Reflections on Cargo Ship Travel

Reflections on cargo ship travel
Trip ended in Houston 12/24/07

Our only prior experience of this type was an 18-day cruise aboard a container ship from Auckland, New Zealand to Seattle, Washington in 1996, which we thoroughly enjoyed. This time, for a four-month around-the-world cruise, we purposely chose a break–bulk cargo ship because, as the name implies, the cargo is bulk pieces as opposed to containers. The off-loading and on-loading of containers is much faster, which results in shorter times in port. While this is great for the shipping company, it doesn’t give the passengers much time in port. We were told, for this trip, we would have at least 15 stops with from one to three days at each stop.

We were happy with the decision we made and were in each port from one to five days. Actually, a “day” was sometimes only six or eight hours, (our biggest disappointment being our short stay in Genoa, Italy) with very little advance warning, but overall it all worked out o.k.

Our accommodations were quite spacious and very comfortable, plus there were other public areas where we could relax and play games, exercise, paint, swim, and sit on deck chairs to enjoy the sun and sea.

The meals were very good, with lots of variety of menus and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since we changed crew two thirds of the way through, we experienced two chefs and two different stewards, as well as officers and other crew.

There were parties held periodically, with meats on the grill (and several times a roast pig on a spit) and lots of music and dancing. We were told by our crew that all Filipinos sing and dance (and I would add they are all warm, friendly and fun-loving).

We had three different captains - one from Houston to Hamburg, another from Hamburg to Shanghai, and the third from Shanghai back to Houston. The first two were Polish and the last Hungarian.

Weather-wise, we had a complete mixture and were glad we’d brought clothes for all seasons. It was warm when we left Houston in August and continued through our Atlantic crossing. Hamburg and Antwerp were very cold and we had rain for our short stop in Genoa. It became warm again for our trip through the Suez Canal and Red Sea and stayed warm from Singapore through Malaysia. Our next cold weather started with our first stop in China and we didn’t get warm again until we crossed the Pacific and arrived in San Diego. The remainder of the trip south to the Panama Canal, Costa Rica and Gulf of Mexico to Houston was beautiful, warm and sunny, with calm seas.

When we boarded in Houston, there was one other passenger aboard (Jack from Canada) and with the two of us, plus our sister-in-law Martha, that made four. Unfortunately, Jack took ill and had to be taken off the ship in Camden, New Jersey. In Hamburg we took on two more passengers (a Swedish couple, Sunhilde and Helge) and the Captain’s wife, Barbara. When we changed crew in Shanghai, Barbara left and we were six from then until Martha left the ship in Costa Rica and Doug and I finished the trip in Houston. The Swedes continued on to Hamburg to complete their around-the-world trip. It was good to have others to talk with at meals and exchange books and videos, and we sometimes toured together in the various ports.

Setting up a blog, prior to the trip, made it easy for family and friends to follow our travels and eliminated the need for us to individually keep in touch with everyone. So, I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with us, not only on our freighter trip but for the past year, and will continue to check our blog from time to time to see what we’re up to next.

Happy sailing and may all your landfalls be intentional.
Rebecca and Doug