SeahawkSiren Posted June 3, 2017 #1 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Hello everyone. This is a review of our 14 day Mediterranean cruise on the NCL Spirit. This was such an incredible, unforgettable vacation! Truly amazing! We saw and experienced so many spectacular things that I will share with you through my words and photos. This was originally supposed to be an Eastern Mediterranean and Holy Land cruise but that was cancelled by NCL about a year ago to remove Turkey from the itinerary. So we were offered this cruise as a replacement. Our outstanding itinerary was as follows: Cruise started in Barcelona, Spain Valencia, Spain Cartagena, Spain Malaga (Granada), Spain At Sea Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy Valletta, Malta At Sea Piraeus (Athens), Greece Santorini, Greece Katakolon (Olympia), Greece At Sea Messina, Sicily, Italy Naples,Italy Cruise ended in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy This itinerary was very appealing to us as we had not been to any of these places other than Santorini. 11 of the 12 places we visited were new to us. Score! About us, married couple in our late 40’s with no children. This vacation was to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary! We had only been to Europe one other time, 10 years ago for our honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean so we decided it was time to go back to the wonderful Mediterranean again on a new itinerary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving My Life Posted June 3, 2017 #2 Share Posted June 3, 2017 We were on a 12 night Med cruise on the Spirit in May of 2015 but we had very different ports on our itinerary. I'm interested in reading what you did in each of your ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 3, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Sunday, April 30. Home to Airport Area. We live near Seattle so it was going to be a looonnnggg day of flying to Barcelona. We had to be at the airport by 4:30 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m flight so we decided to get a hotel close the airport. We stayed one night at Cedarbrook Lodge, about 5 minutes from Sea-Tac Airport. It was our first time staying here. I was very, very impressed with this place. Such a nice, peaceful setting with beautifully manicured grounds. Really nice room. And great food and great service overall. Really top notch staff here. We will definitely stay here again on future trips if we have an early flight like we did this time. Such a nice, quiet oasis near a busy airport. And very quintessential Northwest. A true hidden gem! And a nice bonus I was able to get this room for free using my rewards points with my credit card. Not your typical setting near an airport View down to the dining room So for those of you coming to Seattle for Alaska cruises may want to consider this place, although it may be better as a post cruise option since it’s near the airport. Thank you Cedarbrook Lodge, I will be back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeUsoon@Sea Posted June 3, 2017 #4 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Yes! Can't wait for more. We will be on the Spirit in September! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 3, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Monday, May 1. Seattle to Barcelona, Spain. Here we go! Only 5,400 miles to go :rolleyes:.This was a 3 leg flight journey. The first leg of our journey was Seattle to Newark, NJ. We had a nearly 3 hour layover in Newark which was good as it took us about 1.5 hours to get through security! Then the second leg of the trip to Lisbon, Portugal involved an overnight flight. I was so tired and had not slept at all during those 2 legs and only got about 4 hours of sleep the night before we left Seattle. Now it’s another 3 hour layover before it was finally time for the third and final leg of the trip from Lisbon to Barcelona. Tuesday, May 2. Barcelona, Spain. We arrived in Barcelona around noon, well more than 24 hours after we left home in Seattle. I was beyond exhausted at this point. Both of us were very, very tired but decided not to take a nap when we got to Barcelona and waited to go to sleep until that evening as we thought it would help us adjust better to the new time zone which is 9 hours ahead of Seattle time. We stayed 2 nights at Hotel Barcelona Universal. Since this trip was celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary we splurged a little extra to get one of the Junior Suite rooms with a private terrace! We also booked under a special Anniversary Package which included breakfast (and was a pretty elaborate spread IMO, definitely not just a continental breakfast), a chocolate cake and a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine). The hotel also has free wi-fi, 2 rooftop terraces and a rooftop pool. Hello big bathtub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 3, 2017 Author #6 Share Posted June 3, 2017 We thought the nightly rate of about $200.00 was a very reasonable price, especially considering all the extras we received and having a private terrace! I booked this hotel about 8 months in advance to make sure to get a terrace room. This was a nice, clean hotel with excellent service. It gets very good reviews too. It is in a very convenient location and was within a 10 minute walk to Las Ramblas, close to a hoho bus stop, and metro line directly across the street from the hotel. We did not have any particular plans or excursions that first day in Barcelona as we wanted to just take it easy after no sleep on the flights and adjust to the new time zone so we just did some exploring of our hotel and nearby area. We really enjoyed sitting out on our terrace that afternoon since we were so exhausted. It was a huge terrace! We had a corner room so the terrace was somewhat of a wraparound. View from our terrace We found a great little pizza place for dinner (La Strada) just a couple blocks from our hotel. We could barely function that first day and had been awake for over 30 hours straight before we went to bed that first night. So after dinner we called it a day. We really needed a good night’s sleep as the next day was going to be Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and a flamenco show/dinner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Wednesday, May 3. Still in Barcelona. Our day started at Sagrada Familia. We purchased tickets in advance online before we left home and arrived right at the opening time, 9:00 a.m. This place was amazing! We were just in awe of it! Construction started in 1882 and is still ongoing at the present time. It is supposed to be completed somewhere between 2026 and 2028. