One of the experiences left on my cruise travel bucket list is to take a transatlantic cruise and it will be fulfilled this Fall. Sister T and I are traveling together again from Barcelona to San Juan, Puerto Rico on the Norwegian Epic.
It’s our first transatlantic cruise and is unusual in the number of ports during the sailing. Many ships just stop at one or two ports on the way across the pond making the trip in as few as 12 days. We’re thrilled to have so many stops in our first one.
Itinerary
Most of the ports on this trip are new to us both including Palma where we never left the ship when there a couple of years ago.
We have both been to Tortola and St. Thomas in the past but are looking forward to revisiting them. Originally, the Tortola day was supposed to be a stop at St. Marteen. I’m not sure why it was changed but we weren’t unhappy about it.
Ship
We’re back on the Epic for this sailing. Although I am not a fan of the weird bathroom layout in the cabins, it’s not enough to keep me from cruising her again.
We’re booked in an inside cabin but have bid on a balcony and are hoping to get the upgrade. We also booked a five night dining package so this time we’re booked at Cagneys, La Cucina, Le Bistro, Moderno and Teppanyaki.
Sister T had Teppanyaki last time and all of us had Cagneys and Moderno. We’re looking forward to revisiting the ones we’ve dined at previously plus try new specialty venues.
Travel Plans
We needed two one way flights as a result of the itinerary plus lodging for our pre-cruise Barcelona stay.
Flights
We’re both flying Lufthansa to Barcelona from our respective cities although Sister T is going a couple of days before me. I used Chase points transferred to my United frequent flyer program to get the tickets.
For the returning flights from San Juan it was a bit more challenging to find suitable options in terms of time and price. I ended up going with a JetBlue flight to Fort Lauderdale where I wait four plus hours before taking a non-stop home. At least there’s a priority pass restaurant where I can enjoy a nice dinner before the flight.
Sister T. is taking Southwest and staying overnight in Orlando before finishing the journey to her home.
Hotel
In Barcelona, my sister used timeshare points to secure five nights at a hotel. IT’s in the Born district which we’re looking forward to exploring. I’ll share more details in my trip report after our stay.
Next time, I’ll discuss our plans for each port including our pre-cruise days. Have you ever taken a transatlantic cruise?
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