On June 23, we arrived to Barcelona - a day prior to embarkation. We attempt to use public transportation when possible and due to the location of our Marriott Renaissance hotel, we opted to take the RENFE train from the airport. It all worked fine, however, note that we had to find the free green shuttle bus to the other terminal that connects to the train. As we were staying in Barcelona a day before and 3 days after the cruise, we knew to purchase the T10 ticket (10 rides that can be shared) for under 10 Euros. The RENFE train let us off at the new Passig de Gracia exit and our hotel was a few steps away. We arrived at the airport at 7:15 and were in the hotel by 9:15am. The other option, if our hotel had been just slightly closer to the plaza catalonya, is the airport bus. Very easy, but for us, we were worried we would not find a cab once getting off at the bus drop off.

The Renaissance was lovely, we used points and they gave us a quiet, small room. They were very kind and let us in immediately, so we showered, rested, and then headed out. Our goal was the Picasso Museum free on Sunday after 3 pm. The concierge provided a map and suggested walking tour to see some sights along the way. The line was 1 hour long, but the time went quickly in the old streets. We have been to lots of Picasso museums and we enjoyed wandering around the old palaces which house the art. From there, we walked the Gothic Quarter, back to the hotel and dinner near the hotel.

We decided to try to get to the port using public transportation - this time with a few mistakes. We easily walked to the Metro stop (Passig de gracia), however at this location, we did not see an escalator or an elevator. Being very careful not leave any luggage unattended, we bounced our bags along the steps down, used our T10 pass again, arrived at the Dressages stop (at the columbus statue), found the elevator up. Not really knowing where to find the port shuttle bus, we aimed for the dock - saw a blue bus marked port shuttle to the right and it was 2.50 Euro each. I will let you know right now, when we returned, we did this backwards, with less success as elevators were not operating (carrying 2 bags UP stairs). I would suggest taking a cab from the hotels for about 25 Euros.Getting on the ship - very easy. Read more