Barcelona - NCL Hotels and Air

[debncl]

We are considering using NCL for air and hotels for our transatlantic cruise in October. The hotels we have to choose from are the Melia Barcelona and the Tryp Apolo. Does anyone have any experience with either of these hotels?

Also, the airfare NCL has quoted (Chicago-Barcelona, Miami-Chicago) is better than anything I can find on my own. We would add the premium air fee just so we could have a hand in deciding the Airline but would the money saved be worth it?

All comments (pro and con) are appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Debbie

[gratefulguy]

The Tryp is closer to the cruise pier and the Barri Gotic, the Melia may be nicer. Maybe BCNLady or the other nice local people can get more specific. I stayed at the Hesperia del Port which is two blocks south of the Tryp and liked the good Metro lines you can take from the Paral.lel station. BTW, it could still be very warm/hot in October--A/C would be really nice!

About the air-fare: did you price the two legs separately as well as searching for the "open-jaw" combination? Try going to http://www.kayak.com and using both the one-way search, and then the multi-city search. Also, did you price the airlines that the major web-sites don't include (Southwest and JetBlue) for the Miami-Chicago leg? If after all that, NCL still has a better price (and you get to pick the airline and your seats, then that sounds ideal (will that mean transfers are included?). It doesn't cost much for a cab in Barcelona, and you wouldn't have to wait for the NCL bus/van to fill, but not having to pay for a cab is good, too!

Have a great trip.

[Jade13]

we could do on our own. In our case we felt it was worth it to pay the additional $50.00pp to get the flights we wanted as we were coming a day early and wanted the easrliest so we could go sightseeing, plus get the frequent fler miles on the airline of our choice.

[captgeo]

We stayed at the Melia Barcelona for 3 days this past October, prior to our NCL Jewel Med/transatlantic cruise. We upgraded (50E) to the "Royal Service" floor which also gave us entry to the lounge (free snack food, drinks and concierge) located 1 floor up from the lobby. Our room was very nice, although a bit small; king-size bed, wide-screen plasma TV and marble bath with a great shower. Others we talked with also enjoyed the hotel; its in the "quiet" part of town. The Melia has a very fine breakfast buffet with a huge choice of items. We also enjoyed dinner there one night. The hotel is located just around the corner from the red and blue HOHO bus stops. A taxi to downtown was about 10E; to the ship (with 2 huge suitcases) was 25E. This was one of the few times we did not use NCL air; couldn't get the routing or times we wanted. Using NCL air also includes transfers from the airport to the hotel and hotel to the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed Barcelona; hard to see everything in just 3 days.

Best wishes...

captgeo

[debncl]

Thanks for your comments. Looks like we will stick with NCL air and choose the Tryp. We are really looking forward to this trip. Any other comments are appreciated - especially from those who have done the trans-atlantic in the past.

[BCNlady]

There's something I don't like about the Trip, is when I see tourists walking from the Ramblas to the Paralel Av. On those streets they are easy "victims".

I walk those streets almost every day as I work nearby and never had a problem, but I obviously look like a local.

Paralel has good acces to metro and buses, but has no interest walking by night, and has no nice restaurants.

Melia has good links with downtown and is in one of the best shopping sectors of Barcelona around the Diagonal. Many restaurants and nice places to have a drink that most barceloners visit.

[OttawaCountess]

Thanks for your insite BCNlady. I will be staying in Barcelona Sept 18 for 2 nights after cruising. The rates at Melia are very appealling (especially when our conversion is 1.55 from Cdn to Euros). Some rooms prices include breakfast. If I don't select this option, what would I expect to pay in Euros for a breakfast in Barcelona at this hotel? First time to Europe, so not familiar with prices, so I'm just trying to decide if it's cheaper to include in hotel price or not. Also, as I am booking the hotel myself, so I can choose anything, is there other hotels you would recommend over the Melia, which are nice and have good prices & locations. Thanks

Cindy