My partner and I had cruised with Cunard once before in the Med. This was a very short cruise for us (2 nights - Adelaide to Melbourne) but the purpose was to give our elderly parents (76, 77, 87 and 89) a taste of the Cunard experience. We were a party of 6.
Embarkation in Adelaide was the worst I had experienced in 6 cruises on different lines. As we had booked late , we had 2 A1 Club Balcony and 1 x BE Balcony cabin booked but were all told to arrive at the port at the same time of 12pm. It would seem all 750 embarking passengers were given the same time. Nobody was allowed to board prior to about 12.30 and by this stage the small waiting area at the port was packed and full of angry, impatient cruisers. Not a good start for my claustrophobic 89 y.o. mother.
Once on board at 1pm that was soon forgotten and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the Lido buffet. As the continuing passengers who had embarked in Southampton, Cape Town or Perth were out exploring Adelaide, the Lido did not suffer from the usual embarkation day buffet scramble that can be so unedifying.
Great cabin, but you certain feel the motion in rough sees all the way back here!