Cruising on Container Ships for Less

By Elbert M. Hoppenstedt

Container ships visit practically every port in the world, places the luxury liners can't get to, and the quality of the accommodations far exceeds the usual cruise liner cabin. But the principal difference between container ships and the luxury cruise lines is in the type of entertainment available. On the container ships you'll find no bingo games, nightly revues, or guest lecturers and no organized side tours. Guests must make their own arrangements in the ports of call.

Meals, too, will not match the lavish banquets provided by the cruise lines, but they are nourishing and often prepared to order.

Sample Itineraries and Prices: The Delmas, a German ship, stops at Antwerp, Felixstowe, Rouen, Valencia, and Marseille. It then passes through the Suez Canal and stops at Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Mayotte. It then returns through the Suez Canal to Port Said, Marseille, Le Havre, Dunkirk, and Antwerp. It carries 10 passengers and takes 58 days. The cost is $4,995 per person ($86 per day).

The Norwegian container ship, the Bergen, travels for 12 days along the coast of Norway, a distance of about 2,500 miles from Bergen to Kirkenes and back, and stops at 35 ports along the way. It carries 490 passengers and the cost is $1,105 per person ($92 per day).

Another 12-day voyage is available on the Canadian ship, the N. Ranger, which sails 1,000 miles along the coast of Labrador stopping at 24 ports. This ship carries 83 passengers and the cost is $2,100 ($175 per day).

For example, if you would like to travel around the world by cargo ship, you have a number of choices. The German ship, the Contship takes 88 days and costs only $8,800. It leaves from New York harbor and visits Norfolk, Savannah, transits the Panama Canal, and then stops at Tahiti, Auckland, New Caledonia, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Jacarta, Singapore, Colombo, through the Suez Canal to Port Said, La Spezia, Marseille, Tibury, Rotterdam, Dunkirk, Le Havre, and then returns to a U.S. port. An around-the-world cruise on a luxury liner would cost twice as much and stop at less than half the number of ports.

Because of the growing popularity of this type of travel, it is wise to make reservations at least a year in advance. If possible, opt for a suite on either the starboard or port side of the vessel, rather than forward. Forward cabins face the cargo area, and the loading and unloading of the containers, which takes place during the night, can be extremely noisy.

If you want to learn more about container ships, see World Deep-Sea Container Shipping by Roy Pearson and John Fossey, available in most major libraries.

For a complete listing of available container ship cruises, get a subscription to Maris Freighter Cruises magazine at www.freightercruises.com.

ELBERT M. HOPPENSTEDT writes from Deerfield Beach, FL.