Pre-cruise

We booked the whole package - flights, hotels and cruise - direct with Celebrity in the UK. Although our preference would have been to fly with BA, this was not an option and we flew Business Class - out with American Airlines and home, via Madrid, with Iberia. Despite Celebrity helping as much as they were able, leading up to the cruise we experienced a number of problems trying to access our flight reservations online and speaking to Iberia on the telephone so that, although we eventually managed to reserve our seats and provide all the necessary pre-flight information, online check-in kept failing and we set off with little confidence in either airline. This was compounded by hearing on the radio news on our taxi journey to Heathrow that American Airlines had just filed for bankruptcy protection in the US courts. Just another potential little problem to add to the public sector strikes called for the next day!

We had independently booked a night at the Heathrow Renaissance. It had been upgraded since our last stay and the room had better towels and toiletries, a mirrored-doored wardrobe and electronic privacy settings. It is now an even better choice for a reasonably price pre-flight stay. We caught the Hoppa bus Terminal 3 and continue to be amazed at the great service National Express provides. The drivers always help with the luggage. This time, ours even found us a luggage trolley and loaded our cases onto it. We were able to pre-purchase our tickets online making the whole process even easier. Read more