captainmcd

It has been many years since I made a one week trip from Montreal to Gaspe on the M.V. North Gaspe, but the ports are probably the same, with daylight arrials and a few hours to walk around the fishing villages along the Saint Lawrence River. The accommodations were basic, but the trip was interesting, and I had a French speaking priest at a roommate. It was an interesting cultural experience for me, and I have been sailing ever since.

I'm planning my first freighter adventure. My problem is I'm limited to a freighter voyage of at most 7-10 days. I know that rules out a lot of options for me. One possibility is Bella Desgagnés, which is a ship that delivers supplies and mail to various villages in Quebec up the Saint Lawrence river (see web link below). Has anybody been on this journey before? Any thoughts/comments?

 

https://www.freightercruises.com/specialty_cruises.php

Well, we sent in our signed contracts of carriage, proof of trip cancellation/medical insurance & final fare adjustment (subject to constant exchange rates) and we now await specific directions from the shipping agent. As we write this, the Jakarta has just exited the last locks in Colon and will heading to Lake Charles for an ETA of 16 or 17 August. Rickmers has the Jakarta in Houston 20-23 August.

We're getting ready to leave Austin for Houston by Megabus either as soon as the Jakarta ports in Lake Charles or as soon as she leaves for Houston. Looking to spend at least one night in Houston before boarding so we can get some last-minute snacks and some distilled water for DWs CPAP machine.

I would love to do that. I'm on a ship in Port Moresby but have to fly here from Houston which takes 30 hours or more and causes a few days of jet-lag.

Enjoy the sea time and the Aranui. I was on her predecessor about 7 years ago. Time flies !

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It's one of the best articles on modern freighter travel I have read,and good photos as well.

The author does not like to fly because of jetlag. You do get tired of advancing clocks on fast eastbound ships, but regarding them an hour every other day on a westbound crossing is great.

Google freighter travel for freighter travel agencies for some answers. Most ships that carry passengers are container ships and are huge and carry only a few passengers, no more than 4 but freighters can carry up to 12 without being classed as passenger ships. I've had children as passengers and they were wonderful, the crew miss their own kids and really love to be with youngsters. The biggest negative is that you have to alter your schedule to fit the ship's schedule which can change with little notice. For transatlantic service you can use the Queen Mary. Prices are per passenger but there is usually no problem since you will have a large cabin to yourself. Expect to pay a lot more than economy airfare because you get room and board for a week or two. You will need to be able to leave work for long periods of time and do with limited communication by internet.

we are going on the Viking Mekong (tonle pandow) on apr 16 2015 with Viking river cruises and would like to hear from anyone else going or anyone who has recently been. we have done a number of cruises but never a river cruise and would like to hear about the experiences of others.

My wife and I are going on the Viking Mekong (aka Tonle Pandow) this April 11, 2016 and would like to know how your trip was at this time of year. We are used to heat, and expect heat and humidity but hope it is not intolerable.

I have spent many years sailing with passengers when I worked as a captain and chief mate with the now defunct Lykes Lines, and even posted a web page http://www.captainmcd.com for prospective passengers and for my family. I am still licensed and active after over 50 years in the industry, but now sailing as a volunteer captain and chief mate for Mercy Ships and YWAM, visiting interesting places like Madagascar and Papua New Guinea. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about freighters carrying passengers but no commercial websites or advertising is allowed on this forum.

As a small business owner with a website I often get emails from businesses offering to monitor my reputation and fix any negative postings. I was never tempted to use any of them, but they do exist. Tripadvisor, the parent company has had a lot of problems with fake reviews. It does check IP addresses of the submission if it is in doubt, to see it is from the establishment being reviewed. Also bad reviews can come from competitors. As in any public forum the reader must check each review and make their own decision as to whether or not it is valid. I am often suspicious of both the rants and the raves which do not mention both the good and bad of a travel experience. A reputable company will monitor websites like this, and use the information to improve their service.

I think that our expectations determine our opinion of the cruise. I booked this cruise from the perspective of someone who has worked on many ships over the years. I know how difficult it is for a crew member to learn the ship, especially learn working for a new company with forms and procedures. A newly built ship always has bugs to be worked out. For that reason I did not have very high expectations and was not troubled by the glitches encountered. There could have been a total blackout, lights not working, toilets not flushing, propeller not turning, etc. Things went better than I expected. I think that Viking will correct the problems they are having. In the spectrum of problems they are small problems.

Yes, there was a shakedown with Viking employees and family members. One of the concerns here on CC was "I hope nobody sleeps in my cabin before me".

 

By your logic cruise line companies would be compensating passengers as long as they continue to offer cruises. There will always be bumps in the road when dealing with passengers and vacations. Just because a TV is out for a few hours doesn't warrant compensation.

 

I'm sure there are many passengers, myself included, who expected a trade off between almost everything going right and the excitement of participating in a maiden voyage. Does Viking expect compensation for us talking about how we were on their maiden voyage? Not that I've seen. And I'm pretty sure almost everyone who sailed on the maiden voyage will tell all their friends, and everyone they meet on future cruises, how they sailed on The Viking Star's maiden voyage. The only difference is most of us will have nothing but good stories to tell. There are a few who may still be complaining, but then again, they will likely be complaining about whatever situation they find themselves in.

