Med Cruise - Barcelona extra day, but hotel check in late? And transfers?

[admepo]

Hi everyone!
We are nervously anticipating our first Mediterranean cruise for our 25th anniversary out of Barcelona in May. We realize there will be many changes, but looking to your prior experiences for some info or advice. That said, we currently have added the Hilton Diagonal Mar in Barcelona 2 days prior to our cruise through Disney. Our air was not booked through Disney and we are flying in Thursday VERY early.
We wondered if anyone had ever added an extra day to a hotel reservation before and checked in late --- we are currently booked there through Thursday-Saturday but wondered if we could add Wednesday to the reservation and then not check in until we get there at 7am Thursday morning to guarantee a readily available room? Has anyone done something like this before?
Also - for Disney transfers to the port for past Med Cruises, what timeframe did they generally pick you up? And what timeframe do you leave the port for debarkation and transfer to the airport? We have both transfers from the hotel to port and port to the airport booked.

Appreciate anyone's insight and experience!

 

[Sykes]

Yup, we do that fairly frequently. After you make the reservation, be sure to call the hotel to let them know that you're not going to be arriving until 7 AM the next day so that they hold the room and don't treat you as a no-show. Alternatively, if you don't absolutely need the room that early you could consider booking starting on Thursday and hoping that they can accommodate an early checkin. I've been successful about 90% of the time doing that (but watch out for especially busy times--for example, the Spanish Grand Prix is in Barcelona on May 22). If they can't accommodate an early checkin you can always store your luggage and explore the city a bit until your room is ready (assuming you aren't dead tired).

 

[auntlynne]

You can also check to see if they have a day use rate. It might not be the same room as your reservation, but often the $ can be half the price as the nightly rate.

I booked one for post-cruise use in Seattle since my flight home is a red-eye at 11 pm. $129 at a Hyatt v night rate of $229. I have it from 7a-7p. Not all hotels do this, but it can be worth a check. Grab a shower, take a nap, leave your stuff for a little exploring.

Either way, I’d get a room when arriving that early. Better to start the trip getting some rest than dragging around all day.

I loved the Hotel Diagonal in 2011.

The Mediterranean is so close. And McDonald’s is across the street at the mall - they serve gazpacho. (Yes, I am an American. There’s a Five Guys in the same food court, now - would easily try their fries to compare. Please don’t flame on me.) But you have several days to eat tapas and paella. And nosh at the market.

Have a great cruise. The Med is a great cruise - although more tiring than Caribbean ones, with many ports being farther inland.

 

[tink1970]

You can also check to see if they have a day use rate. It might not be the same room as your reservation, but often the $ can be half the price as the nightly rate.

I booked one for post-cruise use in Seattle since my flight home is a red-eye at 11 pm. $129 at a Hyatt v night rate of $229. I have it from 7a-7p. Not all hotels do this, but it can be worth a check. Grab a shower, take a nap, leave your stuff for a little exploring.

Either way, I’d get a room when arriving that early. Better to start the trip getting some rest than dragging around all day.

I loved the Hotel Diagonal in 2011.

The Mediterranean is so close. And McDonald’s is across the street at the mall - they serve gazpacho. (Yes, I am an American. There’s a Five Guys in the same food court, now - would easily try their fries to compare. Please don’t flame on me.) But you have several days to eat tapas and paella. And nosh at the market.

Have a great cruise. The Med is a great cruise - although more tiring than Caribbean ones, with many ports being farther inland.

DH and I loved the Diagonal Mar for the same McD's, lol. We're simple people with the taste buds of toddlers.

 

[tink1970]

Hi everyone!
We are nervously anticipating our first Mediterranean cruise for our 25th anniversary out of Barcelona in May. We realize there will be many changes, but looking to your prior experiences for some info or advice. That said, we currently have added the Hilton Diagonal Mar in Barcelona 2 days prior to our cruise through Disney. Our air was not booked through Disney and we are flying in Thursday VERY early.
We wondered if anyone had ever added an extra day to a hotel reservation before and checked in late --- we are currently booked there through Thursday-Saturday but wondered if we could add Wednesday to the reservation and then not check in until we get there at 7am Thursday morning to guarantee a readily available room? Has anyone done something like this before?
Also - for Disney transfers to the port for past Med Cruises, what timeframe did they generally pick you up? And what timeframe do you leave the port for debarkation and transfer to the airport? We have both transfers from the hotel to port and port to the airport booked.