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #8 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #9 Share Posted June 4, 2017 The inside of Sagrada Familia was even more magnificent than the outside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted June 4, 2017 After spending about 2 hours at Sagrada Familia, next we were off to Park Guell. We took the hoho bus to get there from Sagrada (the cost was somewhere between 26.00 and 29.00 Euros per person to ride all day, I can't remember the exact amount. And I think the amount varies depending on the time of year you visit). I’d say it was about a 10-15 minute walk to the park after getting off the bus and most of it is an uphill walk. We also purchased tickets online in advance from home for the park for a 12:00 noon arrival time. This was another amazing place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Zoomed in shot of Sagrada Familia from the park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare L1211 Posted June 4, 2017 #13 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Love your review! Thank you so much for sharing. Great hotel find in Barcelona and congrats on the anniversary celebration! Can't wait for more!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #14 Share Posted June 4, 2017 After several hours exploring Sagrada Familia and Park Guell we got back on the hoho bus for more touring around the city just as it started raining (good timing). After riding the bus around for awhile it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and a flamenco show! No time to rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkadventures Posted June 4, 2017 #15 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Love your screen name- GO HAWKS!!! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #16 Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) We went to Tablao Flamenco Cordobes dinner and show on Las Ramblas, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We met up with a very nice couple from our CC meet and greet here and shared a table together. It was a buffet style dinner with good food and a fair amount of variety of foods and desserts. They did not allow photos to be taken during the show until the last 10 minutes so I don’t have a lot of photos. But it was a really good show and we enjoyed the experience! We capped off our amazing day/evening by having our anniversary cake and champagne, compliments of the hotel (our actual anniversary date was not until later in the trip - more on that later). We were laughing at the size of this cake! We thought it would be a mini size cake for two, but it was a full size cake! Don't tell anyone but we ended up eating half of it! ;p Then we enjoyed the sunset from our terrace on our last night in Barcelona! I'm going to have to stop my review here for tonight. I will pick up again tomorrow. Up next: Cruise embarkation day! Edited June 4, 2017 by SeahawkSiren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted June 4, 2017 #17 Share Posted June 4, 2017 We also stayed before at Cedarbrook Lodge prior to our Alaska cruise. We really enjoyed it too! Those are very nice photos, especially of La Sagrada Familia. Will be following along. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kealy Posted June 4, 2017 #18 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Looking forward to hearing more about your Med cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregmarty Posted June 4, 2017 #19 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Looking forward to the next chapter Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare irvington Posted June 4, 2017 #20 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I love cedar brook too. It used to be a corporate retreat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonmom Posted June 4, 2017 #21 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Awesome review so far! Hoping to do a Med cruise on the Spirit out of Barcelona in 2018 or 2019, so I'll start my research by following along :) Sent from my Nexus 5X using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bra_BE2014 Posted June 4, 2017 #22 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Following! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destaw71835 Posted June 4, 2017 #23 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Great review so far! The photos are amazing. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #24 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Thursday, May 4 – Cruise Departs from Barcelona. Here we are, cruise embarkation day! It was time to board the NCL Spirit! This was our first time on this ship. Embarkation process was very smooth for us as we were at the terminal around noon and were one of the firsts in line so we were on the ship very quickly. My first shot of the Spirit just before boarding! Here was our first view inside the ship. What a stunning atrium! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeahawkSiren Posted June 4, 2017 Author #25 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I took a lot of photos around the ship on embarkation day since we boarded so early. We spent a lot of time here during the cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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