Cruise Day 1- Barcelona/Embarkation

 In the morning, we still hadn't decided how we were going to get to the pier where the cruise bus is. First up was some coffee, and we decided to try out Starbucks since it was right there. I had my first ever pumpkin spice latte. I've always felt they were a little over rated. It's just nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves. Nothing actually pumpkin about it. What was great was that I found a travel mug that uses the lid I like. I had one for years, but then the lid broke (the rubbery part that seals the mouth hole). I had kept the mug hoping to find a new one but they seemed to have moved to a larger size in Canada. I do think I eventually threw out the mug though.

The really neat thing was the mug style is called "Lucy", which is our middle kid's name! Rob got a breakfast sandwich and an Americano, and our total was $45 Canadian! Crazy. I have so many Starbucks gift cards at home. I hadn't brought any because I thought we'd have real Spanish coffee.

In the FB group, people were reporting that they could see the ship from their hotels, so we went upstairs to look. It was there!

I have a really good zoom on my camera, though the air was a bit hazy, and it's hard to get a good photo without some motion. But when you consider that's more than a 30 minute walk!

A couple more shots from our balcony!

We still had time to kill, so Rob decided to see if he could figure out how to turn on the towel warmer. The front desk said we had to ask housekeeping, but why? He found the breaker panel in the closet, and with the help of Google Translate, he flipped a breaker. It worked! Not that we needed it, LOL, but if you're staying at the Hotel Jazz in Room 608....

Finally we decided we'd walk down behind La Ramblas as far as we could and then down La Ramblas and over to where the cruise port bus is. It was recommended to not walk to the terminal, especially if you have suitcases, and I'm glad we didn't. The weather started out nice but by the time we got to the Barcelona Maritime Museum, it was sprinkling. We paused there (bathroom break LOL), and then walked the rest of the way to the cruise bus.

There was one there but it was full and left, so we got on the next one.  Everyone else seemed to have a lot of luggage compared to us, and a woman commented on that. It felt a little expensive compared to the Metro, but it's a private company.

The bus goes over a big bridge and down to the last terminal, Terminal E. They're building a MSC terminal just beyond that one. The other terminals are shared, it seems. Then it works its way back to Terminal A.

We took our bags to the luggage drop. No luggage tags for Virgin. They slap one on it right there, so know your cabin number, including A/Z/M. People were hovering around the doors but I heard others say something about Rock Stars, so we decided to move across to the taxi area where there was a bit of cover. We were right at the end by the doors, it wasn't really a line but others followed in behind us. After a bit, it was actually raining and Rob wanted to move back to where it was a bit more covered. We moved back behind an elderly couple (she was in a wheelchair) and a younger (mid 40s?) couple. 

This couple was a tall slender man and a short plump woman. He was really, really extroverted we quickly learned! He would talk to everyone and anyone who stood still for 10 seconds. He was really hitting it off with the elderly couple and we heard him exclaim "Hot Diggity" at one point. Well, that became his identity to us! We heard there were only 1090 people on board, so we ran into them a lot. And it turned out they were down our hall near the elevators!

We heard that indeed, this was the line for those with the Splash of Romance package. A Virgin team member came along to make sure we were all Splash of Romance people. I'm not sure where the normal people were waiting. They board later though so they probably weren't showing up yet. I thought it would be like the Florida terminals, where you can wait inside in seating areas. No. 

Once the Rock Stars board, then it's our turn. We head through the doors and security screening is RIGHT there. Well, I think we had to zig zag through the line up maze, but just beyond security is a very large seating area. With no one sitting. I'm sure they could figure something out so that people could sit before security opens. It was fun going through the line up maze, seeing Mr Hot Diggity interacting with a new couple every time we turn the end of the row. We got through security and basically walked right up to the ticket/check in counter.

