Seeing Barcelona between redeye flight arrival and cruise boarding

We're arriving in Barcelona at 9:00 a.m. and the cruise leaves at 5:00 p.m. We're hoping to spend some time in Barcelona in between. I already arranged the airport transfers through Royal Caribbean, but is the transfer time tied to your specific flight? Is there anything to see either by the airport or by the dock? Is it possible to just send our baggage off and not need to worry about it, or are we just going to be stuck waiting at the port with our baggage all day?

We're arriving in Barcelona at 9:00 a.m. and the cruise leaves at 5:00 p.m. We're hoping to spend some time in Barcelona in between. I already arranged the airport transfers through Royal Caribbean, but is the transfer time tied to your specific flight? Is there anything to see either by the airport or by the dock? Is it possible to just send our baggage off and not need to worry about it, or are we just going to be stuck waiting at the port with our baggage all day?

I'd recommend hiring a private tour of Barcelona. They'll pick you up at airport, give you a 3-4 hour tour and drop you at the port. Your bags will go with you.

See some of the threads in this forum for recommendations of a tour company.

The port is not far from Las Ramblas.

We used Barcelona Day Tours,

They will keep your luggage in the van and protect them.

You probably want to arrive at the port by 2 or 3 PM and while your flight arrives at 9, you will need to go through immigration and customs. You will probably have four to five hours to tour. Make sure your passports and valuables are protected (money belt for men and pacsafe purse for women).

BDT will give you an excellent tour, but not to go inside Sagrada Familia. You will probably want to do that another day.

Another vote for Barcelona Day tours. :)

I totally agree with the advice above -- forget the RCI transfer and hire Barcelona Day Tours to pick you up at the airport and give you a tour of the city and then drop you at the ship. (Do make sure you know exactly the deadline for boarding, and don't cut it close.) We used BDT on a port call a year ago, and their excellent reputation on here is well deserved.

To answer your other questions -- there's nothing to see at the airport, and if you head first to the ship with RCI, you'll be in the city, but you'll have wasted time and still have to strike out on your own. You could go from the ship to Las Ramblas, and have some time to walk around, but you'd see much, much more if you have BDT pick you up at the airport and give you a tour.

https://www.barcelonadaytours.com/tour-from-airport/

I would be very careful and that is with respect to your valuables and that includes your passport.

I would not want to leave valuables in a vehicle and I would not want to be walking around Barcelona with them.

Just my two cents.

Keith

Thank you all for the advice! Now we're thinking we might skip seeing Barcelona and just try to get onboard the ship ASAP to get some rest. But if we have a big gap in between when we arrive and when they'll start boarding, I'll definitely call Barcelona Day Tours!

Has anybody had any trouble flying to BCN the day of embarkation? We are having trouble finding reasonable flights that arrive the day before the cruise, but can get a direct flight that arrives in BCN at 8:50am. We are seriously starting to consider taking the chance.

Probably there are several questions you have to answer

1. How likely is there to be bad weather at the airport you are leaving? That is often the reason for delayed flights.

2. Where is the next port of call from Barcelona

3. How desperate would you be if you missed the departure?

If all of those questions can be answered, then fly in on the day. I have to say that I never arrive on the day of the cruise, even when I only have a 5 hour train journey to get to BCN. Losing at least one day of the cruise because of a delay would stress me out and upset me too much.

If flights in are expensive one day before, can you arrive two days early? There is lots to see and do in Barcelona that would make the extra day worthwhile. It may well be that you are leaving on a Saturday and that is always the more expensive day.

The alternative is to look for alternative departure airports or alternative routes. They can sometimes offer a surprise.

Has anybody had any trouble flying to BCN the day of embarkation? We are having trouble finding reasonable flights that arrive the day before the cruise, but can get a direct flight that arrives in BCN at 8:50am. We are seriously starting to consider taking the chance.

Do you literally mean a direct flight (that is, a flight with one or more stops but no change of planes) or do you mean a non-stop? (The former presents more potential for delays of course.)

Where are you flying from? If an overnight from the U.S., I personally would not do it. So many things could cause you to miss the ship. I'd be worrying about it from the moment I booked. If flying in the day before is not an option, I would arrive in Barcelona a couple of days early and see the city. I'm speaking only for myself. I wouldn't even fly in the day of sailing out of a U.S. port.

Only you can decide how much risk you are willing to take.

I never fly in the day of a cruise, too many things can cause delays or cancelations of flights. We are flying in 2 days before our Harmony cruise and will sightsee, there is a lot to see there. Our flight was cheaper than even the day before the cruise. We booked our cruise and air 11 months before the cruise.

On a side note, unless you are a very good sleeper on airplanes you may have a problem with the jet lag.

We're arriving in Barcelona at 9:00 a.m. and the cruise leaves at 5:00 p.m. We're hoping to spend some time in Barcelona in between. I already arranged the airport transfers through Royal Caribbean, but is the transfer time tied to your specific flight? Is there anything to see either by the airport or by the dock? Is it possible to just send our baggage off and not need to worry about it, or are we just going to be stuck waiting at the port with our baggage all day?

BArcelona is a great city to visit but you need at 1 full day to enjoy it. After a flight, I would not feel like visiting anything... we are planning to got to Barcelona in 2017 to board the Royal Princess, even though we have been there 5 times at least in the past, I plan to fly in two days ahead... will stay at the Hilton on the Mediterranean... if you can aford to go and stay ahead it is the best way to enjoy Barcelona.

I am flying into Barcelona the day of the cruise in September. I am going to be in Barcelona several days next month doing outside Barcelona tours. This will make my third trip to Barcelona. If you plane arrives early morning then you might want to consider having BarcelonaDayTours pick you up., give you a tour of the city, and then drop you off at the pier. Also.....make sure you have travel insurance in case your flight should be delayed or canceled.

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I also never fly in the day of the cruise.

The last med cruise we did we flew in early, and due to mechanical issue our 9:30 am flight landed at 8:30 at night.

I have known a few people who had issues flying day of the cruise with luggage also. One finally got their bags 4 months after the cruise, it was RCI last summer.

I want a few days to make sure I get to my destination, get my bags, and adjust to the time change. Go a day or two early and save the headaches.

Can someone tell me if the BDT driver remained with vehicle (which contained your luggage) while you were out touring? TIA

Thank you all for the advice! Now we're thinking we might skip seeing Barcelona and just try to get onboard the ship ASAP to get some rest. But if we have a big gap in between when we arrive and when they'll start boarding, I'll definitely call Barcelona Day Tours!

I got a better suggestion... go a day or two early... to see Barcelona... doing a red eye is not way to be fit to enjoy the ship or tour the city. I speak from experience, LOL, we did not do a red eye but did fly many years ago overnight from San Francisco to Rome, boarded the ship same day as arriving... never - every again, the wear and tear on the body is not worth it. Now we always go at least 2 days in advance... we board refreshed and ready to cruise. Plus we have time to spend at one day in the port city.

Barcelona is a wonderful city, we have visited by ship at 5 times, have flown and stayed there a week, going to take a TA from there again in 2017... lots to see and do.

Can someone tell me if the BDT driver remained with vehicle (which contained your luggage) while you were out touring? TIA

I would think that Barcelona Day Tours would do so.

We just finished using RoyalRoadBarcelona tours to pick us up at port, take us to some sites that we chose and drop us at our hotel. Outstanding driver who was also excellent guide. We spent 90 minutes inside La Sagrada Familia and the driver definitely stayed with the vehicle.

As an alternative to Barcelona Day Tours I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the lesser known Royal Road Barcelona

http://www.royalroadbarcelona.com/en/