About us: This was a Dad and Daughter trip. My family cruises together often as a group and my wife and I cruise as a couple on occasion as well. We have been aboard Carnival Legend before, having traveled from Tampa on a prior trip. Galveston is a very convenient port for us. Consequently, we tend to use Carnival often, although we have also used RCL and Holland America Line as well from other ports.

Booking the cruise was very easy through carnival. We lined up our flights through Expedia. I am not sure that the Cruise line might not have been easier, but that is how I did it. On the other hand, I managed a first class upgrade to JFK at least, so that was not too bad.

Embarkation day. We had booked a private tour through London Private Tours  David Hamed. More on his company can be found at Trip Advisor. The benefit here was sharing a private tour guide for just the two of us, along with a nice van to take the trip in. Very roomy. The night before David had booked a wonderful meal at a restaurant in the Shard. What views and what food! David picked us up from our hotel and traveled east out of London to the County of Kent, a beautiful area arriving eventually in Canterbury for a Cathedral and City Tour, followed by Dover Castle, the RAF Memorial on the cliffs of Dover and other of the beaten path attractions. We were delivered to the Cruise Terminal in Dover at approximately 2:45 pm. Read more