Budget Travel - If I hitchhiked to Rotterdam.....

from where I'm sitting in Paris now, what do you think my chances of finding a ship with a captain that will take me onboard as a workaway?

The above is assuming I've got a week or two to kill hanging out in the bars around the port....

Many years ago, speaking to a captain while he was a still a few days out of Sydney, I had the chance....until I mentioned that my girlfriend needed "a lift" as well!!

That same German shipping company is now selling berths on their container ships and it's said that insurance is the big issue....blah blah blah

Anyone score a passage (or know someone who has) recently?

You have 2 chances - slim and nil

Most ships don't need many people to run them - a container ship like the Emma Mærsk can be run by a crew of 13, most of whom will have had several years of training.

The rest will be generally from the 3rd World getting 3rd World wages