We have only cruised 3 times before, all with P&O. This was a big holiday for us, our expectations were high, and we weren't disappointed.

We travelled by car from our home near Nottingham, which took approx 3 hours, the traffic was good as it was the weekend, the Port of Harwich was easy to find, we paid for parking at the booth on entry, just over 7 per day. We drove to a large car park where luggage was taken from us and put on a trailer to be taken straight to the ship, then we parked our car ourselves, retaining the keys, and hopped on a shuttle bus with hand luggage for the short trip to the check-in.

Short delay for check-in as the computers had crashed, lots of apologising from staff, and then on to the beautiful Brilliance of the Seas. The fabric of the ship was stunning and plush compared to P&O's Oceana and Oriana, the glass lifts and Centrum where amazing. Read more