Appreciate anyone's insight and experience!

When we stayed pre cruise there was a DCL table set up the day we arrived and they handed out information sheets including the luggage pick up and bus departure times-I'm sure your experience will be the same. Also check and ask them if breakfast is included-ours was but when we checked in weren't told so had our traditional McD's in Barcelona (English muffin with chopped tomatoes and olive oil)-one of our favorites so not a total loss but kind of annoying that we paid OOP when we didn't have to.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

[auntlynne]

I found a site with the hotel day rooms, 12 hr for €126. I am sure that is less expensive than the nightly rate. However, if your transfer is through Disney, it might be easier to go through the trace department.

 

[auntlynne]

DH and I loved the Diagonal Mar for the same McD's, lol. We're simple people with the taste buds of toddlers.

Thanks for letting me know I am not alone. There are many McD’s in Barcelona - you know they are not there just for the Americans. Actually, I am not sure I have seen another American in McD’s when I am outside the US.

 

[Dug720]

I have found that many European hotels can accommodate early check-ins as much of their business is tourists who are coming in on early arrivals.

If not, as others have said, they can certainly store your bags until you can get into a room.

It would make me too nervous to book the night before and count on everything going right with the “early next morning arrival” notation.

 

[Intr3pid]

It's very easy to book an extra night these days and check in whenever you want. Most chains now have app-based check-ins, and many have implemented bluetooth-based smartphone keys. Once you check-in using the app, they will have to hold the room for you. (That said, still a good idea to email the hotel concierge ahead of time.)

In fact, we don't book a day room anymore for port stops. Just a standard night. If you have status with hotels, early check-in or late check-out privilege converts it to a day room anyways. And you get to enjoy all the benefits that come with a standard stay, including breakfast, lounge access, status night, etc.

Also, many resorts don't have day rooms. Rather, they offer day passes. These passes allow you the use of property amenities - such as pools, gyms, restaurants - but you don't actually get a room. Always check with the property directly what you are getting with your pass.

 

[admepo]

Thank you everyone for your replies! You have been extremely helpful!

 

[pjacobi]

After a flight from the US to Europe, the WORST thing that you can do is check into a hotel at 7:00 AM and go right to bed. You will be dead tired, but don't give in. This will only make jet lag worse!

You must fight jet lag -- and it's a tough fight! That means dropping off bags at your hotel and then going outside in the bright sunshine. When you room is ready in the afternoon, you can grad a quick nap, but set the alarm to get up for dinner and stay up until normal bedtime. It's a rough first day but giving into to your body means prolonging the jetlag.

-Paul

 

[Tired mom of 3 boys]

Not hotel room related, but when we did our Med cruise in 2013, we also arrived early in the day. To stay awake, we did the Fat Tire Bike Tour. It was a lot of fun and kept us awake!
https://www.fattiretours.com/barcelona

 

[DisneyConvert]

It was a while ago, but we had a similar problem at the end of our EBTA. The hotel we(DW) chose for our extra day or so in Barcelona was quite a distance from the port, and there weren't any places to store luggage nearby (so we realized). So disembarking at 9am'ish, we took a taxi 10?km's across town to drop off our luggage, and then took a bus back into Barcelona to see some sites. Uggh.

Probably there was a better way, but we like Marriot's and the place we stayed was delightful.

 

[kaseyC]

After a flight from the US to Europe, the WORST thing that you can do is check into a hotel at 7:00 AM and go right to bed. You will be dead tired, but don't give in. This will only make jet lag worse!

You must fight jet lag -- and it's a tough fight! That means dropping off bags at your hotel and then going outside in the bright sunshine. When you room is ready in the afternoon, you can grad a quick nap, but set the alarm to get up for dinner and stay up until normal bedtime. It's a rough first day but giving into to your body means prolonging the jetlag.

-Paul

So true. We always book a private day tour. Last time we did a half day Montserrat tour. We used Barcelona Day tours and they were fantastic. Our tour guide was great. I was impressed with how he kept 3 tired teenagers engaged. They picked us up at the airport the morning we landed, took us on our tour and then dropped us off at our hotel later that afternoon after our tour. We checked in and our rooms were ready. We then freshened up and went out for a nice dinner. Got back and went to bed close to our normal times. I have to admit at times we were dragging. But it was worth it, we felt great the next day and our bodies had adjusted.