We booked our own air and arrived in London the day prior to our sailing. We hired a car and driver through Adelphi Executive company and the driver was waiting for us as we had obtained our luggage. We were concerned because our two adult daughters were with us and we had a total of 8 pieces of luggage but the van easily accomodated us all. We drove straight to Dover where we had booked one night at the Maison Deux bed and breakfast. Our room was comfortable and we had a view of Dover castle from our window. The owner, Di brought us tea and cookies upon arrival. After walking around Dover we found an Italian restaurant for dinner.

On June 15th we took our baggage to the port at 10:00 am and then boarded a free shuttle to drive to Dover Castle. We spend about 2.5 hours touring the castle and the new Dunkirk exhibit. The new exhibit is very well done and we highly recommend a visit to all age groups. After touring the castle we walked around in town and my husband sampled a local beer.

We arrived back at the port about 1:30pm. We learned there was a Code Red due to a viral outbreak on the previous cruise and were offered an opportunity to speak to a medical personnel or even get a refund. We were ready to just board. We got a bite to eat at the Lido and then had the mandatory drill. Following the drill, we went to the Spa where our youngest daughter's name was drawn for a free seaweed wrap and massage. Good start to the cruise. Attended the pre dinner show and it was very entertaining. We had the late sitting and although we had asked for a table for 8 found we were at a table for 6 but our family was alone. Our waiters were very nice and food was good. Read more