Barcelona City Tour via Royal Princess

As the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.”However, if you are a cruise passenger, consider a post cruise stay in your debarkation port to prolong your vacation, even for just one day, it’s totally worth it.

North American cruise passengers sailing in Europe should definitely do a pre and post cruise package. After all, it is rather depressing getting pampered on the ship and then waking up early on the last day of your cruise only to look at a very long day of flying home. This is exactly what I did in Barcelona while cruising on Royal Princess.

Barcelona city tour via Royal Princess

Our tour lasted from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. Our group consisted of 25 passengers who were staying at a couple of hotels they purchased through Princess Cruises. Our guide, Sebastian Maczka, was amazing!

Port Buzz: Barcelona, Spain. #RoyalPrincess https://t.co/JsaG0aoWTZ

— Carrie Finley-Bajak (@CruiseBuzz) August 10, 2013

 

The tour began with a stop at Montjuic Mountain. We had a great view of Barcelona, the commercial port, and saw some of the venues from the 1992 Olympic Summer Games (Olympic Stadium, ring, and swim facilities). From there our guide took us to the Gothic Quarter to check out the Barcelona’s Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia before heading to the Sagrada Família Church.

 

 

 Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia

 

The courtyard within the large cloister has an inner courtyard with fountains, orange trees and magnolias. Look for the 13 white geese, which served as security alarms for intruders as well as a reminder that Santa Eulàlia was only 13 when she was martyred.

 

Expiatory Church of La Sagrada Família

The work continues on the La Sagrada Famila. Since 1882, architects have worked on this Barcelona landmark. Although not the first architect for the church, Gaudí’s influence can be seen on the project. Going to Barcelona with a tour group is a great way to avoid the crowds waiting outside for tickets. This in fact happened to me before, and I was extremely happy to breeze in this time with our guide.
Read more about Barcelona (click here)