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Bravo! Orchestra! Review with pictures of Med Cruise April 18-29, 2018.


kathleen21
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Casa Mila –

 

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Gaudi Museum

 

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Placa de cataluna – where we saw the hawkers getting moved on by the police..

 

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View of the crowds from the top of Las Ramblas. So many people! We were all warned about guarding against pickpockets and took precautions. I am happy to say we don’t have any lost valuables stories to tell.

 

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We stopped for snacks along the way, including a churro filled with cream and covered with chocolate and nuts (very rich). Lunch was at a cute place about a block off the main street, where we could choose from the sandwiches/salads on display. We also got some dipping chocolate and churros there for dessert. And café con leche, of course!

 

 

 

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A block later we found La Boqueria Market. Maybe we should have waited to eat here?! The food displays were so colorful, and the atmosphere here was energizing. We decided we needed to try the chocolate covered strawberries on a skewer. Good thing there were four of us to share all these snacks!

 

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The food displays were like works of art themselves!

 

 

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We continued down Las Ramblas, shopping a bit, but mostly enjoying the atmosphere, stopping for wine and beer (and A/C!) as we got to the bottom of the street.

 

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The Christopher Columbus statue marked the end. All told we walked about 3 miles/5k from La Sagrada Familia, which took us about 3.5 hours with stops.

 

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We walked by the Orchestra shuttle bus and asked about getting a ride back, but it was 5E each, and wasn’t full yet, so we kept walking. There was a nice breeze, so we just followed the crowd. It was an easy walk that included a bridge and took about 20 minutes. We saw the Orchestra shuttle pull up a only a couple of minutes before we got to the port.

 

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We really loved Barcelona and will be happy to come back, hopefully for a longer time than just one day!

 

 

 

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Hi,

We are loving your review! We were in Barcelona last month for 5 days before and after our med cruise and walked about 13 miles one day just taking everything in! Visited Sagrada and did the inside tour as well as going to Park Guell. Also took a train out to Montserrat for the day which I highly recommend if not done so before. Now one of our favourite cities and great to see the photos you have both been taking, just brings it all back. Great information for the Orchestra as well which we will be on in approx 9 weeks :D

Thanks!

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We continued down Las Ramblas, shopping a bit, but mostly enjoying the atmosphere, stopping for wine and beer (and A/C!) as we got to the bottom of the street.

 

On our last cruise at the stop in Cozumel one guest really bought two A/C sets at the MEGA supermarket next to the port and brought on the ship :D

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We will have Barcelona as a port call next May and I really wanted to visit Sagrada Familia. Your photos make me very excited! :D

 

I had to stop myself from posting even more pictures. It was visually enchanting. Plus there are prayer chapels/ quiet rooms set up that we’re lovely to be in too. Just get your tickets ahead of time! :D

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On our last cruise at the stop in Cozumel one guest really bought two A/C sets at the MEGA supermarket next to the port and brought on the ship :D

 

Uh oh. This might be one of those regional abbreviations? I meant air conditioning. It was hot that day!

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Uh oh. This might be one of those regional abbreviations? I meant air conditioning. It was hot that day!

No, air conditioning sets! But it is understandable, because the prices in Mexico are sooooooo much cheaper than other places in the caribbean.

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No, air conditioning sets! But it is understandable, because the prices in Mexico are sooooooo much cheaper than other places in the caribbean.

 

I have this mental picture of people carrying window air conditioners on board :cool: So funny!

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I'm loving your trip report. I've been working on dh to take a european cruise, maybe someday. He just is very leery about flying overseas.

 

Thank you. It is fun to relive the trip. I have relatives that say that also. It’s a hard sentiment to counter, but I look at it as all these countries are full of people that are happy living there. So we try to blend in and be a local for a day. In the meantime, at least you have cruise critic adventures to read!

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These were included with the Daily last night

 

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Now to finish up Barcelona [emoji16]

 

Port notes- The walk TO the Chrisopher Columbus statue is more uphill over the bridge and would probably take 20-30 minutes. There are metro stations in that area that can take you all over the city. Also, in the duty free shops, after the MSC security scanners, there are shops that advertise that you can take 2 bottles of wine onto the ship in your bags. We double checked with MSC and they said it was true. That was a nice treat. We bought bottles of wine for the room. They had sangria and mixers also.

 

We were back on board at 4:45 pm, 45 minutes before the all aboard time, after a full day in port. We headed to L&L’s room to check out their balcony view and drink some of the wine we just bought.

 

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Tonight we switched dining tables, and dining rooms. L&L were at a table for six, with her brother and his wife. The other two diners had shown up the first night, and never again, so they invited us to join them. What a difference! We had so much fun socializing over our meal. Their waiter was funny and friendly, not as detail oriented as our other team maybe, but much more enthusiastic and charming to be around. He told us not to worry, and that we were fine to stay at this table for the rest of the cruise. Luckily, he was right – those 2 girls never did come back to eat at their table. And we never went back to ours..

 

I must have been having too much fun to take pictures! Whoops! This is all I have:

 

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Every night there were performers in this main atrium

 

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After dinner we wandered the ship for a bit, then all met up at the Flamenco show. It was well done! Again, beautiful costumes, clear sound - and acrobatic dancers with fast feet!

 

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Since tomorrow is a sea day and there is no need to get up early, we all went dancing in the Shaker Lounge. One thing about this ship is that there is music everywhere. If you don’t like the tunes in one place, just keep walking!

