NCL Star: Barcelona Shore Excursion Question (Scenic Barcelona)

[ajtraveler66]

The "Scenic Barcelona" excursion looks very good.  The last 'to-see' item of that excursion is to go to the Gothic area.

 

Here's my question:  "Can it be arranged for us to end the excursion there...and not return to the ship with the group?"  We might want to linger around in that area a while longer and then make our own way back to the cruise ship via taxi, walking, or whatever.  (We're thinking tapa time, etc. 😀  )

 

I know some will suggest that we do the entire day all 'on our own', but some members of our party do have knee problems...so we try to limit extensive walking as much as possible.  This "Scenic Barcelona" allows us to see quite a bit.

[GreenFamily]

1 hour ago, ajtraveler66 said:

The "Scenic Barcelona" excursion looks very good.  The last 'to-see' item of that excursion is to go to the Gothic area.

 

Here's my question:  "Can it be arranged for us to end the excursion there...and not return to the ship with the group?"  We might want to linger around in that area a while longer and then make our own way back to the cruise ship via taxi, walking, or whatever.  (We're thinking tapa time, etc. 😀  )

 

I know some will suggest that we do the entire day all 'on our own', but some members of our party do have knee problems...so we try to limit extensive walking as much as possible.  This "Scenic Barcelona" allows us to see quite a bit.

Make sure your tour includes the inside of the La Sagrada Familia. It can’t be missed. It requires advanced reservations. Perhaps a hop on hop off bus would work for your group. 

[MeHeartCruising]

I've "left early" on a few ship excursions through the years.  I've always told the guide in clear language and made sure they understand what I was doing and they never had an issue with it.  I was never stopped from doing this.  I've done this on NCL and on Royal Caribbean excursions.  Just make sure that they understand what you are doing.  You don't want them counting and re-counting and waiting and holding up others from a timely move to the next location or back to the ship.

 

Also, I would guess this might not ALWAYS be acceptable to some tour guides and/or the companies they work for (these are 3rd party companies hired by the cruise lines).  You will need to ask and be prepared if they say no.  They may have reasons to not do it that weren't in place with my situation.

[DaggoB]

If they have an excursion into El Raval look into that. We spent two days there before our cruise and it is 10 minutes from the port. The Tapas are amazing and it is not a tourist trap like downtown Barcelona. Enjoy. It is beautiful there in Spain.