Barcelona hotel

[PMO]

We are sailing on the Brillance on July 14th cruise. We were wondering about a hotel for a one night stay and should be book through RCCL or do it on our own? Also should we get a tour or do that on our own? We would love any info on the Brillance and our stay in Barcelona.

[coxswain]

Just back we stayed at the new W Barcelona - its WOW !!

 

Or another we've use H10 Montcada. Located in the gothic district

 

 

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[PMO]

It is called the West Barcelona? I have not seen that anywhere. Is it expensive?

[financialgrl]

Any time you book thru any of the cruiselines you end up paying a premium for allowing them to do everything for you from start to finish and then any transfer to the ship. However, you then pay a premium cost per PERSON instead of room or say cab to transfer to the ship. I'm on my first European trip next May and if you search back on these boards and on trip advisor you can get an idea of good hotel rooms much cheaper (where you pay for the room instead of per person) and then just take a cab from the hotel to the ship (again per cab ride instead of per person) much cheaper and at your own pace. I used RCI transfers for another US cruise and I swore I'd never use them again. We were sitting for a long period of time in a bus waiting for everyone to board the bus to get back to the AP at the end of the cruise and some were on there for 3 hours before the bus filled up and left. Never again.

 

As for what to see while pre cruise while in Barcelona, just look over the shore excursions and go visit some of those places on your own using public transportation (again much cheaper and at your own pace and not being at the will of others). Another option is to get a Fodors or Frommers book for Spain and they have things to do for one day, two day or 3 or more day stays in any city and give you ways to get there. I have no problem doing this in Barcelona but may feel differently if it were Rome or Florence where the port is over an hour and a half from the AP and having to haul luggage.

[vivian02]

PMO,

I have stayed in Barcelona several times. Here are the Hotels we stayed at............Hotel Continental (Las Ramblas), Hotel Hesperia Del Mar (Lower Diagonal) Hotel Princess (Lower Diagonal). I think Hotel Princess was the one that we liked better than the others. Here is something else to check out. If you got to Hotwire you will see that you can get a 5 Star Hotel in Las Ramblas for $189 a night. Thats not a bad price. I hope this information helps. By the way a taxi to any of the Hotels listed from the Airport will run you around $28 Euros for two people. Taxi drivers in Barcelona are great. Tim

[coxswain]

It is called the West Barcelona? I have not seen that anywhere. Is it expensive?

 

 

Its called the W Barcelona 5star !!

 

 

 

 

 

jj...

[PMO]

Thank you very much for all your information. I will look into all of this and yes I feel doing Barcelona without a tour will work fine with the assistance of Fodors or Frommers, great idea! We are definitely doing a private tour for Rome, Florence and Athens, I think. We greatly appreciate your assistance!

[show_me_girl]

Barcelona was easy to do on your own. We just returned on Nov. 2 after staying in Barcelona for two nights after disembarking from our ship. We stayed at the Hotel NH Duc de la Victoria in the Gothic area. It is rated 3 stars, reasonably priced (by Barcelona standards), was clean, modern, and located on a pedestrian street, so very quiet at night. Located about halfway between Placa de Catalunya and the Cathedral it was very convenient to everything. Two short blocks off off Las Ramblas. The cab to hotel was 15Euros for 2 people. We also took a cab to the airport which was about 28Euros.

 

The first day off the ship we walked Las Ramblas and visited the Barre Gothic district and the Cathedral. The second day we bought tickets for the HOHO bus (21Euros/person) and took the bus to Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, some other Gaudi landmarks, etc.. A good way to see just what you want. Have fun!

[eandj]

We are sailing on the Brillance on July 14th cruise. We were wondering about a hotel for a one night stay and should be book through RCCL or do it on our own? Also should we get a tour or do that on our own? We would love any info on the Brillance and our stay in Barcelona.

 

Definitely book you own hotel. You will be charge close to double for a room when booking thru the ship.

 

Look at Hotel Jazz. Moderately priced and in a great location . There are MANY hotels rec here.

[Jenagain]

We stayed at the Banys Orientals in El Born for 2 nights prior to our cruise. We loved the location, which was next to the Barri Gotic area, and walking distance to Las Ramblas. If you prefer to stay in Marriotts or Hiltons, this is probably not the hotel for you, as it is a small and charming/unique boutique hotel.

 

Because our cruise was delayed 1 day, RCI moved us to the Zero Diagonal, which we didn't like at all....mostly because of the location, which was too remote to us as it was next to the convention center on the outskirts of the city. It was a 20+ Metro ride to get back into the heart of Barcelona.

[ncsongbird]

Barcelona was easy to do on your own. We just returned on Nov. 2 after staying in Barcelona for two nights after disembarking from our ship. We stayed at the Hotel NH Duc de la Victoria in the Gothic area. It is rated 3 stars, reasonably priced (by Barcelona standards), was clean, modern, and located on a pedestrian street, so very quiet at night. Located about halfway between Placa de Catalunya and the Cathedral it was very convenient to everything. Two short blocks off off Las Ramblas. The cab to hotel was 15Euros for 2 people. We also took a cab to the airport which was about 28Euros.

 

 

We also stayed at Hotel Duc de la Victoria and I also agree it was a great choice. Close to everything, clean, quiet and desk staff were very helpful. Breakfast was pricey but with a very good selection. Nice hotel for a fairly reasonable price. We booked online directly with the hotel.

[Fishbait17]

Its called the W Barcelona 5star !!

jj...

 

The new W Barcelona is part of the Starwood Brand, along with Westin, Le Meridien, and Sheraton. It's a "hip" new hotel in Barcelona - but be forewarned - it is not in the easiest location in Barcelona for touring. You might prefer to be closer to Las Ramblas. It is designed more for the summer beach crowd. Just opened about a month ago. Very cool (as are all W hotels), but just not a great location for touring.

 

Robin

[Tucker in Texas]

I just posted this on another forum site so I'll repeat it here for you. There will be Brilliance passengers staying there for sure.

 

We stay at either the Hotel Continental or Hotel Palacete (www.hotelcontinental.com--good for both hotels). The Continental is on Las Ramblas near Playa Catalyna while the Palacete is a couple of blocks away from it. You e-mail them and you will get a response within an hour even if it is Sunday and midnight over there.

 

While it is not the Four Seasons by a long shot, it is clean, convenient, and economical. The Palacete is a little nicer and is about 25-35 euro more than the Continental which is around 92 euro.

 

The best part is FREE FOOD AND DRINK. Help yourself free food and drink 24 hours a day. Wine, beer, soda, no problem, free. Hot foods on a buffet, cold foods, help yourself. I've known people that have stayed there and not spent a dime eating out. They have free computers to use, too.

 

On the minus side, you have to like hot pink and pink florals and smallish rooms. Nice bathrooms though. Ironically the Palacete has too much furniture in the room which makes it "tight." Oh, did I mention the tupperwear chest of drawers (lol). The Continental doesn't have as much furniture (but what you need) so the room seems larger. Safes in the room.

 

Every room we have stayed in was the cheapest "inside" but had either a balcony overlooking a courtyard (Continental) or a "patio" (Palacete) outside the bedroom with an open "skylight." This worked very well for us as I am one of those awful smokers that won't smoke inside anywhere even if it is allowed and appreciated not having to run down to the lobby and outside.

 

You will find tons of people staying there on your cruise or other cruises leaving.

 

Tucker in Texas