Tink2312
<font color=magenta>I didn't ask to be a princess
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2007
“We’ve just returned from sunny Spain…Y Viva Espanya…travelling by cable car, boat and plane…Y Viva Espanya..”
Introduction
For those of you that don’t know, let’s introduce the gang:
Me – Catherine (27), Mum – Sue (59), Dad – Phil (62)
So, our Disney Cruise “relationship” began in April 2011, when we booked our 4 night Bahamas cruise for November 2012. We were actually hoping to take a DCL Med cruise in 2012 but of course they decided to have a year away from the Med so we put that idea on the back-burner…until in March 2012 when the Med itineraries were announced (cue some jumping, screaming, calendar checking and calculator button-bashing
!!)
We decided on a 7A Navigators Veranda on deck 7 aft and later we finalised plans booking 4 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise, Monarch flights and Suntransfers for our airport to city and port to airport transfers.
I think that’s the preliminaries sorted, so let’s get the holiday started…
Day 1 – Welcome to Barcelona
After our ridiculously early alarm call of 4.10am
(which I almost repeated for my first day back at work, thankfully catching my mistake before hitting the confirm button!) we were soon in a taxi heading for Manchester Airport. A significant queue had already developed for the Monarch flights but since it was sub-6am upon arrival and our brains were yet to engage, we failed to realise that as we’d checked in online, we could skip and simply move to the bag drop line (which was virtually non-existent).
I soon realised we needed to be in that other line and after re-locating, dropping our bags and going through security we were passing through the duty-free shop before 6.30am - even with slight delays thanks to a luggage belt malfunction, celebrity ogling
(Harry Kewell and family) and a good frisking (Dad not me – by the way, I’m beginning to wonder what exactly on him is setting off the alarms as he was almost down to his boxers by the time they’d finished!
).
We piled into the Styal Lounge (without making any purchases – I was very restrained
) and I enjoyed a breakfast of cereals, croissants, genoa cake, bourbon biscuits and pineapple juice (did I mention I’m on holiday). The flight was scheduled to leave on time so after an hour or so relax, off to the gate it was.
In the end we left about 5 minutes late so thumbs up for Monarch! We had paid the uplift when we booked for their platinum package which nets you pre-booked seats at the front of the plane with extra leg room and another 3kg of luggage so our (albeit short) journey was very comfortable. No food/ drink was purchased (after all I think I’d eaten enough in the lounge) although the occupant before me had and had seen fit to smear whatever chocolate-y treat they had enjoyed all over my seat and seat belt. Luckily I had spotted it before sitting down and received a seat and belt cover to protect my clothes.
The flight was otherwise uneventful and after touching down, passing through immigration and luggage collection we were soon meeting our Suntransfer driver (who was waiting for us in arrivals). We were most impressed by the black Audi with its leather seats and massive boot and we made a mental note to check them first when needing a transfer in future.
We were soon passing Columbus and then outside our home for the next 4 nights, the Hotel Barcelona Universal on Avenue Paral-lel. I almost didn’t make it inside though – I was very close to being at the wrong end of a speedy cyclist
(anyone who has been to Barcelona has probably seen these devils of speed and knows to be aware of their presence, unfortunately I did not but thankfully flung myself back before the carnage occurred).
Whilst recovering from my “near-death” experience, I found some amusement watching our hotel porter dodge the cyclists (there are plenty of them) as he was bringing our luggage in from the car. Our room wasn’t ready (it was about 1pm so we weren’t expecting it to be) so after being furnished with maps, a warning about pickpockets and personal safety and storing our belongings, we were off to explore the city.
Reception staff had instructed us of the best route to La Rambla (which corresponded with my own pre-holiday research) and we soon arrived. Despite my sizable “breakfast” I was pretty hungry as were my parents and what delight of Spanish cuisine did we see as soon as we hit La Rambla….? A Burger King
. Ok, not very Spanish but we were hungry and it was familiar! Burgers and cokes polished off we continued on our stroll down La Rambla.
