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LIVE - Freedom of the Seas Transatlantic - Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale - Oct 22-Nov 5


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Welcome! This will be a live review from the Freedom of the Seas Transatlantic relocation cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale, leaving this Sunday, October 22nd! I can't even begin to compete with the in depth live threads by many of the celebrities on Cruise Critic, but I can promise some photos - including food!

 

First, a little bit about me! I am Jen from Canada and contrary to my screen name, I am no longer a newbie cruiser. This will be my 14th cruise overall, 10th with Royal Caribbean, and 3rd Transatlantic. All of those cruises added up to my lowly Diamond Crown and Anchor status! [emoji6] I am traveling "solo" on this cruise. And by "solo", I mean with about 4000 other cruises, including several cruising buddies that I met on last year's Independence of the Seas Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton!

 

The cruise will be departing from Barcelona, with stops in Cadiz (Seville), Spain, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and La Palma. Given the current political situation in Barcelona and the several hundreds of earthquakes recently which have triggered volcano alerts in La Palma, I am hoping for smooth travels!

 

I am currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight from Toronto which will arrive tomorrow shortly after noon in Barcelona! More to come when I arrive!

 

For now, I will leave you with the ship, and the planned journey!

 

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(Hopefully those photos work! I am posting this from the handy CruiseCritic app!).

 

 

 

 

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I’ll be following... grudgingly [emoji57].

 

We were originally on this cruise, as a retirement “present”. But — that did not happen as planned , and then my daughter said she was “expecting” and due Oct. 23. Sooooo we had to cancel .

 

Bad news— I’ll be at work on Monday.

 

Good news—- my second grandson arrived Monday[emoji106]

 

mac_tlc

 

 

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I was on the eastbound Freedom TA in April from Ft Lauderdale. I also sailed solo with friends that I met on a previous TA. I hope you have as great a time as we had and hope you have better weather. If the have "Master Sea Chef" on your crossing make sure you go to every session. It was held in Studio B and had 8? officers competeing against each other, including the captain. It was so much fun and the "Chefs" were a riot.

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Thanks to everyone who's following along thus far! I will try to fulfill the requests that have been made (menus, sea day activities, etc)!

 

My flight to Barcelona was one of the bumpiest rides I've ever had! In fact, it reminded me of the motion when I was on the infamous "hurricane cruise" last year on the Anthem of the Seas that hit 200+mph winds! The seatbelt sign was on for hours on end, with even the flight attendants strapped into their seats. The pilot's explanation was that there were multiple jet streams to climb through during our flight which caused the turbulence.

 

The airline (Air Transat) served a choice of hot sandwich (ham and brie, chicken and pesto, or roasted Mediterranean veggie) with orzo salad, dark chocolate covered acai berries, and a complimentary glass of wine. Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures because my phone was just about dead and there were no outlets for charging. They also served a second round of beverages and pre-wrapped carrot cake slices prior to landing.

 

I would rate the flight a 5/10. The service was decent, the included light meals weren't too bad, and the flight was an hour shorter than anticipated. I docked points for turbulence (nothing to do with the pilot's abilities - they seemed to handle it well), and also for the horrible seats which felt like they were all reclined halfway up the back. Lastly, the lack of in-seat TVs and the use of an app for entertainment with no power support for charging devices onboard the aircraft.

 

Upon landing, I took the Aerobus to get to my hotel (more on that later). If you're at all worried about not being able to lift your suitcase onto the rack (as I was), fear not! Some kind person on those buses usually helps out! The bus cost 5.90 euros and is the best way to get from the airport to the major tourist centers (Placa Espanya, Universitat, and Placa Catalonia. Beware though - with the recent large demonstrations, buses have been intermittently stopping at Placa Espanya and not proceeding to the other areas (like this afternoon/evening today).

 

 

 

 

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So where am I staying? This year, I decided to keep it local given that I only have 24 hours maximum here. I toured virtually every part of Barcelona (including Montserrat!) during my longer stay last fall. As such, this year I decided to stay near Placa Espanya so I could see the Magic Fountains. I originally booked the Pestana Arena Barcelona, but switched at the last minute, just 36 hours prior to checking in - due to it's location "off the beaten path". Instead, I booked the Catalonia Barcelona Plaza hotel which is located right in Placa Espanya.

 

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I got to the hotel, and they sent me up to the rooftop bar for a free welcome drink while I waited for my room. The cava was great, but the rooftop pool and terrace were even better:

 

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Check out the view!

 

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Eventually I was notified that my room was ready. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was upgraded to an executive king suite on the 6th floor with a Plaza view!

 

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The hotel is a winner all around! While there isn't as much in the area as there is around Placa Catalunya, it's perfect for a repeat short visit! It's right near the metro, the train station, the aerobus, and the bull fighting arena-turned-mall. Which also happens to be where I had a late lunch. The entire rooftop consists of restaurant's with patios or open air interiors - very unique! Beware though - if you take the outside elevator up, it costs 1 euro. If you go inside and take the escalators to the top, it's free!

 

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