Crossing the Globe (Kind of) - A Pr1ma (Hopefully) Live'ish Adventure, 11/20 - 12/1

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Good 👍 morning, we just didn't feel like queing up those lines outside all these landmarks, and this is off season - worst back in early May, and forget about it in the peak summer months.  Mindful (careful) of being bumped by picketpocket teams & their distractions.  Jetlag might catch you shortly ... 🫢

 

We are probably going to do brunch somewhere & then head to the waterfront & walk the older section of town later, easy day.  See ya all onboard the Prima tomorrow, OMG - it's real & embarkation time.

Can't believe it's less than 15 hours away! Was going to say 12, then realized my sense of time is a little off. 

 

Jetlag has caught us. We are comfortably ensconced in our hotel cocoon for the evening at 8:30 PM...not quite living like a local this evening....but we also woke up at 8 AM, so it's almost like out normal life haha

 

Best to you as you enjoy the last evening here, before heading for Pr1ma! 

[cruiseny4life]

More yesterday photos of our walk about Barcelona. 

I had to go up this thing! 

View from the tower. 

Incoming cable car of death! 

Views from the tower.... again

An old fashioned ship. Someday I'll be on one of these old school sailing ships! 

That rotary is stunning! There's an inner, tunnel part!

And the ticket booth at the end. We didn't purchase a ticket here as we did a one way from the beach since we were walking the city. 

 

Lookie! Cruise ships! MSC, Celebrity, and another. Oceania was at the close port. No photos of the expensive retirement home...I mean ship. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[cruiseny4life]

Last wanderings of the day (Saturday). Also, sadly, this means three days of vacation are over. 

 

Outdoor escalators!! So fun!

A grand view from the terrace of an art museum. And yes, that's man's ego (Sagrada Familia) in the center. 

Looking up forward the art museum. 

A view from earlier, just after we walked by the Olympic Stadium. 

My savior! Gosh I drank so much water from that man's mouth!!

Olympic Stadium. 

[laudergayle]

Well you definitely got your steps in.  I’d say you did a mighty fine job of exploring Barcelona.  Wishing you guys a great night’s sleep.  A new adventure (and your quest for Hash Browns) begins tomorrow!! 

[cruiseny4life]

Welllllll.....jet lag has really kicked in now! It's almost 1 AM and we're both wide awake. I was almost asleep around 930, but was tossed out of my slumber by noise. So, we spent the last two hours talking about being grateful for our trip and each other. A couple white privileged guys with no business in Spain, but who somehow found their way here. 

 

I also spent some time convincing him to walk to the port tomorrow. He offered to provide me the full experience. I can take the backpack and suitcase with me. He'll meet me there after a short cab ride. Such a nice guy! Looks like we will be riding in comfort. The hotel is ordering our cabin for 10 AM. 

 

See you on the flip, unless jet lag keeps kicking me! (For the record, there was only a five minute nap yesterday, we went to sleep about 9 last night and slept through until around 8 or so)

[Sugar Magnolia]

5 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Welllllll.....jet lag has really kicked in now! It's almost 1 AM and we're both wide awake. I was almost asleep around 930, but was tossed out of my slumber by noise. So, we spent the last two hours talking about being grateful for our trip and each other. 

Jet lag claims all victims.

I flew into Lisbon from Newark on Monday and thought I had acclimated to the time zone after a few days. Friday night I returned to my cabin around 10:30 PM hoping to rest up for Ponta Delgada the next morning. At 5:00 AM I was still wide awake, but finally fell asleep sometime after  5:30 AM, maybe. Alarm goes off at 7:00 AM 😩.

I need to go back on Ambien and just risk sleep walking in my pajamas. 
 

[cruiseny4life]

It's cruise day! Based on reports elsewhere, Pr1ma is in Barcelona waiting for me!!

 

Now, sleep please? At least breakfast started at 7:30.

 

My posts will be limited today as we are waiting until tomorrow to purchase wifi package.

 

Thank you, everyone, for your Bon voyage messages! 

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Moral of the story, don't let anyone who sneaks in alcohol get away with that if you can turn a blind eye to the drunks fighting on the pool deck.

Only thing security will find in our room are two fat guys enjoying balcony views and if I'm feeling spicy, an espresso. I leave my drinking at the bars so I don't feel like I have a problem. 

