Buenos días! I’m back from Europe after sailing on Windstar’s newest ship… Star Pride. I was invited on the inaugural cruise along with several other journalists, travel agents, executives and paid guests. Windstar paid fro my flight to Europe but I paid for my dad’s (I used way too many Delta miles).
Like smart cruise travelers we arrived into the first port (Barcelona, Spain) a day before just in case there were any significant weather or mechanical delays. Fortunately, there were not.
Windstar put us up at the Grand Marina Hotel which was the perfect hotel since we were only in town for a night and it was literally a stone’s throw from our ship. Unfortunately, my dad was really tired from the long trip so we didn’t do much. He slept, I worked (the life of a travel writer) and then we took a stroll down the famous and super toursity La Rambla boulevard. It was just a short walk from the Grand Marina Hotel. Below are some of my photos from our short stay in Spain.
FYI: My big regrets were not taking my dad to see Sagrada Familia (Tip: purchase the tickets online in advance from and you won’t stand in line at all) and seeing my American friend Tracy who runs Spanish Trails Day Tours and Events. But that just means we need to go back, right?!
