BARCELONA: Our 7-day cruise set sail from Barcelona, Spain at 7 PM on Sunday, May 16th. Our ship was the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Voyager of the Seas. We had sailed on Voyager once before in the Caribbean and were familiar with the layout of the ship. We were on Deck 7, in an outside cabin with a balcony, midship on the starboard side. We chose the starboard side because of the itinerary, which would have the starboard side toward the coast of Europe from Naples to France and back to Barcelona. Our cruise took us directly east from Barcelona across the Med, between the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, to Naples, then north along the Italian coast from Naples to Civitavecchia (Rome), Livorno (Florence and Pisa), and Genoa, then west to Toulon in Provence, France, and back to Barcelona.
The biggest adventure of the cruise was getting to the ship. Originally I had booked a direct flight on Spanair from Stuttgart to Barcelona, arriving around 1:10 PM, which would give us plenty of time to get the 3:30 RCCL shuttle from the airport to the pier for our 7 PM departure. HOWEVER, in March I received an email from Spanair that they had cancelled the direct flight and had rebooked us on a flight from Stuttgart to Frankfurt, with a 45 minute layover until the connecting flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona, arriving at the Barcelona airport at 3:05 PM. That was fine, as long as the flights were on time and the 3:30 PM shuttle would still be there by the time we got our luggage.
First Leg: We left Stuttgart 20 minutes late, which really cut into our 45 minute layover in Frankfurt.
Second Leg: Since we were on a small shuttle type aircraft, at Frankfurt the plane parked out on the tarmac near Terminal E where a bus was waiting for us. Our connecting flight to Barcelona was leaving from Terminal A in about 20 minutes. Fortunately, the bus took everyone to Terminal A, where we discovered we had to get to Gate 36. The airport terminals in Europe are ENORMOUS, so big in fact that they list the walking time to gates on the information boards. By the time we finally got to the entrance to Terminal A, we had about 12 minutes until our flight, which was on-time, was scheduled to leave - with a 15 minute walk to the gate according to the info board. So, I took off at a fast walk and got to the gate about 2 minutes before they were going to close the door. I let them know we were there and that my wife was on her way. We boarded and they closed the door to the plane just after we got to our seats. We took off on time - HOORAY, since we were now on the plane and because we were again facing a very short time schedule upon landing in Barcelona.
Third Leg: We landed at the Barcelona Airport, another monster airport. By the time we got off the plane and to the baggage carousel, it was 3:25 and our RCCL shuttle was supposed to leave at 3:30. I asked DeeDee to wait for the luggage at the luggage carousel while I tried to find the RCCL people to let them know we were there. I could not find anyone from the cruise line in the baggage carousel area. I finally spotted an Info Desk and the lady told me the cruise people would be "outside", pointing at two very large green doors. I went to the doors, which were controlled by motion sensors from my side. As I approached them, they opened but I realized that if I went out, they would close behind me and I would not be able to get back in. The doors kept opening and closing as I stood in front of the sensor. Each time the door would open, I would look out into the area where people were waiting for arriving passengers. About the fourth or fifth time the doors opened, I finally saw the RCCL people, but then wondered how I was going to get to them and then get back inside to get DeeDee and our luggage. An official came over and asked me if he could help. I explained what I needed to do and he said that as long as I had my passport, which I showed him, he would let me back in. After profusely thanking him, I hurried to the RCCL folks. They said they were not leaving for about 20 minutes, so NO PROBLEM, just go get my wife and luggage and come on back to them. The kind man at the exit doors let me back in, I got DeeDee and our luggage and we made our connection with the shuttle.
Fourth Leg: After a 30 minute bus ride from the airport to the pier, we got through the ship's boarding procedures in about 5 minutes and were on the ship at about 5 PM. PHEW, a lot of fast walking and worrying, but we made it and had a wonderful time for the next 7 nights and 6 days on board, arriving back at the pier in Barcelona at 6 AM on Sunday May 23rd.
The photos of Barcelona were taken from the balcony of our cabin. Thank goodness for the European Union and no need for passport controls between EU countries. If we had been required to go through passport or customs controls in Barcelona, we never would have made the connection to the ship on time. We probably could have taken a cab from the airport to the pier, but what a hassle that would have been. But, things worked out for us, we did make all our connections, and were on the ship at 5 PM, with an hour to spare, since all passengers were required to be on board by 6 PM, an hour before the scheduled departure at 7 PM.
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