Id4elizabeth - LadyVol1 is correct in saying that one review, by captainmcd, was entered twice. Please follow the link shown above to write your own review.

Since my two reviews are causing concern about the total "loved it" score, I just wanted to say that I did not review twice on purpose. The reviews are not identical and were not "entered twice". I submitted a review and when it did not appear for a week, I supposed it did not meet the guidelines since it was copied from my journal and had photos attached. Therefore I made a brief recap and submitted a new one, which was quick and easy to read. A few days later my first review was published without photos, and later my second one. I felt that information contained in both reviews was useful, and elected to keep them, knowing that as more reviews are submitted the votes I got would become less of a factor in the score. I in no way was trying to "game" the rating system. I am not convinced of the wisdom of giving this score a lot of value in a decision to go on a ship or not, you need to read the reviews and come to your own conclusion.

i don't remember any music being sent throughout the ship. Just an occasional announcement when the ship was cleared and shore leave was granted.

That is the best time of year to make that run. The St.Laurence Seaway is beautiful. Not many ocean going ships go into the Great Lakes, and are an attraction when they enter port. If you are lucky they may even go through the Petland Firth (North of Scotland) and the Strait of Belle Isle north of Newfoundland. As always storms are a possibility but in winter time are almost a guarantee. It should be an interesting trip.

Thanks Roothy123 for your posting. We enjoy both river and ocean cruising for different reasons. I was surprised when Viking decided to expand into ocean cruising, but has built a good ship and I believe it will succeed in its expansion.

I posted a review copied and pasted from my trip log a week after we returned from the first segment from Istanbul to Venice. It gave details about the excursions in ports and the overall experience, but had photos attached. I didn't know that they could not accept photos, and I thought they added a lot to the review. When it did not appear after a week, I wrote a shorter review more like a summary of the previous one. They still have both of them on line, among the first reviews of the ship. I gave it a thumbs up. I still really enjoyed the trip, problems and all. I do agree that Viking needs to look at Azamara and Oceaniana to learn how to manage the media and the customers. I remember when Azamara had a fire on the Quest, not long after the Costa Concordia disaster, the media were out for blood from the evil cruise ship operators. CEO Larry Pimentel flew to Indonesia and met the press and the passengers and crew, and could have written a book on crisis management, a required course for senior ship's officers. The press tried to find passengers who could fault Azamara, and could get very little complaints after a harrowing voyage. It is too bad that Viking management did not study this and plan accordingly. They have a great ship, a good river cruise operation, and can do the job. I think they have deep pockets and can survive a rocky start-up. I remember that Azamara had a "Chief Blogging Officer", a retired executive with contacts in upper management, who monitored C.C. and other media and could put out fires as they arose. I think that is what is needed at Viking. Anyway, one of my four star reviews should be eliminated, further reducing the score, although I am not sure if the ship and crew deserve that low score.

But I think what made them seem a bit more that their raw numerical value was the acceleration, or time of the cycle. Sometimes the roll could be very sharp. At other times it was softer and gentler. /QUOTE]

 

I agree. On the first voyage we didn't have any rough weather, but I could tell when the stabilizers went out that the amplitude and period of the roll were greatly reduced, which caused an acceleration at the end of the roll that would throw you off balance. Perhaps the stabilizers could be programmed to soften that effect.

Captain....so it was all worth it to you?

No regrets and would you sail with them again? We too enjoyed Azamara and their way of functioning. Very good food as well as excursions. Kinda glad we did not maiden voyage with Viking!

For us....they have till January 2016 to get things as in the illusion of the brochure!

We booked the first leg of the maiden voyage because after sailing for over 50 years I had never been on a maiden voyage, only final voyages. The price was right, although it needed to be paid in full soon after booking. I got the cheapest cabin, which was identical to almost all the other cabins except the location on deck 3 forward. We expected glitches, and there were some, but it did not really bother us very much. I was aware of the problems of starting a new ship with a new crew and really a new company. I think they pulled it off pretty well. I did like the ship and the design, but until they get more exciting itineraries (we have already covered the Mediterranean very well) I will look for new places to visit.

We have made three cruises with Azmara in the past three years, and this year made the maiden voyage of the Viking Star from Istanbul to Venice. Today I just booked another Azamara cruise. It was not the ships or crews that caused me to make this decision, it was the itinerary. I wanted to return to the Far East. The Viking Star was beautiful, all Scandanavian Modern decor, well appointed and laid out. The food was great, the service was not as good as Azamara, the crew are learning a new ship. Their entertainment was great, but I had hoped that they might hire the harpists that Azamara laid off last year. Their included shore excursions were well handled, similar to the AzAmazing evenings. They now have two more new-builds under construction in Venice, and hope to have ten ocean going ships in the next few years. They will be competition for Azamara, but for now I would chose Azamara for the service and the interesting itineraries and thier experience.