It was straight forward, we got our wearable bracelet, then shimmied down to the "customs" end of the counter where the police ignored us and talked to other officers, while stamping our passport. It was odd to get two stamps for Barcelona. Then you head through a cafe and shop area, which was empty because why spend money there to eat (or shop) when you're almost at the ship. If we had been waiting in that empty waiting area, then sure, I would have gotten a coffee. As we went through, we met Jazzy, a service dog, and her owner. This was the only time we saw Jazzy  in her vest though. She was well behaved and seemed to be having a great time on board. 

You enter the ship near the pizza shop which is deck 7. On the Royal ships we've been on, the Royal Promenade--the main deck that's like a shopping mall--and outside deck that goes around the ship--is on deck 5. First person we see is The Hostess, Milly. Gorgeous lady! On VV, they have The Happenings Cast. There are different positions: The Gamer, The Diva, The Charmer, The Foodie, The Hype, The Artist (and probably more). Then there is also the dancers from the shows. You are encouraged during your voyage to interact with the Happenings Cast, and you can get pins, or special invites to top secret events. Not being the most social people, I didn't know if this would happen.

Another cool thing is that as soon as you board, your cabin is ready. We had not received an upgrade, which was a bit disappointing. We were going to ask at Guest Services how much it would be, but Rob really liked our cabin location (for the most part).

It was 12186M--deck 12, cabin 186, in the Middle. It was definitely in the middle! 

Standard Virgin room.  There's lots of videos on YouTube if you're interested. There was enough clothes storage for us, though we used it all (baskets and drawers). I would have liked more desk storage though. There were some skinny, tall, and deep cubbies that weren't very user friendly except just to through things there. I had taken a fabric box from IKEA that folds flat by unzipping a zipper on the bottom.  This went on the desk for all the odds and ends, and I could have easily used another one in the desk cubbies. 

Not much storage in the bathroom either. Like, no medicine cabinet! The room steward (Leo) put a towel on the counter the next morning and arranged our things on it.

As well as the Splash of Romance package, I also splurged on this box of chocolates to be waiting in the cabin. They were very good!

We watched the safety video on the TV (uh...it's a very different video....) and went to find our muster station. It was deck 7....if there was an emergency in the first few days, I would not have known where to go back to. The Crew that were checking us in....the lady was very quiet. I think she was also our waitress one night at Razzle Dazzle. More on that later in the trip.

We headed up to the Galley for a late lunch.

Rob's first meal was a Halloween burger and fries (they were good fries!), and I think we got salads too. The Galley is like a food court, not a buffet. There's little food "stands" with different themes/food. There's a 24hr breakfast diner, a burger (and whatever was for dinner) stand, a breads/desserts stand that run across the middle. It's shaped sort of like an H (missing one leg), and one of the legs was Gunbae (the Korean BBQ restaurant), one leg was the Grounds Too... This post has some great info about it! When you get off the elevators (or come in from the pool deck), you can go left or right. I thought I had finally figured out which side to go to get my coffee but even towards the end of the two weeks I STILL went the wrong way sometimes!

Here's some tidbits of info. There's outdoor seating if you go all the way to the aft. The doors are not automatic though! The outside one is, but not the inside one. Strange. So be prepared to have a hand free. At any table, you can raise the flag for service, and they can get you anything, including simple bar service. However, we found it very slow back there! But it was a nice spot to eat! Another bit of info. If you're at the elevator, you can turn the opposite way and go out to the pool deck. There's not really any signage. You'll come out at the round pool. When you're out there, it's nearly impossible to see where the doors to go back in are! There's no signs, nothing! They're recessed behind the wall. We were out there the first day (or so) and couldn't remember which end was the Galley, or how to get to it. Just remember, eating too much in the Galley will make you round....like the round pool....and if you continue through the Galley you get to the aft. While in the aft eating area, you can look up and see the Triple Net above you. 

This was the first dessert I tried--their signature dessert. Resilient Lady's octopus, Inky, is this robin egg's blue. 

