Journal of W. Med. Cruise June 23-30, 2007

We left Oak Grove and arrived in Jackson, MS at around 9:45 am. Our flight took off at 11:50 am to Atlanta, GA. Arrived on time. Kim and Damon met us for lunch and drinks. Our next flight was scheduled for around 5:00 pm. Damon told us it was oversold by about 10 seats, so if they asked for volunteers to be bumped, we should volunteer and ask for a direct flight to Barcelona. Our flight had a layover in Brussels then on to Barcelona. We volunteered our 7 seats immediately. They rebooked us on a direct flight leaving at 8:00 pm and gave each of us $200 credit on our next flight. So we came out way ahead. While we waited we used the ATM to withdraw Euros. We left on time and arrived in Barcelona at about 10:00 am their time. We got our luggage and discovered that one of Mom's bags did not make it. We went to lost luggage and made a claim. By this time, our transfer had arrived and we left the airport around 11:00 am. We arrived at the Hispanos 7 Suiza Apartamentos, left our luggage (our rooms were not quite ready), and went nearby to eat. We had tapas and paella and a few drinks. Needless to say, we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel and immediately went to bed. The apartments were wonderful. We had 2 bedrooms/2 baths, living room, kitchen, and balcony. Very clean rooms and the receptionists were very friendly and helpful. I would definitely stay here again. We were 1 block from the Sagrada Familia so it was an excellent location. We all got up after sleeping for about 4 hours and went walking. Barcelona is a very clean, modern city. In fact, we were surprised at how clean and modern all of Spain was. We walked around until the kids started yelling for food. We ate at a small pizza place and, of course, had a few drinks. By this time, everyone was tired again. People in Europe don't eat until 9 or 10:00 pm so it was always late when we ate. It doesn't even get dark until about 10:00. We headed back to the hotel, grabbed a bottle of wine along the way, and sat on our balcony until about 12:00, having wine and listening and watching fireworks. It was the day before some major holiday so lots of people were shooting fireworks off their balconies.

Woke up the next morning around 8:00, got dressed and headed to the ship around 10:30 am. Mom found out her bag had been left in Atlanta and would arrive in Barcelona on the same flight we came in on so she should have it by the time we sailed. We arrived at the Voyager of the Seas at around 11:00 and were on the ship within 30 minutes. Smoothest embarkation we've ever had. We couldn't get into our cabins until 1:00 but we had things to do anyway. We bought all the kids a Coke card, made reservations at Portofino's for the 3rd night, got extra keys made to our rooms, and had lunch in the Windjammer. By this time, it was about 1:30 so we headed for our rooms. We had a balcony cabin, 6668, and my parents had a balcony cabin, 6670. The kids had an inside, 6655. The room was nice, not rundown like I had heard from other cc posters. The bed and sheets were very comfy, and I'm a picky bed person. We decided to tour the ship. The Voyager is a very nice ship (of course, we like any ship we get to cruise on!). Read more