Cruises - Luggage storage/transfer in Barcelona

My wife and I are going on a cruise out of Barcelona in October and are looking for a place to store our luggage the day we arrive so we can take a quick tour of the city. We arrive at 8am and the cruise leaves at 5pm. We're not checking our luggage and don't want to drag them around all day.

Also, if anyone has suggestions for the best method of transportation to and from the airport, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Find out what time they start taking bags? I had cruises depart BCN port and was able to drop bags at the cruise terminal around 11am. Early bag drop off usually mean your bags are in your room sooner.

After dropping bags and confirming check in we spent a few more hours around La Ramblis before boarding.

The cruise terminal is directly in the city, so dropping your luggage off at the ship is more efficient than storing it elsewhere and then collecting it.

check on a private tour ending at the ship...

check on a private tour ending at the ship...


That might be the direction we go. Carnival offers a 3 to 4 hour tour of the city that drops you at the ship for about $25pp. The other thing we were thinking about was if we could store the luggage at the cruise terminal. Then we could take a 3 or 4 hour tour of the city from there.
I tried to see if we could check in and drop our luggage at the ship, but they told me that check in is not until about 11:30. I'm not sure if you can drop off luggage and check in for the cruise and then leave the port area, I've never tried it before. Can that be done?

... I'm not sure if you can drop off luggage and check in for the cruise and then leave the port area, I've never tried it before. Can that be done?

I have dropped bags off around 11am and head back into the city three times at BCN cruise terminal.

I have dropped bags off around 11am and head back into the city three times at BCN cruise terminal.

Did you check in or just give your luggage to the porters? That's what we are thinking about doing. Our flight gets in at about 9am. I would think we could get to the port by 11, right? Then we can either walk or take the ships shuttle to the Ramblas and see some of the sights and get back to the ship by 4. Does this sound doable?

Did you check in or just give your luggage to the porters? That's what we are thinking about doing. Our flight gets in at about 9am. I would think we could get to the port by 11, right? Then we can either walk or take the ships shuttle to the Ramblas and see some of the sights and get back to the ship by 4. Does this sound doable?

Yup that sounds like my standard operation procedure.
If the flight lands at 9 you will be out of the airport by 10. There was never problem grabbing a Taxi back to the city after bag drop. I usually check in as well, I think there is a cutoff of 2pm to check in for 4pm departure.

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you just took a taxi from the airport to the terminal. Is that the quickest way to to get there? The cruise leaves at 5 that's why I was planning on getting back by 4, but it looks like we'll need to get back by 3 or so.

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you just took a taxi from the airport to the terminal. Is that the quickest way to to get there? The cruise leaves at 5 that's why I was planning on getting back by 4, but it looks like we'll need to get back by 3 or so.

The two times that you are concern are the check in cut off time and the boarding cut off time.
That is why I drop bags, check in and then enjoy the city.

How many is in your party? Taxi is good for a couple with luggage but I have used airport transfer van service for group of 6, 8 and 22.

There's just 2 of us. I wasn't sure if we could go through the entire check in process and then leave the ship. We've never had the need to do this before. If we check in and then leave, do we have to wait in the check in line again when we come back? We usually cruise out of Port Canaveral and those lines tend to take an hour or so to get through.
I checked with Carnival and they said check in doesn't start until 11:30. If we can get there at 10 or so, can we give our luggage to the porters and then leave or should we wait to check in as early as possible and then go into the city?
Sorry for all of the questions but it's our first cruise in Europe and I'm trying to make sure it goes a smooth as possible and we can see as much of Barcelona as we can before the ship leaves.

There's just 2 of us. I wasn't sure if we could go through the entire check in process and then leave the ship. We've never had the need to do this before. If we check in and then leave, do we have to wait in the check in line again when we come back? We usually cruise out of Port Canaveral and those lines tend to take an hour or so to get through.
I checked with Carnival and they said check in doesn't start until 11:30. If we can get there at 10 or so, can we give our luggage to the porters and then leave or should we wait to check in as early as possible and then go into the city?
Sorry for all of the questions but it's our first cruise in Europe and I'm trying to make sure it goes a smooth as possible and we can see as much of Barcelona as we can before the ship leaves.

I have never arrived that early; usually less than one hour of the posted check in time.
We have dropped bags and check-in without boarding for Royal Carribean and Norwegian at BCN cruise terminal. I have not cruised with Carnival.

Have you tried asking this at cruisecritic.com under the Carnival forum? They are the FT equivalent for cruising.

Have you tried asking this at cruisecritic.com under the Carnival forum? They are the FT equivalent for cruising.

Yes I have this posted over there also. We'll see if anybody has any suggestions.

Thanks

Sounds like you may be doing the same cruise we did in June...great experience! We found taxis in Spain to be expensive. The bus is very reasonable if you can get someone to tell you how to access the correct line. The Marriott near the airport has a free shuttle and the bus is right across the street. You could ride that to the cruise terminal area to drop your luggage. The cruiseline's tour might be the easiest option, however. I think there is a posting rule (maybe? maybe not?) about private tour companies. We had a GREAT company in Italy. If you send me a private message I'll give you details. Be SURE to bring a hat and sunscreen! Bon Voyage!

There are tour guides and limo services that will pick you up at the airport and give you a tour of the city and then take you to the cruise terminal. If you do that you will not waste valuable time going to the cruise terminal first.

Shak