Cruises - Mediterranean Cruise - Should I add in London before or After?

I am looking to do a mediterranean cruise next year. It most likely will be a 7 day cruise out of BCN and tour Italy and a few other countries.

Since we would be traveling through London from the US and have a free stopover, I thought a few days there would be nice.

My thought was to do London before the cruise for several reasons. 1) get used to the time change before the port intensive cruise starts. 2) it may be early July so get out of town before the olympic hub bub starts. We would be there 2-3 weeks before they start 3) after a 7 day cruise of touring and eating, we would want to get home and not have to deal with trains, hotels, taxis, airports, etc. 4) there will be 5 of us and I am the "tour guide" so I think it will be less stressful to get the least organized portion over first.

Is the pre cruise stay a better option?

Thanks

Your reasoning is sound. I'm also sure you're aware that London airports are a fair distance away from the City itself - and with bags for a cruise, you probably won't want to do public transit - maybe look in to getting a private van transfer (could actually be cheaper than 2 cabs).

Yes, thinking of private transport both in London and in cruise ports - especially the day in Rome.

Also, with the layover in London and going to BCN, thinking of leaving from LCY.

It seems too logical for the pre crusie stop in London before and leaving from LCY so please let me know if there is something I am not thnking of.

Be sure to add a day or two pre-cruise in BCN as well. Lots to see and do there that you'll miss out on if you fly from London on embarkation day.

also, i believe that going thru lon after the cruise would incur the lhr departure tax on the flight to the us....

good luck....

After the cruise you will want to get home. By going a few days early (anywhere) you have built in a buffer for flight delays and lost luggage to catch up to you, as well as to adjust to the time change. If you haven't been to BCN I would strongly suggest a day and night there before the cruise leaves.

One thing I love about cruises is that it gives me an idea of where I would like to really see - as in going back for a land trip. Barcelona is one of those places.

Agree, pre-cruise is the better time to add extra days. That way you won't have to worry about missing your ship and it gives you a few extra days to pick up anything you may have forgotten or things that were too heavy to put in your airline baggage that you may want on the cruise itself.

Or find like I did that the top to my sunscreen popped open during the baggage crush and spilled all over inside my suitcase - nice to get that all cleaned up before unpacking on the ship. (Rule #1: always put that sort of gooy stuff in their own seperate closed plastic bags - rule #2 - always remember to follow your own rules.)

We are cruising from Rome, couple days added on before, then going to Paris after. so you can do either. Personally, I like the idea of not having to rush to the airport the day my ship gets in, so post cruise is good, but the taxes from LHR are terrible, so if you must go to London, go there first.