Barcelona - 2017 Catalan Separation … impact on cruising?

[Son of a son of a ...]

Barcelona is a beautiful port that we fell in live with. It also serves as a major embarkation port for several lines, including NCL. How much of an impact will the civil unrest have on the future of Barcelona as a tourist destination?

[Minoushka]

I.m worried now .We are going there first week of Nov ...Truthfully I would prefer going elsewhere ...not sure if its safe there

I would prefer the cruise line not take a chance with 2000 pax

[NMLady]

I.m worried now .We are going there first week of Nov ...Truthfully I would prefer going elsewhere ...not sure if its safe there

I would prefer the cruise line not take a chance with 2000 pax

 

Perfectly safe. Just stay away from most of Las Ramblas, especially the area around Plaza Catalunya -- that is where most of the demonstrations are.

[Minoushka]

Interestingly enough ...not too long ago Barcelona had demonstrations requesting less tourists ...well guess what ...be careful what you wish for ...its going to happen sooner than we think

I for one would prefer avoiding the region at this time and not returning until everything is far calmer .....people who did not want tourists might beg them to come back when the negative fallout of less money in the area impacts people involved

I think Spain will not let go Catalonia anytime soon ..so we might be in for a long dreary miserable political battle ...we tourists should stay away from

I hope my ship ...Star goes elsewhere ....i dont want any trouble ....we are off next week ...doubt it will be settled by then ...so lets just stay away Nov 7 is too close for comfort

So NCL get out of that area ....do not take a chance with us ....right now I do not believe it is safe for us to be there so lets just stay away .....if we are forced to go there I will remain on board ....

So far we have had hurricanes , murders in Marseille and now upheaval in Barcelona ...disrupt our cruise and tranquility of spirit ....and we have not even boarded yet

Wow ! 😱😱😱😱

[kenmyfam]

Barcelona is very unsafe...we were robbed in our hotel suite while we slept in the bedroom 2 weeks ago.

Lost passports, all our cash, credit cards ..inside job for sure.

Missed 2 days of our Epic cruise...had to fly to meet the ship in Naples after getting emergency passports...a total nightmare...but we are thankful we are alive to tell the story

 

 

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[toledo_cruiser]

Barcelona is very unsafe...we were robbed in our hotel suite while we slept in the bedroom 2 weeks ago.

Lost passports, all our cash, credit cards ..inside job for sure.

Missed 2 days of our Epic cruise...had to fly to meet the ship in Naples after getting emergency passports...a total nightmare...but we are thankful we are alive to tell the story

 

 

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Details please. What hotel? Now I'm freaking out. Please tell me you weren't in the Mont Blanc. We're scheduled to be there November 22. I was worried about Casablanca, it appears I'll have to add Barcelona to the list. Guess I won't be getting much sleep before the cruise.

Jim

[steamboats]

Barcelona is very unsafe...we were robbed in our hotel suite while we slept in the bedroom 2 weeks ago.

 

Actually this has nothing to do with the current Catalan separation movement.

 

Barcelona is well known for pickpockets and more (although a robbery in a hotel room while someone sleeping in it sounds pretty unusal - you might not find your belongings anymore when you return to your hotel room but being robbed during the night is pretty unusual).

 

And actually Naples or Rome aren´t even safer regarding pickpockets.

 

But that´s a long and well known problem with no connection to the current political situation.

 

steamboats

[Highpeaklad]

Please chill about Barcelona. As a tourist you are very unlikely to be impacted by what’s happening at the moment.

Yes, keep up to date with the political situation but as long as you keep away from demonstrations you should be fine.

No one knows how this is going to unfold but it’s likely to be a long drawn out political process.

Political problems affect most cities across the world, but this is happening in a modern European state so the chances of serious unrest are small.

Please don’t let it spoil your cruise.

[kenmyfam]

We were at Novotel Barcelona Cornella about 15 min from the airport right near the highway.. totally an "inside" job...absolutely horrible.. they broke in again when they sent us to the police station to file a report after midnight!

 

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[mdricks]

Mark me down as ready-2-go! Keep your head down, remain respectful and be part of one of the seminal events of this decade. This is civilized culture vs civilized culture. I just don’t see it going into major violence. Plus you get to see the Sagrada Família!👍

[01tom]

We are in Barcelona right now as everything is unfolding but life is going on as normal. Yes there have been large crowds gathering but not everywhere, you can easily avoid them, it's a large city. Who knows what lies ahead but at the moment it's not impacting on our pre cruise days.

