Dragonkeper

The air traffic pattern changes depending on the flight so there is really no way to know where you will be coming in from for a landing. There are different landing patterns.

Thanks.

What is the best side of the plane to sit on if you want to get pictures of the city from the air? I will be flying in from JFK.

I'm back from my 35 day cruise on the Emerald Princess.

I'd like to share my experience with BCN Travel...in Barcelona, Spain. As posted previously there was a mix up in my car service booking. This was corrected...mistake their end...computer glitch they say. Before leaving I reconfirmed with them that my driver would be there to pick me up. I was a little anxious as this was my 1st solo cruise. They replied assuring me not to worry that my driver would be there and easy to find.

 

NOT so...when I arrived there was NO Driver for me...lots of others got their driver (different companies) but no one for me. I then tried to call their 24/7 emergency help number...tried 3 different times before someone picked up!! Then the gal had to find my reservation, this seemed like it took forever but in the end she found it. She said a driver would be there in 15 minutes...20 minutes later a fellow shows up with my name on a sign. We get to his vehicle...he was a TAXI driver not a private car service driver!! I could have done that on my own! But since I had to pay for this car service in advance I wanted that service to come through for me. In the end I had a nice taxi driver with limited English but he got me to my hotel safely.

 

I understand others have used BCN Travel with no problems but the above was my experience with this company. I will probably not use them again in the future.

 

Pat

Thanks for the information.

When I sailed on the Quantum back in March 2015, I had my set sail paperwork on my iPhone. When I got to the terminal they scanned the barcode of the paperwork from my iPhone and everything was good to go. One less piece of paper to carry around. However this technology process may not have been deployed to all the terminals yet so it might be a good idea to have a paper copy of your set sail paperwork.

hi everyone,

I know it's a long shot, but has anyone had experience with trying to tour a cruise ship when it's in town?

I live in Halifax and we get lots of cruise ships in town. Serenade and Brilliance will be in port this season and I'd like to get a look at them with a guided tour as I have two bookings coming up on jewel and I've never been on that class.

 

I'm guessing this is not possible but if anyone would know it would be you guys!

If you knew someone that works on the ship you can actually get a day pass which would allow you to get on the ship to walk around and you would have to be off by a certain time.

I am trying to book my plane tickets. How long does it take to get to the airport in Barcelona from the port. How early can I fly out? Thank you

This might help you.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=2724&faqSubjectId=324

Thanks for the videos.

Thanks for all the information. My old passports have many stamps and I was hoping I could get some for my new one. I guess things have changed.

Hey, OP... I could not help notice your username and I just found this tour company in barcelona that you might be interested in. Google Barcelona Dragon Tours... I have not used them but am seriously considering booking one of their tours for my trip.

I will look them up and check out the reviews. Thanks.

I am traveling on the Harmony of the Seas in August 2016, out of Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca, Marseille France, Pisa Italy, Rome Italy and Naples Italy and I do have my passport. I have travelled all over the world when I was in the military and have had my passports stamped every place I've been to and I am now on my 4th passport since I was in. I know I will get it stamp when I fly into Barcelona, but here is my question. Does anyone know if there are any places at the ports I am going to where I could get my passport stamped? The passport I have now is empty and I would just like to get it stamped in these places. Thanks in advance.

As you posted in your other thread, this has been resolved since BCN admitted a glitch. Too bad that the OP for this thread only saw your negative posts so might not have known that BCN is a very reputable company.

 

To OP: whichever you choose, both BCN and Barcelona Day Tours are excellent companies.

I am still doing my research and I have time as my trip is not until August 2016. Thanks for the information.

Can't wait to get on this ship!

We opened an account with Capital One because they have no foreign transaction fees and reimburse ATM fees up to $30 per month.

That is something to look into as well. Thanks.

You may be in really good shape. As part of the research yesterday, my wife found a website that projects what the exchange rate should be- and it's projected to be under $1/euro next year. Two years ago, it was over $1.30.

