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[Rumple]

So I took the Weidong Ferry from Incheon to Qingdao, arrived in China yesterday. This is my review of the experience.

The ship has several classes of service. The website lists them as follows:

ECONOMY: 110,000 won, or 200,000 R/T
BUSINESS: 130,000 won, or 250,000 R/T
ROYAL: 150,000 or 280,000 R/T

Once you are on the ship, you find there is also something called "ROYAL SUITE" but I didn't get a look at that.

Economy is either 16 people sleeping on a floor in a single compartment (port side compartments) or 50 people in 25 bunk beds (starboard side compartment). You get a privacy curtain in those ones. You also get a little cabinet for your stuff. Gang shower down the hall. Public bathroom.

Business is 4 people in two bunk beds, with cabinets for your stuff and a little space with a couple chairs and a TV. Has its own bathroom.

Royal is two twin beds in an open room, with a TV, fridge, and a table and two chairs. Own bathroom with full tub. I stayed in a Royal room.

The decor is nice. The central staircase is very nice. The website advertises a game room with slot machines. This has been replaced with a GS25 (yes, the convenience store) that is open the entire voyage. Go there IMMEDIATELY after you put your stuff down, as the good sandwiches and things sell out in the first hour or two. It also sells beer, so if you are travelling in a group and want to have a party, you're all good, or if you want to drink in the norebang. Oh, yeah, the website also advertises a norebang and a movie theatre. Both of these exist. The movie theatre shows one movie the night of the trip, at 7pm. It was an English movie with Korean and Chinese subtitles (I am Legend). The norebang is 20,000 won per hour. You make a reservation at the front desk. There are also about 10 computers that you can play games on upstairs from the lobby, but there is no internet access, so it is games only. They do have MS Office (for business travelers with USB drives, I guess). There is a restaurant that serves food at good prices (5000 won for a decent dinner) and includes a wide variety of korean entrees for dinner. Only two entrees available for breakfast, and neither of them things I would eat for breakfast, so I skipped that. There is also a cafe that sells coffee, beer, and hard alcohol. The website advertises a sauna as well, but I was told on the ship that it didn't work ("sauna ananda"). Maybe it is a seasonal thing. I don't know.

I got into my room and my Chinese room mate came in a little later. I left for a couple minutes, and when I got back, he was smoking. I went to the front desk and asked for a non-smoking room, and they moved me right away. I had no room mate in my new space, and got it all to myself.

I ran into a South African couple that teaches in Korea, heading to China for a week. Then we attracted an adjossi who wanted to buy us drinks, then we ran into two other foriegners who were a lesbian couple, and all of us partied together. The adjossi bought us a few drinks and 2 hours in the norebang, and we had a blast! As he drank, he started getting a little bossy and wierd, so we ditched him around midnight and played Texas Hold'em in my room for an hour or two, then everyone turned in. It was the best time I've ever had traveling from point A to point B.

In terms of cost, if you are looking for budget travel, I think the ferry is good if you're from Seoul or nearby. You can fly round trip for around 300,000 won, so let's do the math:

Subway to Incheon: about 1200 won. x2 (return trip)
Food: 10,000 x2 (return trip)
Round Trip Economy ticket: 200,000

Total: 222.400

I live FAR from Incheon, so for me, its:
Taxi to bus station: 10,000 won x2 (return trip)
Bus to Seoul: 19,000 won x2 (return trip)
Food: 10,000 x2 (return trip)
Round Trip Economy ticket: 200,000

That's 278,000, which is pretty close to the cost of a flight. Like I said, I went Royal Class, so it was actually more expensive for me, but I'm on vacation, and will be gone for 3 weeks, so I'd prefer to go slow and be comfortable. I loved the trip, and seeing China come out of the mist was awesome.

I'll post some more tips and observations of the trip in a second post.

[Rumple]

Here's some more info:

Some people are worried about seasickness. The boat is huge, and there is very little list or roll. About the same as the sway you feel on a train, but slower.

Tips:

Getting to the terminal: Take the subway to Incheon. If you have time, check out the Chinatown across the street from the train station. Most taxi drivers know "Weidong ferry," but the ferry is actually within walking distance of the train station. Just head towards the water and turn right. Or is it left? Now I forget, dammit. Ah well, if you ask someone I am sure they will point you in the right direction.

Chinese money: There is a bank that changes money attached to the terminal. Change your money before you go. They give a reasonable rate.

Getting on: Ship boards at 4pm. Customs is quick. They will give you a departure/arrival card to fill out. They keep the arrival card, and you have to keep the departure card until you leave China. If you lose it, you will be delayed, so put it somewhere safe.

Getting off: Whether you get in line to disembark early, or go to the end of the line, you're still going to have to stand in that line a long time, so it may be better just to chill in your room until it is time to get off the ship. I lined up early (actually, I was THE first guy in the front of the line), and that just meant I waited an hour before the line started moving, where the people at the back waited an hour after it started moving. Customs and immigration is again quick. Don't take any pictures until after you're out of customs/immigration.

While on board: A lot of the good sandwiches and snacks sell out at the GS25 store quickly, so head there right after you get on and put your bags down, if you want something.

If you have questions, I'm happy to answer them!

[samd]

Nice review Rumple. This should be a sticky.

[spliff]

Did the lesbian couple give you any kind of a show?

[Xian]

Interesting, I look forward to reading more about your trip.

How long were you on the boat all up?

[stevieg4ever]

sorry if this might be a stupid question but how long did it take?

[Rumple]

[Rumple]

[trophft]

how did you go about getting your visa?

[Rumple]

[trophft]

thanks for the reply, is it 130,000 krw for americans now? i've read posts about several prices, but i cant get a quote for under 130,000?

[Rumple]