Barcelona Excursions

[RebN]

We're booked on Symphony leaving Rome on May 25th.  We have a stop in Barcelona on Sunday but I see only 2 excursion options on RC.  Consequently we were interested in a 3rd party option.  Do I understand that half the passengers will be disembarking in Barcelona completing their cruise with new passengers embarking?  Is this going to be a mess trying to get in and out of the terminal?

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, RebN said:

We're booked on Symphony leaving Rome on May 25th.  We have a stop in Barcelona on Sunday but I see only 2 excursion options on RC.  Consequently we were interested in a 3rd party option.  Do I understand that half the passengers will be disembarking in Barcelona completing their cruise with new passengers embarking?  Is this going to be a mess trying to get in and out of the terminal?

More than half; I'm going to guess it's more like 3/4. But unless you're trying to get off the ship at the same time as the self-assist passengers it shouldn't affect you too much.

Barcelona is very doable without an excursion. You can walk up to the Rambla in about 20 minutes or there's a port bus for a few euros that will drop you at the bottom end. There should also be taxis but with people disembarking they'll likely be a bit busy until past 9.

For excursions you can try Barcelona Day Tours (we've used them for tranfers in the past) or Spain Day Tours. They both have good reviews and offer a range of excursions.

[ChessE4]

If you don't want to rush (for example, we took a day trip to Montserrat), then checking out the Gothic area and other local sites as suggested above is certainly a practical idea.  

[Surrounded by water.]

We did the hop on hop off bus. It hits all the highlights. Gives you a great overview. The old Gothic area is great for lunch. Remember not to put anything on the back of your chair as kids on bikes will spin past and grabbed purses and backpacks. I think that Rambia is overrated. When we were there was like walking in the shopping mall at Christmas time.

[cedricmr]

Yes, this cruise have two ports to embark/disembark

In barcelone, it's very easy to visit alone old city, ramblas, museum... or beaches in town

[Mr.Cruiser]

I have booked a tour that starts in front of Parc Güell. Can anyone recommend the easiest and / or fastest way to get there from the cruise port Adossat Terminal? (The Symphony will probably dock at Terminal B or C).
 
Should I take the metro, the bus or rather the cab?

The traffic in the city always seems to be slow in some places, as it always takes at least half an hour to get there, even by car.
 

[cedricmr]

The bus shuttle out of the port will take you to Drassanes/colom.
1- metro line 3 (Drassanas/Vallcarca) then a small effort on foot (10+15/20 mn)... 3€ 

2- bus 116 (45 min) 3€
3- metro 3 and bus 116

Or direct to the descent of the cruise, the taxi 11/15 mn: 15/20€ 

Or... on foot : 1h10 ! but it's free

[Mr.Cruiser]

Thanks. I have found similar data. The 15 minutes by taxi is very optimistic, probably more theory. Every time I check the ride time in Maps it is more like 30 minutes.
But by taxi seems to me the safest way if you have to be at a meeting point at a certain time. And the prices in Barcelona are moderate.

[cedricmr]

The park Guël is not very central.
However, from the port, it’s almost a straight line by road... but not by public transport. For the taxi, it will be fast. Even more so if you are in Barcelona on a Sunday?