Just home from Barcelona!

[eatright]

Hi, we arrived home to the USA late last night after an incredible vacation on the Disney Magic. When I was preparing to go I searched for every shred of information so feel free to ask any questions. Our only 'problem' was a workers strike in Mallorca that caused us to skip the port and head back to Barcelona a day early. It did sort of ruin the end for us as we lost a day of 'sailing' away and felt that the trip ended a day early. We understand the reason, we were told by the cast members that they were informed that the strike could become violent and there would be no transportation to Palma but it was very disappointing. Overall, the trip was spectacular and we are SO sad to be home!

 

[LindaBabe]

Glad you had a good trip and so sorry for you that it ended early! I'm surprised, though, they couldn't just give you a 'sea day' instead of Mallorca.

 

[woody73]

At what points did the ship charge a VAT? Was any of it refundable?

What did you do on your extra day in Barcelona? Did the ship offer excursions?

Woody

 

[redsonja76]

Me too! Losing Palma was such a huge bummer. You could just feel the mood of the ship change when that was announced. I'm shocked and disappointed that they didn't have a better contingency plan than "go back to Barcelona". That part really sucked, a sea day would have been lovely.

 

[mkmommy]

Sorry about the strike and Palma, I am sure it would change the mood of the ship.


Were tips automatically added to your account?

 

[eatright]

At what points did the ship charge a VAT? Was any of it refundable?

They charge an 8% VAT on anything 'consumable' (such as alcohol, smoothies, coffee drinks, etc.) that is NOT refundable. In the gift shops you must spend $134 AMERICAN DOLLARS to receive the VAT refund (which is 18% on top of whatever you buy), and you must spend the money at ONE giftshop in ONE transaction. I did receive the credit at the airport. I spend about $250 with the 18%. It took nearly 2 hours to wait in the line for the stamp then proceed to the bank. I got the money back in Euros. They took a service charge of 10 euros and I got back 17 euros, after spending 43 euros on the VAT of the merchandise. It was NOT worth the time! The 18% is also added to the photos and any other 'merchandise' on the ship. It was not added to excursions.

The VAT added up quickly. I bought a lot of merchandise and probably total spend $200 on the VAT alone!


What did you do on your extra day in Barcelona? Did the ship offer excursions?

We had spent 3 days in Barcelona prior to the cruise so we had 'been there done that'. The ship did have some excursions available but most of them included things we'd already done. As a 'benefit' they offered a free shuttle to the World Trade Center area near the end of Las Ramblas since the port is HUGE and it would have been difficult to walk to the area, especially with kids. The shuttle was very convenient and dropped you right back off at the ship.

Were tips automatically added to your account?
YES, on the fifth night which gave plenty of time to go to Guest Services and make changes if you wished. I appreciated it, personally!

Yes, the whole mood changed. It sort of left me a bit depressed. Still a fantastic trip which I will always remember!

 

[cap108]

What was your dining rotation? From the reports I've seen it seems like PLLAPLA would be the best "fit" for each theme night, but I don't know if that rotation actually exists.

Thanks!

 

[woody73]

. . . VAT
. . . It took nearly 2 hours to wait in the line for the stamp then proceed to the bank. . . It was NOT worth the time!

. . . extra day in Barcelona
. . . they offered a free shuttle

Thanks for the responses.

I'm glad that despite the disappointment, you still had a memorable trip.

Woody

 

[FloridaSam]

What was your dining rotation? From the reports I've seen it seems like PLLAPLA would be the best "fit" for each theme night, but I don't know if that rotation actually exists.

Thanks!

Yes, it does exist as I had that rotation on the Magic last week!