Have sailed with P&O twice before with no issues and opted for a change to the Golden Princess because the sail dates in January suited our swing breaks and the convenience of our embarkation/ disembarkation Port in Melbourne.
Arrived at 10:30am for embarkation and by midday the family of four were sitting at the horizon court eating lunch.( 10 Minutes at the check in counter including lining up, 30 minutes wait time before customs, 5 minutes for customs and onto the ship)
Disembarkation was 6 days later at 7:00am after our breakfast and it too went without a hitch including gathering our bags that were picked up the night before.
Tender to Port Arthur, very rough ride but was worth it as it was part of the experience
Sunday was the wrong day but they have rectified this with their 2018 cruise
Embarkation and Disembarkation port was very smooth