container ship travel

[Abarb]

When I look at the number of people viewing this "freighter travel" site, it encourages me to ask if any of the viewers have been passengers on a container ship.

I would love to hear what you thought of this type of travel, and what your particular experiences were, ie. comfort, food, bad weather, stability of the ship, etc.

I would love to read a review of anyone who has travelled with the french company CMA CGM...we will be passenges on the "Matisse" ex Tilbury to Sydney mid September 2008..

[Yarco]

When I look at the number of people viewing this "freighter travel" site, it encourages me to ask if any of the viewers have been passengers on a container ship.

I would love to hear what you thought of this type of travel, and what your particular experiences were, ie. comfort, food, bad weather, stability of the ship, etc.

I would love to read a review of anyone who has travelled with the french company CMA CGM...we will be passenges on the "Matisse" ex Tilbury to Sydney mid September 2008..

 

Abarb, I have myself done two container ship voyages as a passenger first with P&O Nedlloyd aboard the m.v. 'City of Cape Town' from 2nd sept to 24th oct 2004, the route i travelled was from Tilbury to South Africa & back via Germany & the Canary Islands.

The 2nd was with CMA CGM aboard the 'Nabucco' ex Southampton to Hong Kong via Suez Canal that's her in my avatar,from 13th may to 5th june 2006 both trips were first class, whilst aboard the City of Cape Town i had unlimited access to all areas of the ship, except the engine room althougth two escorted visits were arranged for me :D .

The food was to British taste as she flew the Red Ensign & had British Navigation & Engineering officers with Phillipino AB's & Stewards, my accomodation had en suite facillitys with seperate lounge with tv & video also a separate bedroom with double bed and fitted wardrobes.

As the voyage progressed you become good friends with the crew, & i was even allowed to have a go at steering the ship for Real AWESOME :eek: , each meal time particuarly evenings i sat with the Captain & Senior Officers,as i was one of four passengers aboard at the time.

The weather can be unpredictable & on my first voyage i experienced wind & rain thick fog & we spent three days at anchor of Durban S.A. due to storm force 10 conditions that closed the port down, transversing the Bay of Biscay southbound was smooth but nortbound the Captain gave orders that all passengers should remain in the accomadation castle due the danger of green water i.e. sea swell could likely flood the main deck. But the ship was fairly stable although some rolling & pitching was experienced.

My 2nd trip was aboard the CMA CGM NABUCCO from Sothampton to Hong Kong via Malta, Suez Canal, & Khor Fakkan (U.A.E.). This was a one way voyage lasting 23 days as i had work commitments & had to fly back home :( but none the less still an exciting experience, the crew were French Navigation & Engineering Officers with Romanian AB's & Stewards this time i was the only passenger aboard and again shared the same meal table as the Captain & his Officers.

Again i had total freedom of the ship including the bridge, again visits to the engin room were arranged for me nothing was to much trouble if i wanted to see something that was off limits the Captain would arrange for the cadet to show me ( I think that poor lad must have shown me every crook & cranny of the vessel). The food was of French taste which to me was a slight problem as i'm a fussy eater:(, but it was all beautifully cooked & served with silver service.

My cabin was quite simply the best again on suite facillitys, double bed fitted office station for those who need to work whilst onboard, but there was a seperate passenger lounge with tv & video, games plus an indoor gymnasium & swimming pool, again i was allowed to plot the coarse of the ship on the navigation charts. The weather was slightly better on this voyage:cool: although fog was about a bit.

Overall the comfort was great but be aware a container ship is a working vessel so there are many sounds & noises that you will hear that you are protected against on cruise ships, such as creaking containers that seen to moan & alarms going off in a crew members cabins alerting them to a problem on the ship.

Also breaking down at sea is something that can happen(3 times on my first trip & once on the 2nd voyage):eek: . also the age of the ship could be an issue the 'City of Cape Town' was almost 30yrs old & showing her age a bit, but still full of character 'Nabucco' was less than 4 months old whilst i was aboard her.

