LittleFish1976

Okay, I have some data from which you can perhaps make a comparison. I made a transaction today and charged yen against the card on which I have USD stored. Hopefully you can see from this what their real time currency conversion rates are and their fees. I’m including the screen shot of the transaction. If you can download the app you could see how much it would cost you to add that amount of money in cash. I hope this makes sense - I’m afraid my brain isn’t up to doing the calculations but it looks to me as though their rates are very close to the conversion rates I see on the XE app. I wouldn’t hesitate to charge the card with cash for your destination if it looks like the timing is right or if your trip is imminent. if the yen is falling now I won’t buy yen to charge the card but rather use the usd I have already to be converted into yen - that way I don’t risk having any yen purchased fall further. hope this makes some sense.

Apologies Rakkor if this is the same as you’ve just posted - I couldn’t open your file as I’m on board and using my phone so I’ve posted the current room service menu.

Room service menu is not quite as interesting or extensive on QE and I will promise to post scans of same sometime soon (probably later today).

You can use the remaining balance but the hold on a certain amount of funds is ‘as though’ you had spent it (until they take the hold off that amount). in my experience, the banks who manage my credit cards take holds off (pending transactions) faster than the 31 days it took Wise. That’s sort of okay as long as you know about it. I was caught short the first time it happened and had to transfer more funds into the card so I could use it to pay a hotel bill ( I had a particular reason for wanting to pay in USD). Transferring funds onto the Wise card is easy. I did it in Argentina using my online banking (either via the bank’s app or via website). I checked that I could change the card I used for the hold at check in versus the card I would use at check out. That was all fine. You just need to know when they’ll want to do the transaction and to make sure you get to the front desk in time to give them the alternative payment method. I’m happier to have a hold on a credit card as I generally have more availability of credit limit than I would cash funds on the Wise card. I also have more than one credit card so can share the burden of holds between them. The Wise app enables you to see every transaction on the card as soon as it has occurred. In fact I get a banner notification on my phone screen immediately that there’s a message for me without even opening the app. Their exchange rate is very good. Let me know if I can clarify anything else about it for you. By the way, almost everywhere I went accepted the Wise card from big Buenos Aires hotels to tiny bars in Ushuaia except for a couple of businesses (cafe bars) in one small area of Buenos Aires. It was odd but so unusual that it didn’t bother me as I had some cash and other ways of paying anyway. You always need at least a couple of back ups though.

Which cruise line is this with?

Yes I’ve experienced quite a few late harvest and botrytis wines but I didn’t know about the third method of achieving the high sugar/flavour content which is harvesting in the snow! ‘Ice wine’ definitely a new one on me.

Most of the people on this board are Australian and New Zealanders. You mention you paid in GBP so I assume you’re in Britain where your consumer law would differ from ours. Either way, you need to raise this issue with your credit card company if you paid via card and have the charge reversed or contact the consumer affairs group to seek redress. I’m even wondering if you got scammed. Do you have proof your deposit went to a reputable company?

I’m overseas with the Wise card at the moment. I love it. I like being able to put particular currencies on there and knowing how much I have in those currencies. I’ve learnt through an experience in February not to give it to a hotel or cruise ship on boarding as they will place a hold of a certain amount (seems to be everything you charge to your account as you go) which took 31 days to be released. Now, I give them a credit card for their ‘hold’ and then change it on checking out to using the Wise card to pay.

To celebrate the maiden voyage of Queen Anne, the captain and some reps from the brewery here in Japan ceremonially smashed the lid of a barrel of sake in the lobby of Queen Elizabeth which is currently in the Sea of Japan en route to Busan. We were all then offered a glass of sake to celebrate. I’m hoping we’ll see some footage or images on board here of the Queen Anne festivities

The whites were okay if a little young and acidic- I don’t usually drink white so I wasn’t all that excited about trying them. The reds were okay except that I think we’re spoilt in Australia for reasonably priced, very good wine. It was interesting to compare the three types, side by side. The dessert wine was very interesting though. I’d never heard of an ice wine (actually grown in the snow and harvested in the dark of night). Very concentrated moisture in the grape and so you get the sweet intensity that way. It was really tasty and I’d happily drink its sultana-y sweetness again. They then had a ceremony of smashing of the lid of a sake barrel in the lobby in celebration of the maiden voyage of Cunard’s Queen Anne. I understand she sails into Southampton today for the start of that voyage. We were all offered a glass of sake which to be honest I’d always avoided trying in the past. It’s unusual but not unpleasant. I have to get myself to the Captain’s cocktail party before dinner, for World Club members (their loyalty programme) so I’m loading up on water right now so I’m not too tired and emotional by the time I get to dinner.

The menu, for anyone who may be interested in North American wines.

Apologies for lack of posts from Japan in the last few days. As you know, being on board is hectic. Just a few spare minutes between courses though to post a picture of the lunch I’m currently enjoying-Lunch and Learn , food and wine pairing with some input as we go from the head waiter and head sommelier.

I’ve been provided with a stapler at a port when I’ve arrived directly from the airport to the port. Alternatively they can provide you with tags then and there which you can fill in. Recently I just asked the desk at the hotel to lend me a stapler to attach the luggage tags just before I got into a cab for the port.

Sfred is correct, as so often 😊. I only managed to move one bedside table (yes, you do owe me one 😉) and it’s a single European socket. You’d have to assume the one on the other side is the same. Let me know if there’s anything else I can check on for you.

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.