Spanish Passage ports & disembarkation

[Cruz4Sun]

Another passenger has already posted a fine review on our April 22-May 7, 2016 sailing with great info on their ship experience. I will skip this portion of my review and share with you our port and disembarkation experience. I hope you enjoy this.

 

Ports:

Madeira (Funchal): We went on a 12 person tour with Daniel Madeira Taxi, organized by Fran, a cruise critic member. We loved this size group and had a great experience at the Funchal Market, Camara de Lobos, Cabo Girao, wine tasting at a local bar and more.

 

Lisbon: This was a last minute port, added when conditions were too rough at Cadiz. We booked the ship tour Easy Lisbon which was exactly as advertised, a tour with little or no walking. We got some great photos at the 2 stops that were made, but if I had to do it over again I would have taken the hop on hop off bus that was just a very short walk from the port.

 

Gibraltar: We booked in advance with Gibraltar Inside Out Rock Tours. The tour had 20 of us on a 22 person mini coach. We saw all the major highlights including going inside Michael’s cave and the Great Siege Tunnels. There were plenty of photo opportunities with the Barbary Apes. The driver did an excellent job of explaining the sights and history of Gibraltar. I can absolutely recommend this company.

 

Malaga: We joined 6 other people on a Tapas tour that was organized by Gail, a cruise critic member. Paco, a lively 71 year old Spaniard, was our guide from the tour company We Love Malaga. We used the Princess shuttle for $12 each to get to starting point of the tour. This walking tour took us to the wonderful indoor market and then to a series of 3 restaurants off the beaten path where we had delicious tapas and wine. Paco was a great guide and showed us many interesting sights along the way. My DH and I thought this was our favorite tour of the trip.

 

Cartegena: We did this on our own which was ok but not great. It was sprinkling the whole time, so my walking maps became soggy and difficult to read. I wanted to visit the Roman Theatre Museum but arrived the same time as a large group. We instead took the bus tour for €7 each and got stuck on the open air top deck. We did salvage the day by going to a local restaurant for paella and beer. Next time I will either go to the museum at opening time or perhaps find a tour company that limits their group size.

 

Mallorca (Palma): We joined a group of 14 organized by cruise critic members Fran and Audrey with a company called Mallorca Private Tour Guides. This tour highlights included time in Valdemossa and Sóller, two very scenic Spanish villages. We really enjoyed our tour guide and in Sóller we found a small café on a side street and stopped to enjoy some local wine and orange pastries with new friends Kay and Glen. We can also whole heartedly recommend this tour company.

 

Disembarkation: We signed up for a Princess transfer to the Barcelona airport. We had no problem checking in for our 10 a.m. flight to Atlanta. The flight was smooth, but transferring to our connecting flight in 1 hr 45 minutes was quite stressful. We stood in long lines for a customs kiosk, then to see a customs agent, then passport control and finally a security screening including taking off shoes. We just barely made our plane. Next time I will pay for the Delta Select Comfort seats that are closer to the front of the plane and will pay to get global TSA pre check.

 

Final thoughts: We loved our first transatlantic cruise. There was such a great balance of activities and time to relax. We especially appreciated the fun we had with our new friends, fellow Michiganders Judy and Paul. We did discover that 15 days on a cruise is enough for us and did not regret our decision to skip the 7 day additional cruise on to Rome.

[GweninTX]

Thanks for the review - we are doing this cruise next year and I have taken notes on your port recommendations!

 

We just got our Global Entry cards and I know that it will be the best $100 we have spent in a long time. $20 a year per person is a small price to pay to escape the misery you experienced! I am so sorry!

Edited May 13, 2016 by GweninTX

[paul929207]

We will be sailing with Gwen next year and also appreciate your comments.

