Cargo Ship Cruises

[VTR1000]

In this day and age the airplane is the favoured way of traveling but what about the sea? Not that long ago if you wanted to go to another continent, you had to go on a ship.

My question is: Has anyone gone from South East Asia to Europe as a passenger on a cargo ship and if so:

What was it like?

Where did you go?

Costs etc?

Sure, it will take much longer timewise but you'd be getting away from it all for a while and it would be an experience too.

[VTR1000]

In this day and age the airplane is the favoured way of traveling but what about the sea? Not that long ago if you wanted to go to another continent, you had to go on a ship.

My question is: Has anyone gone from South East Asia to Europe as a passenger on a cargo ship and if so:

What was it like?

Where did you go?

Costs etc?

Sure, it will take much longer timewise but you'd be getting away from it all for a while and it would be an experience too.

Anyone?

[my friend I]

You could contact MSC in Singapore. They have container ships going to Europe from there.

[think_too_mut]

If you want to write a book or study something, do it. They call into ports for 1-2 hours and nobody goes ashore.

It's a spartan cell like solitude. The price was about 70$ a day, according to some site that had several "cruises" on offer. can't remember where it was, sorry.

Edit: not sure now was it 30 or 70$. But it was, contrary to what I was expecting to see, a considerable amount of money, not cheap.

Also, before accepting you onboard they will assess your age and health and do few other checks. They would not accept ppl over 65, no couples either.

IMO, a totally worthless proposition.

Edited November 8, 2007 by think_too_mut

[Farma]

Michael Palin of Monty Python fame did an around the world in 80 days TV program a few years back where he used a cargo ship for one of the legs.

From what I remember he had a few problems getting a ride on a ship and was required to work during the voyage.

I think there was a book about his experiences as well. It might give you an insight on what its like.

[johnnyk]

think_too_mutt is dead right, with mechanization they load and unload very quickly so you have very little opportunity get ashore and after weeks at sea you can get a little weird. Its not the romantic trip it once was. I worked the west coast of South America in 1969 and spent up to 6 days in some ports, plenty of time to find trouble!

These days its harder and harder to find passenger slots all the time as they don't really want to take you. Basically they view you as a potential problem and there's no money to be made for the company. The ships are also quite sterile nowadays, really just cargo machines and if you don't like the cook's offerings, tough luck, its a long haul to the next port!

Edited November 8, 2007 by johnnyk

[JimsKnight]

It can be done (saw it on the Michael Palin Doc too) but it tends cost even more to travel by sea than it does on the plane.

A short haul to the PI or Malaysia might be worth a blast though

[ZZZ]

The only reasons to do this would be if you have to go but refuse to fly or have a lot of money and time and nothing better to do.

I would not go myself as I have been working on ships but would recommend it for someone who would like to do something different.

Usually price is around $125/day. Not much to do onboard, there may be a few more passengers but never more than 12 as that would require them to have a doctor onboard.

The main entertainment would be to talk to the officers onboard. They usually have endless stories of adventures in different ports all over the world, this can be a very interesting experience if you have the right crew onboard.

Apart from the officers the rest of the crew is normally Philippino or Indian.

You will normally not get much time in port, all depending on what kind of a ship it is.

Check out these sites for more info:

http://www.freightertravel.info/

http://members.aol.com/CruiseAZ/freighters.htm

http://content.onlineagency.com/index.asp?...mp;tide=2695046

http://www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo/mainmenu.html

http://www.freightertrips.com/guide/ships.html

http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0011/min...ter_voyage.html

[VocalNeal]

My question is: Has anyone gone from South East Asia to Europe as a passenger on a cargo ship and if so:

What was it like?

Where did you go?

Costs etc?

First answer no I have not do SE Asia to Europe, I did however used to be in the Merchant Marine. Yes some shipping lines do take passengers. We had 6 cabins for passengers who shared the upper deck and steward with the captain. If you are happy with your own company and like reading then it is a very peacefull way to travel. The class of the accomodation and service depends on the shipping line. Also there is no guarantee about what ports you stop at and maybe whether or not tline he ship actually ends up where it was supposed to. Ie. you may get sent to South America, in which case I beleive they will give you the choice to fly home or to stay with the ship. It all depends on the shipping line as I said.

It is not for everyone and not for people trying to save money it is for people who want to experience life at sea. I'd say go for it.

Do your homework by contacting European Owner shipping lines but stay away from container ships. They only stop for hours and it maybe at night.

Here's a start Bank Line I used to work for Blue Star, which is no more.

[torrenova]

Over 10 years ago my wife and I looked at this option for some SE Asia routes and found it to be very expensive considering what was on offer and the more we looked into it the less we liked what we saw. We declined to take up the various options.