Day 2 - Boarding the Cruise

After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a leisurely breakfast and packing before taking a shuttle to the cruise ship. It was about a 15 minute ride so that was great. The kids were giddy with excitement!

We got to the ship and had to stand on a long line to check-in. I was able to take the kids to some of the duty free shops to walk around, go to the bathroom and get a quick snack of chips while Brian waited. We finally got to check in and get our Sea Pass cards (like a hotel key). We have to keep it on us at all times and you can charge to it, use it to get into your rooms or whatever. We got bracelets for the kids that have our group muster location for emergencies too. We finally got to proceed to the spot where our bags were scanned before going to the ship, our main luggage was left at the shuttle and would get processed and arrive at our rooms later. We knew this could take awhile so I made sure to pack bathing suits in our carry-on bag so the kids could swim right away.

We finally saw the ship up close and WOW! It is gigantic. I mean, unbelievably HUGE. hard to comprehend how they build these things, how they float, how it functions and everything so I chose to just not think about it.










I bought sea bands to help with motion sickness and decided that I would see how well I could do without needing to out them on. So far it seemed okay, just a little gentle rocking.

It was about 12:30 and we headed straight to the cafe for lunch. It was a fantastic buffet. I had to remind myself NOT to eat my way through the cruise and Europe and tried to make some healthy choices but there are temptations everywhere.

I'm glad that I read so much ahead of time so I didn't feel quite so overwhelmed once I was on board too.

There are lines to sign up for different things and I knew already what I needed to do and what I could skip. We opted to not get soda packages (about $100 per person for unlimited soda but we decided to go soda free for the trip). Instead we ended up spending about $20 on day one for a mojito, iced Starbucks Mocha Frappucinno and an after dinner decaf Cappuccino. the extra can really add up. At least water, iced tea and lemonade are free so we will have to try to stick to that. I did spend money for a bottled water package so we would have bottled water to bring to ports and things.

After lunch we walked around the ship to check things out.




This was the view of Barcelona from the ship.

There is a small library on board with a simple honor system for checking things in and out and a sign to encourage people to add to the library. I found a book for myself and picked up a couple nighttime stories for Cameron.

We were then able to check into our room to drop off our stuff and let the kids change for the pool.




We ran into our friends from the Barcelona tour and the kids had fun playing together.











After swimming they all changed so we could attend a mandatory muster drill.




They showed us where to go for an emergency and brought everyone to a theater to explain the procedure.

After the drill, we met a bunch of people that I had been talking to online on cruisecritic. We have lots of private tours arranged and it was a chance to connect faces with names for when we tour so we know who to look for. It was also a great way to get to know a few more people on the ship do you feel like you see familiar faces on board. Everyone was very nice and the whole "living in Abu Dhabi" thing makes us easy to remember and I suddenly feel like an ambassador for UAE cultural education - everyone always has loads of questions.

We wound down from the "meet and mingle" and headed upstairs to get the kids signed up for the Kid Adventure Program (a drop off kid activity space where they are separated by age and open all day for free or after 10 pm for a fee). I was surprised to hear them say that you could drop your kids off there and head off to your 5-10 hour excursion and pick them up after (?????). Or that you could bring them after 10 p.m. and pay a fee to have them watched in the evening. Ummmm..thanks but our kids are joining us for excursions and they will be in bed before 10 but we will keep it in mind.

Then we headed down for dinner. I was surprised to see that we had a table for 10 and we were with another family of five. We all got along great! Loved them. They have three kids (ages 12, 15, 16) and they got along great with our kids. We hit it off great with the adults and look forward to dinner with them each night.



Bella and her silverware balancing skills.

Bella was practically falling asleep at dinner and was ready for bed by the time we finished at 8. I got the kids off to the room and headed out to sign up for our last excursion (Athens) so we are all set on tours.

I came back and the kids were all set for bed. I don't feel sea sick and so far we are having a fantastic time!!!

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Day 1 - Barcelona

I came across a website during my preparation for the cruise that has been siooooo useful! It's called www.cruisecritic.com and I was able to get tips and connect with people who would be on the same cruise as us.

