Barcelona Port Information (telephones, Taxis, Shipping, Etc.)

[seaulater]

I jotted down this information when we got off in Barcelona on the 26th from our EB cruise and thought it might be helpful for those cruising from Barcelona through the summer.

PHONE-There is a vendor in the terminal and has telephones set up so you can call. You go to a phone, dial the number and when you are finished a receipt prints out and then you go pay him in Euros (CASH ONLY) for the time you used. It is .65 Euros per minute. (Don't know how you really say that, but since I am American I would say 65 cents per minute!)

TAXIS-You can easily take taxis from the port to the airport, however, be aware that the taxis are SMALL and you get charged a surcharge for extra baggage. However, I would still recommend taking a taxi versus the bus because you get dropped right in front of the terminal. Buses were going to terminal B and Delta and Air France are in terminal A. There are no porters anywhere that I could see and you have to schlep your luggage all on your own and with the construction mess they have going on there, it is an eventful journey! Cost for the taxi was 20 Euros and then we got a 9 Euro surcharge for the extra baggage. Just remember-you will need to be patient at the curb because there were tons of people and it took 15 minutes or so for us to get to the front of the line. Also, our porter hauled the luggage out to the taxi line for us, but then while we were in line, I guess it was their break time, so all the porters just dumped everyone's luggage and left so you had to move it up in line yourselves! Taxi time to airport is no more than 15 minutes or so. Also, there were a few taxi vans, but they were few and far between. There were only 2 of us, so he put our excess luggage in the front seat with him and then we held out camera case and my carry on in the back seat with me.

CUSTOMS-There was none. We were not swiped with our Key to the World Card when we left, no one checked our luggage and we did not have to show our passports on the way out. Keep them with you in a safe place, but don't have them out since you could drop one. There were no customs forms to fill out. We filled them out on the airplane before we landed in Washington DC.

SHIPPING-UPS was set up in the port on Friday afternoon and you could go ship your stuff that evening if you didn't want to haul it back to the U.S. However, be forewarned, the cost was unbelievable and you are better off to back over weight luggage fees than pay the cost they were asking for. Here was the chart (please sit down before reading)

KG's Euros
20 345
25 359
30 369
35 384
40 393
45 404
50 413
55 422
60 432
65 442
70 452
80 472
90 490
100 510
+ 100 Kg 5,10 per kg

I was told 20 kg is about 42 pounds and based on 345 euros that would be over $450 us dollars.

Also, was told that it would take 8-10 days. They said if you had your own business account you could you use your business number and the rate would be less expensive, but don't know what that is.

Like I said, you are better to be the overweight fees on luggage at the airport if you have a problem!

GETTING TO THE PORT EARLY-The port is not at all like Port Canaveral, although they have Disneyized it. You don't need to get their early. When you enter the port there is a security line and then a small lounge with about 10-15 check in stations. I would not get their before 10 a.m. at the earliest. I was told by my friends that stayed on the ship that boarding started around noon. There are about 4 little shops you can go in to. One had liquor, and the others were souvenir type places.

BUSES TO BARCELONA-Disney has courtesy buses that took us from the port to the area of the Christopher Columbus statute. It is about a 8-10 minute ride. There is nothing around the terminal except other ships and parking lots. It is a commercial area. Nothing you can walk to and get a bite to eat or anything from what I saw. You can walk from the port to the city. You will go over a bridge and it is about a 15-20 minute walk.

Okay, I think that covers the notes I wrote down before we left. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to see if I can answer.

[JeanieP]

Thank you LInda for such great information. How very thoughtful of you. I am traveling with my children and husband on the last Med Head cruise -- August 8 - 18. Thank you for letting me know that there is no point in getting to the port early, maybe we will sleep in that morning (we arrive in Barcelona the day before our cruise). You are not the first one to say that the taxis are small. There will be four of us - DH, me, DS 4 and DD 6. Do you think we will be forced to take 2 taxis everywhere we go?

Did you spend any time in Barcelona after the cruise or did you go straight home? I hear it is a lovely city and we will likely just hang out in the parks with our kids and stroll the streets.

Any other tips you can think of for a family of four? Your thoughts greatly appreciated!

[earpiemom]

Sorry if this is a stupid questin but are you meaning like 65 cents per minute to call back to the US? If so, is it easy to figure out what to dial or how to make the call back to US. Thanks so much for the information you shared!

[crzy4magic]

You will not need to deal with Customs or Immigration getting on or off the Magic, because all of the Ports of Call are in countries that are part of the European Union. You only have to deal with that at the airport you fly into Europe at and when you fly back to the States (or non-EU country).

[sandyneck]

JeanieP, we were also on the cruise and spent a few days in Barcelona. I highly recommend the zoo. It was a very nice way to spend the day. They have tons of animals. It is super easy to get to by metro. There is a stop almost right outside the zoo. We also walked just took some walks around the city which was nice.

[vegs1]

Hello there...Would you be able to verify which currency is used on board (I believe it to be US$) and also to verify if VAT taxes are added to that? I was told today that the EURO is being used onboard which is different that what Disney told me.

Also...to JeanieP...I was in Barcelona last year with my 9 year old daughter. We did the Hop on, Hop Off bus and she loved it. We checked out the map and decided which places to get on and off. Also...the Aquarium is supposed to be very good with an excellent shark display. I've never been to the Aquarium myself but was told by a friend.

Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful comments. This board is a blessing for finding out information.

