We arrived in Barcelona on Friday morning, so we were able to enjoy the sights of the city. That gave us all day Friday and Saturday. We even squeezed in a visit to Sagrada Familia on Boarding day (line was just too long on Saturday, we still had to wait 1 hr to enter and we were there before it opened!). We did the sightseeing on our own. Did take advantage of the Tourist Bus (double decker, open air up top). Highly recommend it, we did it for one day, which was enough. We were able to see as much of Barcelona as we wanted.

Sunday, November 14th was embarkation day. We arrived mid afternoon. After reading some of the Cruise Critic reviews about the mad stampedes to the buffet, we opted to enjoy a last meal in Barcelona, near our hotel (we stayed in the Eixample neighborhood). We took a taxi to the ship, which I would recommend (fare was about 20 euros). Polite porters took our bags so we proceeded on ahead with our carry-ons. My husband and I are Latitude members, so there was a special line for us, no waiting, no line really to speak of. Everything was well organized, probably took us 10 minutes if that long to head for the gangway and board the ship. Of note, there were the last minute shops after your carry-on goes through the X-ray, including a wine store.

It was easy to find our cabin. I had ordered an Anniversary package, so sparkling wine and chocolates were waiting for us. I was disappointed that it was not the chocolate covered strawberries (instead it was the seashell shaped chocolates?), but my husband ate them and enjoyed it. Guess strawberries were out of season in Spain.... Read more