Boarding in Barcelona - transfer and luggage questions

[bottomfeeder]

I'm very excited to be going on a Med cruise in November after several "cruiseless" years!

 

Neither the Celebrity website nor my TA's website has prices for Celebrity airport transfers (or even the ability to purchase them) yet. Can anyone who has recently sailed out of Barcelona let me know the prices they paid for Celebrity airport transfers (each way or roundtrip?) Just wondering if for 2 of us it will be less expensive to take a taxi vs. the transfers.

 

Also, our flight is scheduled to arrive very early in the morning (before 7) and I know we won't be able to board the ship until at least 11:30 or so...but would we be able to go to the port and drop off our suitcases early in the morning at the ship? Or is there another good option for storing them somewhere for the morning so we can tour Barcelona a bit on our own? Celebrity is offering a combo airport transfer/bus tour of Barcelona but we would prefer to go see Gaudi's cathedral on our own rather than doing that.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[cruisestitch]

Have you made firm plane reservations? The conventional wisdom is to come in the day before,so that if there is any hitch in the air travel, you'll still make the ship. That would also give you time to see the many sights of Barcelona. You should consider this if you haven't made the plane reservations yet.

[bottomfeeder]

Yep, have the plane tickets already purchased. Unfortunately we can't take an extra day off work to get there earlier. Good advice though!

-

[LOP]

Contact "Day Tours Barcelona". We used them to pick us up from the airport on one day and following the cruise we spent 10 hours with them to tour the city.

 

They will pick you up and you can keep your bags with you (just tell them in advance so they send a van if you need it) and they can give you a nice morning tour of the city and then take you to the port.

 

Do not confuse them with barcelona day tours.

[StormyWeatherAtSea]

We too are on the 11/4 sailing and have purchased Transfers $30. Per person our flight arrives about an hour after yours.

 

We might even be on same bus, they wait till it is full. When filled they sometimes give a brief tour of city on way to cruise terminal - they don't want you waiting too long in terminal.

 

OR you could take taxi, I heard it's about 50 - don't know if dollars or Euros - anyway see you onboard

[JezzaC]

OR you could take taxi, I heard it's about 50 - don't know if dollars or Euros - anyway see you onboard

 

We took a taxi on January from cruise terminal to airport. It was about 35€ for 4 people with luggage.

[seabill]

I concur a taxi to the terminal should cost around 35.00 euros. Drop your luggage at the terminal. Check in will not begin until later @ 10:30. Take shuttle bus to the Colon Statue (Columbus) which is at the base of of Ramblas street. You could then catch the HOHO bus for a city tour and when ready return to terminal for check-in and sailing.

 

Bill

[bottomfeeder]

Thank you all! It's weird, the transfers don't appear to be purchaseable anywhere on the Celebrity website (or on the website where I bought the cruise), I guess if I want to buy them I"ll have to call and talk to an actual person! :) Although it sounds like the taxi would be a better idea for us anyhow.

 

When you say we can drop off our luggage at the port--would that be with the cruise line (i.e., should we go to the ship) or are there lockers of some sort in one of the port's terminals?

 

I know I know, silly things to be worrying about this early. I/m just a little obsessive. :)

[JezzaC]

Thank you all! It's weird, the transfers don't appear to be purchaseable anywhere on the Celebrity website (or on the website where I bought the cruise), I guess if I want to buy them I"ll have to call and talk to an actual person! :) Although it sounds like the taxi would be a better idea for us anyhow.

 

When you say we can drop off our luggage at the port--would that be with the cruise line (i.e., should we go to the ship) or are there lockers of some sort in one of the port's terminals?

 

I know I know, silly things to be worrying about this early. I/m just a little obsessive. :)

 

You can book transportation from My Celebrity and managing your reservation. There is a separate sheet for Transportation and you can book transfers to harbour from there.

 

However prices are way over normal taxi fares. Celebrity would charge us (2 persons) total 88€ for transfers on bus. We will get same with taxi for 70€ for just two of us.

[mandream]

Take shuttle bus to the Colon Statue (Columbus) which is at the base of of Ramblas street.

 

Don't miss the food market on Ramblas if you are in to that sort of thing. My wife and I love visiting those kinds of places. It wasn't easy to find (for us) - we had a map and still misssed the entrance a couple of times.

[Lsimon]

Thank you all! It's weird, the transfers don't appear to be purchaseable anywhere on the Celebrity website (or on the website where I bought the cruise), I guess if I want to buy them I"ll have to call and talk to an actual person! :) Although it sounds like the taxi would be a better idea for us

 

If you booked the cruise through another site, other than Celebrity, that site represents an independent TA (travel agent). That means you'll probably have to contact them to book Celebrity transfers.

 

We've always taken cabs in Barcelona. In fact we've never taken Celebrity transfers to the ship at ay port. I'm curious if anyone who normally takes the Celebrity transfers can say if they have to take their luggage off the bus and check it or if it is "checked" once on the bus. If it is the latter then that might help you out.

 

Although it will cost extra, if you are not up for a full tour you might consider a pre arranged taxi who will pick you up at the airport and give you an hour or so driving tour around some sights away from the Ramblas/Gothic area. To places like La Segrada ( just exterior) and the Goudi buildings on La Pasea. If you can take an extra hour or so and then it won't be too long before check starts with luggage at the pier and you would also have seen some of the architectural sights away from Ramblas & Gothic quarter area. Then after you drop your luggage at the ship (and maybe even check in) you can head back out for a little touring around Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter on foot after you take the short taxi ride or shuttle from the pier to that area. Personally, I'd recommend a couple hours touring that area on foot rather than going on the hoho bus - but I'm not a big fan of the Barcelona hoho bus.

