We booked this cruise in Nov 2014, this is not our usual MO, but we were travelling with friends, who were nervous about not getting the cruise we all wanted to go on. I don't like to book in advance and then have to count the months and days, prefer to book at last minute, even if it means losing the cruise.

No matter, because we booked early, we got a free drinks package, which worked fantastically well. We also got free gratuities and could have had free parking, although we chose to travel by coach from North West with the excellent Eavesway.

Boarding at Harwich was easy and painless. We were on board ship within 45 mins of arriving at Harwich. Read more