Cruising on a freighter?
 

Are freighters still accepting passengers in this post 9-11 world? Chris Buckley wrote a wonderful book, Steaming to Bamboola, many years ago, and it sounded so interesting in an offbeat way.

At least 3 lines. Biggest one is probably CMA-CGM (taking pax is a policy of the company's founder and there's no security- screw 9/11 and all that security cr@p) with some 75 ships that take passengers (grand total of <1,000 pax a year). Other lines that do include Hanjin and Hamburg Sued.

See the thread about trans-oceanic crossing a page or two back.

duplicate removed

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cruis...c-cruises.html

YVR Cockroach's trip report linked in that thread is amazing.

YVR Cockroach's main thread - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...dai-china.html

My TR from a long ago freighter cruise - http://gardyloo.us/freighter.htm

One hazard of travelling on a freighter is being stuck due to port strikes, or, as a recent example, the line's bankruptcy. Hanjin, a Korean line (owned by the same corporate parent as KE FWIW), went insolvent over the weekend stranding the goods, crew and possibly passengers on 85 ships. You still have to pay even if stranded onboard!

You can face the same risk if there's an airport strike or if an airline goes bankrupt.

Freighter travel interests me. The joys of sea travel minus the odious "cruise culture."

Article in the NYT about this recently:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/tr...minnesota.html

Agree completely; the Great Lakes cruise in the article looks very interesting.

Have you ever done a regular cruise? I thought I'd be bored, and not particularly interested in "cruise culture," but the two I've taken (Alaska and Valparaiso around the Horn to BsAs) were great. You really can get off to yourself as much as you want and read or relax; food is easily available, and the whole thing is fairly economical. You can take or leave the social aspects as you choose. These days, there's no need to "dress for dinner", etc.

Thanks. Fascinating article. I grew up on the shores of the St. Mary's river where lake freighters are a common sight.

Difference is, you may not be able to get off the ship, and the airlines don't keep charging you the extra time you are onboard. The Hanjin ships are just anchored off shore as no ports want to take them in case they don't get paid.

Here's a story of being stuck onboard a freighter of a bankrupt line. Ship is moored outside Japan's territorial waters. Helicopter charter, anyone?

http://vancouversun.com/news/nationa...food-and-water

Another Hanjin ship was stranded outside YPR's container port for over a week.

http://www.thenorthernview.com/news/392451351.html

Certainly freighter cruising wouldn't be for everyone. Less adventuresome fusspots who fret about the unlikely event that the line goes broke would be well advised to stick with major market lines where they can embrace the "cruise culture," wave their napkins over their heads as the baked Alaska is marched in and smuggle liquor on board like they did going to a high-school sock hop.

And how does a brat survive without internet service on board a freighter?

Strand Travel in the UK used to do it but they've just retired.



This company supposedly does it
http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/