Sounds like a wonderful trip! Have you been over to Cruise Critic to find your roll call? you can get alot of ideas there and maybe connect with some small groups for more personalized / less expensive tours. Let me give you 3 more suggestions, you are covering alot of ground and have quite a bit of planning you can do!

Buy Rick Steves Med. Ports of Call - this will give you very practical ideas of what to do in most of your ports.

You can get a vaporetta pass in Venice - ride up and down the Grand Canal daytime, nighttime and maybe out to the islands.

Barcelona has a HO HO bus - the sights are pretty spread out so this will ive you a nice overview.

I second the cruise critic tip.
In Barcelona include these: La Sagrada Familia church,
Gruell park and La Ramblas.

Thanks to both of you!
I'm making notes on all - and going over to cruise critic right now (never checked out roll call!)

Start at the top of Las Ramblas in Bacelona. Stay on the right hand side.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/ramblas/barcelona-las-ramblas.html

Stop at La Boqueria Market, a huge, historical market dating back the the 13th Century.

http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en

If you need to go back up to the top, take the subway, fast and clean.

As you get further down, check out the Gaudi buildings on the left, a block or 2 away.

ebv - to your list of things to see in Barcelona, you should add the Palau di Musica - either for a concert or a guided tour.

We loved staying at Pensione La Calcina in Venice. The rooms are small, the stairs a bit steep, but the views from the rooms are wonderful; the breakfast on the deck is great; the location is away from the tourist areas so it is very peaceful, but still within walking distance of all attractions. We have recommended this little pensione many time with very grateful results.

We think you would find http://yourfriendinvenice.com/ a helpful resource - either as a guide or how to get the most out of your time in Venice. Don't over think your time in Venice - there are many joys to be had by strolling around, taking vaporettos to explore and people watching over a long lunch. Have fun.

What loveners said. You'll probably be jetlagged and sleepy when you arrive in Venice. You'll need a few days to get over that. But just walking around Venice is the best touristing.

Be sure to stay in Venice proper, not on the mainland and not on the Lido. Living in a city with no cars, no trucks is a unique experience. And Venice is uniquely beautiful.

If you want recommendations, tell us how many euros/night you're willing to spend. The web page for your hotel should give detailed instructions on how to get there from the airport.

Venice is a smallish place; it's easy to walk around. However there are low bridges over the canals, bridges with short steps. If your husband can't handle those, there are shortcuts using the waterbuses, water taxis, or gondolas that cross the canals. And in this latter case, you might want to spring for a room with a balcony overlooking a canal.

We visited Venice many times and have stayed at inexpensive to the expensive. If you post what you'd prefer to pay I'm sure you'll get tons of recommendations. Have been twice to Barcelona. Last time at a horrible hotel that came with a GCT package. Before that had a nice stay at the Hotel Colon. It wasn't fancy but our room was right across from the the Cathedral (not the Sagrada Familia). On a Sunday from our balcony we saw a performance of the Sardana (native Catalonian dance) which was memorable.

Don't know how you're arriving in Venice...but I think a water taxi to your hotel would be worth the splurge.... and should give you some lasting memories.

As others have suggested... look for others on the cruise to share excursions. If you go to cruisecritic.com be sure to find the Oceania board.

Thanks for all the great advice!
Im now primarily just trying to research where to stay in Venice. Would LOVE a room with a balcony in a nice location overlooking a canal.
Have checked out Tripadvisor and emailed some of the B&B's....looking right now at Al Teatro, Locanda Orseolo, and Campiello Zen.
Will also check out Wm's suggestion re Pensione La Calcina. And will check out yourfriendinvenice.com per loveners.
If anyone has any other suggestions re places to stay in Venice (preferably with a balcony), please let me know!
I appreciate all the help!!!!! eb

In Barcelona I can recommend fabulous value Banys Orientals in the medieval and vibrant El Born area and close to "everything". Voted on top ten bargains in the Med area on Conde Nast a couple of years ago. 100€ for a double: http://www.hotelbanysorientals.com/

El Born area: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/areas/el-born.html

Or stay in the close by, up-scale and more tranquile Eixample (Extension) district. Hotel sixty-two is a good option: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/sixtytwo-barcelona.en.html

About L'Eixample: http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/eixample.htm

On Thursday 8th and Friday 9th of November fantastic flamenco dancers Pastora Galván (Sevilla) and El Junco (Cádiz) perform in Tablao Cordobés in Las Ramblas, 35.

Pastora Galván was voted best female flamenco dancer by Spanish critics 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2SBUcrJgeQ

El Junco is one of my absolute favourites after having seen loads of flamenco performances for the past ten years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sENoCuTQYPs

They are accompanied by world class singers and musicians.

