My husband and I have just returned from a 12 day Mediterranean cruise and have had a wonderful time. Travel to Southhampton

Travelling from Australia we organized our own flights with Japan Airlines which included a one night stopover in Narita, Tokyo and a single night in a hotel at Heathrow before the transfer to Southhampton via Cunard Motorcoach. We did not take up the option of Cunard organizing our shore accommodation as the hotels offered were at the highest end of the market and would be wasted on travellers who just wanted to sleep off jet lag. Having talked later to other passengers they wished they had just organized their own accommodation. Perhaps Cunard needs to organize more middle level shore accommodation. Finding the representative at the arrivals gate was tricky as the instructions given by the Cunard Sydney office were vague and inaccurate - we were told to look for representatives wearing maroon jackets! When I found the representative (in a grey jacket) she did not have our names on her list but her manager did know we were meeting the coach there and our transfer went without a hitch.

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