Oasis of the Seas Barcelona - Italy - Barcelona Live Review?

[novicetraveller]

Ok.... here goes. (Am debating on whether to start a new thread or not, but until then, it's on here)

 

I am from London and have been cruising with RCCL since 2009 as a result of being invited by a friend on his 40th Birthday. I took a couple of years off and then been cruising on the smallest ship in the World, aka The Allure of the Seas, which only handles around 6,000 people, ever since.

 

Sarcasm aside... I am a Diabetic, Dyslexic, Dyspraxic, Vegetarian and an enthusiastic photographer. I am sure I have missed something, but there again, it's around 9:30pm local at the time of posting, and have been up since 4am UK time (5am Central European Time)

 

To expand on my Diabetes, I am a T2 Diabetic on Insulin (3 times a day) and also take a multitude of other medications.

 

To expand on my photography. With me on this cruise, I am using a Canon 5D Mark 3 and have a 24-105mm F/4 Lens, 70-200mm F/2.8 Mark 2 lens, 180mm macro lens and a 150-500mm Sigma F/5 to F/6.3.

 

I arrived into Barcelona 3 days before the cruise (if you want to be pedantic, it's 2.5 days, as I didn't arrive until around 12pm local time). I am staying in the Marina View BCN Hotel in a room that has a brick wall as a view (which is ok for me, as it means I can get to sleep at night!).

 

I have 2 excursions booked into the Pyrenees. More details to follow. I don't have any pictures of the B&B, as all it is is a B&B in a apartment block.

 

Useless bits of info.

 

The Oasis of the Seas will be occupying 2 terminals at Moll Adossat, Barcelona, which is around 3.5km, which works out to be around 45 minutes on foot. I'll be getting a taxi to the port, even though the distance doesn't appear to be far.

 

Spain is known for it's Tapas.

 

The streets behind the hotel are residential (oh, I may have forgotten to say the Hotel I am staying in is in fact a B&B that is really an apartment in a block of flats on the 4th floor. It's not ideal for those who are restriction on movement. Whether it be wheelchair bound or scooter bound - Other vehicles are available, as well as other terminology. Please note, I mean no disrespect in my definition of Wheelchair bound).

 

There are a wealth of restaurants in Barcelona aimed at those who want to try Tapas, Italian, Vegan, Vegetarian or other types of food. There are Food courts / places on the roads behind where I am staying which covers these range of local food.

 

If you are a Fast Food Chain person, McDonalds, Burger King, Subways and other food outlets are available.

 

If you need any medical stuff, there are some chemists around here. If you need any food supplies (pre-cruise), there are some 24 hour Supermarkets around.

 

Most shops workers do speak some English, but don't count on it being the case in every shop. Barcelona is not like the UK or the US, so don't assume English is the first language or even spoken by the locals.

 

If you are staying for more than a day pre-cruise or looking for something to do before your journey home and want to do a hop on / hop off tour, there are 3 lines available and costs around 27 Euros if you bought local. RCCL offer something similar, but costs a bit more.

 

Day 1 and 2 (Pre-Cruise) report to follow tomorrow. Any questions about Barcelona, please let me know. Can't promise to answer them. And please don't ask if there is a Margaritaville or something Americanised in Barcelona, as I didn't come to the Med to look for fast food outlets, or any American / English style outlets. The ones mentioned were found by chance.

 

I am sure I have forgotten something, but I am tired and I have an early start tomorrow.

[Cshgrand]

Yes, Yes!! I'm very interested as I will be on the Allure next May during the same cruise. Have a great trip!

 

 

Likewise! Will be following along.

[papcx]

Spain is known for it's Tapas.

 

 

 

Is it? Can anyone clarify this!.

 

:D

[novicetraveller]

Is it? Can anyone clarify this!.

 

:D

 

 

You would be surprised how many people wouldn't have known that. :o

[tidygirl]

Would like to know how you are getting to the ship taxi or public transportation? We are leaving for Barcelona in 9 days and cruising on the Liberty, Will be trying public transportation in Barcelona and most of the ports a new experience for us!

[novicetraveller]

Ok... Just some quick images from my visit in Barcelona yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Nothing great yesterday, as I decided to acclimatise myself with the environment first before taking many photos. I will try and see if I can take more images over the next couple of days of Barcelona. I will try and provide a summary later on this evening.

[novicetraveller]

Would like to know how you are getting to the ship taxi or public transportation? We are leaving for Barcelona in 9 days and cruising on the Liberty, Will be trying public transportation in Barcelona and most of the ports a new experience for us!