As for sea handling well it depends on size P&O Nedlloyds 'City of Cape Town' was 258m x 32m & 52,000grt/47,000dwt with a capability of around 3,000tue's. Whilst CMA CGM's 'Nabucco' is 334m x x 43m & 92,000grt/102,000dwt with a carrying capacity of 8,488 teu's, but one thing you have to remember is that a large container ship has much deeper draught than a similar sized cruise ship for example QM2 has a draught of 10m but Nabucco has a draught of 14.5m so she sits much deeper in the water & therefore is very stable even in rough sea conditions.

Well i hope this helps a little for your forthcomming trip to Sydney, & all i can say is that for me personally both voyages were the greatest travel experience that i have had. And just to say you will not regret it from the flying fish whales & dolphins you will see, to the running and working of a Real Ship, seeing the pilot come abord taking the ship into & out of port up close good food great company & just experiencing being at sea properly it's the best plus watching the loading & unloading amazing.

Yarco

[Abarb]

Thank you Yarco for your descriptive and very informative reply to my post.

Our trip next year is very diverse, and although we am looking forward to all of it, it is our return from Tilbury to Sydney via Panama on Matisse, that excites us and causes such interest from other people. It is surprising how few know that this type of travel is possible.

"Matisse" is a much smaller vessel than those you have sailed on. For instance, her L.O.A. is 195.6, beam 30.2 and S.dwt 30508. There is a lift, swimming pool, and small exercise room on board. We have the owners twin bedded ensuite cabin, which from the photos looks practical and I am sure we will find it quite comfortable.

I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the ocean and whatever sights and sounds come my way. My husband on the other hand will probably get to know every bolt and like you, nook and cranny by the time we get back to Sydney and will be happy if the engineer gives him a rag and invites him into the engine room to polish the brass. (is there any these days)

Except for times of foul weather, did you find it easy to walk the decks for exercise? Is it discouraged?

I have found a website where I can see the dates for each Port of call right up to her departure from Tilbury September 13. It is actually intended for Shippers of containers, but it is helpful to be able to get a rough idea for planning purposes, recognising that this date may change one way or the other.

Neither my husband nor I are fussy eaters (explains my reason for walking the deck for exercise) so the chef/cook can pretty well dish up anything, and I did read one report of the food served up and it sounded pretty good.

I am yet to find out what sort of a sailer I will be out on the big ocean but will just have to stock up on seasickness patches, etc. before we leave, just in case.

Have you any plans for further container ship travel? Is it addictive?

Best regards,

Abarb

[Yarco]

Abarb,

I'm glad i was able to help in some small way, & the trip you and your husband are doing crossing both Atlantic & Pacific Oceans via the Panama Canal sounds breathtaking. You ask in your reply about walking the decks well all i can say is that from the two Voyages that i've done (note i say Voyage & not a Cruise the correct term for travel aboard cargo ships) is that the Whole of the ship was freely accessable, (except engine room) but be aware as she will be a working ship dirt & oil are not too far away so please take older clothes with you. The only time i/we passengers were discouraged from walking on deck was at night as the decks become very slippery & could pose a danger.

The food onboard both ships that i travelled was good & plentyfull, one thing that i forgot to tell you about is Life Boat Drill, i don't know about tradditional cruise ships but on board a container ship there is the mandatory weekly drill plus at any other time an alarm particuarly if a Fire alarm is sounded you will be obliged to go to your muster station at once regardless of what you are doing at the time, this happened 5 times in one afternoon aboard 'City of Cape Town' & can also occur in the small hours as well.

As for my future plans to travel by container ship the anwser is most definetly yes, i would love to do a Voyage simillar to yours although in reverse i.e. Australia/New Zealand to th UK via the Pacific, Panama & Atlantic, but at the moment it's just saving for it plus getting the time to do it. I also think that the way you are doing your trip is perfect fly out sail home, last year i sailed out & flew home was totally relaxed on reaching Hong Kong but totally stressed after only 2hrs in the air on the way home LoL.

