Eclipse Tour Day 1: Barcelona We Hardly Knew Ye

We hadn’t been doing any big trips for a while, and we spotted a cruise in the Mediterranean, that sounded great. Beginning in Barcelona and ending in Greece, it got us to several cities/countries we had never seen. But, even better, it put us in the Mediterranean on August 12 for a total solar eclipse. This sounded like a lot of fun, so we booked it. We left Norfolk on August 6 to fly to Barcelona.

Barcelona was one of my ‘hope to see it’ cities. The old architecture and art is world class, and I really wanted to see Sagrada Familia, a church envisioned by Antoni Gaudi in the 1800’s. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most beautiful architectural achievements in the world. We booked our flights on Delta, with Air France getting us to Barcelona. We got a reasonable deal on business class flights so we could get some sleep on the way, and although I built in only one day to sightsee in Barcelona, I felt it would work. We had made arrangements with a guide from toursbylocals.com which we have done before and she was able to propose an itinerary that would hit all our wish we-could-dos.

So off we went on August 6, knowing that we would arrive on the 7th, with the Sun to sail on the 8th. We had great seats, both of getting a window and a bed. The first sign of the impending challenges came when we sat on the runway for over an hour. The captain told us there were lots of planes in the runway queue which accounted for the delay. We finally were wheels up about an hour later than was planned. After take off, the Flight Attendants began to serve our dinner. Because our first stop was Paris, we were offered a glass of Champagne. The real thing, which was light and refreshing. The first course included a salad, lobster bites, a cheese assortment with honey and a roll. Next, we had an incredibly tender lamb stew. Food in business class is worth having.

The flight to Paris was just under 8 hours and I was hoping to get about 5 hours of sleep, so I donned my eye mask, made my bed and settled in. I asked the FA to wake me about an hour before landing so I could try to at least see the Eiffel Tower as we approached Paris. She did and brought out another yummy meal with yogurt and honey, fruit and coffee. While we didn’t see the Tower, we were excited to get onto the next leg of the trip, as our Barcelona guide was to meet us around 2 pm. The landing was smooth and we disembarked at Charles De Gaul airport around 6:30am. Neither of us had really slept much, but we felt rested and excited.

First challenge: our connecting flight to Barcelona was scheduled to leave at 7:15. We asked the FA if she thought we would make it. She looked pained and said no. But from the look on her face, it was more like hell, no.

I didn’t recall if we ended up having to go through the security process on a connecting flight but we quickly learned we would have to do that. And it might have been ok, but we disembarked at an entirely different Terminal and there were absolutely no signs pointing the way. After we struggled through security, we finally found someone to ask, and she sent us on what seemed like a miles long trek, requiring an air train.

Now if you have ever taken a walk with Bob, you know you may have to modify your speed. He likes to look at everything and even say hi to others. But as we watched the clock tick away, he went into Carlisle Car show mode, and even I had to struggle to keep up. And then we caught a break. Our connecting flight was delayed for 15 minutes. Maybe we would make it! Alas, the customs area was having difficulty with their identification process, and it took everyone a few tries to get through. There went our 15 minutes! But look! Another 10-minute delay! Maybe they were waiting for us! We renewed our rapid stride and got to the gate! Which had closed within the last 3 minutes.

Now what? We wandered around until we found customer service and had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. The woman was a real sweetheart and was concerned that we would either have to split up to get to Barcelona, or take economy seats on a much later flight. We nixed the split up idea and were willing to be downgraded, but she called on her supervisor to try and help. Between the two of them, they found a flight pattern to take us to Amsterdam, and from there to Barcelona, maintaining our business class status. We were ok with that, and it actually got us to Barcelona earlier than any other option, but not early enough to keep our scheduled tour. Luckily, I had purchased the insurance, and we called and let the woman know we wouldn’t make it. And what about our luggage? Was it on the way to Barcelona? We were assured that in Europe, the suitcase follows the owner, so our luggage would be on the new itinerary as well.

So off we went to Amsterdam, there to catch our final flight to Barcelona. The plane to Amsterdam was fine and we were again served a meal—lunch this time. We were actually getting tired of all the food, but it was so delicious.

In Amsterdam, we again had to go through another layer of security, but we had plenty of time so after clearing, we went to the Priority Club and hydrated. It was at this time that our second challenge became clear. Bob didn’t have his wallet. As we frantically searched it became apparent that it was either on the Air France plane from Norfolk, in the Paris airport, or on the bus in Paris that took us to the Amsterdam gate. We were only a few moments from boarding in Amsterdam, so there was no time to report the missing wallet or to cancel the few credit cards inside. The internet on our final flight to Barcelona was pretty unreliable, but we figured we could get to the hotel and do it there. There was some cash, but we figured that was a loss.

In Barcelona, we found which carousel our luggage would be on. We had 3 checked bags. And that was our third challenge. Bag #1 came out. Bag #2 came out. But no bag #3. We waited a bit, called on the credit cards to get them shut down, checked the card websites and were relieved to find that no one had tried to use them. The AirTag on Bob’s wallet showed it was happily sitting in the Paris airport near a few of the shops. Still no third bag, so I looked up that AirTag. Oh oh. That bag was also in Paris. Still. It didn’t get the memo that the luggage was supposed to follow us. And then we saw the line to report lost luggage.

I have been in long lines on Disney trips, but this was something else. Perhaps 200 people were waiting, and not so patiently, to report lost luggage in the Barcelona airport. Why? Because the baggage handlers were on strike. We were in that line for 3 hours. It gave me time to fill in all the lost things reports online and a good thing, because they have to be done online. Which the beleaguered staff at the lost luggage counter would tell you when you finally got there. But we now had a time problem. We were only in Barcelona until 1 pm, and then we would be on a cruise ship. And the online form did not give you anywhere to explain things like this. So, we felt we had to stay in line to explain our circumstances.

When we reached about 20 people ahead of us, each person taking about 17 minutes during their turn (Bob timed them), I got a text message saying that our bag was on a plane to Barcelona and would arrive a few minutes after midnight. Yeh! So, even though we were exhausted, we decided to wait. We got to the front of the line and explained the situation sharing that the bag was on its way, and that we would wait.

When the plane from Paris landed, the carousel noted a message that the luggage would be available around 1:15 am. We waited more. And waited. By 2:30am, I had walked to every baggage claim carousel with no luck. The AirTag showed that the bag was now in Barcelona. So, I found a security guard and showed him where the AirTag said our bag was. He explained that ours was in a holding room in the airport, and that no one could get in there except the baggage handlers who were on strike. But how did some of the luggage on that plane come out, I asked. The reply I got was that there weren’t enough people to load all the luggage because of the strike so some of it was put into this holding area.

We finally got to our hotel, the Barcelona Melia, around 3:30am, missing a bag. We would spend the next several hours and days identifying the missing stuff, since we weren’t sure about everything that was in that bag. We decided to get a few hours sleep, then go shopping for the things we thought were living in that bag, save the receipts and get on the ship. Luckily we bought the insurance. But I can tell you I was furious. I could see the bag, even pinpoint where in the airport it was, but no one could get it for me and I wasn’t allowed to get it myself. ARRGGGHHHH!

I can tell you that if you ever get to Barcelona and want to stay in a nice hotel, the ME is terrific. Their breakfast is to die for, and they were very empathetic with their angry and exhausted late arrivals. After shopping, we got a cab and headed to the ship. As we drove along, we saw beautiful old buildings and lamented the fact that we didn’t really get to see any of our must-dos in Barcelona. But we made the effort and began to look forward to getting on the Princess Sun.