I hid the first Ghostie! This little guy glows in the dark, and I put a sticker on the bottom with my IG name. Virgin isn't big on cruise ducks--rubber duckies that people hide for others to find. However, it's a fun activity and many Sailors opt to do a more elevated version. Considering that this was a Hallowe'en cruise, I thought these little guys would be fun! Apparently they were, and it was great seeing people excited about finding one (I shared in the FB group hints sometimes).

A different view of Montjuic.

We meandered around the ship. The last cruise we had done was Symphony of the Seas, so this ship is like...1/3 the size. We stopped at a bar and I'm glad I took a picture of the menu because I really thought we had got our first drink at the Schooner Bar. On the Rocks is at the base of the Roundabout, and often has live music. It was a totally different vibe in the middle of the afternoon!

I got "The Entertainer". I though the sparkling wine would be the base of the drink. I wasn't expecting a shot glass. I asked how it's typically drunk, and the barmaid said you can shoot the wine then drink the drink, pour it in, sip them both, or shot the wine after the drink. I tried sipping the sparkling wine but didn't care for it, so I dunked it into the drink. It was okay. I prefer simpler drinks but every bar has these fancy type drinks. 

The sail away was rainy, so it was inside and I think we missed it. In other words, it wasn't notable. Maybe we had gone back to our cabin. 

Not really the view you want for the start of a 14 day cruise! 

This is The Net at the aft of deck 16. We never saw people on it after the first day or so. Not really a comfortable spot to lay or sit, even if the weather was better. It's cool and all, but another pool or hot tub would have been better. 

We did a tour of the spa, since we had passes with our Splash of Romance package. The tour was so detailed! Go in this room, and breath this way, for this amount of time, and then....I wish I had taken notes. Spoiler alert, when we finally did our session, towards the end of the cruise, the staff were like "it doesn't matter what order you do them in."

Originally I hadn't booked dinner because of the sail away party. I figured we'd just go to the Galley. Rob decided we should go to Razzle Dazzle though. In hindsight, we should have chosen another one because dinner the next night (or the 3rd day?) was also Razzle Dazzle.

The menus are pretty small for each restaurant. The portions tend to be smaller too. One thing we noticed was there wasn't anything plain, like how Royal has the "Classic" section on the menu with  steak, fish, chicken options that are plain. We had been told that you can totally customize things on Virgin though. Sometimes we could, sometimes we couldn't. Often, there were several items I'd like...but something about each one that I didn't like but didn't think it was something that could be altered. 

This was carrots in "brown butter crumble, fregola, caramelized yogurt, parmesan sauce." I have no idea was fregola is. The cheese was a foam, not a sauce. They weren't listed as a side dish on the menu (which is divided into Smoked/Steamed & Poached/Crispy/Low 'n Slow). I'm glad I also ordered:

"Short Rib Pastrami". Oh, it was very good! The description was "rye crisps, roasted cabbage, pickled mustard seed, whole grain mustard sauce." This was not at all how we were expecting it to come, but it was amazing! 

We were there right when they opened, and our meal was SO fast. Like, in and out in barely 30 minutes. 

I don't have notes but I think we might have gone to see "Love Love Love with the Hostess" in the Manor this evening. It was a fun little show but for some reason, based on the description being about the 5 Love Languages, I thought it'd be a little more educational. Didn't realize it was entirely a musical thing, with a small bit of audience participation. 

There was a lot of live music around the ship. Mainly solo artists, or very small groups. On our last cruise, on Symphony of the Seas, it was hard to see the musical acts because the venues are actually quite tiny. On the Virgin ships, these acts are in more open type areas where you can sit and watch, or walk around. You can easily come and go. 

I think we went to bed fairly early since we'd been so busy since we got to Barcelona. 

Day 3--Barcelona

I'm going to pepper the first portion of this with pictures that I took on the Thursday when we were on the Bus Turistic. The forecast had been for rain that day but the morning was nice and we were pretty sure we'd have rain on Saturday.

You can click on a photo and it'll open in a photo viewer. Blogger was not cooperating with the photo alignments in this post! 

