Help! Awful flight times

I have travelled with small children before I had to use a wheelchair. I totally understand the OP's desire to get home quickly.

Personally, I would see if I could do better making my own reservations for an earlier flight. If I could, I would grit my teeth and pay the cancellation charge. If not, and if I could come up with the 500 pounds, I'd go for the earlier flight. Cranky small children in an airport is a MISERABLE experience.

Another thought - call the accessible dept at the cruise line and explain the situation and ask if they have any suggestions. Most cruise lines do really try to bend over backwards to help those of us with mobility problems so maybe they could at least waive the cancellation fee. All you are risiking is a little of your time. But FIRST see if you can get a better flight on your own - your current flight time is awful but at least it is confirmed!

If not, she is stuck in a really unpleasant corner. Under "Special Interest Cruising" there is a forum for Family Cruising - maybe someone there could suggest something in Barcelona that would entertain the kids and let her get some peace. I've only been to Barcelona in my dreams ;) so I have no specific suggestions.

If not, she is stuck in a really unpleasant corner. Under "Special Interest Cruising" there is a forum for Family Cruising - maybe someone there could suggest something in Barcelona that would entertain the kids and let her get some peace. I've only been to Barcelona in my dreams ;) so I have no specific suggestions.

How about "If you kids want to have holidays like this in the future, be quiet and behave yourself. If you don't, you'll stay at home."

Worked for me....learned how to behave and not expect immediate gratification or instant activity. If they do not have the respect for a wheelchair-using older relative, maybe this would be the time for them to learn it.

To the OP....do what is best for YOU. If the others don't like it.....

> How about "If you kids want to have holidays like this in the future, be quiet and behave yourself. If you don't, you'll stay at home."

Depends on the age of the kids. For school-age and older kids, yes that would probably work. For kindergartners, not for 12 hours. For preschoolers or toddlers - not long enough to go to the bathroom. They (generally - there are usually exceptions) simply don't comprehend the concept of delayed gratification yet.

One idea is to see if you could arrange a private tour of Barcelona. Luggage would be sorted and you could see the city as well. There are lots of places to explore on a day trip in Barcelona.

They (generally - there are usually exceptions) simply don't comprehend the concept of delayed gratification yet.

OP...you don't mention, but I have a sneaky suspicion that you bought the trip for everyone. If you paid, you rule.

OP really has two possible solutions: pay the money for a more convenient flight, or pay the money to get a hotel room for the day. The fact is that the original deal was cheap probably only because it was inconvenient - you get what you pay for.

Huh? :confused:

When were you last in Barcelona?

It's one of the most progressive Mediterranean cities for those who are chair-bound. In the port & the city centre areas at least, the pavements (sidewalks) are wide and smooth and the street crossings all have dropped kerbs.

 

I just don't see any point in your criticising my positive attitude, especially since you're clearly not as au-fait or up-to-date with Barcelona as I. :(

 

JB :)

I was in Barcelona for three days this past May. I guess they must have put in dropped curbs near Placa Catalunya since then??? My husband has mobility problems, walking with a cane. He found street crossings very difficult because of the curbs. Our hotel was on Las Ramblas near Placa Catalunya. No sidewalk tables near us except the ones at Hard Rock cafe across from Placa Catalunya.

But luckily we had a balcony room overlooking Las Ramblas.

Not all HoHo buses are wheelchair friendly. One lady in a wheelchair was told to wait until a HoHo bus with a lift would be at the stop. I hope the OP has better luck.

Really hoping someone can advise me - first time cruiser. Booked a fly-cruise but flight times were not available when I booked. When I got them they were awful! We arrive back in port at 5am and disembark by 9 am, but our flight home is not until 10.30pm! The company are refusing to change them unless I fork out another £500 or have said I can cancel the flights which will cost me £200, neither of which I am prepared to do. They also keep trying to get me to book an excursion on that day before we fly to kill time. I am disabled and will have small children with me, we will all just want to go home! Am I being fleeced? I have no idea how these things work but expecting us to hang around an airport for 13 hours seems unreasonable. Can anyone advise? :-(

Sorry for you situation... short paying more for a different flight, doubt there is any other way to change the flight arrangements. Given that if I was with small children, I might see if there is a hotel where you could book a room for the day, to rest, watch tv, play games with the kids... maybe then the day would be less exhausting for evryone.

Beyond the above, this is a live and learn experience. I think it is always best to book a flight independently.. then you are in control of when you come and go, that is something that you can use next time.

Good luck, we been there done that, many years ago.... same goes for hotels, no hotel packages for us, we always book air and hotel ourselves...

