Marine adventures

December 16, 2008 10:43 AM

For all you adventurous travelers: is transatlantic passenger travel via boat (NOT cruise ship) still an option these days?

I hate flying, although I'm not deathly afraid of it. I plan on traveling soon, and I'm wondering if there are alternatives. I'm assuming that things aren't the way they were during the salad days of the White Star and Cunard lines. I ran into someone who mentioned that commercial ships like freighters can sometimes take a handful of passengers with them. Does anyone know anything about this, or any other means of passenger travel via boat? If so, is it a good idea, and how much does it cost? (If it's cheaper than flying, that would be great.)

Thanks.

posted by Lemon of Byzantium to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

Start here:

http://www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo/mainmenu.html
posted by Joe Beese at 10:45 AM on December 16, 2008

You are not alone in your wish to sail the ocean blue. This one looks pretty relevant.

There's a ton of other posts on it too, have a dig around.
posted by Happy Dave at 10:47 AM on December 16, 2008

another previously
posted by nitsuj at 10:49 AM on December 16, 2008

My parents do transatlantic crossings on Cunard at least once a year. They used to go on the QEII, but I think it stopped doing crossings. I think they take the QMII now.
posted by amro at 10:49 AM on December 16, 2008

I know some of the Tall Ships do transatlantic crossings with passengers. Here's one, but I bet Google will turn up more for you.
posted by robinpME at 11:00 AM on December 16, 2008

Oh, but probably not cheaper than flying at all.
posted by robinpME at 11:00 AM on December 16, 2008

The Queen Mary 2 is still making the trip, and it's a marvel of engineering - the biggest ocean liner (not cruise ship!) ever built. But she is still a ship, not a boat, so I don't know if that meets your criteria.
posted by Dasein at 11:02 AM on December 16, 2008

This couple did it very recently. You'd have to just plod through the travel category on her site, but it's a fascinating, unconventional travelogue. They were trying to see how quickly they could go around the world, and there is boat travel and helpful links in the accounts.
posted by micawber at 12:55 PM on December 16, 2008

If you are not on a set timetable, travelling by yacht is a possibility. I got across the Pacific by joining a yacht as crew (note that I had never sailed before and I do get seasick, but had a fantastic adventure).

However, there are no guarantees of timing in terms of departure or time to get across. I usually explain to people that yachts travel at something similar to the speed you might drive at through a carpark (assuming you are a reasonable person and not someone possessed by the Christmas shopping devil).

It certainly is quite cheap - some yachts will charge you nothing (glad to have an extra hand), some charge a fixed cost per week, and others will split costs. We worked on the split costs methods (fuel, food, marina and port fees etc but not repairs!) and it cost something in the order of $75-100/week. The Pacific may be a bit cheaper though.

An Atlantic crossing is probably about two weeks by yacht. This website gives an indication of where you may find yachts going in your direction and at what time of year (the hurricane/cyclone seasons and wind patterns - depending on your ocean - dictate what time of year people typically make a crossing).

While it is a great adventure, it is not all cocktails at sunset (in fact, some people won't drink while out at sea at all). It can be very hard work - try cooking while strapped to the galley bench as the boat sits on a 25 degree angle in big waves and anything not handled carefully flings itself across the yacht, or night watch when it is pouring with rain and you haven't been able to sleep well for a week. If you are merely a passenger and not helping with this stuff, you should pay a premium.

Send me MeFi mail if you decide to do this and want any tips.
posted by AnnaRat at 1:32 PM on December 16, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

There seems to be TONS of resources for freighter travel. I couldn't help but be curious and click on a few links. I found out that the maximum number of passengers a freighter can carry is 12, because any more they'd be required to carry a ship's physician. If you get seriously ill while at see, well, you're out of luck. Seems the meals and accommodations aren't that bad either, and you have the option of eating with the ship's crew. Also, seems that traveling by freighter is a lot slower then by cruise ship, as a round trip between LA/Sydney is 40 days. Seems as if it's best suited for people who like the ocean, rather then wanting to get someplace quick or hanging out in ports.
posted by spoons at 1:48 PM on December 16, 2008

Thanks for this question! You've got me thinking about freighter travel as a possible way to return to the States from Japan!
posted by snwod at 9:36 PM on December 16, 2008

Hey, no problem snwod; although it looks like a lot of people asked this question before!

Thanks for the help everybody
posted by Lemon of Byzantium at 6:55 AM on December 17, 2008

A list of companies that do freighter travel from the Open Directory Project here: www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Travel/Specialty_Travel/Cruises/Freighters_and_Barges/

(Sorry for the late reply -- just catching up)
posted by CruiseSavvy at 5:35 AM on December 27, 2008