Things to do on Freighter ships?

I am new at this would like to know what is there to do for your trip, if you board a freighter? I was told this is so much better than going on a cruise ship, but more relaxing. No entertainment and the food is so so. Would someone elighten me on info on Freighters? thanks Sweet cupcake

Ok, let me first say that I have never been on a freighter cruise (but oh how I'd love to!)

What I understand from what I have read, and I do read a lot, is that you need to be very self-sufficient when it comes to entertaining yourself. There will likely be a room that has a TV and some DVD's or VCR tapes, a small library with books that have been donated by previous passengers, along with some board games....perhaps a small pool (but don't count on it) and a small exercise room.

No comedians, no production shows, no ice rinks, no rock climbing walls.....no frou frou coffee. :D

Since a freighter is a working ship, most of the employees will have little or no time to spend with you, except at meals, when you will likely eat with the officer-level staff. Although the food will likely be good, it will reflect the preferences of the staff on board, and there is MUCH less choice. You will have a room steward to take care of your room. There may be as many as 11 other passengers, or you could be the only one. (More than 12 passengers requires by international law that a doctor be part of the crew....most freighters don't have this and restrict the passenger count for this reason.) If there IS a doctor in attendance, there will be a LOT more than 12 passengers....in the hundreds, likely, with a completely different passenger experience.

So, be prepared to entertain yourself for many days in a row. If you think you might not like this (no internet on board, BTW), reconsider whether you really want to take this kind of cruise. :)

I am new at this would like to know what is there to do for your trip, if you board a freighter? I was told this is so much better than going on a cruise ship, but more relaxing. No entertainment and the food is so so. Would someone elighten me on info on Freighters? thanks Sweet cupcake

I have worked on freighters all my life, and enjoyed having passengers on board. It all depends on what kind of travel experience you want. If you love to read, relax, watch the ocean and sky, it's great. If you want to be entertained, you will be disappointed with the experience. In all probability you will be welcome on the bridge to look at the chart most of the time, and will be free to chat with the crew when they are not busy. You can bring your own beverages without restriction, unlike cruise ships. Although I am still sailing, I am retired from commercial shipping. When I retired I created my own website designed for prospective freighter passengers which you may find helpful at http://www.captainmcd.com.

How much port time do you get with freighters? Several days, or do they turn around within a few hours now? I'm assuming most frieghters now are container ships.

You have to expect a lot of time at sea, and not much time in port. If you go on a container ship the time in port can be only a few hours, and seldom more than a day, unless you are lucky enough to arrive on a holiday. There are some "break-bulk" ships that carry passengers that may spend up to a week in port. The ports that freighters call at are usually not tourist destinations, but many will find that more interesting than being a tourist on a cruise ship.

I think a freighter passenger has to enjoy being at sea, and up until the last decade you seldom got much news at sea except by short-wave radio. I really found that to be a plus. We could worry about things that directly concerned us, such as the weather and the next port of call. If you listen to 24 hour news, you spend too much time worrying about the problems of the world that you are unable to do much about. Maybe one of our causes of stress today is the expectation of instant communication (IM's, tweets, blackberrys, email, etc., as well as cell phones) You may find it really relaxing to just forget all of that and enjoy where you are.

I have worked on freighters all my life, and enjoyed having passengers on board. It all depends on what kind of travel experience you want. If you love to read, relax, watch the ocean and sky, it's great. If you want to be entertained, you will be disappointed with the experience. In all probability you will be welcome on the bridge to look at the chart most of the time, and will be free to chat with the crew when they are not busy. You can bring your own beverages without restriction, unlike cruise ships. Although I am still sailing, I am retired from commercial shipping. When I retired I created my own website designed for prospective freighter passengers which you may find helpful at www.captainmcd.com.

What a great website .... thanks for sharing it with us.

OceanDreams

And, have posted a very long (hopefully not boring) travelogue on the independenttraveler.com site below. Although the trip was 5 years ago, most of the information is relevant today.

http://www.independenttraveler.com/tripreports/tripreports.cfm?ID=355

As CaptainMcD said one has to enjoy being at sea. I would add that being flexible is absolutely necessary. You may be scheduled for a 12 - 18 hours in a port only to find out that instead of docking in the morning, you dock and are cleared at 10 p.m. and the inport period has been reduced to 8 hours.

Another REALLY important thing to understand is (as GHarkness points out) that it is a working ship . . . the crew is there to work and not entertain you . . . entertainment is strictly what you make of it. My ship had an extensive video collection (and surprisingly a well stocked library . . . left by previous passengers). You may take your meals with the officers, or as in the case of my trip with other passengers.

