Epic Help please

[Lovetocruisefar]

I booked Epic, with a balcony. Arriving in Barcelona a few days early. First time on Norwegian, and first time in Spain. I booked a hotel in Barcelona at AC Hotel Victoria Suites and I also have a room booked at Hilton Barcelona

Avenida Diagonal. Any advice on either of these hotels and the areas??

 

 

Can anyone also give me suggestions on thing to do for the two days ill be in Barcelona Pre-cruise?

 

 

Thanks all

[kochleffel]

Since those questions are specific to Barcelona and not to the Epic, you might do better to ask in the Ports of Call sub-forum for Spain: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Wait til Keith Jenner wakes up in England - he is pretty knowledgeable about Barcelona

[BirdTravels]

The Hilton Barcelona Diagonal Mar use to be a NCL hotel in Barcelona. We have stayed there many times (before and after cruises). It's right across the street from a mall where there are restaurants and even a grocery store. That being said, we also stay up on the executive level for the free breakfast and afternoon tapas. The Hilton is near the subway and is on the "Barcelona Bus" hop on/hop off route. Nope, not specifically in a touristy area, but we make due with taxis.

[dinkydee718]

So jealous, we did the Epic from Barcelona last year. Was our favorite cruise! Definitely check out Casa Batlló and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Tibidabo was beautiful too. We could have spent hours sitting on the steps at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, just taking in the magnificent view, eating at the small cafe, looking at the art and listening to the live music. If you like an easy hike, do the trail to Castell Montjuïc. It had beautiful views of the Mediterranean, cool castle, archery to watch, and was just fun and relaxing. Gothic quarter is great too.

[bmwman]

I booked Epic, with a balcony. Arriving in Barcelona a few days early. First time on Norwegian, and first time in Spain. I booked a hotel in Barcelona at AC Hotel Victoria Suites and I also have a room booked at Hilton Barcelona

Avenida Diagonal. Any advice on either of these hotels and the areas??

 

 

Can anyone also give me suggestions on thing to do for the two days ill be in Barcelona Pre-cruise?

 

 

Thanks all

 

The Tryp Apollo (Melia Group) is one of the best value four star hotels in a great position near the port. The most important point it is in a safe area with great shops. We stay there may times a year and following Barcelona FC means we have stayed all over the place!! Great Great city but beware the pickpockets on the Ramblas. Epic - Great cruise and done it many times from BCN and Rome. You do not need to spend a fortune to get a great hotel and wait till you see the breakfast buffet its HUGE and that by US standards :)

[Rhea58]

I was on the Epic last fall and flew in a few days beforehand to stay at Hotel Jazz

http://www.hoteljazz.com/es/

 

Rated a 3-star it should be more with roof top pool & fabulous sitting area, very large

breakfast offerings and 2 blocks from La Ramblas. Hotel staff very accomodating

Book La Sagrada Familia on line beforehand so you don't miss out.

[hlsess]

We did a free walking tour in Barcelona- highly recommend!! Also did the musicals place, sagrada familia and the famous park. We stayed at hotel central.. it was great!

[KeithJenner]

There is so much to do in Barcelona.

 

I'd recommend just walking around. Las Ramblas is fun, and the old city around the Cathedral is really nice too.

 

Go to some Gaudi places. Sagrada Familia is usually on everyones list, but I really enjoyed Casa Battlo. You really should make your way up to Parc Gruell as well. It's a nice place to walk and the views are fantastic.

 

We really enjoyed the Magic Fountain as well. A fun evening.

 

There is still so much we haven't done yet (like going up Montjuic). It's such a great city to just wander that we often end up just doing that, rather than going to specific places. We need to go back a few more times. :)

[bmwman]

There is so much to do in Barcelona.

 

I'd recommend just walking around. Las Ramblas is fun, and the old city around the Cathedral is really nice too.

 

Go to some Gaudi places. Sagrada Familia is usually on everyones list, but I really enjoyed Casa Battlo. You really should make your way up to Parc Gruell as well. It's a nice place to walk and the views are fantastic.

 

We really enjoyed the Magic Fountain as well. A fun evening.

 

There is still so much we haven't done yet (like going up Montjuic). It's such a great city to just wander that we often end up just doing that, rather than going to specific places. We need to go back a few more times. :)

 

Absolutely - the Fira is spectacular with the fountains and do the Montjuic its fantastic. Off there soon love the city and the beach.

 

Just be careful of pickpockets on the Ramblas.

[JAFA13]

I was on the Epic last fall and flew in a few days beforehand to stay at Hotel Jazz

http://www.hoteljazz.com/es/

 

Rated a 3-star it should be more with roof top pool & fabulous sitting area, very large

breakfast offerings and 2 blocks from La Ramblas. Hotel staff very accomodating

Book La Sagrada Familia on line beforehand so you don't miss out.

 

Glad to hear you liked Hotel Jazz. I have 3 nights booked after my Epic TransAtlantic cruise in April.

[vicruiser2013]

We did the same cruise a few years back and truly enjoyed both the cruise and Barcelona. As everyone’s interests are different and there are a lot of unique experiences in the region, I would recommend taking a few hours to do a full circle of the hop on hop off bus, which I believe is available near the hotel. It’ll have stops in various points of the city including great landmarks, casinos, beaches etc. Once you complete this it would allow you to target the remainder of your time in Barcelona towards your specific interests.

 

Cheers

 

 

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