For anyone unfamiliar with Barcelona, La Rambla is basically a long, wide street bordered by shops, bars, hotels and restaurants with a pedestrianised strip in the middle with cafes, bars and stalls along it.
(Apologies for the dark photos today - I only had my point and click with me.)
There are also a number of small squares off the main route
We walked down to the end of La Rambla, to the Christopher Columbus monument we saw on our arrival this morning
and then back up La Rambla to Placa Catalunya. I think there was a bit of nougat and/or ice cream tasting along the way too.
Placa Catalunya is termed the nerve centre of Barcelona and is one of the main transfer points for the hop on hop off buses with shops, restaurants, hotels and banks around the edge of a large pedestrianised square with a fountain in the centre.
We had pre-booked a 2 day pass for the Bus Turistic hop on hop off bus and we knew we needed to pick it up from Placa Catalunya (or I think another of the main transfer points) the first time we boarded so I checked out where they stopped.
We were getting a little tired by now so we headed back to the hotel where our room was waiting for us. To cut down on cost we decided to book a triple rather than 2 rooms and I was glad we did as it was massive with lots of storage space for our cases. After having a short rest we were off out again to pick up some groceries and scope out dinner.
We took a right directly out of the hotel and walked up to Placa d’Espanya which is another big square marking the entrance to Montjuic with a monumental fountain in the centre (honestly, you can’t swing a cat in Barcelona without hitting one of those monumental fountains!).
By now (about 8pm) out 4am start was most-definitely taking its toll and after picking up some groceries we all decided we were too tired to go out for dinner and instead we opted for a Subway take away to go along with the groceries we’d bought. Sadly it wasn’t a day for fine-dining but then again, there was plenty of that to come on the cruise!
We were in bed by 10pm and fast asleep by 10.02pm! Although the room had no view of the city (the windows were entirely frosted and in any case, looked out onto a very small courtyard area) it had very little traffic noise, which was a real blessing given that Avenue Paral-lel is a popular main route.
Next up - Day 2 - The red hand gang
Introduction
For those of you that don’t know, let’s introduce the gang:
Me – Catherine (27), Mum – Sue (59), Dad – Phil (62)
So, our Disney Cruise “relationship” began in April 2011, when we booked our 4 night Bahamas cruise for November 2012. We were actually hoping to take a DCL Med cruise in 2012 but of course they decided to have a year away from the Med so we put that idea on the back-burner…until in March 2012 when the Med itineraries were announced (cue some jumping, screaming, calendar checking and calculator button-bashing
!!)We decided on a 7A Navigators Veranda on deck 7 aft and later we finalised plans booking 4 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise, Monarch flights and Suntransfers for our airport to city and port to airport transfers.
I think that’s the preliminaries sorted, so let’s get the holiday started…
Day 1 – Welcome to Barcelona
After our ridiculously early alarm call of 4.10am
(which I almost repeated for my first day back at work, thankfully catching my mistake before hitting the confirm button!) we were soon in a taxi heading for Manchester Airport. A significant queue had already developed for the Monarch flights but since it was sub-6am upon arrival and our brains were yet to engage, we failed to realise that as we’d checked in online, we could skip and simply move to the bag drop line (which was virtually non-existent).I soon realised we needed to be in that other line and after re-locating, dropping our bags and going through security we were passing through the duty-free shop before 6.30am - even with slight delays thanks to a luggage belt malfunction, celebrity ogling
(Harry Kewell and family) and a good frisking (Dad not me – by the way, I’m beginning to wonder what exactly on him is setting off the alarms as he was almost down to his boxers by the time they’d finished!). We piled into the Styal Lounge (without making any purchases – I was very restrained
) and I enjoyed a breakfast of cereals, croissants, genoa cake, bourbon biscuits and pineapple juice (did I mention I’m on holiday). The flight was scheduled to leave on time so after an hour or so relax, off to the gate it was.In the end we left about 5 minutes late so thumbs up for Monarch! We had paid the uplift when we booked for their platinum package which nets you pre-booked seats at the front of the plane with extra leg room and another 3kg of luggage so our (albeit short) journey was very comfortable. No food/ drink was purchased (after all I think I’d eaten enough in the lounge
) although the occupant before me had and had seen fit to smear whatever chocolate-y treat they had enjoyed all over my seat and seat belt. Luckily I had spotted it before sitting down and received a seat and belt cover to protect my clothes.The flight was otherwise uneventful and after touching down, passing through immigration and luggage collection we were soon meeting our Suntransfer driver (who was waiting for us in arrivals). We were most impressed by the black Audi with its leather seats and massive boot and we made a mental note to check them first when needing a transfer in future.
