We selected this cruise because the itinerary was totally new to us - we had not previously been to any of the stops.

We flew from Florida through Philadelphia on British Airways to Heathrow (LHR) and arrived before 7am. About a month before the cruise we booked the 8:30am National Express bus on-line from Terminal 5 to Southampton ($25 each). The bus arrived 10 minutes prior and became full.

It was a Saturday and we arrived in Southampton in 75 minutes. There were no cabs at the bus station and somehow our phone was not roaming to contact UBER, but the Holiday Inn was a short walk (if it had been raining we would have absolutely needed a cab or get UBER to work). In the afternoon we enjoyed a little walk around the Old Town and in the evening, there was a terrific mall with a lower level and lots of different restaurants to eat inside or outside. Read more