I wouldn't worry to much about hitting rough seas as ships will do their upmost to avoid bad weather, although having said that some storms are just to big to completely avoid. As a post script i've included a link that may be of interest to you & your husband, it is a travel blog written by a reporter working for a French maritime journal, she made the same trip as me on the same ship Nabucco, & she has posted plenty of photos incidently it's the same Captain, Chief Engineer & 3rd officer as well. I've hopefully given the english translation as it is posted in French on the net, at the bottom of each page click next to continue there are several pages.

 

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.marine-marchande.net/FM/Nabucco/Index.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcma%2Bcgm%2Bnabucco%26start%3D40%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GFRC_en___GB204%26sa%3DN

 

 

Best Regards

Yarco

[Abarb]

I thank you again, Yarco for the additonal information you posted and especially for the link to the trip by the french journalist.

It took me ages to read and look at all of the photos she posted and my husband is looking forward to his turn tonight.

Her report was quite technical so my husband will find that interesting, though I was hoping for a more personal view of life on board. But you have filled in some of that detail and I take note of the frequent fire and safety drills...I can see that life on board is NOT going to be boring, seems there is such a lot happening every day.

Best wishes,

Aileen:)

[Yarco]

Aileen you are most welcome, it was a pleasure to share some info with you & i think i covered most of the basics. I'd just like to wish you and your husband an early Bon Voyage, & i hope you both have just as an exciting experience as what i had:) .

 

Best Regards

Mark

[Abarb]

Thank you for your kind wishes Mark. I will endeavour to keep a diary of the trip and write a report from a woman's viewpoint and post it here.

It may be of interest to others who may follow. We won't be home until the beginning of November, so it is still a long way off.

Aileen

[Annieeee]

Aileen,

 

I look forward to hearing all about your exciting trip upon your return. I would love to do something like this. I am currently 63 soon to be 64 so I will really like to hear what you think about the possibility of an older person traveling on a freighter ship. I think it is exciting and the best part of course is having more time at a port. I often pop in on this thread to see if anything has been posted. I was delighted to see Yarco's posting.

 

And thanks to you Yarco for posting about your experiences. How wonderful that you got to experience such a voyage.

 

Annieeee

[Abarb]

Hi Annieee,

Good to see that there are others interested in this type of travel...you say you will soon be 64, dont be put off from this type of travel by your age...a friend of mine, a widow of 70 did a container ship travel a few years ago and had a ball. If you are the type of person who is happy with your own company, but outgoing enough to enjoy others, I am sure you will be suited. This coming from someone yet to experience container ship travel, but ever the optimist.

My husband and I are in our mid 60's, reasonably fit, and have had a bit to do with boats...but most importantly an interest in life, so hopefully we will have a wonderful 44 days returning to Austalia.

Regards,

Aileen

[Abarb]

Annieee, Just a postcript to my previous...you mentioned having more time in port...there is a necessity to be flexible in this type of voyaging..you never know what time of the day you will arrive in a port and in these days of highly mechanised on/off loading...the turn around time can be quite short...so in some cases you could arrive early morning and be gone by evening.

So, I am going with a flexible mind...we may get to have 6 hours in New York or wherever...maybe not...take it as it comes is my motto.

Aileen.

[Yarco]

Annieeee, i'm glad that you too also enjoyed my posts, & as Aileen correctly says that the time in port aboard container ships is quite short sometimes arriving in the early hours & gone by noon the same day, although 24-36 hrs in port can also be enjoyed.

For me the whole point was to experience the ship itself and life aboard especially when at sea, the ports of call were just the icing on the cake so to speak.

Best Regards

Mark

[snowman]

I have 2 trans-alantic and agree with all of the above. You must remain loose with your time and your port time is VERY Short. I did these as an experiance at it certainly was. Enjoy

[Annieeee]

I just read someone review on his recent container ship travel. Imust say that while he says he had a great time, in his review it was obvious that his time in port was not as he had expected.

http://myseajourney.blogspot.com/

 

hope the link works.

 

 

 

Annieeee

[Yarco]

I just read someone review on his recent container ship travel. Imust say that while he says he had a great time, in his review it was obvious that his time in port was not as he had expected.

http://myseajourney.blogspot.com/

 

hope the link works.