 

 

I will likely be getting a taxi to the port, mainly because I am still unfamiliar with Barcelona and don't want to take any chances with 3 bags.

[novicetraveller]

Just one more image from yesterday. This is an image that composes of around 10 photos stitched together in order to get the whole building into 1 shot.

 

[bigeck]

Would like to know how you are getting to the ship taxi or public transportation? We are leaving for Barcelona in 9 days and cruising on the Liberty, Will be trying public transportation in Barcelona and most of the ports a new experience for us!

 

Try this.

Bus leaves Plaza Catalunya. T3 takes you to the port

 

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/bcn-transport/193-cruise-ship-terminals

 

And for other info;

 

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/

Edited September 11, 2014 by bigeck

[Fall2010]

Try this.

Bus leaves Plaza Catalunya. T3 takes you to the port

 

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/bcn-transport/193-cruise-ship-terminals

 

And for other info;

 

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/

 

 

Thank you for the great links!

[emmy]

Here is a photo of her this morning in Malaga ~ she has arrived in Europe :)

 

 

 

[Folk Singer]

Yes please.

 

 

Oh. that would be great to see live pics of malaga.

[Folk Singer]

Ok... Just some quick images from my visit in Barcelona yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Nothing great yesterday, as I decided to acclimatise myself with the environment first before taking many photos. I will try and see if I can take more images over the next couple of days of Barcelona. I will try and provide a summary later on this evening.

 

 

Barcelona. One of my favourite cities.:D

[novicetraveller]

Day 2 - Cruise -2 days.

 

Today I went to the Pyrenees with a company called Explore Catalunya. I booked this tour via the airline. (Search for Pyrenees Mountains Small Group Day Trip from Barcelona via your favourite search engine).

 

The tour started at 8:30am, but the location was a pain in backside to find. Was sent off track a couple of times by the locals. However, I managed to find the place and checked in. (If you book the tour, there is a shop next door where you can buy some food if needed for the trip. My advice is to buy some drinks at the very least).

 

For those who don't know, the 11th September is Catalan Day in Spain. Today is a more significant day in that it is 300 years since the Spanish went to war with Catalan. This year is also significant in that the Catalans have a referendum on the 9th November to determine whether they should become independant.

 

We visited Vic and a place beginning with Q (sorry, can't remember the name off hand) before making our way to the Pyrenees for a few hours.

 

We arrived back into Barcelona at around 6:30pm. I found the tour guide to not be as knowledgeable as I would have liked as he had referred to a book from time to time. Also, he wasn't as sociable as I would have liked (except with the more attractive members of the group, but not in a bad way).

 

After coming back to Barcelona town, I went back to the hotel on foot (which took about 15 to 20 minutes). I saw some slight cosmetic damages to some property, but nothing too serious. If only all demos were like that!

 

I went to the Pasta Bar on Carrer dels Escudellers. I went there last night, and enjoyed the Spaghetti. I went for the Spinach filled Ravioli this evening. The cook recognised me from yesterday, which is a nice touch. The bar isn't overly busy, but at least the food is freshly cooked. The bar is situated in Old Barcelona. At first glance, it doesn't look pretty, but it is safe. People do walk around with cameras around their necks, so it can't be all bad.

 

There are other restaurants available, but I liked the food at the Pasta Bar, and it comes highly recommended.

 

I will post some images tomorrow, as I haven't had the opportunity to import them all into my computer yet, and it's gone 9pm here and have another early start tomorrow.

Edited September 11, 2014 by novicetraveller

[h20cruzer]

You are doing great, keep it up. Really enjoy your take on things.

Norma

[novicetraveller]

 

 

 

 

[Static events]

Great so far

[novicetraveller]

Morning all. Day 3. Hopefully, my tour guide will arrive to pick me up. I hope he can find me. It looks like I have new neighbours last night. They arrived at around midnight last night. I say this as that was around the time they woke me up with their loud conversations and shouting down the corridor. I gave it around 20 minutes to see if they would quieten down before getting up and asking them politely to tone down the conversation. They were quite apologetic and immediately had quietened down. I was able to get back to sleep after that. I just hope I can stay awake today and concentrate on taking those wildlife shots.

 

A FAQ question that people may ask.

 

Q: Is there a Laundrette in Spain?

 

A: Yes there is. I saw one in old Barcelona on my way to get dinner last night and the night before.

