Excursions

While here in Alaska we did manage to secure some of our excursions for this cruise.  On Cruise Critic we connected with another traveler, Barbara, who we met on our 2009 Transatlantic cruise.  She is a great organizer and she found some fabulous itineraries and bargains for us.  Unfortunately, RCI (Royal Caribbean International) has yet to post the excursions for this cruise so we have nothing to compare to!  They say the tours will be posted on the website 90 days before departure.  After seeing the fabulous options Barbara located it doesn’t seem possible that anything RCI comes up with will be as comprehensive or well priced so we will go with what she has found in Jordan and Israel so far.  We always enjoy the smaller groups than are typical on the big bus tours from the ships. Our friends Stuart and Darlene have chosen these options as well.  Anyway, plans are moving ahead for this trip!

Booking

So glad we booked this cruise when we did.  The price has gone up in small increments since we booked, now it is almost $400. more.  This tells me the ship must be filling up!  Looking forward to seeing some new and different places!

Airfare!

Since I decided when to take off work we decided to book our flights now.  Seems the price sneaked up a bit in the last month anywat, so why wait!  We will leave FAT 25 October 09:05 and arrive in Barcelona 26 October 15:05, yes it is a LONG flight, which of course we do not relish.  Return will be 25 November 01:35 and arrive back to FAT 25 November 15:15.  So that much is in place.  Love my AMEX travel options, had points so we received $857. off the total cost.  So this is working out to be an overall trip with a very good price! 

Interesting Ideas

Every Sunday I read Frommer’s article in the paper with various travel news.  This week was really intriguing to me!  There is a new website called iStopover where you can go and find local rentals all over the world.  Apparently there is another very well established place to find these as well called AirBnb.  I knew there were places like this but I have always been a bit leery.  To have Frommer’s recommend these as good options piqued my interest.  So, today I joined both sites and have done a little browsing for places in Barcelona, now I am really intrigued!  I sent in a couple inquiries and have already heard back.  There is anything from a single stark bed, sharing a bathroom to a luxury apartment or home for rent.  Most have laundry and kitchen facility.  As you might expect the owners seem very friendly, helpful, and intriguing themselves!  Can’t wait to try this out! 

Big Bus … Hop on, Hop off

John and I like to do this sort of tour, particularly when we arrive in a new place.  It is always a great overview if you don’t have much time in a city and likewise if you have a few days there you get a great overview and orientation and you know just where you want to further explore.  I got this great site:  Big Bus Tours off the Cruise Critic board for this cruise.  Interesting…

Gathering Information

This morning I am downloading Rick Steves Spain information.  John and I plan to take along reading materials/maps and perhaps plan much of the trip while we relax up in Ketchikan, AK for the month of July.  Hmmm… side trip to Morocco, we’ll have to see if that is doable!  I better get a grip on reality here and take care of my real life!  LOL

Rick Steves

Today we received the Snapshot: Barcelona guide book we ordered from Rick Steves – ETBD (Europe Through the Back Door).  We can really trust his travel materials and admire the philosophy of his type of travel.  I think I will take this little guide book along when we go to Ketchikan so we can read up on what we want to do.  I just glanced and already saw a few “must see” things that we should not miss before leaving on the cruise out of Barcelona.  I also got the Snapshot: Madrid and Toledo, though I am not sure we will make it up to Madrid or not.