Our eight days here are over and we are excited about the next phase of our bucket list trip. We left home on October 16 for our 31 days in Florence Italy with a few side trips. From there we flew to Barcelona to explore this historic Spanish coastal city. Now it is time for our travel back to the USA on a transatlantic cruise. We have heard great things about these long cruises, but still a little concerned about life on the wide open Atlantic!
Large Apartment to Shipboard Cabin
Checking out of an Airbnb is very easy but different than a hotel. We booked this one to have a full kitchen and large living area to relax for the 8 days. A hotel is fine for a 1-2 day stay, but this is the way to go for more extended stays. Almost like being at home. We just had to follow the rules and do some clean up before leaving.
Here are some photos of the apartment in the Eixample District in Barcelona.
Pat and I have been on many cruises over the prior 30 years, but always in the Caribbean to enjoy the warmer weather during the winter months. This is the first Mediterranean embarkation and transatlantic, so splurged a bit on the larger room with a balcony. But obviously much more wee accommodations than the apartment and combined with our extra-large suitcases packed very tight for all contingencies for two months away from home, it made the unpacking a little more challenging.
Our flight over was not a great experience with tight leg room, a too warm cabin, and four crying babies all night long. Still have some flashbacks from that experience. Now contrast that to a slow 11-night cruise back with all the entertainment, exercise, and food that we could ever possibly want. The choice is a no-brainer, and we hope to do more of this travel! After all, being retired there is no hurry to get back from a vacation and go to work!
And now here are some photos of our shipboard room and a few quick photos after we boarded the ship.
I’ve got to say that the Port Canaveral folks do a much better job of boarding than the Barcelona. Although, it was not terrible, our check in process included long lines and about an hour muddling through the different stops. Whereas our last cruise from Florida was about five minutes and we were boarded before we knew it. Oh well, we eventually boarded, checked out the room and while waiting for the luggage to show up, we went to, what else, eat some late lunch!
Wrap Up
In real time, we are back home and have loaded the RV and made our snowbird trip to Florida for the winter. I will continue to document our cruise and Florida landing and all the surprises along the way in the next few blog posts! Thanks for following along, subscribe for update notifications and please leave a comment! In closing here are a few more photos from Barcelona. Enjoy!
Take care and God Bless
Thanks for sharing! Looks like alot of fun, except maybe the crying babies on the plane ride. Lol
Thanks, Christy, for the note and the care given to Mom!!
Glad that you enjoyed the trip and now have time to relax and join in on the morning coffee with the crew in the park.
Yessir, we are solving all the world’s problems and creating a few new ones!