[flames]

Loving the Pictures, I will be there next year:cool:

 

Carol:)

[celly]

Hi all,

 

I am flying out to Barcelona tomorrow 3 days ahead of my Mini-Med Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas. I am thinking about doing a Live'ish review, including my 2 day trip to the Spanish side of the Pyrenees (private tours). Would anyone be interested in me doing this before hand? It'll be like my last live review where it's a photography journey more than anything else, but won't be covering a lot of things on the ship, especially as some of the features will be going.

 

Novicetraveller.

 

Yes please do! Looking forward to your review. Safe travels, enjoy your cruise and land tour!

[DarkDream]

Hi all,

 

I am flying out to Barcelona tomorrow 3 days ahead of my Mini-Med Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas. I am thinking about doing a Live'ish review, including my 2 day trip to the Spanish side of the Pyrenees (private tours). Would anyone be interested in me doing this before hand? It'll be like my last live review where it's a photography journey more than anything else, but won't be covering a lot of things on the ship, especially as some of the features will be going.

 

Novicetraveller.

 

Barcelona is a wonderful city. I am from Tarragona (100km of distance) and I will be boarding next 23th.

 

I can´t wait!

 

If you need some info for your two days prior the boarding, do not hesitate to contact me.

 

For instance, once you are in Barcelona, if you want to go to the port, you can catch the subway (green line) to "Drassanes Station". Once there, you will see a big square with a statue of "Christopher Columbus". In there, you can catch the bus T-3 in order to reach the Terminal A/B, where the Oasis will be waiting for you.

 

Enjoy the city, and if you have enough spare time, you could come to Tarragona/Salou, where you can find the best beaches of Spain.

 

Greetings

[Folk Singer]

Yes please do! Looking forward to your review. Safe travels, enjoy your cruise and land tour!

 

 

Have fun and enjoy. So jealous. lol

[NolaFireLI]

Enjoying your beautiful pictures and review....

Have a wonderful cruise!!!

[novicetraveller]

Day 3 of Barcelona. Cruise -1 day.

 

So I went to the Pyrenees today with a professional Nature photographer to do some Wildlife photography. Going to around 2000 metres above Sea Level is breathtaking. The journey from the hotel to the Pyrenees took approximately 1.5 hours. The route took us past Montserrat. (PS, there maybe a Monserrat in the Caribbean, please don't get this confused with the Spanish Montserrat). It is close to the end of the season for the Butterflies and Wild Flowers, so if you are looking for insects and unusual flowers to photograph, please go between May and August for the best results.

 

For the tour guide details, please search via your favourite search engine for Barcelona Birding Point.

 

I managed to take some great images of some birds, butterflies and flowers, as well as some scenic images. Will upload them shortly.

 

Nothing much to repot in terms of dinner. I was exhausted, so I stayed with what I knew. Especially as it played favourably with my Diabetes. I have 5 days on the Oasis to lose control with my Diabetes.

 

Any questions regarding Barcelona, please feel free to ask. As always, I can't promise to have the answers, but I am sure someone will know the answer.

 

FAQ for the day.

 

If you are going on a cruise from Barcelona, I would suggest spending at least 5 days in Barcelona, if you can. If you can't spend 5 days in Barcelona, please spend as much time as possible in Barcelona, and if there is one thing you should do is visit the Pyrenees.

 

Euros is the official currency of Spain. If you want funny looks, go into the shop with a different currency.

 

There are plenty of shops in and around Barcelona. Don't take it for granted that people in shops speak English. If you can't speak Spanish, sometimes pointing at things work.

 

If you don't want to have breakfast in your hotel, there are places in and around Barcelona that serve Breakfast from as early as 7am.

 

The ATM's mainly serve Euros. I don't know if there are any cash machines that issue other currency.

 

Graffiti and Street Art is common place in Spain.

 

Spain has a Sex Trade. Don't know why I am mentioning this, I guess I don't want anyone to come to Spain being shocked or disappointed, especially if they have lived a sheltered life.

 

The locals tend to go out in the evening and enjoy themselves when it is cooler. So the streets may be noisier in the evening than compared to back home.

 

Some restaurants have free Wifi. Some call it Social Wifi whereby you log onto their Wifi with your Facebook account.

 

Chip and Pin Credit / Debit cards with Visa and Mastercard are accepted in most places. I don't know if others are accepted, but logos associated with the above brands are recognised in most outlets. I am pretty sure magnetic stripe Credit and Debit cards are accepted.

[Iamthesea]

I hope you also went to Montserrat. Fabulous!

 

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/tour/montserrat-spain.html