Carnival Vista July 29, 2016

We just booked this cruise today. Haven't seen many posts yet so I thought I would start this one. We are all from Buffalo, NY and have taken cruises before. Donna and I (Jim) have taken two previous European cruises one which left from Barcelona. We will be travelling with our two grandsons (14 and 12) and my daughter Ann. The Vista sounds like a great ship and should be wonderful for our grandsons to explore. Most of he ports we have been to before. I have found that it is good to plan early, especially for the land excursions. Rome and Florence will require transportation of which we are well acquainted.

Hopefully we will begin to hear from other cruisers!:)

Jim & Donna

I'm not on your cruise but on the July 1st, any recommendations for Barcelona? Looking to get there 2 to 3 days ahead of the cruise and see the city. Have you done this before and if so, can you share you experience?

There is a roll call for your cruise already, although admittedly not very busy.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2160617

We choose this cruise because of the port of Barcelona. Arriving and leaving from this city is very easy since the cruise port is close to the main city area as well as the airport. Cruises from Rome's Civitavecchia, for example, require creative travel adventures to get from the airport to the port and/or the city. Arrival at Barcelona's airport is an easy transfer to it's city center (about 25 minutes away). Cab rides are not excessively expensive. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel Diplomatic on Pau Claris which is walking distance to most attractions. There are also some very nice hotel (more expensive) near the port itself. In Barcelona, the best way to get around is the "Hop on Hop Off" buses that can take you anywhere around the city and it's suburbs. We bought a two day pass and it was well worth it. The first day we rode the "yellow route" (there are three routes you can ride anytime for the same ticket) and tagged the areas we wished to sight see. The second time around we got off and toured the various sights. The buses come around to the stops every 15 minutes. The only negative is that they stop at 6 pm. You need to plan your day so that you can be back close to your hotel by that time. Most major hotels are near a Hop-on bus stop.

If you are not familiar with the city, you may want to go to www.oh-barcelona.com to see "Barcelona 3D Video - A Virtual Tour of Barcelona. it gives you a great overview of the city and various attractions.