 

Last time we traveled at less than $1 was 2000.

 

Hope the projection is right.

Hope the projection is right too.

Cruise line recommendation:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=324&faqSubjectName=Air+Travel&faqId=2724

Thanks for the link Bob, This is very helpful since I was wondering if a 10am flight out Barcelona would be to early and it turns out that is the earliest departure time that RCL recommends.

The best exchange rate we got was from an ATM in Europe.

I had planned on using the ATM in Europe, but I will have to check with my bank to see what fees they might charge first. I am still a year out from my cruise so I have time to do a lot of research and find what will work for me.

Timely thread resurrection...

 

The AAA- WF thing- that's on line.

 

AAA has "Trip Packs" at their full service locations, but currently, for $100, you get $76 Euros. Not a great exchange.

 

On their website- there's a link to get foreign currency- which is on line only through Well Fargo Bank. Yesterday, the exchange rate was $1.1608 per Euro, which is pretty good.

 

I called some local banks, including a local branch of BoA. BoA's exchange rate was $1.165, but I had to have an account. Again, a good rate.

 

Another local bank was $1.1414, but the account requirement was more stringent.

 

My current credit union does not sell Euros, naturally. BUT- they have NO foreign fees to get money at ATMs, just the normal $1.50 fee for not being their network. And then the exchange is whatever the raw exchange rate is that day.

 

As a reference, yesterday's raw exchange was $1.11, and the airport TravelEx exchange was $1.23.

 

So what to do? Well, #1 choice would be to use an American Express card- which for us does NOT have any foreign transaction fees and runs the live exchange rate. And since we don't see it going up over the next month- it should be at least below $1.16 (vs getting cash now).

 

Choice #2 will probably be using alternate card, but we need to check the fees.

 

Choice #3 will be using an ATM when we get there. Since we will probably get 200 Euros, the fees will not be more than 2%, and the best we can get locally is a 3% hike over the raw exchange rate.

 

We *might* buy some Euros before we go, but don't really anticipate a problem, since we map out the ATM's at Rome's airport.

 

One should call their banks to tell them about travel- don't want a hold put on your card when you are using it.

Good info to know.

The exchange rate I got at AAA was better that BOA but they were very close. AAA had no fee and BOA was $7.50 so I went with BOA. My DH was travelling and checked the rate at the airport for comparsion and it was the worst rate by a significant amount.

 

Just do a little research and see what works out best for you. Sometimes convenience wins.

Thanks for the information.

What is the difference of getting the exchange at the bank or AAA over getting them at the airport? Do you get a better exchange rate or is it just more convenient?

I have looked on this forum and I see where some people who have used BCN Travel and some that have used Barcelona Day Tours. I am looking for someone that have used both so I can have an idea which is better. Anyone out there that has used both? I would like your feedback on the good and/or bad of the two.

Don't know if this is on all the ships, but when I had a JS on the Jewel I had a door bell. I know, not a big deal, but it was my first time in a JS and when my cabin steward pressed the bell it sounded a little like the announcement chime and then I heard the bell again and I was waiting for the announcement and heard nothing. Then I heard a knock at the door and that is when I found out I had a door bell. I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies. LOL!

If the purpose of the copy is to show to the US Consulate to facilitate getting a temporary passport to fly home, all you need is the first page.

Thanks Bob.

When making a copy of your passport do you just make a copy of the page that has your picture and passport info or do you make a copy of the whole book?

You can try here to check the status of your passport application.

https://passportstatus.state.gov/opss/OPSS_Status_ip.asp

If I'm invited to the parties and I get some sort of incentive I wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't see the issues with asking. The person accepting is a different story, but if you'd get mad by someone asking you this you really have bigger issues.

They would definitely be invited to all the parties that we would be having and I'm sure we could come up with some incentives for them doing this for us. Now if they don't accept we will just have to live with what we have, but like people are saying, it doesn't hurt to ask.