We woke up bright and early on the Saturday, to dim and blah weather. Rain, drizzle, etc.  Rob went down for the hotel breakfast while I tried to sleep a bit more. It was Sagrada Família day! Back story time:

I knew from researching that we had to book these tickets early. I could not find just how early, particularly for the fall. It was still tourist season, but not crazy like the summer. I took a guess and picked two weeks. 

However, that was Thanksgiving weekend and....I forgot. I got to a school on the Tuesday and realized. While the students were pretending to work, I started looking at tickets.

There weren't any. 

Not on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning. Nothing. 

I nearly cried right there in the portable full of grade 9 students.

When I got home, I started checking tour sites like Viator and Booking. Nothing, except extremely overpriced tickets. I asked in a FB group about Spain, hosted by one of the YouTubers I had been watching. Someone recommended Julià Travel. I took a look and was able to find a bilingual (Spanish & English) group tour for 9am on Saturday morning. I instantly hit Purchase. $182.59 Cdn. Ugh. 

It was worth it though. Mostly. I mean, I'm glad I spent it through I would have preferred to not spend that much!

I was able to convince Rob to take the Metro, since it was too early for the Bus Turistic. We went down to the Universitat station, giving ourselves lots of time. It was easy to get tickets, a little bit confusing to choose the direction (mainly our issue...I just knew where we needed to get off, not what is at the end of the line). We hopped on, got off at the 4th stop and went up.

It was starting to get light out, and it was kind of cool to be out and about in the early morning twilight. We were super early, so we walked around. It seems the fast food joints don't do breakfast. We went into Pannus Provença and got some coffee and food. It was nice. The bathroom door was interesting:

At our appointed time, we walked over to Julia Travel and signed in. The young man spoke good English and didn't look annoyed at using it. We waited for our big group to be called, and followed our guide (Josef/Joseph?) across to the church.

We had to wait while he got the tickets and then we eventually went through security. Very similar to the airport, but we didn't have to take off our shoes! We went outside and were given a headset and earbuds. We assembled up on the platform area and the guide started. My unit wasn't working so I had to run back down the stairs to get a new one. 

The stories of the facade and history were fascinating. All the symbolism. I understood a fair bit because once upon a time, I did go to church every week. 

The cypress tree is symbolic in the church because it's so high, that means close to God.  Many think it's a Christmas tree but it's not.

One thing I found interesting was that the original plans included buying adjacent land. There's apartment buildings there, and I wonder if they were there during the initial plans? 

The gold parts are parts not finished yet.

There was also a lot of scandal about money in the 1990s so now they don't take donations, just the ticket sales.

Eventually, we get to go in. Pictures can't do it justice.

It wasn't as bright as we had hoped, due to weather, but still spectacular. 

We toured around inside for a while, then we followed the red floor (representing blood) out the "death" doors and learn about that side of the cathedral. Very different from the other facade.  It was pouring rain now and that just seemed fitting.

Our official tour ended there but we went back inside and found a little museum area; many of the items were replicas of the original items from the church. I don't know what happened to the originals.

We spent some time sitting in the quiet zone at the front. It wasn't as quiet as I thought it'd be but still very enjoyable. Despite not being religious (or a believer), the space makes you feel insignificant and irrelevant but also grand and proud, if that makes sense. I felt like I should be making the sign of the cross--the intense emotions Gaudi had towards his religion are very present and that is admirable. 

I took a video inside, spinning around to get the whole place (as best as a short person can). It's too big to post here so I posted it on my (barely used) YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/qwuNgzZfFLg

After, we walked a couple blocks to an Aldi grocery store. It was fun walking around and seeing different products. It was quite small, but it did seem that there was an Aldi or a Lidl every few blocks. We got a bag of chips of an unknown flavour, a chocolate bar, and two chicken Caesar salads, for about 8€ ($12Cdn). It was still drizzling out so we walked back towards the cathedral, hoping to find a covered area to eat. We walked through the little park but nothing, so we headed up Av de Gaudí as it looked like there was a covered section in the middle pedestrian section. It was covered, but not fully. Some of the restaurants had tents up, and it wasn't really lunch time so we stood under one of them to eat our salads. It was fun! 

