LittleFish1976

I haven’t tried to top up but the original money I loaded onto it I did at the time of downloading the card and used my Wise card’s funds, so it’s effectively a visa debit. I didn’t get the impression that there was any prohibition against particular forms of payment and yes, I’m very sure you’d be able to do it online. I had no trouble at all so far with downloading or using. I tapped on and off half a dozen times or more yesterday with no trouble. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

Afraid I won’t have time for day trips out of Tokyo although I had toyed with one to a pottery village not far from here. Joining the ship today. Will have one day in port mid-way through my 18 nights on board then another couple of nights here at the end. It’s never long enough in Japan!

Queen Elizabeth was already docked at 5am this morning.

I can have a look for you in about 12 hours, if they’re accessible to being viewed without moving bedside tables or beds. Generally I think the QE cabins just have a mix of UK and US power points.

Apologies for the enormous writing, above. I wrote it on notes and copy/pasted. I generally use BIG text these days 😂

Two views from my hotel room tonight. On the left there’s a full moon - blood red - just above the horizon. The other shows the harbour and the port terminal which tricks me every time I look out the window - it’s in the shape of a ship! It’s where the tower with the red light on top is.

Tokyo The day started with a sleep-in until 9am - I arrived in Tokyo last night and at the hotel by around 9.30pm. Deciding to do whatever it took to fly into Haneda was a great decision. It meant having to make the trip in two legs instead of a direct flight (Melbourne to Sydney to Tokyo) but the trip then in a cab from the airport to hotel only took about 15-20 minutes. I booked a cab through booking.com as I was a bit nervous about finding my way through the airport and unsure as to the availability of taxis on demand. Haneda was so much easier to get through than my only other experience of arriving into Tokyo which was into Narita, and which for some reason I found very confusing. Anyway, last night the driver was waiting for me just after customs and pushed my one and a half cases to his waiting car in the rain. I would have taken the coach from the airport but discovered it stops running to this area by that time of night. I’m staying in the Odaiba area right near the new International cruise terminal. It’s beautifully quiet and open down here with beautiful views of the harbour and Rainbow bridge. I booked a room with a view of the port so I could see the ship when I wake up on departure day (tomorrow!). This morning was taken up with the small sleep-in which I needed after my 4am start yesterday and watching the screen for so many hours on the plane (The House of the Dragon is very watchable for anyone who enjoyed Game of Thrones). Then I had some tech issues revolving around managing (or not, as the case was) to install an eSIM on my phone so I could have local data to use when out (maps) and not at Telstra prices. Finally got the job done and sussed out the plan of attack for the afternoon which I decided would be to visit the Shinjuku National Gardens to see if there is anything left of the cherry blossom. Let’s just say my Tokyo public transport skills are very rusty. It took me an hour and a half (more than 50% longer than expected) to arrive at the destination of the gardens. Thank heavens for the helpers they have at stations (the older people who are so cleverly deployed by the Japanese government to give them useful roles as well as being of such great assistance wherever they’re working - I saw this on a programme by Miriam Margolyes or Johanna Lumley - can’t remember which one!) * transport note; v useful staying near a station; total cost for the days transport was 1,048 yen which is about $10.30 AUD. Yurikamome line near my hotel is above ground and so it was like a lovely joy ride being on the train and enjoying the sights for the first 15 minutes or so - beautiful sunny day with not a hint of breeze. Also, I discovered this morning while researching my transport route that the Suica card can be downloaded onto a smart phone and kept in the phone’s wallet - this made today’s travels on and off trains, tapping on and off with each change of train, much easier as I already had the phone open and in my hand the whole time checking the route. The gardens are spectacular and yes, there was still some cherry blossom so I’m very happy. The gardens themselves are well worth a visit. I just snuck into the seniors’ pricing of 250 yen (half price) - there have to be some advantages of being this age. Hopefully there will still be more blossom in Aomori, our first port of call in three days time.

