Royal Princess arrives Barcelona at 9:00am Can we make a Noon train to Madrid

[shepsm001]

We will be getting off a day early in Barcelona on 5/5/17. Assuming we get a walk off ticket with our luggage and be first off, will we have any trouble getting a cab to Sants Railway station in time to pick up the noon high speed train to Madrid (Sants is about 2 miles away from the port) ? Thanks a lot and Muchas Gracias.

[SuiteTraveler]

Taxis are plentiful, so this should not be a problem at all.

[shepsm001]

THX. How long for the boat to clear customs? an hour?

[mskaufman]

Agree that this should not be a problem, even if you got off the boat at 10:30.

[John Bull]

I strongly suspect that the ship will port much earlier - probably while you're still in the land of nod - and that the quoted 9am is first disembarkation.

 

Either way, as others have posted, no worries :cool:

 

JB :)

[campolady]

We have had 2 late arrivals at Barcelona. For peace of mind I would book a later train.

[Hula Lullaby]

After reading a few reviews, we have decided to fly on Iberia Airlines round trip from Barcelona to Madrid, after our cruise. The flight/travel time is shorter and the price is half of the round trip train ride!

[shepsm001]

Thank you

[shepsm001]

Not sure about this. The train can be as low as $125 and goes city center to city center saving a lot of time. We can go premiere class on the noon train for $149 and there is a special departure lounge for such passengers and the seating area on the train is real nice. Sants railway station is 1.8 miles from the port and the Madrid station is a short cab ride to downtown hotels. Also no airport hassles at all. City center to city center is a bit over three hours and you can't match this by air not even close and the cab fares will be far far higher getting to and fro from the airports .

[shepsm001]

Big thanks!

[EnricM]

I would like to chip in....

 

The overall time to Madrid by plane is not that much shorter than the train ride if waiting times and trips to/from the airport are included.

 

By train, it takes 2h30"... on a very comfortable high-speed train -reaching speeds over 200mph- which takes you from the centre of Barcelona to the centre of Madrid without further hassle. And the train is always on time.

 

By plane, while the flight is evidently shorter (around 1h), you need to factor in the trips to/from the airport and the waiting time. Contrary to the train, you can't just arrive at the airport 10" before departure and board the plane! Also note that strict punctuality on departure is not necessarily guaranteed, especially in periods of a lot of affluence of travellers. The airport of Barcelona (BCN) handles about the same number of passengers than the airport of Los Angeles (LAX).

 

Price-wise it depends a lot on the week of the year and also the advance with which one purchases the ticket. Both means are in direct competition and there are aggressive offers very often. This is not to say this particular haul is cheap, though!