[moki'smommy]

Personal experience--I would highly recommend cruise line transfers if going directly to the airport in Barcelona. We've disembarked there at least 3 times, one of which we spent a couple days in a hotel after the cruise. A taxi from the cruise terminal to the hotel was not a good thing. There are all sorts of surcharges that I won't pretend to understand (some were listed in the taxi, but the math didn't add up). And the driver will speak as much English as he feels like at that moment. If he doesn't like what he is hearing, he just won't understand you. Bottom line, it was 35 Euros for what our guide book said should have been 7 Euros.

[whatcruiseisnext]

Another passenger has already posted a fine review on our April 22-May 7, 2016 sailing with great info on their ship experience. I will skip this portion of my review and share with you our port and disembarkation experience. I hope you enjoy this.

 

Ports:

Madeira (Funchal): We went on a 12 person tour with Daniel Madeira Taxi, organized by Fran, a cruise critic member. We loved this size group and had a great experience at the Funchal Market, Camara de Lobos, Cabo Girao, wine tasting at a local bar and more.

 

Lisbon: This was a last minute port, added when conditions were too rough at Cadiz. We booked the ship tour Easy Lisbon which was exactly as advertised, a tour with little or no walking. We got some great photos at the 2 stops that were made, but if I had to do it over again I would have taken the hop on hop off bus that was just a very short walk from the port.

 

Gibraltar: We booked in advance with Gibraltar Inside Out Rock Tours. The tour had 20 of us on a 22 person mini coach. We saw all the major highlights including going inside Michael’s cave and the Great Siege Tunnels. There were plenty of photo opportunities with the Barbary Apes. The driver did an excellent job of explaining the sights and history of Gibraltar. I can absolutely recommend this company.

 

Malaga: We joined 6 other people on a Tapas tour that was organized by Gail, a cruise critic member. Paco, a lively 71 year old Spaniard, was our guide from the tour company We Love Malaga. We used the Princess shuttle for $12 each to get to starting point of the tour. This walking tour took us to the wonderful indoor market and then to a series of 3 restaurants off the beaten path where we had delicious tapas and wine. Paco was a great guide and showed us many interesting sights along the way. My DH and I thought this was our favorite tour of the trip.

 

Cartegena: We did this on our own which was ok but not great. It was sprinkling the whole time, so my walking maps became soggy and difficult to read. I wanted to visit the Roman Theatre Museum but arrived the same time as a large group. We instead took the bus tour for €7 each and got stuck on the open air top deck. We did salvage the day by going to a local restaurant for paella and beer. Next time I will either go to the museum at opening time or perhaps find a tour company that limits their group size.

 

Mallorca (Palma): We joined a group of 14 organized by cruise critic members Fran and Audrey with a company called Mallorca Private Tour Guides. This tour highlights included time in Valdemossa and Sóller, two very scenic Spanish villages. We really enjoyed our tour guide and in Sóller we found a small café on a side street and stopped to enjoy some local wine and orange pastries with new friends Kay and Glen. We can also whole heartedly recommend this tour company.

 

Disembarkation: We signed up for a Princess transfer to the Barcelona airport. We had no problem checking in for our 10 a.m. flight to Atlanta. The flight was smooth, but transferring to our connecting flight in 1 hr 45 minutes was quite stressful. We stood in long lines for a customs kiosk, then to see a customs agent, then passport control and finally a security screening including taking off shoes. We just barely made our plane. Next time I will pay for the Delta Select Comfort seats that are closer to the front of the plane and will pay to get global TSA pre check.

 

Final thoughts: We loved our first transatlantic cruise. There was such a great balance of activities and time to relax. We especially appreciated the fun we had with our new friends, fellow Michiganders Judy and Paul. We did discover that 15 days on a cruise is enough for us and did not regret our decision to skip the 7 day additional cruise on to Rome.

 

Excellent review! We enjoyed meeting you and Frank and our time together as well. While we will see each other and keep in touch here in Michigan, we are both looking forward to doing the Spanish Passage with you ... the other way... in 2017.

 

Judy and Paul

Again...great review!

