We are a very active couple in our late 50's and have 10 cruises under our belts with 2 previous on RCCL. In he last two years we have done 4 great cruises on NCL, Princess, Celebrity and this one on RCCL.
We had planned 2 days before and 3 days after in Barcelona but weather problems caused us to lose a day in arriving. We made it one day late but our traveling friends took every bit of 3 days and made the ship with 30 minutes to spare. We stayed at Hotel Universal Barcelona which is a short walk from the lower end of La Rambla near the port. Great hotel with 24 hour front desk and a pool on the top level. Very reasonable, large bed/room, marble bath and room service should you wish to use it. I would stay again and highly recommend it.
Embarcation: We arrived at the peak arrival time and despite a long line we were on within 30 minutes. A++ to the embarkation team-they really had it together, although it was hot until we entered the building.
7222 forward-nice location with little traffic