 

14 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Conrad is the fancy Hilton brand so I would expect housekeeping services from them. Nowadays, security might get involved if guests refuse to let in hotel staff, but I guess you and hubby looked harmless after being in the wild for days. 
 

Hmm everything seems to cost the same so I never know what is luxury and what's not. We couldn't find anything under$250 when we looked so just booked the Conrad. It was nice to have the service option if we wanted it. 

[cruiseny4life]

I've got the first look at today's Freestyle Daily! When we connect to Pr1ma's internet we will see if it's accurate. 

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

What I've been looking for. Clear guidance from NCL. Appears I won't need to worry about those few cents per drink. Finally!

 

[cruiseny4life]

Breakfast photos. A repeat of yesterday's breakfast as the other options were basic pancakes, fried/scrambled eggs, etc. Here is the wonderful Benedict, yummy baby chicken juice and all.

 

 

 

I'm having doubts the purple stuff is actually saffron. Any foodies out there know what it really is? 

 

This far exceeds NCL Haven's Benedict even when the Canadian Bacon is subbed with the real Anerican bacon.

[cruiseny4life]

Luggage tags...we remembered!!!! 

 

[cruiseny4life]

Mercedes taxi ordered by our hotel. We're not special. There's lots of Mercedes cabs in the city.

 

 

 

 

And a first glance at Pr1ma.

 

 

First in the Haven waiting area! 

 

 

Hotel to "lounge" in under 30 minutes. 

[vacation44]

Happy Cruise Day!

[brookie848]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

First in the Haven waiting area! 

 

 

Ahh...this reminds me of the "lounge" in San Juan.

[graphicguy]

6 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

What I've been looking for. Clear guidance from NCL. Appears I won't need to worry about those few cents per drink. Finally!

 

I guess the brouhaha from a month ago will now die down.  There’s the official proclamation.  If you don’t want to pay Spain’s VAT, buy the FAS package.

[graphicguy]

Bon Voyage, have a great time.  Looking forward to your cruise posts.

[laudergayle]

I’m so looking forward to your PR1MA impressions.  Have an incredible time.  Wish I was there. Lol.

[carohs]

Have a great cruise! It's been great following along so far.

[Sailing12Away]

On 11/19/2023 at 4:29 AM, cruiseny4life said:

The wild streets of Barcelona! 

Loads of jamon inside Mercado de la Boqueria

Pies! Lots of pies!

 

 

 

Ahhhh, one of my favorite memories of Barcelona was walking around that market. We bought a vacuum sealed package of manchego cheeses and meat when we were there. Plus a schmorgasboard of snacks for munching on as we wandered. 

 

On 11/19/2023 at 11:12 AM, schmoopie17 said:

Were those spiral things in the market (a few pictures earlier) supposed to be reminiscent of the gaudy towers of La Familia?

Those are amazing potato spiral thing-a-ma-bobs. Crunchy and savory depending on the seasoning they put on. Like a potato chip tree. Quite yummy indeed.

[Von & John]

Von Boyage...

Wishing you an Amazing Cruise!

Cheers from Talkeetna - Von

[cruiseny4life]

I tried posting the text below the photo yesterday, with no success. So, good morning from Cartagena! Currently roaming via Verizon as land is in sight. Tonight/tomorrow will upgrade to the WiFi plan so we can remain fully updated during our glorious sea days.

 

 

All is well in Pr1maland. Lunch in Indulge was good - some hits, some misses. Tried again for a late night snack. Yes! 9:15 is late for us. Dinner is way better than lunch! Had a couple lobster tails and prime rib in Haven for dinner. Husband had the lamb rib eye and a filet. 

 

I'll post the number of shrimp later on! Waiting until day 2 to upgrade the internet, plus the option to upgrade is not available in the app, so a trip to the concierge is a requirement. 

 

After tomorrow, a lot more details and photos provided Starlink works well. Free CruiseCritic site inches along, ever so slowly. It takes about five minutes to open a page and then displays some images. 

 

Photos will appear later on!

[cruiseny4life]

Tonight at 8 I finally find out who the heck Donna Summer is! (Don't tell me as I want it a surprise)

[cruiseny4life]

Current vibe onboard Pr1ma as we wait for 10 AM meetup in the theatre for our excursion to Cartagena and Murcia. 

 

[cruiseny4life]

Very sad news as the breakfast menu confirms there are no more greasy hockey pucks! I will begin the funeral for these lovely chunks of minced up potato and oil later on.