In this article we inaugurate our series about the Asia cruise on the Norwegian Spirit, which will take us to discover Japan starting with our embarkation in South Korea. This journey will allow us to experience the fascinating Asian culture, its landscapes and traditions. Join us on this adventure that begins in the modern and serene South Korean capital. We start by relating our arrival experience in Seoul, the pre-cruise stay and embarkation at the port of Incheon.
For these types of cruises that require a long journey, it’s ideal to arrive at least one day in advance, to rest after so many hours of flight and also to have time to explore the city before boarding. For all these reasons, we started our trip on July 14, when the cruise departure date was the 16th.
The Incheon cruise terminal is located about 40km from the capital Seoul. Our plan was to spend one night at a hotel in the central area of Myeongdong. The hotel chosen was the VOCO Seoul. When we arrived, night was beginning to fall, and we took a walk through the streets from the hotel to the main square where the city hall and Deoksugung Palace are located.
The feeling was of a large modern city, with large screens, skyscrapers, traffic, but surprisingly peaceful in terms of the few people walking on the street, perhaps because it was Tuesday evening, compared to other major capitals. The temperature was pleasant around 25 degrees and we ended up walking more than expected because navigating with Maps was somewhat complicated to return to the hotel, as in Seoul the option to calculate walking routes is disabled, and at that moment we were guiding ourselves just by looking at the map. This allowed us to discover other streets, find the Sungnyemun Gate and try shortcuts through small alleyways that eventually led us back to the hotel.
The hotel had an attached 24-hour GS25 store that was very useful for shopping as they have everything from food, drinks to hygiene items and Korean souvenirs. We were intrigued by the Netflix and Squid Game edible products. It was the perfect time to start using Google Translator’s camera function, which we must say works very well.
The next day we had boarding at 12:30, so we had time to make one last plan in Seoul. The chosen visit was to Gyeongbokgung Palace, also located very close to the center and a few minutes by taxi from the hotel.
The visit to this ancient 14th century palace was very entertaining. We got tickets with audio guide, had a map with the route to follow, and it’s really a place we recommend if you visit Seoul. There were many spots to take good photographs; there were also quite a few people in traditional cultural clothing, very colorful. From entire families, large groups to people accompanied by photographers to have a photo session at different points of the premises.
After this excursion, we took a taxi and went to pick up our luggage at the hotel and then to the port to board the cruise. Boarding is divided by hours so that people are distributed throughout the morning, and it’s important to choose the right time when checking in a few days before.
The cabins, as is usually the case, are not ready as soon as you board. The good thing is that during the time we went to eat something, they soon announced over the loudspeaker that they were ready. So after lunch we could go directly to settle in and rest a bit before the anticipated moment of the ‘Sailaway’ when the ship sets sail for the first time.
The festive activities for this moment on the outdoor decks were suspended due to rain but we were able to enjoy the departure from the comfort of the balcony in our cabin. We passed under a spectacular bridge and around numerous small islands.
In the afternoon we had time to discover the Norwegian Spirit ship from the inside and see the first ‘welcome aboard’ show before going to dinner. The main restaurant closes at 8:30 PM on this cruise, which seemed quite early to us and in fact on this day we had to go to another one that closed a little later at 9:00 PM. In any case, there is another bar/restaurant that is open 24 hours, so there are always places to eat that are included in the price.
The next day we will arrive at the first stop of the cruise, Jeju, the largest island in South Korea and a very popular vacation spot among Koreans. See you soon in the next chapter!
