Houston to London to Harwich (rhymes with carriage) for 12 days on Jewel of the Seas to Baltic

Pre-Cruise British Airways - great flight left Houston a little late but arrived non-stop on time about 8 hours later. The service was outstanding, the flight was smooth and we watched movies and got a little sleep.

London one night pre cruise at the Athenaeum on Piccadilly. The hotel was top notch. Our room wasn't ready but they told us we had been upgraded from a park view to a suite, so we were willing to drop our luggage and come back later. We walked about a block to catch The Big Bus (23 GBP each) at stop 1 and made the entire trip through all 30 stops without leaving our seats upstairs in the wonderful sunshine. We saw all the major attractions in Central London and will try to decide what to do on our one day and night after the cruise. The suite was beautiful with a living room, separate bedroom, heavenly linens on the bed and towel warmer in the bathroom. Again, the nicest staff from front desk to internet help. We saw Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre on Old Compton - which we walked to from our hotel - and engaged a bicycle rickshaw for the ride back. That was exciting and neither of us was sure we wouldn't be plastered all over Piccadilly by a big red bus. First night and no problems with time difference - We were both tired by bedtime at 11:00 but very minimal jet lag. Read more