Freighters.

[Kruzeagain]

First of all, I must say that the comments in this forum are among the most respectful I have seen. Are all freighter cruisers (incl prospective cruisers) this thoughtful? Could it be the close quarters+lengthy duration?

 

I too have considered something along these lines for quite some time. If you are diligent enough, and can skip through a lot of unrelated flotsam & jetsam, there are several fascinating first-hand accounts of freighter cruises. Here is a link to one of the more whimsical accounts:

http://freightertrip.blogspot.com/

 

A previous post mentioned typical cruise ships' singular focus on activities. Agreed. It probably explains why, more often than not, yours truly was to be found wandering the decks at 3:30AM, enjoying the simple solitude created by the soft sounds of the ocean gliding along the hull. The faintly glowing embers of the dawn of a new day never ceased to warm my heart and soul...along with a fresh coffee and breakfast. By mid-morning the usual cruise ship pandemonium had erupted...which meant it was time for a nap in my stateroom.

 

I've only cruised twice (typical one-week Carib "adventures") but this year there are 2 transatlantics on the sched. Can hardly wait. Just the thought of having the time to watch the wake without the nagging feeling that there is some activity "Not To Be Missed!" is lovely.

 

Cost is hard to beat, and one of the reasons for 2 trips is because a round-trip flight from London-Toronto is cheaper (!) than one-way. No sense wasting an airline ticket, right?

 

Although recent economic events dictate that I will probably never retire, my spidey-sense tells me that 2 TA's may well propel me into a much longer trip aboard a modern container ship. Solo or with my DW, methinks it will happen one day.....

 

Happy Cruising,

Alan

[bjbear]

This thread is fascinating to me because I have always dreamed of a freighter trip. I love cruising but the biggest thrill to me is just sitting there watching the ocean roll by and the movement of the ship. I am obsessed with the sea, I think it's to do with my Dad who was in the Seabees in WW2 and passed on to me his love of the sea when I was a toddler.

 

Realistically though, I am a 66 yr. old retired female and travel alone as no one else in the family inherited my love of the ocean. Are there freighter journeys that are shorter then a couple months so I could see if I could handle this? And do you think it is something a lone female, who is rather apprehensive, could embark upon alone? I appreciate your honest advice! :)

 

Sue

[Host Walt]

This thread is fascinating to me because I have always dreamed of a freighter trip. I love cruising but the biggest thrill to me is just sitting there watching the ocean roll by and the movement of the ship. I am obsessed with the sea, I think it's to do with my Dad who was in the Seabees in WW2 and passed on to me his love of the sea when I was a toddler.

 

Realistically though, I am a 66 yr. old retired female and travel alone as no one else in the family inherited my love of the ocean. Are there freighter journeys that are shorter then a couple months so I could see if I could handle this? And do you think it is something a lone female, who is rather apprehensive, could embark upon alone? I appreciate your honest advice! :)

 

Sue

 

Freighter cruises are usually longer than a week, but you can find many freighter cruises that are just a few weeks in length.

 

We can't refer you to agencies that book freighter travel, but you can do a search on Google with terms like freighter cruises and freighter travel and find a plethora of opportunities.

 

Freighter cruising is fine on board for single females but due care is necessary if you disembark at a port. Some freighter ports are rather rough areas so appropriate cution is in order.

[jasmin]

Hello, bjbear:

http://www.marinelinktours.com/index.html

 

Here is a link to much shorter freighter cruises on Vancouver Island, B.C. They leave from a small port at Campbell River. Since we are moving to Comox B.C. shortly and it is 30 minutes south of Campbell River, I look forward to doing one or more of these itineraries.

 

they still aren't cheap though, considering that they don't have any bells and whistles, but they do go to places no big ship or freighter will go. No one will upsell you and the shore excursions are do-it-yourself nature oriented.

 

I was just browing in the CC categories and saw this thread and have enjoyed reading it. thanks.

 

Cathy

[DocJohnB]

I count myself amongst the blessed of cruisers.

 

Three years ago (almost to the day), I was fortunate enough to experience a long held dream of a freighter cruise. It was actually a containership . . . but why quibble. :D

 

I kept a journal and developed a blog on my voyage. If you care to, you can read about it here. Start with the blog titled: "The only similarities between a freighter cruise ..." and read upward after that.

 

http://myseajourney.blogspot.com/

 

There is a slightly edited copy at:

 

http://www.independenttraveler.com/tripreports/tripreports.cfm?ID=355

 

As I write over and over and over again throughout these missives, flexibility is the key to this type of travel. If you are not or cannot be flexible, don't even try it.