[TLCOhio]

I concur a taxi to the terminal should cost around 35.00 euros. Drop your luggage at the terminal. Check in will not begin until later @ 10:30. Take shuttle bus to the Colon Statue (Columbus) which is at the base of of Ramblas street. You could then catch the HOHO bus for a city tour and when ready return to terminal for check-in and sailing. Bill

 

Agree with Bill that . . . a taxi can work fine and be more cost-efficient than the cruise-ship transfer. The Barcelona airport terminal we used is only two years old, very nice and efficient. Lots of cabs there, the airport fairly close to the main part of Barcelona, the ship docking area very handy and nice, etc. It's too bad you won't be able to come in a day early to see Barcelona. It's a wonderful town, so much history, great architecture, charm, good food, etc. Below in my postings you can see many more pictures and info on Barcelona, life on the Solstice, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 19,801 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

 

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2011, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now over 46,194 views.

 

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

Appreciate those who have “tuned in” for these two posts. Don’t be shy and feel free to comment and/or ask any questions of interest.

[Jobeth66]

We used the ship transfers from the airport on our 5/14 sailing, and it worked out great for us. We had an early morning arrival, and when you walk out of customs you simply head towards your left, and there are a group of people holding up Celebrity signs to check you in.

 

You hand off your luggage, and then you don't see it again until they bring it to your room. For us, it was totally worth it not to have to deal with it after an overnight flight. Neither hubby nor I sleep well on planes, so having to deal with logistics just wasn't something we wanted to do. The $60 price tag was not an issue, even though a cab might have been a little cheaper. It was worth it to me for the peace of mind, especially on a same-day arrival. (Work issues made an extra pre-cruise day not doable for us, too.)

 

I don't know if using the ship transfer gets you priority baggage handling, but I know everyone I talked to who took the transfers on our sailing had their luggage early - ours was at our stateroom before 3:30pm. Very nice!

[bottomfeeder]

Thanks all. I did some research and found the answer to my luggage storage question, which I'm posting below for anyone else who might want it:

 

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/faq/questions/22/Lockers-at-Barcelona-Port-Cruise-Terminal%3F

[torybruno]

We were disappointed on our cruise departure day, we sat at the airport in Detroit because of thunderstorms in NYC, ended up going home and coming the next day. Luckily, we were flying in a day early to tour Barcelona and spend the night. We arrived around 8:00am.

 

I had contacted Barcelona Day Tours as soon as we were sent home the first day, and quickly arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and take us to 2 of the 3 sights that were at the top of our Barcelona list (Camp Nuo and Sagradia Familia) and then took us to the ship around 2. Our luggage stayed in the vehicle while we were touring. I don't think I would have been comfortable leaving luggage in a taxi that we had not set up prior.

 

Post cruise, the sky cap at the port asked if we had a taxi (he could see with 4 of us and luggage we needed a bigger taxi), he took us around to a mini van taxi for 65E and we did not have to wait in the taxi line.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Ken Hoover]

We have departed from that port twice. On both occacions we took our luggage to the celebrity transfers area and dropped them off. We watched them get loaded on the bus (we did not pay for transfers). Then took a taxi into town and went site seeing and had lunch. Then took a cab to the dock about 3pm. When we got on board our luggage was at our cabin. It worked out great.:)

[bottomfeeder]

We have departed from that port twice. On both occacions we took our luggage to the celebrity transfers area and dropped them off. We watched them get loaded on the bus (we did not pay for transfers). Then took a taxi into town and went site seeing and had lunch. Then took a cab to the dock about 3pm. When we got on board our luggage was at our cabin. It worked out great.:)

 

Quite sure I don't have the guts to try that! Though it does make me think I ought to be able to take a taxi to the port, drop our luggage off with Celebrity there, and then go into town, even if it's early in the morning.

[CaroleLee]

I'm very excited to be going on a Med cruise in November after several "cruiseless" years!

 

Neither the Celebrity website nor my TA's website has prices for Celebrity airport transfers (or even the ability to purchase them) yet. Can anyone who has recently sailed out of Barcelona let me know the prices they paid for Celebrity airport transfers (each way or roundtrip?) Just wondering if for 2 of us it will be less expensive to take a taxi vs. the transfers.

 

Also, our flight is scheduled to arrive very early in the morning (before 7) and I know we won't be able to board the ship until at least 11:30 or so...but would we be able to go to the port and drop off our suitcases early in the morning at the ship? Or is there another good option for storing them somewhere for the morning so we can tour Barcelona a bit on our own? Celebrity is offering a combo airport transfer/bus tour of Barcelona but we would prefer to go see Gaudi's cathedral on our own rather than doing that.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

Just back from Solstice BCN in June. Your flt arrives early but remeber that you have to go through luggage claim and immigration.This will add between 30 min to an hour to your arrival time. There are several cafes at the airport where you can stop & have a coffee/ gather your thoughts.The drive to the port is quick (+/- 30 min). A cab from the airport to the city was 35 euros for 4 people inc our luggage . Cabs are easy to find ( blackk & yellow) and the airport has a dispatching system( with Eng. speakers). Cabs will charge you a port entry fee and 1 euro per bag. Est between 40-50 euros for the 2 of you & bags & fees.

Have a wonderful cruise

Carole

[TomMMD]

Contact "Day Tours Barcelona". We used them to pick us up from the airport on one day and following the cruise we spent 10 hours with them to tour the city.

 

They will pick you up and you can keep your bags with you (just tell them in advance so they send a van if you need it) and they can give you a nice morning tour of the city and then take you to the port.

 

Do not confuse them with barcelona day tours.

 

Thanks for the tip on Day Tours Barcelona