20241130 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 5/96 - Barcelona Day 4 - back on a boat again

Grand Africa Cruise Day 5/96 - Departing Barcelona on Seabourn Sojourn

Let's get this out there - today's entry won't be too exciting. We got up. We ate breakfast. We relaxed in the room. We took a bus to the port. We boarded Seabourn Sojourn. We sailed.

OK, that's the day in a nutshell.  Here are the details.

We each had our two big bags ready to go before 8:00 as they were coming to pick them up. That just left our carry-on bags to deal with. After breakfast, we did the last-minute prep things - brushing our teeth, taking morning pills, and so on, and got those bags packed. We sat on the bed and I promptly fell asleep for about 30 minutes. I guess I still need some sleep.

We were told to be downstairs at 11:35 for an 11:45 departure - no earlier, no later. So...we were downstairs promptly at 11:35 and everything was completely disorganized. They told us to wait, then to move to another room, then, before we got there, to go outside. We did and then got on a bus to the port. Because we were ahead of the scheduled onboarding time, they gave us a "scenic" drive through Barcelona before arriving at the port.

Once at the port, we grabbed our carry-on bags and headed into the building. The first stop was security.  They x-rayed the bags and we walked through the metal detectors. Trying to get non-English speakers to understand that my titanium hip was setting off the metal detector was a challenge. 

Then, we went through immigration control where our passports were stamped with an exit stamp. 

We went through Seabourn's onboarding team who collected our passports and vaccine yellow cards that documented our yellow fever vaccines. Finally, we were free to get on the ship.

We boarded on deck #5 making finding our suite, 533 very easy. Our big bags weren't there yet, so we could only do some minor settling in.

Chilled Champagne (yes, it said Champagne, not Prosecco) was waiting for us in the room - it's too bad that we don't like Champagne

The room is nicely sized with a large sitting area with a pair of chairs, a table, and a couch. 

This is looking from the balcony doors toward the entry door

The balcony is a nice size - unfortunately, on our deck, the balcony wall is metal - they are glass above us for better sea views

The bar cabinet has glasses and a mini-fridge below

Looking from the bed toward the balcony

We have a small walk-in closet with drawers, a safe, and plenty of hanging space

There is a make-up station between the closet and the bathroom

The bathroom is generously sized with two sinks, a tub and a shower

We aren't tub people, so this is a waste of space

We'd rather see the tub space be used for a decent shower - this is pretty tiny for 90 days of showers

A surprise - the first ship we've been on with a clock

There are USB-A and USB-C ports on each side of the bed plus a 220V plug

Most of the plugs in the room are 220V. There are a couple of 110V plugs, but if you want to plug in everywhere, you need plug adapters.

We watched the mandatory safety video in the room and then walked around a bit. At 4:00, we reported to our muster station in the main restaurant for the mandatory safety briefing. After the briefing, we wandered a bit around the ship. We stopped at the sailaway party, listened to the band, and saw the introductions of the entertainment and enrichment team.

Leaving Barcelona

The pilot boat, following, so the pilot could hop off once we were clear

Looking aft

Looking forward

Heading past the port's break wall

By the time we got back to the room, our bags had been delivered to the room. We returned and got unpacked.

By then, it was time for dinner. We decided to try the main restaurant. We sat with a couple from Denver and had an enjoyable dinner with lively conversation.

After dinner, we checked out the small shops on the ship before returning to the room. Tomorrow, we'll dock in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and we will head out on a tour. We're going to try to get a good night's sleep and get into the groove of cruise life.