Starting our Mediterranean cruise with MSC Cruises in Barcelona

We stepped off the plane in Barcelona to bask in the warm sunshine, which instantly put me in the holiday mood. We’d arrived for a week’s Mediterranean cruise with MSC Cruises in Barcelona and I immediately felt the Mediterranean spirit. We took the airport bus to Plaça de Catalunya, the pulsating heart of Barcelona and after finding a store to leave our cases we pondered on all the things to do in Barcelona.

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Sightseeing in Barcelona

My plans of visiting Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s visionary cathedral that is still under construction, or perhaps Casa Mila (also known as La Pedrera), his curvaceous apartment building, had to be put aside, since we were both feeling weary and hungry after our early start from Bristol. Instead we dived into a side street local’s café and had a large slice of tortilla and a few other tapas.

By the time we’d recovered our energy there was too little time to do any serious sightseeing so instead we wandered down the shopping boulevard of Avinguda Portal de l’Angel and got distracted by shopping opportunities in El Corte Ingles and some excellent street musicians. We barely made it as far as the cathedral and Gothic quarter before it was time to turn back, collect our luggage and take a taxi to the port to board MSC Splendida.

If you have more time to see Barcelona, read: The Ultimate 3 day itinerary in Barcelona

As the taxi dropped us off, the cruise ship towered over us like an apartment block, stretching into the distance. We boarded through the elegant central atrium, and I was taken by the sparkly staircase studded with jewels. This is certainly a pretty ship, with plenty of glitz thrown in, but in a good way.

We found our stateroom on the 13^th floor, with a balcony on which Guy sat and relaxed while I unpacked and took some photos. The stateroom is furnished in a scheme of brown, mustard and black, quite masculine and modern Italian style. We have a seating area and desk next to the glass doors, a fridge with mini bar and a flat screen TV. We kept hearing announcements outside but somehow they were not audible inside the stateroom, so we missed the safety briefing with our life jackets.

I hope you enjoy the video below of our Stateroom 13140 on MSC Splendida from our MSC Cruise

If you can’t see the video above about our MSC Cruise view it on my blog here or on YouTube here

Download the MSC Splendida Stateroom tour Video

Once we’d settled in, we decided to have a wander around the ship, which was already full of other guests, since on this Mediterranean route, it’s possible to embark at either Genoa or Barcelona. There seemed to be a lot of family groups and guests in their 30s and 40s, which meant that the atmosphere was pretty lively. As the MSC Splendida sailed out of Barcelona we were up on the pool deck, enjoying the evening sun with a cappuccino and then returned to the stateroom to get ready for dinner.

We were invited for a cocktail at a reception for honeymooners and returning guests, before going into dinner in the Villa Verde restaurant for the second sitting at 9.30pm. We were seated at a table of six, with a German couple and a Norwegian couple who fortunately spoke English, so we had some pleasant conversation. I was struck by the varied mix of nationalities, with Spanish, French and Italians as you’d expect, but quite a few Japanese and very few Brits.

Every announcement on board is made in four or more different languages, to allow for this. The first port of call on this cruise was to be Marseille and we planned to have a day wandering at our own pace to explore the city.

Read more from my Mediterranean Cruise

Join me on a week’s Mediterranean Cruise with MSC Cruise
Bonjour Marseille – Day 2 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Palazzo and Gelato in Genoa – Day 3 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Naples and an excursion to Pompeii – Day 4 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Messina and an excursion to Taormina – Day 5 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Tunis and Carthage – Day 6 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
A day at sea and back to Barcelona – Day 7 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise

We travelled on MSC Splendida from Barcelona on a 1 week cruise calling at Genoa, Marseille, Naples, Messina, Tunis. Prices for a similar cruise start at around £700 per person. For more information, visit the MSC Cruises website or follow them on Twitter @MSC_Cruises_UK or on the MSC Facebook page.

Thanks to MSC cruises who hosted* Guy and Heather’s Mediterranean cruise.

* More info on my policies page

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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