Barcelona, Spain

We arrived in Barcelona at around 9:30 am and our cruise ship (The Emerald Princess), wasn't casting off until 10:00 pm that night.

Our first concern was that in our cruise package, it noted that check in time wasn't until 2:00 pm... so what do we do with our luggage until then? We decided to take the taxi to the docks anyways and see what was up when we got there. The taxi ride cost about 20-25 euros and it was a 20-30 minute ride from the airport.

When we got to the docks at around 10:30 am, we found that there were plenty of other cruisers that had arrived early. As soon as you step up to the station, an attendant will come and take your luggage after you tagged them with the appropriate labels from your cruise package... so at least that took care of the luggage! The checkin desk was already open at that point and the line was fairly short. Checkin itself was very smooth as there were over 10 tellers to take care of your needs. We were also told that we could start boarding at 12:00 pm. So we decided to wait around so that we could get into our room and dump other things we were carrying (backpacks, money, etc). If you are raring to go you can actually just dump your luggage at the station and leave. You can check-in pretty much anytime before the ship leaves. Otherwise you may end up wasting time waiting around for your turn to board.

As a side note, there were several other cruise ships docked the day we were there. I recognized two Royal Caribbean ships (one was the Voyager) alongside the Emerald Princess. You can also check to see what ships will be docking on the day you arrive on this site.

After we left the station, we walked back to Plaça de la Porta de Pau square (where the Christopher Columbus monument stands). In hindsight it was a mistake, the walk from the docks wasn't that pleasant (big incline and no sights). It probably would have been better to catch a taxi from the docks to our first location (there were plenty of taxis at the dock at this time). There was also a bus that ran from the docks but we foolishly didn't look into it.

In the city there was plenty to do before our ship embarked. Metro stations are everywhere and there are many stops close enough to most major locations. The metro and city buses are from the same company, so tickets were interchangeable. Also, hop on/off tourist buses (Bus Turístic) ran routes around the city that went to the major sights for 20 euros for a day pass. Taxis were also quite reasonable and plentiful in the city. We ended up using the metros/buses and it was quite easy to use. See this link for more information on the metro and maps of the routes.

Here were some of the sights we went to:
* La Rambla - famous boulevard full of shops, markets and restaurants.
* Barcelona Harbour - also very scenic with shops and restaurants.
* Sagrada Família - beautiful historic church and an example of Gaudi architecture.

One of our goals on the trip was to eat local cuisine and we were looking forward to some good paella. Unfortunately, without some advice, we just ended up haphazardly picking a random restaurant, and the food was just okay. Maybe if someone knows of good restaurants in Barcelona they can post some comments.

Please feel free to leave comments and helpful suggestions for other travelers.

Back to Mediterranean Cruise Guide.

Resources:
* Barcelona, Spain on Wikitravel
* Barcelona, Spain on Wikipedia
* Barcelona Metro
* Barcelona Bus Turístic
* porttime.com - shows which ships are sailing from each port