I'm headed to London for Thursday's naming ceremony of the new Celebrity Equinox. It's another whirlwind trip which begins with an overnight flight tomorrow.

It's the newest of the cruise line's Solstice class ships and they've invited press to take part. My friend Nancy, who I know from the gym at Mentor Heisley, is joining me. It will be her first Europe trip.

We're going with carry-on so as to skip the time-consuming baggage claim process We are trying to buy time for a couple hours in London on Tuesday. Packing is a bit of a challenge since Thursday night is formal. We are on different flights and arrive within minutes of each other around 9 a.m. at different terminals so will meet at the Heathrow Marriott where the cruise line is hosting us Tuesday night. If our flights are on time we should be able to take the Piccadilly tube line from the airport and spend two or so hours at either Harrod's or Covent Garden. Nancy, who is paying her own way, is flying on Continental's non-stop from Cleveland, while I'm flying British Airways from Chicago as Celebrity's guest.

I've asked those on theLondon forum of TripAdvisor.com if we're nuts to attempt this or if they have tips to make our two-hour London foray possible. We meet our group back at the hotel at 4 for transport dinner and need to make time first for a shower, at least.

We board the ship Wednesday after a 90-minute motorcoach transfer to Southampton from London. We'll be cruising just off the coast in the English Channel as we become acquainted with the ship. We're both hoping for a stateroom with a veranda - which 85% of them are. Staterooms are 15% percent larger than others in the Celebrity fleet.

I'll be blogging over the next few days, depending, of course, on internet access. Stay tuned.