 

 

 

Annieeee

It is also worth thinking about, that there also may not be any other passengers as well, on my first voyage there were 3 others plus myself, on my 2nd trip i was the only passenger on a 23 day voyage, of which 20 days were at sea. So you must prepare yourself & remember that any freighter wether a Container Ship or Bulk Carrier is a working vessel & that you as a passenger comes last to the Cargo of the ship which is it's priority.

Yarco

[ILoveScotland]

Thanks for this thread and the pictures. I think I would love it, but DH is in a wheelchair so our cruising is on traditional ships.

[padco]

we will be passenges on the "Matisse" ex Tilbury to Sydney mid September 2008..

 

Hello Aileen,

 

It was with some surprise that I came across this post as a result of working through numerous pages of a Google search of CMA GM Matisse. Like you my wife and I are booked to travel on the Matisse in September 2008 from Tilbury to Brisbane. If you are interested it would be great to catch up with you outside of this forum.

 

Regards Paul.

[Abarb]

Hello Padco,

So we will be fellow passengers on Matisse, come September.

I would be happy to hear more from you and can be contacted by email at

landseer1@bigpond.com.au

Latest information I have gathered from a CGM CMA cargo movement site is that she is due to sail from Tilbury 15th September...but lets talk and exchange details

Regards,

Aileen

[Yarco]

Hello Aileen & Paul, thought you might like to have alook at your home 'CMA CGM MATISSE' just follow the link below

 

Mark :)

 

http://www.cuxhaven-fotos.de/groden63/matisse.htm

[Abarb]

TO YARCO. Hello again Mark, thanks for posting the photo of Matisse...I wonder which will be our portholes!

It sounds much better now, to be saying we will be travelling THIS YEAR, rather than earlier on having to refer to the trip as next year.

It is amazing that thru this forum two fellow passengers for our voyage have made contact, and it would seem that out of this great big world, they only live about 800 klms to our north.

 

Regards, Aileen

[Yarco]

TO YARCO. Hello again Mark, thanks for posting the photo of Matisse...I wonder which will be our portholes!

It sounds much better now, to be saying we will be travelling THIS YEAR, rather than earlier on having to refer to the trip as next year.

It is amazing that thru this forum two fellow passengers for our voyage have made contact, and it would seem that out of this great big world, they only live about 800 klms to our north.

 

Regards, Aileen

Aileen, it is indeed amazing that the two other people, that will be travelling on the 'Matisse' on the same voyage as you & your husband and will be your shipmates, live just 800 km to your north.

Even more amazing is that you have made contact with each other 9 mths before you travel through this post, 'A Shot in the Dark' some might say. & as you say it is now this year that you go :D .

 

Regards

Mark :)

[Ronrocks!]

How does one book a trip on these type of vessels??

[Abarb]

Hi Ron,

Depends which country you live in. If USA, then Maris Travel seem to be the biggest travel agent for freighter travel...then there are agents in London, Sydney, New Zealand, etc.

Could help you more if I knew in which country you reside.

[Yarco]

Hello Ron, i booked both my voyages with Strand Travel / Voyages, of London and in both cases were fantastic i've supplied the link if you wish to have a look.

 

Mark :)

 

 

http://www.strandtravel.co.uk/strand_voyages/index.aspx

[pies]

Hello,

I am a new member and am booked for a voyage on Matisse from Tilbury to Melbourne on Feb 27 2009.A sole traveller I have taken the Super Cargo cabin. My only other cruise was in June last year on Holland America's Zuiderdam out of Vancouver for the inside passage to the Alaskan glaciers. I am also intersted to read the posts of other travellers about Matisse or her sister ships on the Europe/Australia route via Panama.

[Abarb]

Hello Pies,

Just read your post and see that you also have a voyage booked on Matisse.

Some time ago I "found" an account of a trip on the Matisse which you also may find interesting.

If you "google" "Susi & Ruedi on tour" and then scroll down to "September-November 2005" the story of their voyage will be revealed to you.

How did you like the "Zuiderdam" tour of the Alaskan Glaciers? How many passengers? did you dress-up for dinner, etc?

Regards,