May 2 & 3, 2026
The first real day of the Europe Extravaganza began in Barcelona, Spain. This is where we would embark on our NCL Mediterranean cruise, but first a day in Barcelona. It is generally a good idea to plan to get to cruise embarkation cities a minimum of the day before, just in case there are delays for your flights, plus it is a great opportunity to explore another city.
We arrived safely at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport at around 9:30 am after an overnight flight. None of the members of our family are very good at sleeping while flying, so we were all pretty tired, but very excited to be in Barcelona. By planning ahead, we knew we would be in for a bit of a line up because of the new automated biometric entry/exit system, and we were right. It was about a 2 hour wait, but didn't get us down. After getting through the entry system, we grabbed a quick snack and headed for the Aerobus boarding area which would take us almost to our hotel in Plaça de Catalunya. It was a simple and inexpensive way to get from the airport to near where our hotel was. We stayed at H10 Catalunya Plaza Boutique Hotel right on the edge of the square. It was a reasonably priced hotel that had rooms that could sleep 3 and was in a great location. We had a small, but lovely and clean room and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
The Hotel
Since we were too early to check in, we stored our bags at no cost at our hotel and decided to get some lunch and explore the immediate area by the hotel. One of the things that amazed us all about Barcelona and throughout the rest of our trip was all of the sidewalk cafes. We had no problem finding a spot to sit and eat and watch the people. We had pizza and cokes and it was delicious. One thing to keep in mind in Europe (at least the places we visited), is that tap water is not served. You pay for still or sparkling water in bottles - so keep this in mind for your food budget. It didn't have a big impact on our budget. While we were eating, street musicians played music, and another group was doing acrobatics.
We walked up and down the streets near our hotel, marveling at the architecture and just taking it all in. We spent time relaxing by the fountain in Plaça de Catalunya and looking at the statuary. Our hotel rang us up to let us know that our room was ready, and despite all the excitement about the start of our trip, we all agreed that a brief rest was in order, so we headed to the hotel for a nap.
As you can see, we are all a bit tired - this was right before the hotel called to let us know our room was ready.
Plaça de Catalunya
After that, my daughter was interested in seeing the Olympic Ring, so we hopped on L3 of the Metro and got off at Poble Sec stop and walked up the mountain (Montjuïc). It was a bit of an arduous but beautiful walk. We got some lovely pictures and had a great time zig-zagging up the hill. There is a cable car available to get you closer to the Olympic Ring (Paral·lel metro stop), but we wanted to walk. However, we were too tired to walk back so we grabbed a taxi, of which there are many (we used the Uber app).
I hate to admit this but between the travel and the walk, we were all too tired to go out to eat so we grabbed KFC (gasp!) which was right around the corner from the hotel and took it back to our room. After full tummies and a clean-up, we went to sleep, looking forward to seeing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral the next day.
I knew we wouldn't be able to see everything Barcelona had to offer in our limited time and we couldn't extend the trip any more (already 17 days total), so I picked the one thing I wanted to see the most - Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. This massive basilica was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, it is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. I am including some photos, but I have to preface them by saying the photos do not do the beauty of this basilica justice. My family were absolutely gob-smacked by the detail and absolute genius of design for this structure. It is an absolutely can't miss attraction for Barcelona!
After the cathedral, we picked our luggage up at the hotel and took a taxi to the cruise terminal to board the Norwegian Epic.
STAY TUNED TO HEAR ALL ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE ON OUR CRUISE.
Websites I found useful when planning our Barcelona activities:
H10 Catalunya Plaza, Barcelona
