We were on the June 14th sailing on the Independence of the Seas on the Italian Mediterranean cruise. This was the second cruise we have been on, the other with Carnival in the Caribbean. We loved this cruise!!! It was my husband and I, with our teenage daughter (14). It was one of the best vacations we have ever had!

We stayed in London for two nights pre-cruise after our flight from Washington D.C. We stayed at the London Renaissance Chancery Court hotel, which was a beautiful hotel very near the British Museum, but was quite pricey. We enjoyed our time in London, also visiting the London Eye and Harrods. We used Eddie Manning's transfer service (www.limo.co.uk) for both our transfer from Heathrow to London, and then again Saturday from London to Southampton. We would definitely recommend them; ask for Stuart, he was great!

Saturday, we got down to the ship about 11:00 a.m. They told us where to put our luggage, and we waited a few minutes to make sure it went into the building (there was a lot if luggage sitting there and we just wanted to make sure it got on). We went into the check-in area and had no lines at all. We were on the ship in 10-15 minutes! Read more