Allure of the Seas 9/13-9/20/2015

After so many months of reading everyones reviews, comments and ideas, it was finally our turn to cruise the Med on the Allure. Having never done the itinerary or such a large ship, I had to rely on the research and CC members didn’t let me down. Stayed 2 nights pre-cruise in Barcelona at Hotel Jazz. Highly, highly recommend! It’s in the perfect location- central to most sights. The rooms were spacious, (spring for the Junior Suite if you can), but it’s not necessary. We didn’t eat breakfast at the hotel, so no comment on that.

I have done free walking tours in other cities in the past, so after reading about Runner Bean free tours, decided to give it a try. Did 2 tours with them on 2 different days. The Gaudi tour was great, even though we didn’t go inside buildings, it was extremely informative and fun. The perk to this tour is that you use the Metro twice, with a guide. So you kind of get familiarized with all aspects of Barcelona City. I found the Metro easy to use, inexpensive and fun to observe the real people going about their daily lives. The second tour with them was Bari Gotic, which again, we wouldn’t have seen half of what we saw, and certainly wouldn’t have any idea of what we looking at without them. Both tours leave right from Placa Reial, a 10 minute walk form Hotel Jazz. The square itself is fun, so come a little early and sit at a cafe and just observe. Read more