Barcelona, Spain: Another place we visited on our tour bus yesterday was the cruise port. This spot we did remember as during the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, many cruise ships were used as floating hotels. A few companies leased the ships to entertain clients and one of our friends had a few rooms on one of the ships. We remembered visiting his family and dining onboard one evening.
Which brings us to the main reason for this Big Birthday trip - this afternoon we boarded the Explora II, a new cruise ship in a new cruise line, and will sail through the Mediterranean for the next 20 nights. This ship began sailing this past September so it is very new and quite shiny. Her elder sister, the Explora I called to port in Astoria, Oregon last summer and our travel agent was invited for an onboard tour. Nancy knew we would love this ship, so here ya' go! I think it holds about 900 passengers.
We packed our bags this morning, walked down the avenue a block or so to a coffee shop, relaxed, and went back to the hotel to check-out at noon. A taxi took us to the ship. The cruise terminal in Barcelona is just fantastic and the MSC (Explora's parent) terminal is brand new. We waited about 10 minutes - on plush sofas - then check-in took only 2 minutes (scanned our passports and took our photos for face-recognition when we leave/embark the ship in ports). Then we were told to go to a lounge or a restaurant and wait for our cabins to be ready.
Waiting in the lobby lounge wasn't exactly a hardship. Champagne was flowing. Not sparkling wine. Not prosecco. Not cava. Champagne. From France. At 2p, we were all given the go ahead. By 3p, Dave and I were unpacked and organized. By 4 o'clock DT has done a load of laundry. There are two laundry facilities onboard. He was surprised to find only 3 washer and 3 dryers in a tiny room on deck above us. No charge for the use and the ship even provide soap pods.
another bottle of champagne was in our room
Half of the balcony is covered.
Settled in and chores finished, we went out to explore the ship!
The Explora II has three swimming pools. This pool is in a conservatory, but the domed lid can retract as needed according to the weather. This afternoon, it was like a sauna. Passengers were still boarding, so we were able to snap photos without crowds.
We toured the well-appointed fitness center and also discovered bikes outside. There is a 200m track as well.
I lost track of how many spas we saw. Some are indoor, some are out. All seem to be set at 104°.
All in all, because I am traveling with Dave, we toured every public-space floor from bow to stern, looked at every restaurant, bar, and venue. With no experience at all with the service, it is easy to see this ship is spectacular - and the Captain is a woman! So exciting.
After setting sail west along the Spanish coast, we dressed for dinner and decided on one of the two main dining rooms - Fil Rouge - and had very wonderful meals. My appetizer was so gorgeous - paper-thin slices of roasted beet. It looked exactly like beef carpaccio, and was dressed in vinaigrette. The salad was garnished with some sort of pickled cucumber shreds (I think).
What are the chances the ship would offer my very favorite dish on the first night of our cruise! It was a very proper Viennese schnitzel as well. Dave said we only had one glass of wine, as our glasses were never emptied... the staff kept refilling.
A good start, and we are really looking forward to a wonderful and relaxing (I brought needlepoint) three weeks to celebrate Dave's 70th. Alicante, Spain tomorrow.
NOTES ON SPAIN: A few things we have noticed while traveling in Spain this week - both good. Feeling we are fairly well-traveled, I completely missed when water bottles (the single-use types) no longer have caps that can be removed from the top. The caps can be opened, of course, but the screw-on lid remains attached to the bottle via a little hanging flap. I think this is genius, resulting in the cap staying on the bottle for recycling. Less litter! Am I the last person to know this exists?
Also, to access the wifi or menu in an establishment, there are little beverage coaster-sized plastic disks on the dining tables (most restaurants still gave us paper menus). In our hotel room, there is one on the wall:
NOTE: The Explora II has Starlink wifi and it seems (so far) about as flaky as Elon. Anyway, posts will be spotty/not regular (and sometimes I like to sleep) until this is sorted out, or I can always use my international hotspot while in port. Also, be kind with any typos. Editing will be rushed. Patience.
Pedometer: 7979 steps - nearly all of them onboard.
Until my next update, I remain, your sailing correspondent.
LINKS:
Explora II
Current Ship Location