[DizzneyDAnn]

We were a party of 4 getting off the boat, and we feared the small taxis with our 8 pieces of luggage plus carry-ons. We bought the bus transfer because of it and it worked out nicely. We were slow to get off the boat, so there were no lines for the bus, but the line for the taxis seemed to go on forever.

We could have taken two taxis, but all the bags and juggling two little boys, it just wasn't worth it.

[seaulater]

Originally Posted by JeanieP

Thank you LInda for such great information. How very thoughtful of you. I am traveling with my children and husband on the last Med Head cruise -- August 8 - 18. Thank you for letting me know that there is no point in getting to the port early, maybe we will sleep in that morning (we arrive in Barcelona the day before our cruise). You are not the first one to say that the taxis are small. There will be four of us - DH, me, DS 4 and DD 6. Do you think we will be forced to take 2 taxis everywhere we go?

If you are not travelling with luggage, I believe an adult and 2 children would fit in the backseat just fine, and then 1 adult would need to sit in front. In the front seat, the adult was required to wear a seatbelt, but the taxi driver did not say anything to us sitting in the backseat.

Did you spend any time in Barcelona after the cruise or did you go straight home? I hear it is a lovely city and we will likely just hang out in the parks with our kids and stroll the streets.

Yes, we stayed in Barcelona from Sat. until Monday and flew home Monday. We bought a 2 day bus pass (the Barcelona hop on hop off one-they have 3 routes, (blue, green, and red) and it was 23 euros per adult for the 2 days. I would highly recommend it. The double decker bus is open on top for great picture taking. I would also recommend the zoo, the cable car and going to the fountains at 8 p.m. at night for their music/light show (unless you have been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas). We also did a segway tour which was awesome, but it would not work for those with kids.

Any other tips you can think of for a family of four? Your thoughts greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by earpiemom

Sorry if this is a stupid questin but are you meaning like 65 cents per minute to call back to the US? If so, is it easy to figure out what to dial or how to make the call back to US. Thanks so much for the information you shared!

Yes, I mean 65 cents per minute in EURO. They tell you exactly how to dial the U.S. I can't remember exactly, but it was like 1 then 00 and then area code and number, but the guy told me right before I did it. The time started when the telephone picked up at the other end.

Originally Posted by vegs1

Hello there...Would you be able to verify which currency is used on board (I believe it to be US$) and also to verify if VAT taxes are added to that? I was told today that the EURO is being used onboard which is different that what Disney told me.

Also...to JeanieP...I was in Barcelona last year with my 9 year old daughter. We did the Hop on, Hop Off bus and she loved it. We checked out the map and decided which places to get on and off. Also...the Aquarium is supposed to be very good with an excellent shark display. I've never been to the Aquarium myself but was told by a friend.

Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful comments. This board is a blessing for finding out information.

On the EB Med., everything was done in US currency. Nothing was converted into euros on the ship. On our cruise, the VAT taxes were NOT added because we had stopped at a foreign port (Castaway Cay). However, starting with the May 26 cruise, VAT taxes are required to be added. DCL has set up a system where you can go and pick up the form so you can get reimbursed. Also, Rachel has pre-recorded a disembarkation talk on the television in your stateroom (channel 41, I think) and she goes through all that stuff and it is continuously on. She talks about the VAT tax, but since it didn't apply to our cruise, I didn't pay much attention

There are like 3 different bus tours you can purchase in Barcelona. We chose the Barcelona bus tours with the "EYE" on each of the buses and at each of the stops. They have 70 buses and the other bus company has 20 (according to what we were told).

Okay, I hope that answers the questions asked so far.

[JsMom2]

Originally Posted by earpiemom

Sorry if this is a stupid questin but are you meaning like 65 cents per minute to call back to the US? If so, is it easy to figure out what to dial or how to make the call back to US. Thanks so much for the information you shared!

.65 Euro is approx $.90 per minute. If you believe you'll be calling the States while you're in Europe, I suggest getting a prepaid phone card. If you look online there are many international phone cards, that will allow you to call for $.025 (yes 2.5 cents!) per minute. I got mine from enjoyprepaid.com, and use it to call the US all the time.

To call the US from outside the country, just dial the country code (001) before the area code and phone number.

[MrsG]

Were staying in Barcelona for 2 days before our cruise. I know we need to be smart about safety (we're from NY so we understand this) but my waist pack has exposed clips to fasten it to my waist. I've heard stories of distraction and someone unclipping the pack from you, etc. Am I being overly concerned?

Thanks
Maryann

[slindamood]

We travel in Europe most every summer and ship things home from at least one stop to keep our load light. Most post offices sell boxes for a few dollars and provide tape, so we either buy boxes to take to our hotel or take things to the post office in a sack and pack there. About mid-trip I send home clothes we won't need (we packed too many t-shirts, going from north to south, or a dressy event is over), books, pamplets, packaged cookies, souveneirs, etc. With the dollar being bad, last summer the largest box they sold cost about $50 to ship. It held alot. Mark contents as used clothes, souveneirs, and you will not be charged customs in the U.S.

If you are going to be traveling around at all, I would suggest shipping things from a post office. If you are going straight home, I would not bother. Also beware, if you want VAT refund, the item has to leave the country unused and be with you and available for the exit official to see when they stamp the VAT form. So pack accordingly.

[kileybeth]

wow, Thank you all so much. That is great information to have. Appreciate the time it took to post it.

We sail in just under 10 weeks and have just booked so I feel like we are playing catch up with not much time to plan.