'What is optimism' (Jeopardy)

I like to make allowances for people just being truly excited they got a bargain or an upgrade to being first time in a particular level of cabin. I know I get excited about stuff like that (not that I need to tell people, but it can be understandable). Then there's the ones at lunch/dinner on the first day who want to try to establish the pecking order in terms of seniority of cruise status. I just try not to engage with them.

I understand. No cheap flat thongs at our age. I like the plastic ones with some internal shape which look like Birks - with the double strap. They work for me.

And I thought our word for such footwear (thongs) created enough confusion. I'm glad you warned me about this other slip-on rubber footwear's name - I'll try to control my eyebrows and jaw if I hear a fellow Aussie referring to his slappers on my next cruise.

I thought Cunard made a distinction between a collared shirt and a 'knitted collared shirt' the latter being not up to snuff. A polo shirt is a t-shirt, after all. It's made from an interlock fabric.

I had a similar issue with Cunard voyages having been recorded across two regions and different WC numbers. I recently rang my local Cunard call centre who provided me with an email address for the local Cunard loyalty team who I have emailed with the details of the request to amalgamate the list onto what is my own region's WC number. Ring your local Cunard call centre and they will give you the correct email address to correspond with so they can take care of it for you.

That's not what slappers are in Victoria 🤭

If I were able to be overseas for 5 months I think I could compromise. 😉

Cunard's drink package is a bargain compared to that!

Agree. I'm spending 18 nights on board Cunard from next week and require an international flight to get to the ship. I'll take one large suitcase and one small duffle bag which will slip over the handle of the suitcase for moving around the airport etc. I'll also take a decent-sized carry-on bag on the plane. I usually use the carry-on for a spare set of clothes and pjs (in case the checked luggage doesn't arrive) as well as my pillow! although the last international trip I did which was to South America then on to Antarctica I didn't take the pillow due to luggage restrictions, and survived so it won't be coming to Japan. I like to have options to wear; get so sick of the same clothes if I try to travel really light, washing clothes every night and re-wearing all the time. And for Cunard I'll be taking 4 evening dresses which will add to the weight if not the bulk of it all but I get pleasure from being able to get dressed up. And I never manage to reduce the shoes very much!

I believe this is where the tour I've booked on is going - looks fascinating. Hoping for a clear day!

I will certainly give it a shot then, Mic, if you would like me to. I've had trouble posting photos in the past to cruise critic threads (although have once or twice succeeded) so let's see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be on a shared table for dinner so I won't want to be taking too many photos of meals and I'll only be using my iphone as a camera so they won't be anything special! Is there anything in particular you're interested in that you'd want information on or a photo of? No promises, but if I know what you'd like to hear about it might help.

I'm doing a B2B so it's Tokyo, Aomori, Akita, Busan, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Tokyo, Busan, Sasebo, Beppo, Shimizu. I'll have a couple of days in Tokyo pre and post-cruise. Hoping to find the cherry blossom still intact when we get to Aomori where it will still be quite a lot cooler than Tokyo. I've been to Japan once before and loved it but not cruised there before.

That explanation you've shown is for the drinks package that passengers pay for - not the gratis one some of you are receiving in the US. The cost of the drinks package varies according to length of voyage but tends to be around $72 USD per day.

The price of a cabin on those two lines is comparable, in my very limited experience. The experience of food and beverage on board is totally different in terms of quality. If you want to pay a Princess price, you'll get a Princess experience, which suits some people wonderfully but it does not equate to a Cunard experience. In my opinion and experience.

I've booked a tour which includes the cable car - it looks terrifying for those of us with a fear of heights. Then down to the lake for a look at Fuji from a boat (hopefully).

Is this Diamond Princess? I'll be on board Queen Elizabeth next week for 18 nights around Japan so I'd be happy to check in with you folks if you want some vicarious travel!

I don't fancy my chances of a safe landing if I'm hurtling down a chute onto a raft! For one, I'd either bounce off into the drink or, if the raft isn't inflatable, hurt myself. What an awful option. If I have to evacuate the ship I want it to be on a Japan cruise with lots of co-operative Japanese passengers who are used to calmly following instructions and working to the benefit of the group as per their amazing evacuation from that burning aircraft not too long ago.