The rest of your nights in Barcelona, El Farru dances in the same venue. He's the younger and up and coming brother of fantastic Farruquito. For the past two years Farru has toured with flamenco guitar legend Paco de Lucía, one of the greatest guitarist in the world regardless of genre. Farru and Paco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrxGsksJusU

Info and tickets: http://www.tablaocordobes.com/espectaculo_flamenco/general/en/1/73

We have been to Venice three times and twice stayed at La Calcina which is our favorite hotel. Last fall we stayed in an apartment near the Calcina as we were there for a week. The Dorsoduro is our preferred area.

A couple of years ago we also did a med cruise with Oceania which began in Barcelona. We stayed three nights before the cruise at the Hotel Regina. We really liked the location which was withing walking distance to the Ramblas. We can happily recommend this hotel.

Enjoy your trip!

This is almost exactly the same as the itinerary we did in June. The hotels in Venice were very expensive when we went, at the time of year you are going they should be less so. we stayed at a small, simple hotel near Piazza Roma. The reason we chose this area is two-fold. 1. It is convenient for when you arrive. You can just get a bus to Piazza Roma, and then walk to the hotel (not far). 2. The People Mover to the port is at Pizza Roma, and very convenient. The name of our hotel was Allogi Marinella. It was recommended on the website Venice for Visitor, which has lots of good info. http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

In Barcelona we stayed at the Hotel Inglaterra, which was small but very nice. We got a free upgrade to the suite, which was really nice. It had it's own patio with a table and chairs for lounging. It is also very convenient to Las Ramblas. Very nice. Highly recommend.

I can give you a summary of what we did in each port if you want, but the best thing to do is to go to Cruise Critic, and if you scroll down you will see the Ports of Call boards, and there are lots of recommendations on there for tour operators. Also, as mentioned, your Roll Call. Maybe you can team up with other members of your roll call for some tours.

Have a great trip! It was truly a once in a lifetime for us.

Venice..keep in mind that canals are streets. One time we had a canal view room and couldn't sleep.

Thank you Kimhe, Royal, Gundy, and HappyTrvlr! Much-needed and helpful advice.
I will check out suggested accommodations (esp. like the sound of the La Calcina, tho haven't researched enough yet to know what the Dorsoduro area is, but will....) and also appreciate advice re "canals are streets" - lol. Hadn't really thought about that!!!!
Also hadn't thought about all the possibilities of the outstanding performances by the flamenco dancers in Spain! (our original destination was primarily Italy, and Barcelona was a pleasant addition as part of our cruise!)
Really loving the planning of this trip and all your suggestions are great!!!!! Thank you!

Well, Unfortunately the La Calcina does not have any rooms available! But it looked really nice and had wonderful reviews!!!! Thanks Royal for the recommendation tho. e

Just wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate the advice I've received here!
I have finally booked our accommodations in Venice - Locanda Ordeolo B&B!
Now I plan to move on to Cruisecritic to check out the Cruise (as recommended on this forum!)
And then check out Barcelona where we will be staying the last four days (and utilizing the suggestions here!)
Will probably post a separate post later on Fodors forum for additional suggestions re Barcelona.
Thank to all of you for your suggestions! We are so excited!
Love Fodors Forum! e

Try Hotel Jazz in Barcelona. We stayed there in 2010 and are returning later this year. It's a block or two off La Rambla, not far from Placa Catalunya, so it's a bit away from the noise and crowds, but within walking distance of a lot of restaurants and sights.

Our kids stayed in Locanda Orseolo and loved it.
In Barcelona we have always stayed at Granados 83 and really like it. Very small but modern rooms in the Eixample area. Our kids stayed at the somewhat pricier Hotel Pulitzer just off the Placa Catalunya and really liked that as did a neighbor to whom I recommended it.
You are going to have a fantastic trip. Venice and Barcelona are wonderful cities and Oceania is supposed to be a great cruise line. Enjoy the Med.

Thank you Betsy and JulieVikmanis!
Will check out your recommendations re Barcelona!!!!!! And thank you for such reassuring information about our Venice accommodations and Cruise line!
We are indeed getting extremely excited about our trip!!!!! e

JulieVikmanis, After reading reviews and checking out location, was very excited about the Hotel Pulizer but have been unable to hear back from them.
Thank you again so much for your helpful input and reassurances about our trip!!!!!
Also Betsy, will be looking again at Jazz! e

We have booked a room at the Hotel Montecarlo in Barcelona! Thanks to everyone for all your help on this! Now I can get started researching all the Ports of Call....

Just make sure you are prepared for the weather. Nov can be chilly (if not cold) almost everywhere - esp on the water and esp at night. Also, in some ares this is the rainy season.

So make sure your wardrobes allow for this - as in layers, rain jacket and waterproofed walking shoes and sturdy folding umbrella. Both cities will have a lot of walking - but Venice is flat except for the bridges over the canals.

Some of your ports of call will involved climbing hills - so be sure you have factored this into your plans when deciding what tours to take. (Many of the Amalfi coast towns are cut into the side of a cliff, for instance.)