We have tours scheduled with a variety of people I "met" online and we even have a couple on-cruise get togethers.

Our first tour was originally booked by someone else from the website and decided to join in. They also recommended somewhere for lunch and we spent the whole day with them. They are an older couple with their 12 year old grand-daughter (who was enjoying the cruise as her awesome Bat Mitzvah present). The kids all got along great!!! The adults did too so it was a win-win.

The tour was with Barelona Day Tours and it was fabulous!

There were only the eight of us on the tour and the price was 59 euros each. We were picked up in a tour bus, had four hours of guided touring throughout Barcelona and were dropped off near our restaurant for lunch (although they could've dropped us off at the hotel).

We drove around the city and saw some of the most amazing architecture. In Abu Dhabi we have great modern architecture but here on Barcelon it was amazing older architecture. Several of the buildings we saw were designed by Gaudi.










We also went to where the Barcelona Olympics happened.








We received a guided tour at La Sagrada Familia, a basilica originally designed by Gaudi but since his passing it has been added onto by other architects. It is a work in progress and is estimated to be finished in 2030.





Here is a picture from across the street. The older looking part in front was designed by Gaudi. The other area looks brighter because it hasn't aged yet, not because it's a different material.









This side is all pictures of the nativit. Gaudi was very religious. It tells a story as you look from the bottom up. You can see Jesus being born, Mary learning about her pregnancy, Jesus working as a carpenter and more.


This is inside the church. They charge money to enter and the mine goes towards the completion of the church. The hold actual services once a month.


Gaudi was really into trees and the columns represent trees. They are all a little different and they lean, helping provide the stability and strength to hold up the church.


This was on a door on another side. It is parts of the Lords Prayer (Our Father) written in several languages.




This is from another side of the building, designed by a different architect and the entire side is filled with scenes from the Stations of the Cross.

The pictures don't do the building justice. It was amazing.




The kids stopped to play at a park nearby.




















this bench was in a big circle and it was decorated with broken bits of tile and designed ergonomically so the rounded part hit in just the right part of your lower back.











We also visited Park Guel. At the entrance were two houses designed by Gaudi and modeled after houses in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. One was supposed to be the witch's house and one the hansel and Gretel house.



there were random people at the park and on the Las Ramblas.














we ate at this restaurant and it was amazing! The yummiest paella!




Lots of art everywhere.




At the end is a palace, I think? We saw so much it's hard to remember it all.





This was a sun on the ceiling of the area called the marketplace.














The four kids and I walking near the port.








There was plenty more to see and we could've spent a few days there at least. I would have loved to visited some of the museums but the kids wouldn't have all enjoyed it.

We will spend a little more time in Barcelona after the cruise when we take time to visit the Gothic Quarter but this was a wonderful start to our vacation!

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Vacation begins.....the flight over

Our Vacation began bright and early in the morning when we woke up at 4:00 a.m. We had spent the night at a nearby Dubai hotel which had the tnniest toothpaste:



and took a shuttle to the airport in time for our 7:00 a.m, flight. We flew on Emirates and they were fantastic. The food was good, the seats were comfy, the in-flight tv/movie/video game selection was great and the kids did wonderfully!












We eventually arrived in Barcelona around 3:00 p.m. Barcelona time. They are two hours ahead of us so no jet lag- yeah!

We mostly relaxed at the hotel. Our hotel is close to the airport but walking distance to anything too interesting. It was cheaper than the hotels right downtown though so that was good. At one point, Alexander and I walked to the closest supermarket for dinner snacks. It was a little over 20 minutes away and after a few purchases, including 6-pk of big, 1-liter waters, I thought we could catch a cab back but there wasn't any in site so I lugged it the mile back to the hotel (thus making up for not going to the gym).

The weather felt great, the fresh air was wonderful and everything was so green that the walk was just fine, even if we had to make little stops along the way.

Brian took the kids swimming in the pool and we got to bed by 8 so it was a mellow day with lots of sleep. We had to get two hotel rooms with a family of five but it worked out having different space for the kids to separate to.

Tomorrow we tour Barcelona!

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