[purpleally]

Barcelona is very unsafe...we were robbed in our hotel suite while we slept in the bedroom 2 weeks ago.

Lost passports, all our cash, credit cards ..inside job for sure.

Missed 2 days of our Epic cruise...had to fly to meet the ship in Naples after getting emergency passports...a total nightmare...but we are thankful we are alive to tell the story

 

 

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OMG!!! What hotel? Where were you staying?

We were in Barcelona for a week, second week in October. Saw demonstrations but no personal issues

[15625RRPN]

After disembarking from our 9 day NCL Getaway Baltic cruise in early October and during checkin at our 5 Star hotel in Copenhagen we were robbed while sitting in the hotel lobby / bar area at 10am! Naturally our hotel room wasn’t quite ready for such an early check-in, so after completing most of the hotel paperwork, my wife & I both got our laptops out, connected to the hotel Wi-Fi and answered emails.

 

I left briefly to use the restroom and when I returned we were notified that our room was ready so we walked the 50 feet to the Hotel Registration and were asked to show our passports, which we couldn’t find- along with my wife’s billfold and purse were missing.

 

Her purse was in her backback sitting on the floor resting against her leg. So the last thing we thought was that it could have been stolen! The hotel suggested we go to our hotel room and look through all our luggage while they reviewed the Survelliance video. We were sickened to think this could have happened!

 

The reason I am posting this is to alert you at how quickly, quietly and when you least expect it these things can occur. While the hotel, Copenhagen police, hotel employees and US Embassy were all very helpful, these professional pickpockets are very stealthy! Please remember to travel with copies of your Passport, Drivers License, and Credit Cards. Also, please consider putting your phone / text number and email address in your passport on the Emergency page, just in case it is found. Also if the situation occurs, please check your Social Media accounts - as this may help the possible finder of your things get them back to you. Also, be careful about keeping your cell phone in your purse, if that gets taken from you as it could leave you totally helpless. Please just think before you leave home what you would do and need to replace any of your valuable information.

 

Obviously, we are not letting this impact our travel as next week we leave for Barcelona on our next NCL TA cruise to Port Canaveral.

[Minoushka]

Her purse was in her back pack at her feet and it disappeared .Im not sure i understand your explanation

Wjho was around to take it ...how did they open the back pack without you noticing

Im sure i, miising something

[15625RRPN]

She unzipped her backpack to remove her laptop, and didn’t zip it!closed. As such he could remove it rather quickly & quietly. Further, her back was away from the entrance and she thus didn’t see who was entering or leaving. The perpetrator approached from behind her.

 

He had been sitting in the corner of the room, probably observing all the coming & going in and out of the lobby. The surveillance video showed that when I left the room he sneaked behind some high backed Club Chairs which provided some obstruction so others in the lobby would not notice him. There were plenty of people around, but at the very moment no one else was seated nearby having breakfast or drinking coffee as had been the case intermittently that morning.

[Prinz]

She unzipped her backpack to remove her laptop, and didn’t zip it!closed. As such he could remove it rather quickly & quietly. Further, her back was away from the entrance and she thus didn’t see who was entering or leaving. The perpetrator approached from behind her.

 

He had been sitting in the corner of the room, probably observing all the coming & going in and out of the lobby. The surveillance video showed that when I left the room he sneaked behind some high backed Club Chairs which provided some obstruction so others in the lobby would not notice him. There were plenty of people around, but at the very moment no one else was seated nearby having breakfast or drinking coffee as had been the case intermittently that morning.

Your wife didn't notice someone kneeling between her legs? I'm not sure I want to know what you two normally do in hotel lobbies for that not to be a surprise.

 

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[15625RRPN]

That’s not what happened.

That’s not what I wrote either.

:(

[DMH15]

Two posts, #4 and #13 claimed robbery. Neither of these actually fit the description. Burglary, theft and pickpocketinng are non-confrontational while robbery is through confrontation and force which is much more traumatic.

