I tried to keep this short but there is so much to rave about!

Travel Day We opted for the NCL air and a pre-cruise stay in Barcelona. The flight on Lufthansa was uneventful although it was touch and go until boarding time as to whether we would have seats together. The Lufthansa gate agents came through in the end, though, and gave us revised seat assignments just before boarding. We changed in Munich and arrived in Barcelona around noon. One word of caution with arrivals at the Barcelona Airport: there are signs for baggage claim for both Terminal A and B. We headed to the baggage claim that we thought was nearest the gate at which we arrived and found ourselves in Terminal B  outside the secure area. We had to backtrack to Terminal A outside and then go through security to get to baggage claim. We felt like idiots and chalked it up to jet lag until we realized that everyone in line for security was doing the same thing! So, just watch the signage carefully and make sure you know which baggage claim area you need to go to  theres no backtracking if you make a mistake.

After the luggage adventure, we met the NCL rep at arrivals and were in a taxi to our hotel within 10 minutes. We stayed at the Tryp Apolo which was fine but nothing special. It was a short walk to La Rambla but the neighborhood is transitional  a little bit industrial and working class. It didnt seem dangerous but were used to city life so others might be a little put off. Nevertheless, we enjoyed sightseeing in Barcelona for the day. Read more