kikids
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2009
Hello All. We just returned from our 7 night voyage on The Magic's 1st Med cruise of 2013. We are adjusting to major jet lag but hopefully it'll wear off soon and I'll add a port every day this week, telling what we did and how we did it.
For the most part we were "Doin' It Our Way". My husband said the only way he'd do a Disney Med cruise was if we didn't 'live in a Disney bubble'. To him this meant no Disney excursions...we figured out pre-hotel stay, trains, buses, transportation,etc at ports on our own (with one exception which was a Disney debacle, more on that later).
The first three tips you should know:
1) Yes you can make an early flight home!!! I read about so many people freaking out about early flights out of BCN to the US. I, myself, rejected a 10:45 flight in lieu of a 1:15 flight to be safe. Didn't need to do this! Ship got in at 5 am. We ate the LATE seating breakfast on the ship at 8 am (actually 815), were off the boat at 8:40, in our drivers car at 8:50, at the airport by 930, checked luggage and at the gate at 10 am. All at a leisurely pace! Could have made that 1045 easy. Could have made a 10 am flight with the early breakfast (not that I recommend it, I'm just saying, it's doable)
2) Don't be afraid to try the ports on your own, tomsportguides and rick steves were my sources of inspiration and education. While accurate about 90% of the time, they made my trip very enjoyable.
3) If it's not too late, get a Port side room! I am a Starboard fan, have always been starboard in the past but for most of the med ports, and for sailing along the coast (see the map of your voyage), the Portside views are waaaaaay better IMO.
BARCELONA
I booked Hotel Continental on La Rambla about a year in advance. They are mentioned in Rick Steves and I wanted to be where the action was. They also were one of the few places I found to have accommodation for 4 people in one room. It was 166 E per night. Not bad! I will be putting up a Tripadvsor review this week. However, staying anywhere near the Rambla would have been perfectly safe, very walkable to said action, and next time I'd opt to save a few bucks for a more modern place walkable to the busy areas. I strongly suggest having a day or town in BCN before the cruise. We really enjoyed the HOHO bus.
Pickpockets: not a problem that we saw. Very good police presence. Never felt nervous, even walking the side streets which I highly recommend, especially the gothic area, we enjoyed walking these beautiful narrow shop-lined streets even more than la rambla.
I used Autos Vilar for transportation. Juan's email address is info@autosvilar.com. He gave me a combo flat rate of 130E for a trip from airport to hotel, hotel to port, and port to airport again (3 transfers total). His guy spoke almost no english but man was he punctual! And very nice. Van was comfortable. Strongly recommend.
The port on Saturday went smoothly. We arrived at 1130, waited in a long line to check in but still had boarding number 7 or so (can't recall for sure) and we were on the boat by 1230. I spoke with some people who didn't arrive until closer to 1 and they reported the lines were much longer. Cabins were ready at 130. The sail away party, buffets, etc. were all typical Magic stuff, nothing new that I noticed. We left port a little late, maybe 630. I previously posted the dining rotations for the 7 night but if anyone wants them again, ask. One thing of note is that the Animators 'show night' is the first night you are in Animators.
I will be putting the following reviews on tripadvisor later this week: Hotel Continental, Montjuic Castle, Parc Guell, HOHO Barcelona City Tours, Grand Viader, Pappabubble, boqueria, Pizza Emporio. We did not take the subway so I can not address questions about this. We walked or HOHO'd everywhere.
Villefranche to follow........
For the most part we were "Doin' It Our Way". My husband said the only way he'd do a Disney Med cruise was if we didn't 'live in a Disney bubble'. To him this meant no Disney excursions...we figured out pre-hotel stay, trains, buses, transportation,etc at ports on our own (with one exception which was a Disney debacle, more on that later).
The first three tips you should know:
1) Yes you can make an early flight home!!! I read about so many people freaking out about early flights out of BCN to the US. I, myself, rejected a 10:45 flight in lieu of a 1:15 flight to be safe. Didn't need to do this! Ship got in at 5 am. We ate the LATE seating breakfast on the ship at 8 am (actually 815), were off the boat at 8:40, in our drivers car at 8:50, at the airport by 930, checked luggage and at the gate at 10 am. All at a leisurely pace! Could have made that 1045 easy. Could have made a 10 am flight with the early breakfast (not that I recommend it, I'm just saying, it's doable)
2) Don't be afraid to try the ports on your own, tomsportguides and rick steves were my sources of inspiration and education. While accurate about 90% of the time, they made my trip very enjoyable.
3) If it's not too late, get a Port side room! I am a Starboard fan, have always been starboard in the past but for most of the med ports, and for sailing along the coast (see the map of your voyage), the Portside views are waaaaaay better IMO.
BARCELONA
I booked Hotel Continental on La Rambla about a year in advance. They are mentioned in Rick Steves and I wanted to be where the action was. They also were one of the few places I found to have accommodation for 4 people in one room. It was 166 E per night. Not bad! I will be putting up a Tripadvsor review this week. However, staying anywhere near the Rambla would have been perfectly safe, very walkable to said action, and next time I'd opt to save a few bucks for a more modern place walkable to the busy areas. I strongly suggest having a day or town in BCN before the cruise. We really enjoyed the HOHO bus.
Pickpockets: not a problem that we saw. Very good police presence. Never felt nervous, even walking the side streets which I highly recommend, especially the gothic area, we enjoyed walking these beautiful narrow shop-lined streets even more than la rambla.
I used Autos Vilar for transportation. Juan's email address is info@autosvilar.com. He gave me a combo flat rate of 130E for a trip from airport to hotel, hotel to port, and port to airport again (3 transfers total). His guy spoke almost no english but man was he punctual! And very nice. Van was comfortable. Strongly recommend.
The port on Saturday went smoothly. We arrived at 1130, waited in a long line to check in but still had boarding number 7 or so (can't recall for sure) and we were on the boat by 1230. I spoke with some people who didn't arrive until closer to 1 and they reported the lines were much longer. Cabins were ready at 130. The sail away party, buffets, etc. were all typical Magic stuff, nothing new that I noticed. We left port a little late, maybe 630. I previously posted the dining rotations for the 7 night but if anyone wants them again, ask. One thing of note is that the Animators 'show night' is the first night you are in Animators.
I will be putting the following reviews on tripadvisor later this week: Hotel Continental, Montjuic Castle, Parc Guell, HOHO Barcelona City Tours, Grand Viader, Pappabubble, boqueria, Pizza Emporio. We did not take the subway so I can not address questions about this. We walked or HOHO'd everywhere.
Villefranche to follow........