Around the world on a Freighter

Preparing for our Freighter Trip
As most of you know, we’ll complete our year of travel with an around-the-world freighter cruise. You might be interested in the preparation involved for such a voyage.

Last fall, we made the decision to embark on this wonderful adventure, and were able to take advantage of the 5% discount for booking at least six months in advance. At that time we knew only that the trip would be approximately four months and that we would begin and end in Houston, Texas; and we had a list of twenty-one scheduled, or "base", stops and sixteen possible additional ports.

Doug and I previously took a freighter (a German container ship) from Auckland, New Zealand to Seattle in 1996. It was an eighteen-day trip, with just one stop - in Honolulu - and we thoroughly enjoyed it. That particular ship had the capacity for ten passengers and we were the only two aboard. In spite of that, the Captain and officers had three parties, just for us: A "Getting Underway" cocktail party, a "Crossing the Equator" party," and a "Last Night Aboard" dinner party.

We’ll start this cruise with several ports in the U.S., (New Orleans, Virginia and New Jersey) then on to Germany, Belgium and Italy. From there we’ll sail across the Mediterranean Sea, then transit the Suez Canal to Asia where we’ll visit - among others - Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China (four ports), South Korea, Japan and Singapore. We’ll then continue across the Pacific Ocean towards the West Coast of North America, where the ship may call at Long Beach, CA, then transit the Panama Canal and proceed, via the Gulf of Mexico, before disembarking in Houston. We’ve been advised that our itinerary may vary according to cargo requirements.
We chose Rickmers-Linie shipping line which has multi-purpose vessels that carry general (breakbulk and project) cargo, in addition to containers, so that port times - about 1-3 days - should provide plenty of occasions for extensive and interesting shore excursions. For example, in China we will have the opportunity to book organized tours with local agents and enjoy the exotic flair of Southeast Asia.

This ship, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, has Polish/Croatian Captain and Officers, and the crew are Filipino. The actual vessel that we’ll be aboard is the "Rickmers Jakarta", which was built in 2003, is 192 meters long, with a speed of 19.5 knots. It has a capacity for seven passengers and to date we know that there will be at least three since our sister-in-law, Martha, from Alaska, will be joining us.

To give you a little feel for our accommodations: There is a passenger lounge equipped with coffee, TV, VCR and DVD player, and a library of movies and books. Meals are served in the dining room, which is shared with the ship’s officers. There is an outdoor saltwater pool and open deck space with deck chairs for lounging. There is a large recreation area/room with bar and full-length windows on two sides, facing forward and aft, for viewing in wet weather. There are laundry facilities (towels and bedding are provided) and the steward cleans the cabins once weekly. All passenger cabins are carpeted and have private bathrooms. The cabins are also furnished with TV, VCR and DVD players and audio systems with CD and tape player and AM/FM radios. It should be quite comfortable; and we have booked the owner’s suite, which includes a sitting room where we can set up our computer and I can paint. We’ve also been told we can use the internet in the Captain’s office, so should be able to stay in touch by email, and I can continue to post articles on my blog site.

The requirements for freighter cruising:
Your passport must be valid for at least 10 months from commencement of the voyage, if you are cruising around the world. We renewed our passports in December, so are good to go for ten years.
Tourist visas, for U.S. citizens, are required and mandatory for China (multiple-entry for this cruise). Tourist visas for Vietnam and Indonesia are usually required prior to arrival, but the port agent can arrange for visas to be issued upon arrival. We just received our China visas and thought we would need visas for India but recently learned we won’t be stopping there.
Vaccinations against Yellow Fever are compulsory. I got my vaccination in San Diego and Doug was prepared to get his in Duluth, MN but was told the risk of dying from the innoculation was greater than dying from Yellow Fever (at his age) so he won’t be getting one. We also have Malaria pills, to be used if needed, antibiotics (for any type of infection) and strong pain pills.
The ship does not have a doctor aboard. Therefore, all passengers, regardless of age, must present a clean medical certificate from their physician prior to boarding, which confirms that they are in good health and able to travel on a freighter without regular medical care. There is also a maximum age requirement of 75. Last week we sent the forms off to our doctors in San Diego and received the forms this week. Doug will be 73 this year, so it’s good we’re taking this trip now.

What do you take on a four-month voyage? We know there will be varied temperatures and weather conditions as we travel around the world, so we’ll have warm and cold-weather clothing. The good news is that, unlike a cruise ship, we won’t need formal wear. We plan to take just one small roll-on bag, a carry-on bag and a garment bag each; for our clothes. We’ll also take our laptop and printer, i-Pod and speakers, books (including language texts) and my art supplies. Of course, we’ve already anticipated having any necessary prescription medications and toiletries and cosmetics. That should be all we need. We plan to use only our debit card (no credit card bills to pay) and all other statements have been taken care of for the year. We have our mail forwarding service in place and will arrange to receive mail at various ports about twice a month. Our friends, Ted and Marietta Johns, have graciously agreed to allow us to leave our car at their home at Lake LBJ, near Austin, TX, for the time we’ll be gone.

So, what have we forgotten? As long as we have all of the items "required for boarding," I think we’re o.k. We’ll have a few stops in the U.S. and can pick up any incidentals we may have forgotten.
We’ll arrive in Houston on the 11th of August and pick up Martha at the airport on the 12th. We’ll rent a car and drop off our car at Lake LBJ. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Houston on the 13th and we haven’t been advised of the departure date but hope that we can board on the 13th. If not, we’ll stay at a hotel in Houston until our boarding date.

Stay tuned for further logistical info.