In this article we cover the breakdown of how we cruised from Barcelona without flying and include costings of our particular journey. Please bear in mind that each journey is individual – costs listed are those that we paid at the time and can obviously vary.
Why We Took a No-Fly Fly Cruise
Well, this is all my fault – I don’t like flying. After a particularly difficult flight to the USA many years ago which made me quite poorly, I decided enough was enough. I was later persuaded to take two short flights since, but it just`messed with my head’.
So, sadly for Ken, this has meant all of our cruises since then being `No-Fly’ from the UK. This undoubtedly reduces options as there are some really nice itineraries that start in Europe.
For some time we wondered how practical it would be to take land travel to Europe to pick up a cruise. An opportunity arose to join our friends Gavin and Luke, The Cruise Monkeys, on board Princess Cruises Star Princess. So Ken checked out various options with the help of Dan, our Travel Agent.
Vlog series of our journey and cruise on Star Princess is currently being added on YouTube.
Putting Together a Package
Essentially we ended up with a package of travel features that included taxis, coaches, trains and hotels. This may sound a little complicated, but actually it was really straight forward. Some elements were booked through our Travel Agent to ensure ABTA coverage. The TGV INOUI train was booked direct so that we could make use of the Over 60’s travel card in France and get discount on train travel. The taxis and local taxes were paid as we went.
Together we constructed a travel plan and times that suited us best. Initially we had thought about having a night in London before boarding Eurostar. However train times in France changed to their winter itinerary before we travelled and it was more convenient to have a night in Paris.
Travel Costs
In the end we came up with a timetable that suited us. Below is a breakdown of times and costs that covers the journey. All prices are for both of us however prices for the coach and trains are for return journeys.
Tips for the Future
Our first attempt at doing a journey such as this we deem to be successful – for us. There are things that we might change in the future and tips that we would follow again.
- Depending on timings we may stay in London overnight on the outward journey
- We may not stay in Barcelona the night before the return journey
- We would book seats on buses and trains in advance wherever possible
- We would book trains in particular as early as possible to get best price
- You have to be mindful of the extra travel time that may be involved
- We would again book certain items as a package to get the ABTA cover.
Our Conclusion
For those of us who do not or cannot fly this is a viable option, however it can be more time consuming and more expensive. Remember though, you need to take into consideration the time and expenditure getting to airports, cost of parking/transport, taxis etc if you take a fly-cruise.
We have had time to consider this journey since our return and there is no doubt that we would do a similar journey in the future. No journey will be identical but this is a good place to start.
Part 1 and Part 2 of this Blog series is available on our Website.