 

Enjoy the reads. I will answer any questions you may have.

[ShipsInBergen]

What a great forum!

 

I'd love to do a freighter voyage, but unfortunately, as a student, I have neither the time nor the money at the moment.

 

I have recently completed a design for a cargo/passenger liner with accommodation for 12 passengers as part of my studies (MEng Naval Architecture) and it has completely opened my eyes to this means of travel. I just wish I had found this thread before I submitted my paper, as some first-hand advice would have been great when arranging the accommodation block!

 

As others have posted, the reports of the 'shabby' interiors and basic cuisine only make me want to try a freighter voyage more. Just the slow pace and relaxed atmosphere would provided a fantastic break. Maybe it is also the image given on thse boards by the pleasant, thoughtful posts that paint a very nice picture of the company onboard.

 

Either way, I fear it will be a long way off for me, but I have enjoyed reading your experiences and will probably continue to do so. It is so good to hear from people providing a calm and balanced review of a trip, when most of the mainstream reviews here on CC seem trivial and derogatory.

[WillK]

DocJohnB-

 

What a great review and a real pleasure to read! Thanks for sharing.

[bcscot]

I am happy to see that this thread is still going strong!

 

I have just returned from sailing on the beautiful Saga Sisters & am enjoying reading a book written by Captain Phillip Rentell of the Saga Ruby, about his life at sea. As well as working on cruise ships, including 10 years on QE2 (Falkland Campaign as well), he worked on many different types of cargo ship. It is interesting to read about life on these ships & how the different types of cargo have to be handled. It quite puts me in the mood for a frieghter trip, although from the input here, I would want to be very careful which ship I chose!

 

Thanks for all of your contributions.

 

Graham.

[hapzfl]

You want an exciting working freighter trip into paradise, try the Aranui. She goes from Papeete via the Tuamotus to the Marquesa islands; about 14 days roundtrip. The newest version, Aranui 3, takes about 150 passengers; passenger facilities are in the rear portion of the ship, the freight is in the front. While freight is unloaded on each island passengers visit the interior on small trucks or SUVs, or on foot. Most everything is included in the price, even the wine at lunch and dinner; you only have to take care of your bar tab :)

[bcscot]

I looked up the website for the Aranui 3 & it looks great. Unfortunately they do not seem to give prices, which I always see as a bad sign! I will keep this one in mind for the future though.

 

Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth, eh? Impressive! That must have been a wonderful experience also.

 

Thanks.

 

Graham.

[hapzfl]

Yes Graham, I'll never forget these two ships...

Time flies; now they put even their successors into retirement.

 

By the way, if you need prices for the Aranui, the only agency I know in the US that sells the Aranui trips is travltips.com. They are specialized on freighter trips.

 

Aranui 3 is more comfy than Aranui 2 was, but the latter was more romantic. You really "lived" with the freight during loading and unloading. Most ports in the Marquesas and Tuamotus do not have piers to accomodate ships, so the freight used to be unloaded on fairly small wooden whaler boats and than unloaded either at a small pier or carried through the water onto the beach where the customers could pick up their stuff. Passenger were carried on the same whalers onto shore either as a dry landing or a wet landing. Aranui 3 has more modern aluminum pontoon boats for the freight and larger aluminum boats for the passengers. However, the wooden whalers are still there and used in 1 or 2 locations. And the unloading via small piers or the beach has not changed either.

[bcscot]

Thanks for the trip tip Harald! I think that I will have to put Aranui 3 onto my 'wish list' for the future. Unfortunately it is a very long list!!

 

A couple of years ago, I managed to stay/sail on board three generations of Cunard Queens within a year; Queen Mary in Longbeach, QE2 during her final sailings & QM2. A great tradition indeed. On the two crossings I have made on QM2, there has been a meeting for those who had sailed on the original Queen Mary. I attended both of them, so I could listen to the stories being told. It was interesting.

 

I hope that you like the Azamara Journey. These old Renaissance ships are supposed to be very nice, but I have not yet tried them

 

Graham.

[hapzfl]

There is a reason many "Aranui people" take the trip at least twice. You should not miss out on paradise for too long :D

 

If Cunard's Atlantic crossings are one of the most traditional cruises, a three class society from top to bottom, Aranui is one of the most unconventional cruises. You can mingle with the polynesian crew at the bar; they lift you into the boat like you are a feather, and they are the friendliest people I know. The Aranui has nothing of the big cruise ship atmosphere, nor can you expect elaborate entertainment. But it is also not comparable to the current freighter trips were you share your time with hundreds if not thousands of containers and maybe a handful of crew, in and out of ports within a few hours. The Aranui is a true old fashioned freighter, carrying all the supplies to these remote islands, from beer to cars to couches; piece by piece.

