Homeward Bound & No Nuts to the Guy in 1D!
Wednesday 1st April, 2026 – Barcelona, Spain.
Back aboard for the last time yesterday, we finished the packing and went for our final pre-dinner drinks with Linda and David just having got back from hoofing it all the way to Sagrada Familia and back.
Fortunately, they had pre-booked tickets to go inside and were suitably blown-away! Here’s another couple of my pictures from my visit in 2017.
Of course, me being ‘Captain Martini’, I figured it was about time to raise the Martini flag…. I had two, by the way!
We chose casual dinner in the café for our last night – the seafood selection on Viking is second to none!
Making our farewells to our new friends Linda and David, who will be departing earlier than us, we reflected on the last 3 weeks. It’s been a truly wonderful cruise, with the relaxation of glorious sea days and some really interesting trips ashore.
But preceding the cruise with the 4-day extension to Rio de Janeiro and the Iguazu Falls was fabulous and the best decision we ever made!
Today, sadly, we disembarked at a bleary 8am and with the Spanish baggage handlers and ground staff in midst of an industrial dispute, delays and issues were expected.
However, much to our bemusement, we were checked-in at Terminal 1 of Barcelona Airport by 9am and (notwithstanding some confusing signage) we were through ‘fast track’ security and Passport Control by 9.30. Consequently, we were actually a bit too early to be permitted into the Executive Lounge and had to bide our time for 45 minutes.
Strange as it may seem, after all these years of cruising, we’ve never concluded a cruise in Barcelona and have only ever flown into Barcelona Airport twice to start a cruise! So today’s experience was entirely new.
Handling 70% of all Barcelona’s air traffic, Terminal 1 was inaugurated in 2009 and I must say we were impressed by its apparent efficiency (though not necessarily the signage!).
There’s no dedicated British Airways lounge but BA Business-class has access to the Aena/Vip Lounge, which is quite large and occupies the gallery overlooking the main duty-free area.
Before too long, we were aboard our British Airways A321neo and taking off 10 minutes early. If this is what happens when the ground staff are in dispute and working to rule, well…..’nuff said!
Much has been reported regarding the reduced catering on BA recently, especially on short-haul. However, one passenger in 1D declared a severe nut allergy, so there was a PA announcement that no nuts were to be served to, or consumed by, anyone on the flight!
With barely 2 hours in the air, the drinks and meal service was a bit rushed and Andrew was most displeased at being one of the last to be served his meal in seat 3D. It didn’t bother me particularly and anyway, I was too absorbed in my book to notice!
The rather simple Red Leicester Pasta was a bit luke warm, though still palatable, especially with two double gin & tonics under my belt!
Our amazing holiday all but over, it was time to start thinking about the next one……..!
The next cruise (for me at least, as Andrew goes cruising without me in a few weeks!) will be in June, when I board Sea Cloud II in Malta for an 8-night ‘real sailing’ cruise to Athens. In the meantime, here's the link to an Index of my Cruise & Bermuda Holidays from 2013 to date.









