March 2026 Transatlantic to Barcelona First Time Questions

[ZBoyles]

Hi we are booked for the HOTS Transatlantic in March 2026 and have some questions about the disembark process. I know we will be changing time zones by moving forward an hour during the day on some of the sea days. So by the time we get to Barcelona, we should be on their time but it says we arrive around 5 AM. So is it still the same get off the ship by 9 AM or is it earlier. Also any recommendations on things to do until we can check into our hotel at around 3 PM? We will have all of our luggage with us. We are only staying one night just to make sure we get to look around a the city a little bit but am at a loss other than wanting to see the Sagrada Familia. Any suggestions or tips are welcome!

[whitsmom]

We will be on this cruise also!..I have a car service scheduled to pick us up at 9:00 am and take us to our hotel.  The hotel can hold your luggage until your room is available.  We are staying in Barcelona for 3 nights.  I may have to change our pick up time for earlier as I was just going off what normally happens.  I guess I will need to investigate the disembark times a little better.

I have been looking at trip advisor for excursion information.  We are traveling with another couple so we haven't discussed that stuff yet (they live in Houston, TX and we live in Kentucky).  We are flying to Houston on Saturday before and they are taking us to our first Rodeo. 

[Diesel]

If only in Barcelona for one night, Sagrada Familia is a must see. Be sure to book your tickets to Sagrada Familia well in advance. We were there about a year ago. We booked our tickets to Sagrada Familia about 45 days in advance and were already limited to what days and times were available. Something else we really enjoyed in Barcelona was the Barcelona Tapas, Taverns & History Tour which we booked through Devour Tours. A guide took us throughout the Gothic Quarter on a very informative and interesting history and architecture tour. We also stopped in 4-5 different family-owned restaurants to try different dishes and drinks which were all included in the tour fare. We've decided we will be looking for Devour Tours options in other cities we visit in the future.

[wordell1]

I would expect disembarkation to be similar to the US so you should be able to stay until around 9am.  Baggage drop-off is pretty common in Europe so your hotel is highly likely to have it, but I would double check.  There are a lot of things to do in the Las Ramblas area - definitely try the paella.

[Traveling Mike]

I have been to Barcelona a few times and get the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus every time.  I find it a good way to see everything I want to see and relax while I move around the city.