You make your own bed and tend to the cleanliness of your stateroom. The steward (serves as both cabin and dining steward), will come in once a week and change linens, etc., but his main job is to tend to the officer's needs.

Would I do it again. Oh you betcha . . . . although I would like to try one of the bulk freighters mentioned by CaptainMcD.

Did I enjoy it . . . read the travelogue and you will see just how much.

Captain McD . . . . nice web site.

And, have posted a very long (hopefully not boring) travelogue on the independenttraveler.com site below. Although the trip was 5 years ago, most of the information is relevant today.

Boring?.....you're kidding, right? :D

Just a few words into your travelogue, I realized I had already read it! No matter - it was so good, I just read it again!

Thanks so much for going to the trouble to write it all out. I MUST, MUST arrange to do this, and soon!

OK, I have to ask. After having re-read this most enjoyable travelogue, am I imagining that you have now edited the story to omit other than the most general mention of the fellow passenger who was very unpleasant? Seems like I remember your detailing the issues previously, but maybe I am imagining that.

Georgene,

In order to submit this to Independent Traveler, I did some editing. This was originally a blog/journal, I kept during the trip. But your memory is fully intact, in the blog I did mention that guy and his unpleasantness.

Well thanks! At least I know I wasn't completely imagining things! :D

DocJohnB - thanks for the wonderful information on traveling by freighter. This is something I have thought about doing several times but never even got into the checking it out phase.

Since a freighter is a working ship, most of the employees will have little or no time to spend with you, except at meals, when you will likely eat with the officer-level staff. Although the food will likely be good, it will reflect the preferences of the staff on board, and there is MUCH less choice.

Can I assume that most freighters will have very limited, if any, vegetarian food to offer to passengers?

Can I assume that most freighters will have very limited, if any, vegetarian food to offer to passengers?

I think that it is likely that many freighters would be able to serve many vegetarian acceptable meals, I survived for years on red beans and rice, although there were sometimes pieces of meat in the beans. Many crew members are from India and prefer vegetarian meals, and most of the crew are from the Far East, where meat is not as much of a staple as it is in Europe and the Americas. However I would not expect the cook/steward to cater especially to your preferences, you will have to pick and chose things that you want from the menu.

And, have posted a very long (hopefully not boring) travelogue on the independenttraveler.com site below. Although the trip was 5 years ago, most of the information is relevant today.

 

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I just read your blog . It was terrific. I really felt like I was on the boat .

Thank you

Can I assume that most freighters will have very limited, if any, vegetarian food to offer to passengers?

I was on a container ship from NZ to US and the officers were mostly Russian. Meat was not good so for 25 days I enjoyed salads and vegetables....mostly cabbage and carrots......but every ship is different.

I also made a point of taking lots of fruit and cheese on board before sailing.

Many years ago I did a freighter 'cruise' with a Colombian ship (Rio Atrato). It was one of the best journeys I did as I had time to relax, spent hours on the bridge, could sunbathe in peace, and the even had a small pool and on Sundays a lovely barbecue. But what I remember most was how truly friendly the crew was and how heart-warming the whole experience of being on their 'home at sea' was. I felt like a real guest of honour. But by then it was still general cargo and the ship would spend days in a port and I had lots of time to explore places like Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

Great website, captainmcd. Learned a lot and it sure piqued my interest.

Thanks Steirich, I was writing down some sea stories for my kids, who are now grown, but am glad they are useful to others.

Sjpo, it sounds like you had a great trip, and did it in a nice part of the world on a good ship. Sadly I think it would be hard to duplicate now days, with few breakbulk ships that spend days in port. Now I am at the village of Teopopo, on the North bank of the Fly River in Papua New Guinea, on a small medical ship with a team of medical volunteers. It is not a luxury trip, but a cheap way to see a part of the world not accessable to most people. The town has no roads, no electricity, although a copper mine up river built a cell phone tower there, nobody has a cell phone. It is to regulate river traffic from the mine to the sea. Last month I was the captain of the Africa Mercy in the Canary Islands. I still love ships and the sea, and even go on cruises with Royal Caribbean and Azamara when I want to relax.

I would have never thought about this as an option.

Now it's on my bucket list. This sounds amazing.

Thanks for the blogs and websites.

Like most CC's, I never noticed this little forum or had any idea that you could do this. Now I must do this at least once. How interesting!