We just got home from the maiden voyage from Istanbul to Venice, and agree with the editor's article. I booked the cheapest cabin catagory, cabin 3035. It was well laid out. We have made 3 cruises on Azamara in the past couple of years but I wanted to try a new ship. I will try to complete a review in a day or two. Regarding restaurants, we ate all but one meal in the main dining room or at International Cafe. Shortly after sailing I booked Manfredi's and we did have an excellent meal there. Being a new ship and a new crew, as well as a new cruise line makes for a difficult startup, but Viking pulled it off. The IT and TV glitches did not bother us as we realize it is a work in progress. We did find that the service in the dining room was slow, as waiters were learning, and there was an automated I-pad ordering system that did not work and they had to use normal paper and pen. Inspite of this, nobody ever went hungry and the food was better than expected. The entertainment was far better than I expected on a small ship, especially the singing talent. I enjoyed the piano and string flute trio, as well as the guitar, but think they should have gotten the harpists that Azamara fired. The included shore excursions, and the premium ones were all very good. Boarding was a breeze for us, we were the only people in the terminal, and leaving was equally trouble free. We miss the kind crew, fellow passengers still aboard, and will probably return when new itineraries develop.

I thought it would be salt water, since there would be a lot of fresh water lost keeping the pool filled when the ship was moving, even a little bit. Although I prefer to swim in fresh water, I'm looking forward to a dip in the new pool.

I'm not sure about Royal Navy ships, but most US navy ships use the gyro type stabilizers, not the retractable wing stabilizers that cruise ships use. The gyro type is not speed dependent, unlike the wings which lose effectiveness at lower speeds.

 

I crossed the Atlantic for the first time on the SS Jean Lykes in 1973. This was a 1960's era "stick boat" or breakbulk cargo ship, that had such a low GM that the ship, even in 3-4' seas, would roll onto her beam ends, and hang there for a couple seconds "trying to decide if she wanted to roll back upright".

I've sailed on the Jean Lykes and a number of her sister ships and when loaded properly with a GM of 2 or 3 ft. they ride well, but the extremes are not good. I sailed on a victory ship with bombs in the lower holds and fins on 'tween decks, with an 8 ft. GM and it rolled 45 degrees in 7 seconds in rough seas, and on a c-3 where when given a deck load of lumber required ballasting of the double bottoms, which the chief engineer did not do, and the GM went negative in mid ocean, causing the ship to list 10 degrees and nearly capsizing until the chief finally put water into the double bottoms and righted the ship.

I just completed a number of courses to renew my license. Among them was a week long certification for "Vessel Security Officer". I believe that the crew are trained and ready, but in any case, I refuse to live my life in fear of terrorism.

Chengkp is correct. It is a challenge to book a freighter with your dogs, but a few years ago I had on several occasions passengers who I permitted to take their dogs with them in their cabins, which were large on freighters. Dogs are not too happy without a few parks or trees to walk around, but they do fine and are welcomed by the crew. Be prepared to clean up after the dog. I am not able to comment on what companies or itineraries would be available, but there are some. Check with a travel agent who specializes in freighter travel.. Company policy said that the dogs on my ship should travel in a cage outside, but that is a decision that is not carved in stone. It may be possible, but not probable. If you get a ship that is Okay for you, then you will need to get a lot of vet certificates for the dog. Buen viaje. John

We have been to two Azamazing Evenings. I thought they were well done and enjoyable, but it is a new concept. Departure is assigned before departure, as I recall by a note in your cabin the previous evening. There are about 20 buses lined up to accommodate everyone. Suite passengers get on the first buses. I was impressed at the effort Azamara put into this, especially the crew. I came away with the impression that a ship the size of the Viking ships can indeed pull off an excursion for the entire load of passengers. Since I have been to most of the ports on our cruise, I have not worried about what to do other than the included excursion. It will be interesting to see if Viking can deliver.

I'm glad to hear that Viking is working well with some passengers and travel agents. I was worried about their communication. For our April 11 sailing I canceled the Viking Air a couple of months ago and booked on my own pre and post cruise hotels and air. Since we have been to many of the ports between Istanbul and Venice I decided we would simply take the included tours in each port. My reason for booking was mostly to see how they handled a new ship on a new itinerary. I expected to see some start-up glitches. I have been happy with Viking Rivers tours in the past, and have been on a number of Azamara "Azamazing evenings" for the entire ship of 800 or more passengers. They seem to handle it well, of course those who pay for suites get the first bus on departure, but they seem to be well organized and it is possible to have a nice time with a ship load of people.

I always enjoyed sailing through the lakes on Lykes Lines service from there to the Mediterranean, and we carried passengers. Sadly this is no longer available. There are some interesting trips up there, check out http://www.greatlakescruising.com/itineraries.php

Everyone has their own travel style. Some people like to nail down every detail of their trip, and are upset if something does not fall into place as expected. I have had the most fun on trips where I don't overplan. Sometimes I find that the place where I wanted to stay is booked and I need to find a second choice, but I still have fun. Uncertainty in travel today is far less than it was a few decades ago, and that can be seen in the pages of a ship's log, where at the top it does not say "from" and "to" but rather "from" and "towards", not stating with certainty where the ship is going. I like that.