We were soon passing Columbus and then outside our home for the next 4 nights, the Hotel Barcelona Universal on Avenue Paral-lel. I almost didn’t make it inside though – I was very close to being at the wrong end of a speedy cyclist
(anyone who has been to Barcelona has probably seen these devils of speed and knows to be aware of their presence, unfortunately I did not but thankfully flung myself back before the carnage occurred).Whilst recovering from my “near-death” experience, I found some amusement watching our hotel porter dodge the cyclists (there are plenty of them) as he was bringing our luggage in from the car. Our room wasn’t ready (it was about 1pm so we weren’t expecting it to be) so after being furnished with maps, a warning about pickpockets and personal safety and storing our belongings, we were off to explore the city.
Reception staff had instructed us of the best route to La Rambla (which corresponded with my own pre-holiday research) and we soon arrived. Despite my sizable “breakfast” I was pretty hungry as were my parents and what delight of Spanish cuisine did we see as soon as we hit La Rambla….? A Burger King
. Ok, not very Spanish but we were hungry and it was familiar! Burgers and cokes polished off we continued on our stroll down La Rambla.For anyone unfamiliar with Barcelona, La Rambla is basically a long, wide street bordered by shops, bars, hotels and restaurants with a pedestrianised strip in the middle with cafes, bars and stalls along it.
(Apologies for the dark photos today - I only had my point and click with me.)
There are also a number of small squares off the main route
We walked down to the end of La Rambla, to the Christopher Columbus monument we saw on our arrival this morning
and then back up La Rambla to Placa Catalunya. I think there was a bit of nougat and/or ice cream tasting along the way too.
Placa Catalunya is termed the nerve centre of Barcelona and is one of the main transfer points for the hop on hop off buses with shops, restaurants, hotels and banks around the edge of a large pedestrianised square with a fountain in the centre.
We had pre-booked a 2 day pass for the Bus Turistic hop on hop off bus and we knew we needed to pick it up from Placa Catalunya (or I think another of the main transfer points) the first time we boarded so I checked out where they stopped.
We were getting a little tired by now so we headed back to the hotel where our room was waiting for us. To cut down on cost we decided to book a triple rather than 2 rooms and I was glad we did as it was massive with lots of storage space for our cases. After having a short rest we were off out again to pick up some groceries and scope out dinner.
We took a right directly out of the hotel and walked up to Placa d’Espanya which is another big square marking the entrance to Montjuic with a monumental fountain in the centre (honestly, you can’t swing a cat in Barcelona without hitting one of those monumental fountains!).
By now (about 8pm) out 4am start was most-definitely taking its toll and after picking up some groceries we all decided we were too tired to go out for dinner and instead we opted for a Subway take away to go along with the groceries we’d bought. Sadly it wasn’t a day for fine-dining but then again, there was plenty of that to come on the cruise!
We were in bed by 10pm and fast asleep by 10.02pm! Although the room had no view of the city (the windows were entirely frosted and in any case, looked out onto a very small courtyard area) it had very little traffic noise, which was a real blessing given that Avenue Paral-lel is a popular main route.
Next up - Day 2 - The red hand gang
looking forward to more
