Getting to Southampton.

If you're taking a Northern European cruise this summer, chances are you'll be leaving from Southampton, a pleasant-enough port city 75 miles from London on England's southeast coast. Southampton has a great cruising history -- the Titanic sailed from here -- and today, it's the U.K.'s leading cruise port.

Your cruise line will be happy to transfer you to the ship. And if you arrange your air or hotel through them, the transfer will be included -- for a price. But you'll overpay for the convenience, the hotel will be large and impersonal, and you'll be herded around in a group. Unless you pay for a private transfer, which will be several times the going rate.

Carry-on Bags that aren't.

When we went to Great Britain recently, we decided that we didn't want to check our bags. So we limited ourselves to our American carry-on sized bags -- one Calvin Klein and one Swiss Army. Both bags are 22" x 9" x 14". They expand, but like good little soldiers, we kept them all zipped up.

Before heading out, we checked the British Airways website, which says that you can carry on bags that are 22" x 17.5" x 9.85" -- not exactly the same size, but technically bigger than the American allowance.

To save time, we checked in online, and then headed to British Airways check-in to have our documents verified before going through security. We queued up and were promptly directed to the line for people wishing to check baggage. "No, no," we said. "We're carrying on our bags." "Not those bags," was the reply.