RCL cruise May 11-22 Sunny Mediterran...

Author Message   John R Garrison Senior Member Username: Majorg Post Number: 1576 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 12:29 pm:    Sarge: Great report! Thanks for taking the time to share your adventure with us. Happy Travels, John   Kathleen M. Collier Member Username: Latterdayesther Post Number: 18 Registered: 08-2007 Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 02:50 am:    Sarge, Thank-you for taking the time to post a trip report, even if it didn't involve Space-A. We would like to take a similar cruise in the future, and appreciate the information very much. 'Sounds like a truly memorable trip! latterdayesther   The Sarge Member Username: Olderbutwiser Post Number: 48 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 04:47 pm:    This was not a Space-A trip this time. We booked a RCL cruise last summer through Vacations to go,for a May 11-22 2009 cruise from Barcelona to various ports in the Med. They included Palermo Sicily,Athens Greece,Rhodes Greece,Limassol Cyprus,Alexandria Egypt,Valletta Malta. Our adventure started by leaving JFK & 6:45 PM on Saturday May 9th. American Airlines direct to Barcelona, non-stop. We arived without incident the morning of the 10th (Sunday) after an 8 hr rather cramped flight. On this trip was also my brother (also retired AF) and his wife. At the airport we hailed two taxis. This was about the only mistake we made on the trip. Between us we had 7 pieces of luggage. We had to get 2 cabs to accomadate all of us plus the bags. It cost us 30E's a taxi to go to the Hotel ABBA, located about 25 minutes away from the airport. This cost we later learned could have been at half price if we relised that there are VAN style taxi's available if you waited a little while for one to pass. The hotel was located 3 blocks off the famous 'Las Ramblas' Avenue. As we knew in advance from 'doing our homework' on the computer, this place was in a 'seedy' location.The reserved room was 90E's for 2. It was perfectly fine during the day light hours but come sunset, a different class of folks emerged to hang around. Since we were not planning to do any night time touring, this hotel worked out very well for our needs. The hotel was very clean, beds comfortable with a pvt bath for each room, A/C and they offered a buffet breakfeast for 13E's a head. No problem at checking in about 10AM. We unloaded our bags, got an available room each and then set out on a double decked bus ride around Barcelona using the 'hop on hop off'availbility. The 'RED' bus ride was great if you have time constraints. It cost us 25E's a person for a 3 hour ride if you don't hop off along the way. After the tour we headed back for dinner.There are plenty of places for food. We chose a small place directly across from the hotel , had a nice dinner for 10E's a person. Then returned and prepared for a well deserved early rest. Next morning (Monday) we grabbed a taxi at the numerous taxi stands around the area. This time we had a Black/Yellow VAN style taxi that fit us & our luggage and headed to the cruise pier. Barcelona has their act together,the place was very modern and reporting in took only a short time. We got there about 11:00 Am for early boarding, checked the bags and boarded the Brilliance of the Seas, heading for the Windjammer for their buffet spread. Once the ship has been 'cleared' from the previous tour and the ship is prepared for the next cruise , you usually can board early. The departure time was 6 PM. We then strolled around the ship getting familiar with it. During the cruise, we saw the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens,toured the toured the majestic Pyramids and Sphinx in Cairo and spent time in the historical museum. This was the toughest part of the trip due to a 3 hour bus ride from Alexandria to Cairo for the pyramids. It was 104 degrees that day. On the other ports, we toured ancient ruins of temples, churches castles, dating back to 5th century BC or just hundreds of years old. Things that as I read about in books and watched on TV, there we were, standing in their presence to touch. Truly amazing. During the later part of the cruise, we ntfd the Customer Relations Desk that we had a 10:45AM flight out of Barcelona. On the eve of departure, we were given special colored tags for the luggage and told where to meet at 7:15 AM for getting off the ship. The Windjammer opened early for breakfest, which we took advantage of and then hurried to the deck lounge to await departure. Exactly at 7:15 AM the gathered group of early departures were lead off the ship to the pier where all of our bags were neatly arranged. We left the pier and lined up by the taxi stand until a VAN style was commendered by me to load us all up. By 7:55 AM we were on our way to the airport for our flight. That cost about 35 E's for all of us & the luggage. The flight arrived on time in NY and we were home on Long Island by 3 PM. We saw so much history of ancient civilizations, it was fantastic. We had PERFECT weather, smooth seas everyday of the cruise. Temps for the most part were in the mid 70's to Mid 80's except Egypt. It was good to be back in the good ol USA. I hope this helps anyone thinking of taking a trip back into time.