 

 

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Hi,

We are loving your review! We were in Barcelona last month for 5 days before and after our med cruise and walked about 13 miles one day just taking everything in! Visited Sagrada and did the inside tour as well as going to Park Guell. Also took a train out to Montserrat for the day which I highly recommend if not done so before. Now one of our favourite cities and great to see the photos you have both been taking, just brings it all back. Great information for the Orchestra as well which we will be on in approx 9 weeks :D

Thanks!

 

You’re welcome! I have definitely decided that we need to spend more time in Barcelona. You are so lucky to be cruising again! Have a wonderful time!

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Saturday, April 21 Cruise Day 4 – SEA DAY

 

Whew. After the action and last few early mornings, we were ready for a sea day. Our only plans for today were in the evening – the Captain’s gala, dinner and the Paris show. So we didn’t have an alarm clock set today. I was up at 0800 and went upstairs for my coffee and a run. This is getting to be my routine. I love how peaceful the ship is in the morning.

 

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Met up with Ray for breakfast at “our” table on the Aft deck of the buffet before wandering the ship and exploring the shops. The crowds in the purse store were hilarious.

 

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I met up with our Australian friends in the disco for dance lessons. The Merenue. The lesson was fun and definetly helped work up an appetite. We were planning on eating at the buffet together for lunch, but it was crowded at 1230 and we split up. Ray and I decided to check out the dining room for lunch. This was a great idea. They still have a (small) buffet set up, so you can eat right away if you want. But they also have table food and drink service. We were seated right away at a table for two. With our drink package we get our waters only in the dining room, so that was also a plus. We did a combo of table service for appetizers and dessert, and the buffet for the mains and more dessert. Lunch service took 40 minutes. What else was fun was that we were sat next to a large table where we saw our cute Italian honeymoon couple and their family! They were all having a wonderful time and loved the cruise.

 

After lunch we stopped by the wine bar, where I noticed they have a mini sandwich and snack buffet open. We also saw breakfast pastries and fruit on our morning walk here.

 

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Then Ray went to watch the ocean and I went to the spa for some yoga and sauna/Jacuzzi time. We hung out in the shade by the pool with a couple of cold beverages. It was busy, but we were always able to find a spot.

 

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Soon enough it was almost 5 pm and time to get ready for Gala Night!

 

 

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All dressed up, we met our friends at the captain’s cocktail party. Disclaimer – we went for the drinks, not the photo op. [emoji16][emoji484][emoji485][emoji6]

 

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Dinner is so much fun at this table! The waiters are energetic and funny. We are learning that if he tells us “you don’t want to order that”, than we don’t. He has started bringing us extra plates of dinner and dessert for the table to try. Ray and I aren’t ordering extra food now. Between the delicious bread and the different plates that show up for the table, we always have plenty to eat!

 

No menu photo tonight, but here are some food pictures. The fish was god, the steak was great. Interesting that the cheese platter was different each time in portion size and types of cheese or fruit. This plate was perfect.

 

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The Paris show tonight was fantastic. It was a very professional production with beautiful costumes and a clear sound system.

 

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The good thing about all those introductions in various languages at the beginning of the show is that after the English is done, there is enough time to go to the bathroom and be back for the show. We had planned on going dancing or listening to music, but we were too tired. We have an early day planned tomorrow in Valletta!

 

PS – we actually spent no money today! With the wine we bought at the duty free, the cocktail party and our drink coupons we never had too. Strange.

 

Also, I just realized that I left my pile of dailies at work! I’m going to have to wait until Monday to post those[emoji20]

 

 

 

 

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Continuing to enjoy your fabulous review. Barcelona is a wonderful city, we enjoyed it as a port day and returned for a land based trip a few months later. Highly recommended. One of the great things about cruising, getting a taster of places.

I'm trying not to wish my life away but it's now less than 8 weeks until we board Orchestra and this thread is enhancing my excitement :cool:

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Continuing to enjoy your fabulous review. Barcelona is a wonderful city, we enjoyed it as a port day and returned for a land based trip a few months later. Highly recommended. One of the great things about cruising, getting a taster of places.

I'm trying not to wish my life away but it's now less than 8 weeks until we board Orchestra and this thread is enhancing my excitement :cool:

 

Thanks! I so wish I was going again! We left most ports feeling like we had plans for what we would see and do next time we are there. I’m hoping that will be next year ;)

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Sunday, April 22 – VALLETTA

 

I was up at 6:30 so I could run the ship in. (Does that pilot boat know I’m helping?[emoji12]Kept stopping to take pictures though, the lighting was so beautiful. With this being known as “one of the most beautiful sail- ins in the world” I had company on deck today.

 

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Those are the tables we enjoy our breakfast at.

 

Port Information- There is a TI with maps right as we exited the ship.

 

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Plenty of bus tour options. The Barrarca lift is to the right as you are facing inland. We were there early so there wasn’t much of a line. There were workers at the ticket machine helping so it went faster. 1E each. Have exact change, everyone behind you will thank you. (Actually I would have liked to climb the stairs up, but we couldn’t find them. And no one we asked knew what we were talking about. They all pointed us to the lift. )

 

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We walked around the Upper Barranca Gardens and into Valletta. What a beautiful city! The cleanliness and architecture made us feel as if we were on a movie set. They have filmed quite a lot of movies here, there is a map if you want to search out the sights.

 

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I really wanted to make it to St John’s Co-Cathedral for at least some of the morning Mass. We wandered around for quite a while before we accidentally found it. We got there just as Mass started, and were able to stand in back and subtly take pictures.

 

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