Edited May 13, 2016 by whatcruiseisnext

[ndjoe]

Appreciated the review also. We are also traveling on the same cruise next year with Gwen. Like Gwen, we getting the Global Entry cards too. Our final interview is next week. I agree, the best $100 we will spend, considering the TSA problems recently.

 

Joe & Kathy

[Micahs Grandad]

We will also be on the same cruise. Have to give some thought to the global entry card.

[Denverite]

Hi Linda and Frank:

Great review! We enjoyed sharing tours with you.

 

Just a couple of comments on our experience:

(1) Lisbon: Since this was a last minute change, I used some internet minutes and found a guide recommended on trip advisor. I e-mailed him on Sunday (a holiday too), and he responded right back that he was available. He had room for 4 of us in his Audi and we had a great tour of Lisbon. In fact, we were probably the last few people back on the ship. We used Fabio of Yellow Taxi TT Tours. We saw a lot of Lisbon from 8:00 to 3:30, including sampling the famous pastries in Belem, sampling sangria and vinho verde and bruschetta, and ending with port wine and cod fish. There was a very long line at 3:00 to get back on the ship so Fabio suggested we go around the corner to have wine. When we returned to get on the ship, there were only a couple of people in line, but then again it was 3:35 and all aboard was 3:30. Loved Lisbon - would go back in a heartbeat.

 

(2) Cartagena: I was not very impressed with this place. I did walk a lot and saw the Roman Theater Museum, Roman Forum, House of Fortune, and took the lift up to the Castillo de la Concepcion. Don't waste your money on the Roman Forum. I didn't find it that interesting. I did enjoy the House of Fortune, even though it was very small.

 

(3) Disembarkation: We decided to do the walk-off on our own. We left the ship at 7:15am and there was somewhat of a line to get through passport control. Once through, there were plenty of taxis waiting outside. There is now a flat charge of 39 Euros to the airport (this includes all fees or tariffs). Quickly through the Barcelona airport and plenty of time to catch our 10:50am flight. Newark Airport was another story. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to go through customs, get our luggage and re-check and go through security. Luckily we did not have to change terminals. I had allowed 2-1/2 hours between flights so we were not rushed, but again if changing terminals it would have been more hectic. By the way, if you have Global Entry, there was no line at Newark so you would have breezed through.

[moki'smommy]

 

(3) Disembarkation: We decided to do the walk-off on our own. We left the ship at 7:15am and there was somewhat of a line to get through passport control. Once through, there were plenty of taxis waiting outside. There is now a flat charge of 39 Euros to the airport (this includes all fees or tariffs). Quickly through the Barcelona airport

 

Good to know...but our taxi was a short ride to a hotel, so the fixed rate would not have applied. We incurred a charge for it being a Saturday, for a port pick up, and for things I couldn't figure out in addition to the metered fare.

[pris993]

Personal experience--I would highly recommend cruise line transfers if going directly to the airport in Barcelona. We've disembarked there at least 3 times' date=' one of which we spent a couple days in a hotel after the cruise. A taxi from the cruise terminal to the hotel was not a good thing. There are all sorts of surcharges that I won't pretend to understand (some were listed in the taxi, but the math didn't add up). And the driver will speak as much English as he feels like at that moment. If he doesn't like what he is hearing, he just won't understand you. Bottom line, it was 35 Euros for what our guide book said should have been 7 Euros.[/quote']

 

We have been to Barcelona about 6 times, on and off ships, plus have flown in for a week long stay.

 

Have found taxis for the most part reasonable. My DH does speak spanish so that may help. Even so I write down the name and address of the hotel, give that to the driver, that will go a long way to get a direct transfer without any confusion. By the way did the same thing in Paris on a recent visit, found there most taxi drivers use GPS, so having an exact address vs the name of cross streets the best.

 

We are going back to Barcelona in 2017... one of our favorite places to visit, will fly in and take a taxi to our hotel a few days before boarding the Royal for a TA.