Freighter cruises?

[Scrapr]

They speak to my cheap side. And my aversion to cruises in the regular sense.

https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/freighter-cruise-europe-to-east-coast-america

anybodyy done one? I think they could be awesome. Looks like you can hang out on the Bridge. Eat with the Officers. once a week service in your room. I think they might be a great adventure.....or I'd be bored out of my mind on the 3rd day after i ran through 147 DVDs

I could see excursions from a container port would be more "difficult". I've been in a container yard. Not exactly scenic.

 

[Souschef]

If you go to Cruisecritic.com, there is a section on freighter cruises. They are tremendously from cruises on cruise ships.

 

[Bamaman]

That is a great place for an author to go to write a book. Alex Hailey would go on a freighter to write with out distractions about Roots.

To me: BORING

 

[GalaxyBoy]

DF went on one that went around the world 20 or so years ago. He loved it, but he was a person whose idea of a good cruise was a boring one. He said there were three cabins and he did eat with the officers. Each day he would go up to the bridge to get the position which he would plot on his world map, which I still have.

 

[2lhasas]

Listened to an NPR story some time ago about a program that placed artists on freighters. The woman being interviewed was on a ship whose cargo came under dispute. They were unable to go into port and stranded offshore for months, often running low on food until someone from the port would bring it. Not sure how often that happens, but needless to say, it's not what she signed on for. When Hanjin went bankrupt a few years ago, dozens of ships were stranded at sea.

 

[Aerides]

I read this story from the New Yorker a few years back, of a writer taking a freight, sounded very unappealing!

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/03/a-tale-of-a-tub

 

[braumeister]

I had several friends spend most of their lives on freighters as merchant marine officers. They said that traveling that way as a passenger is incredibly boring because there is literally nothing to do on board if you're not working as they were. There are some great prices to be had though!

 

[gerntz]

Do they have good evening entertainment shows? How is the wine selection? How many hot tubs?

 

[Scrapr]

If you go to Cruisecritic.com, there is a section on freighter cruises. They are tremendously from cruises on cruise ships.

Thanks. I found this link to a Flyertalk review. Very long but very interesting

https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/freighter-cruise-europe-to-east-coast-america

After reading through I know i would not want the Pacific crossing. Too much sea time. I think a Panama canal trip would be awesome. Probably not in the cards for us as Mrs Scrapr is a vegetarian. And doesn't look as if (at least on this line) there is much accomadation.

Did not look as if there was a chance to disembark for sightseeing either.

Here is another trip report. I have not read it so WYSIWYG. 50 pages!!!

http://voyages-madeleine-guillou.over-blog.com/page/49

 

[Sittinginthesun]

I read this story from the New Yorker a few years back, of a writer taking a freight, sounded very unappealing!

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/03/a-tale-of-a-tub

Good read, thanks!

 

[FUEGO]

The prices generally are nowhere near as competitive as the regular cruises when on sale. We routinely pay around $50-60/nt per person all-in and that comes with unlimited food almost 24 hrs/day, hot tub access, broadway-style live performances, etc.

Look for transatlantics if you want a lot of sea days and not many stops in port. They also happen to be dirt cheap (doable in the $50-60/nt price range and they usually cross over to Europe in April-May then come back Oct-Nov). I've never done one (but done almost 10 weeklong Caribbean cruises) and wouldn't consider a freighter cruise as a viable alternative given the higher price and lower level of amenities. Unless it was dirt cheap.

The secret to cheap regular cruises is their revenue model. The basic fare to get on the ship is often sold at a loss or close to break even. They make their profit from upsells - drinks on board, premium dining, excursions while in port, shopping on board, art auctions, gambling, etc. Skip all the extras and that's how you can get an incredibly cheap cruise, even cheaper than freighter cruises.