Our trip started June 6th with an overnight flight (American Airlines to British Airways) RDU to BCN, arriving 6PM local time June 7th after a 7 hour layover in Heathrow. Fortunately, our First Class tickets got us access to the BA lounge in Heathrow (one of the worlds most dysfunctional airports!) where we dozed the hours away on lounge chairs in a quiet corner.

Upon arrival in Barcelona, a 35 Euro cab ride got us to our hotel (the MonteCarlo, on Las Ramblas) for a three day pre-cruise site visit. Having been to Spain previously, I printed Google maps of the routes from airport to hotel, hotel to port, etc. and handed each to the cabdriver to prevent the expensive "city tour" you might get if you don't know your way around. Cabbies in Barcelona do charge a fee per bag, somewhere around 1 or 1.5 Euros for each bag, so don't be shocked when your 25 Euro metered fare ends up being 35 Euros.

The Montecarlo was a great place to stay... right in the best part of Las Ramblas (north of the Theatre... it tends to get a bit seedy south of the theatre) and two blocks from the fountain. Teh staff is very helpful and the rooms ultra-modern and very clean. This was about 170 Euros per night, mid-range for BCN. Read more