 

Thieves and pickpockets are very savvy and the stories are mind-blowing. They prey on naive travellers. I would NEVER travel with a billfold. My passport and 90% of my money are in a money belt around my waist or under my shirt. Anybody's hands go there, they had better buy me dinner.

 

 

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[Prinz]

Two posts, #4 and #13 claimed robbery. Neither of these actually fit the description. Burglary, theft and pickpocketinng are non-confrontational while robbery is through confrontation and force which is much more traumatic.

 

Thieves and pickpockets are very savvy and the stories are mind-blowing. They prey on naive travellers. I would NEVER travel with a billfold. My passport and 90% of my money are in a money belt around my waist or under my shirt. Anybody's hands go there, they had better buy me dinner.

 

 

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Can they use that money to buy you dinner?

 

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[pspercy]

Mark me down as ready-2-go! Keep your head down, remain respectful and be part of one of the seminal events of this decade. This is civilized culture vs civilized culture. I just don’t see it going into major violence. Plus you get to see the Sagrada Família!👍

 

Culture vs culture maybe, but the EU won't tolerate separatism and the Spanish gov't will be under pressure to nip this in the bud pronto.

[Snowrose]

Please chill about Barcelona. As a tourist you are very unlikely to be impacted by what’s happening at the moment.

Yes, keep up to date with the political situation but as long as you keep away from demonstrations you should be fine.

No one knows how this is going to unfold but it’s likely to be a long drawn out political process.

Political problems affect most cities across the world, but this is happening in a modern European state so the chances of serious unrest are small.

Please don’t let it spoil your cruise.

 

I feel differently. All of 20 years ago I did a Mediterranean cruise. We went to Istanbul and had a great time. The next day there was a riot in the square between Santa Sophia and the Blue Mosque, right where we'd been. Many injuries. We were incredibly lucky, we had no idea there was unrest in the area at the time.

[kenmyfam]

Two posts, #4 and #13 claimed robbery. Neither of these actually fit the description. Burglary, theft and pickpocketinng are non-confrontational while robbery is through confrontation and force which is much more traumatic.

 

Thieves and pickpockets are very savvy and the stories are mind-blowing. They prey on naive travellers. I would NEVER travel with a billfold. My passport and 90% of my money are in a money belt around my waist or under my shirt. Anybody's hands go there, they had better buy me dinner.

 

 

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What we went through was in fact very traumatic....I haven't been able to sleep more than a few hours at a time since...thinking about what could have happened to us if there had been a confrontation while they were in our suite in the other room stealing my purse.

 

 

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[ollienbertsmum]

Please chill about Barcelona. As a tourist you are very unlikely to be impacted by what’s happening at the moment.

Yes, keep up to date with the political situation but as long as you keep away from demonstrations you should be fine.

No one knows how this is going to unfold but it’s likely to be a long drawn out political process.

Political problems affect most cities across the world, but this is happening in a modern European state so the chances of serious unrest are small.

Please don’t let it spoil your cruise.

 

Absolutely agree that the current political situation is not impacting tourist situation. I have just spent my pre cruise day in a hotel 200 m from Placa de San Jaume. You really would not know that there is a constitutional crisis.

 

There was a demonstration - Moroccans demonstrating about What is happening in the Rif Mountains. There were lots of them but we watched and DH asked one about it. All safe.

 

 

I have to say that I was a little apprehensive but all has been normal. I love Barcelona.

[FreestyleNovice]

Here's your Barcelona cruise tourist starter pack for a certain poster, including red and yellow make up crayons to blend in with both sides:

 

 

 

[isbclarin]

We were in Bangkok in February 2014 when there were demonstrations to remove the prime minister. We kept in contact with the US Embassy who could only apprise us of the situation and let it up to us to decide. We went and had a wonderful time. We walked through the crowds of demonstrators and didn't feel threatened at any time. It was obvious we were tourists and weren't really involved with the politics either way. Talked to a few of them to find out what was going on. It was more like a hippy gathering of the 70's with tent cities, booths selling T-shirts and anti-government paraphernalia, nightly music shows, etc. The military took over shortly after the demonstrations which is the situation now insofar as I know. I would imagine the situation in Barcelona now is similar to what we experienced and I don't think we would hesitate to continue with whatever plans we had. Just watch your valuables which is true anytime and carry your backpack over your chest as you walk La Ramblas.

 

Barbara and Bob