This was the second cruise my wife and I enjoyed. The previous was 3 years ago on the Norwegian Gem from Venice on the Eastern Med Route. Again we booked a stateroom with balcony and would always recommend anybody to spend the extra money for the relative luxury of watching the views from your room as you leave a port or travel along the coast.
On arrival at Barcelona airport on Friday morning, we had no trouble in jumping into a taxi. Having done some homework, I realised it was much cheaper than using Carnival's transfer. I was also expecting a charge of under €30 even allowing for carrying 3 bags. I was shocked when the driver said it would be between 35 and 37, depending on the meter.. He kept emphasising the meter. On arrival at the terminal he added on three extra charges bringing the total to 37.75 on the meter. The first two of over €4 each were for the port and airport. When I queried the 3rd charge of €9, he lost all ability to speak English. I insisted on a receipt and he wrote one from a basic receipt book. I kept arguing and demanded his licence and taxi number. He eventually gave me an official receipt from his machine but had removed the €9 euro charge.
I paid him the reduced amount in a hurry. Beware of this scam. By the way, there were lots of Carnival workers close by. So at no time did I feel intimidated.