We leave our luggage outside the room. The porter will pick them up later. A breakfast buffet has been arranged for the Royal Caribbean passengers. I try the regional cheese and sausages, different rolls and breads, smoked salmon. Of course, there's also the regular American fare for the non-adventurous. We check out and take a quick walk to a nearby plaza where the Hard Rock should be. Before we walk too far, we stop by a telebanc or ATM for some euros. We don't find the Hard Rock but we do find some of the attractions that we saw the day before.
I wouldn't mind coming back to Barcelona and doing a hop on hop off tour. It would be nice to tour the interior of Gaudi's buildings. As we return to the hotel, we bump into Cyn who is smoking outside the lobby. She asks about our tour and if they served us paella for dinner. I told her yes, and she said that she didn't get any yet. I told her that she probably can get some at the ship, but it probably won't be the same thing.
We return to Carolyn and Bill who are waiting poolside and decide to hit the Windjammer on Deck 11 for food and drinks. Windjammer is a buffet, and I guessed right. They are serving paella. The paella is surprisingly better than the restaurant we went to last night. This paella has shrimp, chicken and mussels. I tried the bourbon pork which was too salty.
When we arrive at our cabin , our luggage is already waiting outside. It too has a balcony and a real king size bed. I charge my batteries, unpack my gear, code the safe, stow the luggage under the bed and plan tonight's activities. It's almost 3. Must not sleep must not sleep. Dang it I slept.
420 there's a knock at our door. Neesa our stateroom attendant arrives with our excursion tickets sans the Naples excursion which we just made. Her face reminds me of Jessica Alba.
530 - Time to get ready for the mandatory muster. Someone's luggage is outside out cabin with our cabin number. I tell Neesa who directs us in the opposite direction of what we saw on the back of the door. The life preserver has the room number and where we congregate D23 on deck 4. Our keycard also has the mustering point as well.
600 - The drill is over. Time to hurry and get ready for dinner at 630.
630 - Dinner at the Magic Flute. This is the early seating so we miss the ship leaving port. We also missed the going away party. Our waiter is Orlando from Brazil. He had cut himself shaving. His assistant is Ivan. I love trying different foods. I have the onion tart as an appetizer which was very good. My entree the Atlantic cod is not as flavorful of a fish.The head waiter from Thailand introduces himself after dinner.
When we return to the room, the bed has been turned down. There are also mint chocolates. Tomorrow's Cruise Compass is on the bed along with the coupon book for being a gold member. This must be what Carolyn was telling us about during dinner.
903 Not enough players showed for Family trivia at the Schooner's Bar on deck 5. Bill kiddingly says that they give us the prize, but the French lady gives all those who showed up travel wallets. There are probably 2 other teams who showed up. Bill heads to the casino. Someone lights up behind me. With my cold, I can't stand smoke so I leave and head to our cabin and crash.
While Mary, Carolyn and Bill go to the Karaoke Teaser at Cleopatra's Needle, I take a nap. Carlos manages to convince Mary to sing a song.
Gaudi's "Dragon" building.
The statue to the right is Christopher Columbus.
The high tower to the left is for cable cars which should have a wonderful view of the harbor.
By 11, we are at the terminal. Playing over the intercom is "Momma told me Not to come." Hmmmm.... They swipe my Visa card and hand us our SeaPass cards. The SeaPass is the cabin's cardkey, but also an ID for whenever you board or exit the ship. It also allows you to make purchases on the ship without a need for your Visa card. At the end of the trip, you will receive a detailed list of whatever you bought.
There's a bit of a delay before we can board the ship. Of course we have to pass the gauntlet of ship photographers when we first board the ship and whenever we walk off the ship. Once we enter the ship, we slip our SeaPass into the security's machine which takes a photo ID of us and records that we have boarded the ship.
We take the lift (not elevator) to deck 11 forward. In case you are having too much much to remember, every lift tells you what day it is. We bump into Carolyn and Bill at poolside. I bought my first of many BBCs a Bailey's Banana Colada. My sister got me hooked on this drink We then sat down and caught up. Carolyn and Bill missed their connecting flight at Atlanta. Tammy their travel agent was able to cancel their reservation at Gran Havana. Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean didn't think they would get to Barcelona in time, so they sent them from Atlanta to JFK then to Barcelona. Carolyn and Bill were hoping to head straight to their cabin, but the ship wasn't ready yet, so they had a free 3 hour tour of Barcelona instead of a 20 minute trip to the Voyager. While we are waiting for the Windjammer to open, Mary and I head to the Explorations desk to make our Naples excursion. The line is not at all packed nor are we told to use the TV entry system like the last cruise. They tell the couple ahead of us that everything is still open.
The Voyager of the Seas is huge. Here's how it compares to the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
Nimitz - 97,000 tons, 5689 people, 1092 long, 134 wide, 30 knots
Voyager - 138,000 tons, 3114 people, 1020 long, 157.5 wide, 23.7 knots
Voyager - 138,000 tons, 3114 people, 1020 long, 157.5 wide, 23.7 knots
Oh yes, there are bigger cruise ships than the Voyager: The QM2 is second largest while the Freedom of the Seas is the largest. Royal Caribbean even has a larger cruise ship in the works.
Yes those are carved watermelons.
We return to Carolyn and Bill who are waiting poolside and decide to hit the Windjammer on Deck 11 for food and drinks. Windjammer is a buffet, and I guessed right. They are serving paella. The paella is surprisingly better than the restaurant we went to last night. This paella has shrimp, chicken and mussels. I tried the bourbon pork which was too salty.
Carolyn and Bill want to crash, but we get confused whether the cabin was forward or aft, so we traveled back and forth across Deck 5 also known as the Promenade Deck 5 . We finally figured out that it was right below the Windjammer on Deck 6 to Carolyn and Bill's room which has a balcony. We had a room with a balcony in Hawaii, and I didn't think it was worth it since we always had the side that faced the ocean.
420 there's a knock at our door. Neesa our stateroom attendant arrives with our excursion tickets sans the Naples excursion which we just made. Her face reminds me of Jessica Alba.
600 - The drill is over. Time to hurry and get ready for dinner at 630.
630 - Dinner at the Magic Flute. This is the early seating so we miss the ship leaving port. We also missed the going away party. Our waiter is Orlando from Brazil. He had cut himself shaving. His assistant is Ivan. I love trying different foods. I have the onion tart as an appetizer which was very good. My entree the Atlantic cod is not as flavorful of a fish.The head waiter from Thailand introduces himself after dinner.
When we return to the room, the bed has been turned down. There are also mint chocolates. Tomorrow's Cruise Compass is on the bed along with the coupon book for being a gold member. This must be what Carolyn was telling us about during dinner.
903 Not enough players showed for Family trivia at the Schooner's Bar on deck 5. Bill kiddingly says that they give us the prize, but the French lady gives all those who showed up travel wallets. There are probably 2 other teams who showed up. Bill heads to the casino. Someone lights up behind me. With my cold, I can't stand smoke so I leave and head to our cabin and crash.
Near midnight is the Party Around the World parade on the Promenade Deck. The Pig & Whistle is one of many bars on the Promenade.
The Voyager class ships has rooms overlooking the Promenade.
So what did I think of Barcelona? I loved it. It's definitely a city I would like to visit again. I'd love to do the hop on hop off bus tours since windows would not be an issue. I would like to do that cable car tour and visit several of Gaudi's works. It should take a few days at least. I've always wondered if I had Spanish blood in my roots. Heck, with my last name, it's more than possible.
