Plaça de Catalunya Rodalies Platform
Disembarking after a cruise is like ripping off a sticky bandage from a nasty cut. After experiencing disembarkations in Athens, Los Angeles, Southampton and Barcelona in the last four years, we can clearly state that cruise ship companies make a major mistake in customer relations. We do understand the need for speed if the ship needs to depart with a new batch of guests less than 12 hours upon arrival in a port.
The rush procedure is cruel and confusing to much of the targeted cruise ship customer profile. Retired people do not take well to measures of crowd control. I would not mind paying extra for a later, and more dignified check out.
Having said that, the four of us decided to take a taxi cab from the cruise ship to Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya where the underground train stations and subway platforms served the city in all directions.
TJ and I had been in Barcelona in 2022 and walked up La Rambla and saw a good part of the city and our friends Darcy and Caralee had decided to explore the city after our stay in Pinar de Mar, before returning to Barcelona Airport and their flight back to Canada.
We were going to take the regional train service Rodalies de Catalunya Line 1 from Plaça de Catalunya to Pinar de Mar, about an hour north of Barcelona. Sounds easy and clearcut. But now add a total of 7 suitcases and several backpack and a couple of carrying bags and you become a pickpocket target, especially if you’re in your 60s and 70s and look lost. We looked like victims and we became victims of an elaborate scheme of grifters.
A woman, normally dressed, approached us in cautious way in passable English, if we needed some help. We showed her our tickets and she directed us to a platform where we supposedly had to pay additional coins to get through the gates to enter the platform. Of course coming of a transatlantic cruise, we did not have Euro coins, so she advanced us some and we gave her some paper money in return. Caralee had her wallet underneath her shirt, tucked away in her skirt. But now they knew where the money was on her. TJ had her coin wallet with some credit cards and a couple of hundred dollar bills in her backpack, which she forgot to close up after giving some cash to the woman. Well, we don’t even know how they got to the money, but when we finally had gathered all our suitcases and bags and sat down in a protected spot on the platform we needed, it turned out that Caralee missed several hundred dollars and TJ missed her cute wallet she had bought years ago in Bruges, Belgium with cards and dollar bills and her travel totem.
Lesson learned is one way to look at this whole smelly ordeal; lesson applied is our wish for the future.
Travelers have long been targets for pickpockets going after cash-filled wallets. While money belts historically offered a sense of security, the global shift toward cashless societies means petty thieves have moved on to a new target: our phones.
“Be mindful that when you bring out your phone, you’re waving dollar signs around,” travel expert Rick Steves told Travel + Leisure. “Somebody can snatch your phone and use the credit card on it.”
And today’s pickpockets are getting more tech-savvy about it. Getting their hands on a phone can mean access to digital credit cards through Apple Pay and Google Pay, funds stored in apps like Apple Cash, and tickets for flights, trains, and attractions sitting in your digital wallet. That’s all in addition to the device itself, which can be wiped clean and resold. In early March this year, police in Taipei warned travelers to stay alert on its typically safe metro system after professional pickpockets—with possible ties to international criminal groups—were spotted there. London has seen a similar surge, with a recent wave of phone thefts on the Tube linked to foreign nationals. Locals have been sounding the alarm for months, warning travelers to keep both hands on their phones, especially in crowded areas.
Here is some more comprehensive advice for protecting yourself from all forms of pickpocketing. But really it all starts before you leave home. Getting familiar with every app you’ll be using, including your digital wallets, is essential, so you’re not fumbling around with your phone in an unfamiliar setting, while also trying to keep an eye on your belongings. For expensive devices,www look into theft insurance.
Make sure you’ve got a ‘find my phone’-type app, back up your data, and enable password protection. “While traveling, use the Wi-Fi at your hotel to back up your phone and its photos each night. If you don’t know how to sync your stuff to the cloud, learn before your trip.“
When you’re out exploring, it’s easy to get lost in the experience, but not at the cost of letting go of your most valuable travel tool. Never, ever set down a phone on a train, bar, or restaurant table or supermarket, where it’s easy for a thief to grab or you to forget. Keep it tucked away, ideally in a front pocket (not back pocket!!!) or get a lanyard to keep it around your neck. Some thieves are bold enough to snatch something right out of your hands. Always be aware of who’s around you. With phones now serving as our cameras, maps, translators, and wallets all in one, they’re only going to become a bigger target.
Travel & Leisure Magazine in the Dec 2025 issue published a great article on travel safety and Anti Theft Essentials.
Our train trip up to our Costa Brava resort town Pinar de Mar was fine and the train station where we got off was just 200 yards from the hotel Aqua Promenade and Spa entrance.
We did the important thing and forgot as quickly as possible that we were materially violated. It was not going to spoil our vacation or travel experience.
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