The problem, with booking a room for the day in Barcelona is that they usually will not let you into your room until check-in time which is usually 3 - 4pm or so unless you have booked a suite and it was unoccupied the previous night and so doesn't need to be cleaned. So then, you are sitting around a hotel lobby for several hours. Not fun with kids.

IMO me, I'd spend the extra money to get the earlier flight due to the kids. If this were only adults, then even with a wheelchair, it would be fun (albeit expensive) to go on a private excursion for the day to see various sights in Barcelona. But with kids, driving around Barcelona or to somewhere close by from early morning to evening and then a 2 - 3 hour ordeal at the airport to check luggage, clear security and wait at the gate followed by a 10:30pm flight home with tired kids in tow would be awful. To me it is worth 500 pounds to avoid the aggravation.

The problem, with booking a room for the day in Barcelona is that they usually will not let you into your room until check-in time which is usually 3 - 4pm or so unless you have booked a suite and it was unoccupied the previous night and so doesn't need to be cleaned. So then, you are sitting around a hotel lobby for several hours.

There are hotels that offer the room for the day

You can usually check in 9 or 10 am until 6pm

not all hotels do this so you need to shop around

Google Day rooms or Day use hotels

Without specific...airline, airports, etc, it is very hard to help you.

 

You probably booked the flight package as it was the cheapest way to go. However, the cheapest is rarely the best routing or most convenient timing. That is why those fares were cheaper!

 

The cruise line may offer excursions that you can do, and that will drop you at the airport later in the day.

The port is Barcelona and the flight is a BA one to Gatwick. I just wanted to make the whole process as easy as possible, hence letting them organise the flights. I know there is a much earlier one, I don't understand why they won't put us on it. And I don't want to do an excursion, they aren't that easy for me as I am wheelchair-bound. I just want to get home at the end of a holiday!

Sorry this is happening to you.

The cruise lines do tend to book super early flights or very late flights as they are the cheapest ones. That is why they are saying they will want so many extra pounds to change your flights.

We always book our own flights.

I was in Barcelona for three days this past May. I guess they must have put in dropped curbs near Placa Catalunya since then??? My husband has mobility problems, walking with a cane. He found street crossings very difficult because of the curbs. Our hotel was on Las Ramblas near Placa Catalunya. No sidewalk tables near us except the ones at Hard Rock cafe across from Placa Catalunya.

But luckily we had a balcony room overlooking Las Ramblas.

 

Not all HoHo buses are wheelchair friendly. One lady in a wheelchair was told to wait until a HoHo bus with a lift would be at the stop. I hope the OP has better luck.

I can't vouch for every one of them, but most of those dropped kerbs in and around Placa Catalunya - and elsewhere in the city centre & tourist areas - have been there for years, even decades.

I've just driven google's street-view camera around every street within two blocks of Placa Catalunya and found not one without dropped kerbs on every corner.

Take a virtual tour yourself, starting at Las Ramblas / Placa Catalunya

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@41.3855365,2.1702503,3a,75y,343.75h,95.7t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sNWzqt6vU1ESv4f2OeU36xw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i40

You'll also see that kerbs are in any case very low - crossing a street at virtually any point means one very small step, so hubby was either incredibly unlucky or has difficulty with any step anywhere.

You'll also see that Hard Rock is only one of a half-dozen establishments with outside seating on Placa Catalunya, there are more close to the square on streets leading to it, including half-a-dozen on Las Ramblas heading north & one or two heading south. Some are café-bars, some are for dining only.

But as I'm sure you know, most on Las Ramblas are at the southern (port) end, and that's the best place for people-watching.

Plenty of public seating in the various squares & gardens too, usually with a snacks kiosk nearby.

Both ho-ho operators, Julia Travel (City Tour) and Bus Touristic claim that all their buses are wheelchair-accessible. All are kneeling buses, so wheelchairs roll direct from sidewalk to bus. I don't think any have an accessible upper deck, so I don't understand the reference to a "lift". Perhaps the one wheelchair space on that bus was already taken.

Accessibility to museums, shops, cafes etc has been improving year-on-year.

To repeat, we're all aware that the circumstances aren't ideal. But the OP is understandably unhappy about the cost of switching to an earlier flight so all alternatives are worth considering, and I really do think you're being far too negative.

Having spent three days there, can you not come up with any suggestions?? :)

BTW, just noticed in Hank's post he says there's a left-luggage facility at the rail station. Guessing that's Sants station, about a 15 minute drive from the port gate. There are direct trains to the airport from there, I don't know how accessible the station or trains cos I've never used them, but google probably knows.

JB :)

I feel badly for the OP who appears to have not had enough experience on booking travel, and now has ended up with a very stressful situation because of it.