The guy in yellow discovered that cigarettes and plastic ponchos don't mix very well LOL

We then walked back to the Sagrada to get on the Bus Turistic again. We had already seen most of the route before, but this time we didn't get off at the transfer stop where we had McDonald's the day before. We stayed on to return to Plaça de Catalunya much more quickly. 

There we noticed it was totally fenced in and there was a singer warming up  on stage. We had seen the stage earlier but didn't know what was going on. It looked like a music festival was going to happen that evening. Google Translate told me that it's free and that the capacity of the park is 10 000 people! Wow. 

We decided to go on a hunt for sunscreen, and to go to Mercat de Santa Catarina. I had seen pictures of it and it looked really cool from the outside. It was supposed to be more for the locals than the Mercat de Bouqueria. Since it was closing soon, we zoomed straight there. It was smaller and definitely more local although there was stalls out front with the same tourist crap we saw elsewhere. We actually didn't buy anything (inside or outside). I was looking at some pastries but really had hoped for the nuts and chocolates we had seen earlier. There didn't seem to be any.

On the way back we stopped at Cafeteria 365, across the street. We had a sandwich (and maybe more?) which was nice, but we noticed that everywhere, they pre-make them and heat them up when ordered. It was okay--the ingredients are all very good but microwaving is not the best.

We   stopped at one or two "Farmacia" stores, but the first one only had really expensive skin care. The second was questionable. We stopped at a Super Mercat near the hotel and got a bottle of Nivea and some drinks. They are every where and seem well stocked (and friendly!).

At the hotel again, we asked about seafood options. They gave us a card and I looked it up. It was an upscale type place with the types of seafood we don't care for. We wanted more ....fish and chips style. Some Googling latter, and I found a chain called.... Fish and Chips Shop. Off we went in the drizzly rain. 

The menu was small--but looking online, that menu seems bigger than what we saw. We pretty much knew we just wanted fish and chips anyway. I was a little worried about the "smokey tempura" and the Indian/Pakistani spices on the fries, but it was all really good! Just enough outside our comfort zone to be familiar but exciting, though I didn’t care for the mango chutney, I can see how it would be good with the fish. I just don’t like mangoes.

After, since it seemed to have stopped raining, we headed back to see what was happening at Plaça de Catalunya. It was loud. There were kids in Halloween costumes everywhere. We started walking into the Gothic Quarter looking for ice cream. It was busy out, being a Saturday night. We just wondered around, and then headed back towards La Rambla, thinking we'd know when it crossed it since it's a main street. We have no idea what happened, but we didn't notice. 

We did notice that the area changed from touristy to neighbourhoody (the Gothic Quarter to La Raval). Languages other than Spanish. Narrow lanes, people who weren't tourists or Spaniards. We were going to turn up one lane/street/alley and heard a commotion. A large man was having a rambling, angry sounding monologue with himself and people were standing back observing. We quickly scurried on and a minute later several police cars came zooming by. Although night time was probably not the best time to be exploring this area, it was a lot of fun. Being with Rob made me feel safe though. 

I saw a sign for the Mercat de Sant Antoni. I had wanted to visit it but obviously it was closed. I knew we had to go "north-east" (upwards and to the right on the map, but in Barcelona, north isn't 90° to the sea, like it is here on Lake Ontario). We headed up that way a bit before deciding to break out Google Map. Then we saw a Papa Johns. Oh, that's Rob's favourite pizza! We walked over, but decided to not indulge since we knew we'd be having pizza a lot on the ship. We found our way back to the hotel easily from there.

We'd heard that there was a big soccer (football) game between Madrid and Barcelona that night, and thankfully it was in Madrid. We sat in our hotel room, with the balcony doors open, and listened to the city watch the game. We could hear when the first two goals were scored, and then I think we closed the doors and headed for bed. It was a long day! But tomorrow was embarkation day!!