In The Daily Telegraph: Cross The Atlantic On A Cargo Ship

The following story by cruise journalist Dave Monk recently appeared in The Daily Telegraph as part of its 1,000 Dream Trips search aid. Here is a link to the original story: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/guides/dream-trips/destination/cross-the-atlantic-on-a-cargo-ship/index.html

Pack a few novels and cross the Atlantic as a passenger on a working container vessel for a more authentic taste of life at sea.

Independent container ship promenade

Travelling on a working freighter is a world away from the water chutes, children’s clubs and entertainment found on a resort-style cruise ship. You’ll eat with the officers and swim in the crew pool – but you’ll also have a comfortable, private outside cabin. Passenger carrying cargo ships generally take up to 12 paying passengers. Pre-pandemic there were around 200 such vessels criss-crossing the globe. Although that number has dwindled it’s still possible to set sail on a Friday from Southampton, on one of the four container ships of the German-owned Independent Container Line. The freighter sails a 28-day round trip to Chester, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, North Carolina, returning via Antwerp.

Independenr Voyager Sails from Southampton to Chester PA

From Liverpool, the five UK-flagged vessels of the Atlantic Container Line sail 25-day round trips to Halifax in Nova Scotia, New York and Baltimore. Passengers on a German ship might be offered corned beef and fried eggs for breakfast, beef stroganoff with cauliflower and boiled potatoes for lunch, and chicken cordon bleu with mixed vegetables and boiled potato for dinner. A passengers’ pantry is also available for snacks. As well as getting through that pile of books you’ve always meant to read, or catching up on films in the video lounge, you’ll also be able to take navigation lessons on the ship’s bridge.

How To Do It.

Passenger services on cargo ships are slowly coming back after the pandemic, with the
Independent Container Line accepting standby bookings for 2022. Next up will be another
German line, Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Buxtehude, sailing 49-day routes from Le
Havre across to Miami, Mexico and New Orleans. The Atlantic Container Line is expected
to be last to return. The UK specialists in arranging voyages on cargo ships are The Cruise
People Ltd (cruisepeople.co.uk).

Credit: Getty