We flew independently the day before and stayed a night at a hotel on La Rambla. Booking ourselves and making our way from the airport to town and then to the ship saved about £350 for the two of us. Here's some of the ways how.

Aerobus from airport to Plaza Catalunya (PC) - 6 euros. Direct and quick bus - stops right outside the airport terminal building and PC is the last stop (of about 3). You can't get the wrong bus nor miss the bus stop. Bus A2 goes from Terminal 2 at the airport; A1 goes from terminal 1. On the way back you need to get the the bus that goes to the terminal you are going to. Despite some confusing nonsense you might read elsewhere, the bus stop in PC is very easy to find and not outside Cortes Ingles.

We stayed at a small hotel on La Rambla which is the main tourist street and right off a corner of PC. It's perfectly easy to walk from PC to the port bus stop with cases (with wheels). There are no roads to cross as you walk down La Rambla and you are not in danger of any criminal activity (which other reviews led me to believe was the case). We grabbed a coffee on route and that broke the walk but it is an easy walk done in one go. It's actually slightly downhill towards the shore. At the bottom of La Rambla, at the column (Colom), cross the roundabout and slightly to your right, behind a government building, is the blue port bus stop. You can't walk to the ship with cases. It's about 2.5km. The port bus is 2.5 euros. Read more