May 03, 2026
After visiting Sagrada Familia and having lunch across the street from the cathedral, we grabbed at taxi back to the hotel to pick up our luggage which the hotel was storing for us (all of the hotels we stayed at, had this service for free), and headed to the Barcelona Cruise Terminal at Moll Adossat.
Our boarding instructions indicated for us to arrive at 2:00pm. We arrived at the terminal and dropped off our luggage to be taken aboard the ship. The cruise line provided luggage tags to ensure your baggage gets to the right stateroom as quick as possible. Then we walked around the terminal to find the end of the line, and walked and walked and walked. The line up was massive - which honestly shocked me a little for that time of day, because the ship was scheduled to depart at 5pm. My daughter and husband waited in line, while I found an empty chair at a small bar outside the terminal right beside the line-up. I didn't think I would be able to stand in that long line for that long.
One Side of the Line The Other Side of the Line
I am not sure if other cruise lines embarkation figure out because we have only sailed with Carnival and NCL...but I don't remember this kind of line for either of those cruises. There are programs where you can pay for priority boarding and access and of course, if you book suites, you will likely get some perks like priority boarding. Cruise critic provides some advice on this very topic: Avoiding Lines When Cruising
After about an hour, the line moved enough for them to make it to where I was sitting and I joined them in line for another 2 hours. It was about 5 when we got aboard and into our cabin where our luggage was waiting for us. We had dinner reservations at 5:30pm, so no rest for the wicked and we were on the move again.
We paid for the specialty dining package for our cruise because we like to experience many things when we are on a cruise, so our first specialty dining on the Norwegian Epic was at the Italian restaurant La Cucina. We had an amazing meal and of course the dessert. The restaurant was at the front (or bow) of the ship and we got front row seats to setting sail.
Photo taken by NCL photographer (we purchased a basic photo package, the photographers roam the ship and also there are photography stations with different backdrops
DESSERT!!!!!!!
I will just mention now and probably again and again, how great the staff is on a Norwegian Cruise Line. Everyone says hello and always has a smile on their face. After dinner, Since we were all exhausted, we did a little exploring on the ship and we headed back to our cabin to get ready for our day in port.
The cabin was perfect for the 3 of us. I think it could actually sleep 4, which might have been a bit of a tight squeeze, but with some organization, totally doable. The beds were comfortable, the sink, toilet and shower, though small areas were all separated, so each person can be getting ready independently. There was lots of room for storage and our unpacked suitcases slid under the bed so they were out of the way. The best part of the room was the balcony, a spacious area where you could sit out and just relax as the ship sailed, arrived at port or sailed away. I think my family can agree that sailing away provided the best scenic views.
The port for the next day was Marseille, France. We had booked a tour to Avignon and Aix en Provence through the NCL Shore Excursion desk. We actually booked this prior to the cruise using the NCL website, but you can book excursions on the ship itself, if you are a more laid-back traveller. In fact, many of the port cities themselves are well worth exploring, without spending money on an organized excursion. All you need to do is just step off the ship and a short shuttle bus ride or walk can get you to the city centre.
In general, the organized tours we chose were largely independent exploration, meaning, there was a guide on the bus to tell us about where we were headed and once we got there, they would walk us to a central location, where we would agree to meet back at a specified time - then we were on our own. This was perfect for me, because I can't keep up with a guided tour and needed to rest at intervals.
May 04, 2026
For myself, I wanted to see where the historical popes resided when they were expelled from Rome. This was in the town of Avignon, nicknamed the 'City of the Popes' and we visited the Palace of the Popes (Palais des Papes). The structure was massive and beautiful, with many steps and small corridors but massive rooms. There was no hope of finding our own way, so we were glad there were directional signs. We had a great time exploring and were greatful we were indoors because it rained this day and we had forgotten our ponchos on the ship. Avignon is a walled city, with many small streets and we got turned around after leaving the Palace of the Popes (because we followed the crowd) and ended up dead-ending at the wall. After that, we got out our trusty smart phones and used Google Maps to navigate. It came in really handy though sometimes we couldn't get a good signal because of all the stone buildings.
PALACE OF THE POPES
PALACE OF THE POPES PONT D'AVIGNON | A bridge partially spanning
the Rhone River
Rhôe
Just a note about using our phones in Europe. I purchased digital sim cards, which basically just means you switch which sim card you are using in your phone settings (no need to physically switch your sim). There are many online sellers of these sim cards. i have used both: Airalo and Saily. There are many options to choose from including just data or data and talk/text. Highly recommend, but you have to make sure your phone is unlocked. If you purchased the phone outright - it probably is. If you are paying in instalments, you may have to get your carrier to unlock it.
We next went to visit Aix-en-Provence which is pronounced ‘x’-en-provence, which was a beautiful town with a grand boulevard (Cours Mirabeau) lined with fountains and trees. It wasn't very busy with tourists or locals - maybe because of the rain, but we had a nice lunch indoors and strolled on the boulevard, ducking under cover, when the rain decided to pick up. During a time that it was raining really hard, my daughter decided she needed to use the facilities and we headed toward the public toilets. Once we got close, I stayed under cover and my husband and daughter braved the downpour to use the bathroom - only to find out it cost 1 EUR, but I had all of our change, so they headed into a nearby store to exchange some cash for some change and finally my daughter got to use the toilet. This was something we noted - almost every public bathroom cost 1-2 EUR to use. In the train stations, they were automated like entering the Metro. I didn't mind this at all, since there were full time attendants constantly checking the cleanliness of the facilities.
COURS MIRABEAU & FOUNTAINS DELICIOUS LUNCH
Aix-en-Provence often has many flower vendors out, however, I think the rain kept many away the day we were there, and it was also fairly early in the tourist season. In addition, the area is known for lavender and there were many lovely souvenir shops selling lavender and also sweets. All in all it was a wonderful day.
My daughter (who is 20) and I wanted to attend the show in the theatre that night (the hubby was too tired). We went to see the show Burn The Floor which NCL describes as "An international championship cast show off their best ballroom dance moves with plenty of European flair. From Grand Viennese waltzes to the sensual Tango and provocative Rumba, experience all their passion as they heat up the stage." NCL Entertainment This blurb definitely did NOT do the show justice. It was amazing. The music, the dancing, the enjoyment the performers seemed to have while performing exceeded our expectations. My daughter loved the costumes, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
STAY TUNED FOR INSTALMENT 4: VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER, FRANCE
Norwegian Cruise Line (Canada) website