It seems that regardless of the outcome this will not be the happy holiday it was meant to be.

If it were me I would pay to change the flight times and chalk it up to travel experiences to not repeat.

The other option, if this cruise is not after final payment, is cancel and book a different cruise, and this time booking her own flights. This also would cost, since I think I have seen that deposits aren't refunded as they are in the US before final payment.

I hope that somehow the OP can work this out. The suggestion of contacting

the cruise line's accessible department and clearly and calmly explaining the

whole problem and requesting help, is a good suggestion.

A lot of good factual information concerning curb cuts and outside seating along Ramblas - but kind of off topic: a long day of pedestrian tourism for even just a somewhat-mobility challenged individual with children in tow is not a welcome solution.

The other option, if this cruise is not after final payment, is cancel and book a different cruise, and this time booking her own flights. This also would cost, since I think I have seen that deposits aren't refunded as they are in the US before final payment.

 

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In the UK they cannot cancel & get their deposit back like in North America

They have to apply through their travel insurance to recover the loss (if possible)

A lot of good factual information concerning curb cuts and outside seating along Ramblas - but kind of off topic: a long day of pedestrian tourism for even just a somewhat-mobility challenged individual with children in tow is not a welcome solution.

That was my thought exactly.

> In the UK they cannot cancel & get their deposit back like in North America

Depending on how large a deposit she paid, it might be cheaper for the OP to cancel and rebook than to pay the cruise line the price difference for the earlier flight.

Are you able to just book a flight independently and not use the package ones?

I've just used a random date and easyJet fly about 4 or 5 times a day, about 40/50 euros each, to Gatwick.

Would something like that work for you all?

That was my thought exactly.

That's a bit rich coming from you, since the subject was protracted by the duff information you posted on the subjects. :D:D:D

Yep, hopefully no more posts on this thread about dropped kerbs, sidewalk tables or accessible ho-ho's.

On a different tack, some folk have suggested a day room at a hotel.

Hotel Moderno, a 3-star hotel on Carrer de l'Hospital, just a few yards from Las Ramblas is quoted at €39 for 3 hours, through http://www.byhours.com

I don't see any prices for more hours, but their nightly rate is from around €80 at this time of year and their e-mail address is info@hotelmodernobcn.cat

Wheelchair accessible, decent review scores on TripAdvisor and booking.com

Or there are others on that website.

JB :)

That's a bit rich coming from you, since the subject was protracted by the duff information you posted on the subjects. :D:D:D

Yep, hopefully no more posts on this thread about dropped kerbs, sidewalk tables or accessible ho-ho's.

 

On a different tack, some folk have suggested a day room at a hotel.

Hotel Moderno, a 3-star hotel on Carrer de l'Hospital, just a few yards from Las Ramblas is quoted at €39 for 3 hours, through http://www.byhours.com

I don't see any prices for more hours, but their nightly rate is from around €80 at this time of year and their e-mail address is info@hotelmodernobcn.cat

Wheelchair accessible, decent review scores on TripAdvisor and booking.com

Or there are others on that website.

 

JB :)

Now here is some really useful, on-topic, comments. Does sound better than the cited cost of re-booking air.

In the UK they cannot cancel & get their deposit back like in North America

They have to apply through their travel insurance to recover the loss (if possible)

Yes that is why I said " I think I have seen that deposits aren't refunded as they are in the US before final payment."

Ok. my post has been removed twice now for sure. Don't know why - it's something I've used so I'm not just recommending it out of the blue.

For disabled travel advice, look for some "sage" "traveling" "com" on the Internet... Some good information on Barcelona. And, it tells how to traverse the train station in Civi, too.

Ok. my post has been removed twice now for sure. Don't know why - it's something I've used so I'm not just recommending it out of the blue.

 

For disabled travel advice, look for some "sage" "traveling" "com" on the Internet... Some good information on Barcelona. And, it tells how to traverse the train station in Civi, too.

I suspect your post sounded as though you were suggesting a travel agent - I'm tempted to look at your suggested site.

Wow - thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my post with some really helpful and thoughtful suggestions, I really am very grateful. I'm going to look into all of them - unfortunately a trip isn't really an option - no matter how accessible the city - my illness means it would be too exhausting for me (I wouldn't do excursions on the cruise either, just my husband).

I guesss you live and learn - I naively thought on a cruise we would be looked after and it never entered my head this sort of thing might happen - 13 hours in an airport with no facilities or somewhere to rest would probably finish me off!

But thanks to you guys I'm not feeling quite so lost and helpless as before - maybe we can still go in our dream holiday.

X

Ok. my post has been removed twice now for sure. Don't know why - it's something I've used so I'm not just recommending it out of the blue.

 

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