BACKGROUND INFORMATION: I’ve cruised 40 times, on 13 different cruise lines. I’m an Elite level member of the Princess Captain’s Circle loyalty club. The 14-night “Baltic Heritage” cruise on the “Crown Princess” was a lifetime wish, taking me to all the places my ancestors came from.

TRAVEL TO EMBARKATION PORT: I flew on Icelandair from Boston, MA to London Heathrow airport, and had superb service and convenience with Icelandair. I had an overnight stop each way, in Keflavik, Iceland for an amazingly low “economy comfort” fare, and it was not an inconvenience since I had the time and had always wanted to see Iceland anyway. Icelandair often upgrades passengers to seating in their Saga Class (business class) section, and I enjoyed this on three of the four flights I had booked with them for this trip. Hotel Berg in Keflavik is a great bed and breakfast close to the Keflavik airport, and offers complimentary airport transport. I had a very comfortable stay at Hotel Berg both times through Iceland on my trip.

I used iChauffeur’s elegant service between my hotel at London Heathrow and the embarkation port of Southampton, England. I had a private car and chauffeur of top professional standards, and felt like royalty on my journey. I visited Windsor Castle and Winchester Cathedral on the way to Southampton, both well worth seeing. I also saw a brief glimpse of Windsor Great Park and Ascot Racecourse, and had a quick, inexpensive lunch at a Subway shop in a village near Ascot. Look for “crisps” for potato chips! Also remember to look right first before crossing the street, as traffic moves opposite the USA pattern. Read more