Barcelona, Spain Shore Excursion and Port Reviews We have been there before and adore this city, so our comments might be a little bias. Then again, all the comments we got from our acquaintances on board ship were positive. We took a double-decker tour bus for part of the day, (15 Euros, but better planned than the one in Lisbon) and then wandered around town, stopping at a restaurant we had discovered during our previous stay for a bite of lunch. It was quite enjoyable. Beware: because of added security, the road leading back to the ship can be quite jammed. If you are on your own, make sure that you give yourself at least one hour to get to the ship. The walk to the ship is about 45 minutes from the Columbus Statue. There is a shuttle from the pier to the Columbus Statue, at the foot of Las Rambla. (The main pedestrian street that leads you up to the major square of the city where most of the tours busses are located.) The cost of the shuttle: 2,50 Euros, each, return. One sour point: There weren't any HAL reps around at the pier for those of us who had decided to go it alone. It would have been nice to have someone there to tell where the shuttle was parked etc. Not even a sign... Bottom line: We would there again in an heartbeat.