 

I also visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach a couple of times. She still amazes me.

[navychop3]

This thread may be dead, but following the tips presented, I can see freighter travel is not!

[salty dingo]

The look of this type of ship is very ugly and thus it does not attract much passengers.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

 

I would much rather watch a crane loading containers than watch a stage show. But if you like the glitz and glamor, you probably won't be happy on a freighter.

[TourGypsy]

I'm really excited to find all this information on freighter travel. Thanks to all who have been updating.

 

 

I've done a lot of cruising on traditional ships. It's a way of life I really enjoy. But I'm pretty laid back, most of all I enjoy just reading and watching the seas.

 

So, being intrigued, I've booked a transatlantic voyage next summer on a Rickmer's ship. It's only a couple weeks, but it's a test. If it turns out to be as good as I'm expecting, I'll be looking into a much longer voyage.

 

 

Please keep all the comments coming. They're sure appreciated!

 

Judy

[VK3DQ]

A trip with a real difference

 

see

http://rms-st-helena.com/

[houtbay]

This thread is fascinating to me because I have always dreamed of a freighter trip. I love cruising but the biggest thrill to me is just sitting there watching the ocean roll by and the movement of the ship. I am obsessed with the sea, I think it's to do with my Dad who was in the Seabees in WW2 and passed on to me his love of the sea when I was a toddler.

 

Realistically though, I am a 66 yr. old retired female and travel alone as no one else in the family inherited my love of the ocean. Are there freighter journeys that are shorter then a couple months so I could see if I could handle this? And do you think it is something a lone female, who is rather apprehensive, could embark upon alone? I appreciate your honest advice! :)

 

Sue

I am a 65 year old female and I did a voyage from Auckland New Zealand to CA last year alone. There were 2 other male passengers on board.

Crew were Russian and I had no problems. About 25 days but I took many books to read. Had the owners suite so accomodation great but food was rather poor. Do not be concerned just book and enjoy.

[bjbear]

I am a 65 year old female and I did a voyage from Auckland New Zealand to CA last year alone. There were 2 other male passengers on board.

Crew were Russian and I had no problems. About 25 days but I took many books to read. Had the owners suite so accomodation great but food was rather poor. Do not be concerned just book and enjoy.

 

Thank you so much, I think that sounds perfect and will look into it! Love to read and could take my tablet and do some writing.

 

Thanks, Sue

[TourGypsy]

So, being intrigued, I've booked a transatlantic voyage next summer on a Rickmer's ship.

 

Unfortunately, the schedule on the ship has been pushed back so far that I cannot meet my other commitments. I am postponing this sailing until, hopefully, next year.

 

Judy

[mradtech]

I did not realize sailing on a freighter was an option! What kind of cost would I expect? Where do you look into this? Thanks

[TourGypsy]

I did not realize sailing on a freighter was an option! What kind of cost would I expect? Where do you look into this? Thanks

 

You can google "freighter cruises" and get a number of agencies. I used CruisePeople in the UK. Cost runs around 100 euro per day. It takes much longer to cross the Atlantic as the freighters are slower. And you need to be very flexible with time. I was trying to meet up with other tours once in Europe, and unfortunately had to "postpone" this summer's trip until another date when the freighter co. added a couple extra ports before my destination (it would have made me late for my next adventure). I will still do it, but will allow more grace time in the future as schedules constantly change.

[houtbay]

I did not realize sailing on a freighter was an option! What kind of cost would I expect? Where do you look into this? Thanks

 

I used Strand Travel from UK. Their website shows all available ships and destinations and prices. They were very efficient.

[TourGypsy]

Yeah! I'm rebooked on Rickmer's Dalian for the early part of July 2014. Giving lots of time so I won't have to postpone again.

 

Anyone else doing a freighter cruise in the next year?

 

Judy

[TourGypsy]

The ship is now Rickmer's Singapore - but I'm finally going. :D

 

The Singapore arrives in Houston on Wednesday, July 2nd and I will be boarding the following afternoon. I don't even know what to anticipate which is a strange situation for me. But I'm excited to begin the journey. I will be onboard just short of 40 days, with expected docking in 6 intermediate ports.

 

Let the adventure begin. :cool:

 

Judy