I have challenged myself to see how long I can go without flying (I am currently in the UK, having traveled back overland from Singapore this past summer). However, this summer I will graduate and will need to travel oneway to North America. The prices I have been able to find for cruises and freighter passage are very expensive for a student (looks like nearly $1000 minimum), and at any rate I enjoy trying to do things as cheaply as possible. Does anyone here know anything or have any experience with cheaper ways of crossing the surface of oceans? I can be very flexible with my dates. Are rooms that would otherwise go empty ever sold off cheap at the last minute? I am also willing to work passage, but have no particular skills, and would guess that supply of such people tends to exceed demand. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Can you cook? Do you have sailing skills. In which case have a look at marinas and pick up a ride on a yacht

Failing that, a cruise IS the cheaper way of crossing oceans without flying

 

I nicked this off the "useful links" page on www.seat61.com

 

You might take a look occasionally at the "90-day Ticker" on VacationsToGo.com. I just saw a mid-March dp from FLL eastbound transatlantic for $549+fees for a 2-week cruise. Seems almost laughably cheap... Perhaps they'll have something westbound (and shorter) come up at a big discount?

 

There's a guy on another forum, http://discuss.amtraktrains.com, who has done some ocean freighter travel. Search or message Green Maned Lion there--I think he once posted some links for how to arrange freighter passage on the cheap.

 

Thanks for asking about this. My parents talk nostalgically about the freighters they took to Europe in the late 60s, and I was wondering if it was still possible to travel this way... I should've known Seat61 would have some useful info.

Both the US agencies seem to require subscriptions upfront--does anyone have experience with either of these companies?

 

I don't think you're likely to find something like that for the summer -- even last minute. 1) summer is peak travel time/prices and 2) transatlantic cruises are generally 'repositioning' and mostly in the spring and fall. Good luck tho, I'm sure something will pop up

 

I've looked at some of those sites, but the going rate seems to be at least $100 per day, with transatlantic voyages taking at least 10 days, plus about $300 in port taxes, which comes out to more than a cruise. I'd be interested to know if anybody had seen anything for less than that.

I may be willing to travel as late as September, so I might conceivably still be able to take advantage of a last-minute deal on a repositioning cruise. Though there seem to be a fair number of (mostly very expensive) transatlantic cruises running throughout the summer. At any rate, I will keep an eye on the aforementioned "90-day ticker" as my potential dates of travel approach.

One thing I have noticed looking at cruise prices is that it is a lot cheaper if you can book multiple people into the same room. As a student I am used to, and have no problem with, sharing e.g. a small hotel room with three or more other people. Does anybody know how I might find other people to share a room with? Thanks.

 

Just to chime in,
Mom and I did a 1 way from Fort Lauderdale on NCL 13 nights to Barcelona in March 08 for only $499 plus the $10 tips per day. It was a really cheap way to go. We did find it on vacations to go, and the returns are usually in Sept or so. You will arrive stuffed and rested!

JudyJFLA