This is the third cruise my husband and I have done on an R class ship. We love this size of ship and really appreciate the intimate feel of the cruise experience.

We always arrive at the embarkation port at least a day early, especially when we are flying from the west coast of Canada all the way to Europe. We have plenty of time to recover from jet-lag, and get a chance to see a bit more of Europe too. We arrived at Dover the day before departure and checked in to the Dover Inn, a hotel right on the promenade along the harbour. We had requested a non-smoking room facing the sea and were very happy with our choice. The hotel was a bit worn around the edges, but the desk staff was friendly and very helpful. We dropped our luggage off and took off to explore.

The hotel is within walking distance of Dover Castle. It is a steep climb but it was exactly what we needed to clear the cobwebs from our head after a long overnight flight. We are both interested in history and found our tour of the castle very interesting. It is a fortress rather than a palace, but it has been a part of the defence of Britain for 800 years. We spent 4 hours touring the castle and could have spent much longer but we were starting to play out. Read more