that sometimes the cruise line is competitive on air. However, when we went to Barcelona the hotel rate was close to double what we wound up paying.

[karoo]

Hello...We will be going on a cruise to Europe, next May 3rd, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's "Vision Of The Seas. The cruise begins and ends in Barcelona.

 

 

 

Since we have never been to Europe, and, do want to stay one night prior to our cruise departure, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions as to whether we might be better to book our air, hotel, and transfers through the cruise line, versus, making our own arrangements?

 

 

 

I know everyone is different in the opinion and/or experience, but, I must admit, I'm a bit nervous booking everything on our own. I don't really know why. I think it's more of the transfers to the hotel and port than anything else, and, being a bit scared of getting lost on our own.

 

 

 

I know...sounds foolish...but I guess i worry about silly things more than others.

 

 

 

Any advice you can provide would be very helpful.

 

 

 

Dave

 

 

A really good app if you have an IPhone or IPad is Skyscanner. I think you can use it on a computer too. You just put in flight/dates and it will bring up all the flights available. It even has filters so if you want direct it will only bring those flights up. You can also sort according to departure times, price, length of flight etc. you can put a watch on the flight you want to see if the price goes down/up etc. Once I find the flight I want I go direct to the airline site as I like to book directly with the airline.

 

As others have mentioned Booking.com is a good site to research the hotels available for your dates. There is a map that shows the location and prices. You can often book day tours through the hotel or local vendors once you arrive. Use tripadvisor as earlier posters have mentioned to find out what you would like to do, use the reviews, but be careful of reviews that only have one post as these often aren't genuine. There is also a forum to post questions. I like to book everything separately as that way I get the holiday I want. I always combine a cruise with time on land too.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[UKBayern]

There is a very useful sticky on the top of the cruise air page with all the pros and cons of using cruise air. Please remember that although you might be on the same flight sitting in the same seat, buying the ticket through the cruise line, through a travel site like Expedia or Kayak, through a travel agent, or through the airline direct, are all different products. Even if a product seems cheaper than elsewhere please check the terms and conditions carefully. Chances are your cheap ticket is nonrefundable, nonchangeable, nonreroutable, etc. If you don't like your travel routing or travel times, if you miss a connection, etc, it is important to know what you booked and what you are entitled to. You can read the horror stories "I thought the cruiseline was going to take care of me" on the air page, because people were mistaken about the product they bought.

 

A useful site to start browsing for air fares and possible routes is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ You cannot book tickets there, it is just a search engine, but because they don't want to sell you anything, you get all possible unbiased options.

 

Booking.com is good site to start searching for hotel rooms. Please note that sites like Booking, Expedia, etc do not work for free, and hotels prefer direct bookings to save costs. Also not all room types are mentioned, only the ones that a particular booking site thinks will sell. And "recommended by Booking/Expedia/site x" does not mean anything, just that the hotel paid for that label or a higher listing. If you see a hotel you like, it never hurts to check on the hotels' own website or contact them for a better rate or upgrade possibility. Especially smaller, privately owned, non-chain hotels will be in for this. In Venice, we wrote an email to the hotel saying "we saw you on Expedia, we know that you have to pay them 25% commission, can we do a deal?" They gave us a free upgrade to their most beautiful room with canal view for the cost of a standard room.

 

Tripadvisor is part of the Expedia group. Therefor the hotel comparison site is not as good as it used to be. It is set up to direct all business towards Expedia, towards hotels that do business with Expedia, towards hotels that bring in most cash for Expedia, or hotels who pay a business listing fee to Tripadvisor. If I search for a hotel in my home town, the first 4 listed are over 50 km away, and then the hotels here is listed. Between here and the hotel 50 km away, there must be hundreds of hotels. The first 4 on the list are the same quality, the same amount of stars, but cost 3-4 times more than the local ones. Tripadvisor/Expedia can earn 3-4 times more money in commission if they direct the customer to this hotel 50 km away.

[eandj]

Definitely book your own room in BCN. Do your research here for locations (try to get near Las Ramblas/Old Town area). Then head to tripadvisor to get some info re any hotels you might have noted or read about on cc. Then after comparing costs on a few online sites, DEFINITELY go to the hotel's official website for pricing. Often there will be a brkfst included on their site but not on a general booking site. Too they can offer discounts for extra nights or have more rooms choices. Remember that if you book something with the cruiseline they charge per person. So instead of paying $200 a night for a room on the hotel site, the cruiseline will charge $175 or more per person. Too the cruiselines often use large "buisness type" hotels that might not be where the action and sights are. We prefer to hand pick smaller local hotels where we can walk the area without having to use transportation to most areas.