To Barcelona with the ferries from Italy
The only ports on the mainland from which it is possible to take a ferry to Barcelona are Italian or Moroccan: from Civitavecchia and Genoa ships depart all year round to the capital of Catalonia, which can also be reached from the ports of Nador and Tangier. The port city of the Catalan autonomous community is also the only one in Spain that can be reached by sea, excluding maritime connections with the Balearic Islands.
It is a travel solution, an alternative to the plane, to be taken into consideration, not only by those who are afraid of flying but also by those who love the sea, want to travel in comfort, perhaps even with a pet, to have fun on cruise ferries (so called because they have furnishings and services comparable to those of cruise ships), or simply prefer to arrive with a car or motor vehicle in tow.
If you are already aware of the beauty of the city and of absolutely what to do in Barcelona, let’s see how to reach it with maritime connections, through which the holiday already begins during the trip, even before arriving at the destination. Only the routes departing from Italy are analyzed here. In the following paragraphs, let’s see what are the characteristics of the carriers, the types of accommodation and services on board, as well as the days and times of departure, prices and other information, which can be found at the links contained therein, at whose references it is possible to view only the estimate or proceed to purchase tickets online.
Ferries to Barcelona from Civitavecchia
The shipping company of the Civitavecchia – Barcelona ferries is Grimaldi Lines, thanks to which it is possible to travel this route at any time of the year, with departures six days a week, in the early or late evening, round trip. The duration of the journey is approximately twenty or twenty-one hours. The carriers used are the Cruise Roma and the Cruise Barcelona, cruise ferries 254 meters long and about 30 meters wide; they can carry up to 3343 passengers and reach a speed of 28 knots.
You can book deck passage only, which allows you to spend the crossing settling on the free seats on the internal and external decks, the reclining armchair in the special room or the cabin. The latter can be standard, with or without portholes, equipped with four bunk beds and internal bathroom with shower; the Junior suites, more spacious, with porthole, double bed and bunk sofa bed, internal services, television and fridge, and the Owner’s suites, even more spacious, with double bed; on one of the two ships on the route, can also be booked cabins with toilet with bathtub and sitting room with two sofa beds, a television and a fridge. Cabins for passengers with reduced mobility are also available.
Among the services on board we find the self-service restaurant and the à la carte restaurant (breakfast, lunch or dinner can also be booked), cafeterias, casino, video games room, ballroom and shows, a play area for children, equipped conference rooms, a gym, a beauty centre, a spa (sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi) and,a swimming pool (in summer).
Ferries to Barcelona from Genoa
The shipping company for the Genoa – Barcelona ferries is GNV, with which you can sail on this route throughout the year, with one, two or three departures a week depending on the period. The outward journey takes twenty-one hours and thirty minutes to complete the route, while the return journey takes twenty hours and thirty minutes. The carriers operating on the route are mainly the Excellent and the Excelsior, approximately 202 meters long, and the Fantastic and the Majestic, 188 meters long. These cruise ferries are 28 meters wide, with a transport capacity of respectively 2230 and 2250 passengers for the first two and 2033 and 1650 passengers for the other two. The maximum speed that can be reached is between 21 and 24 knots. The Cristal, approximately 161 meters long and 29 meters wide, the Allegra and the Splendid, 214 meters long and approximately 39 meters wide, can also be used on the route.
You can book the reclining armchair, the bed in cabins divided by gender (man or woman), the internal cabin or the sea view cabin, for exclusive use, which can accommodate up to four people and are equipped with private bathroom with shower, or the suite, more spacious, with windows, television and mini bar, and the cabin for the disabled.
Among the on-board services we find the self-service, the restaurant, the pizzeria, the snack bar, the shop, an area for children, the chapel, the prayer room and the cinema on the Excelsior ferry. On the Allegra, unlike the others, there are no places for religious worship.
Ferries to Barcelona from Porto Torres
The shipping company of the Porto Torres – Barcelona ferries is Grimaldi Lines, which guarantees one, two, three or four trips a week depending on the time of year, both for the outward and return journeys. The duration of the crossing varies between twelve hours and fifteen minutes and fourteen hours and fifteen minutes.
The ships operating on this route are the Cruise Roma and the Cruise Barcellona, whose characteristics, types of accommodation and on-board services have been described in the second paragraph. On the other hand, as regards dates, departure times and prices, estimates and the purchase of tickets online, you can read the relative information that can be found on the page to which the last link refers.
Only for the route from Sardinia to Spain, and not vice versa, there is the fast check-in service, thanks to which it will not be necessary, as in other cases, to check in at the port ticket office for the conversion of the ticket purchased into boarding pass: you can therefore go directly alongside.
Disembarking
The passenger terminal where disembarkation takes place in the Barcelona port, if traveling with a Grimaldi Lines fleet carrier, is the Moll de Costa dock, while if traveling with a GNV fleet carrier, it is the Moll de Sant Bertran dock. These two nearby piers are both located in Port Vell, the old port area located a few hundred meters from the city centre.
