Freighter Travel from Melbourne: Routes, Lines and What a Berth Costs

Freighter travel from Melbourne puts you on a working cargo ship with a cabin, three meals a day and no entertainment programme — and takes you to Asia without boarding an aircraft. This is what sails from Melbourne, what a berth costs and how to join the ship.

Where Melbourne is, and what it handles

Melbourne sits on the Port Phillip Bay in Australia, in the city of the same name. The port works containers, cars, bulk liquids and refrigerated cargo.

Melbourne is Australia’s busiest container port and the approach runs the length of Port Phillip Bay, a passage of several hours before you reach the berth.

Which lines carry passengers from Melbourne

Only a minority of cargo lines take passengers at all, and which of them calls at Melbourne changes from season to season as rotations are redrawn. That is the single thing most people get wrong when planning a voyage: a line that carried passengers here last year may not be running the route this year.

A freighter carries between two and twelve passengers. There is no tender, no second sitting and no alternative if the ship is full, so the practical constraint on freighter travel from Melbourne is availability rather than price. Tell us the month you want and we will tell you which ships have a berth.

Where you can sail from Melbourne

From Melbourne the scheduled trades run to Asia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.

What it costs

A berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and the fare is full board: a private cabin with a window, usually with a separate sitting area, and every meal. There is no cheaper class, because there is only one standard of passenger cabin on a working ship.

Against a flight it looks expensive. Against a cruise of the same length it rarely does, and almost nothing is extra once you are aboard — bar drinks and the occasional port fee, and that is the list. Fares from Melbourne move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want.

Getting to Melbourne

The nearest airport is Melbourne Tullamarine Airport. From there, Southern Cross. Plan to be in Melbourne the evening before your sailing date: cargo ships bring their departure forward as readily as they delay it, and a ship that finishes loading early will sail early.

Who can travel

There is a doctor on very few freighters, so most lines set an upper age limit around 79 and ask for a fitness-to-travel certificate above about 65. Deviation insurance is required — it covers the cost of putting the ship off its route in an emergency, and no line will board you without it. Children are accepted by some lines and not others.

Questions people ask about Melbourne

Can you travel by cargo ship from Melbourne?

Yes — Melbourne handles containers, cars, bulk liquids and refrigerated cargo, and some of the lines calling here carry a small number of passengers. Berths are limited to a handful per sailing and are usually booked months ahead, so availability rather than price is the real constraint.

How much does freighter travel from Melbourne cost?

A freighter berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and it is full board: a private cabin, every meal, and no second class. Fares move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want rather than working from a published table.

What is a freighter cabin like?

Larger than a cruise cabin and plainer. You get a private room with a window or porthole, a desk, a bathroom and usually a separate sitting area. There is no entertainment programme, no pool attendant and no wifi worth the name — which is the point for most people who choose it.

How do I get to the port?

Fly in to Melbourne Tullamarine Airport, then continue to the quay — Southern Cross. Lines normally ask you to be in the port city the night before sailing, because a ship that finishes loading early will sail early and it will not wait.

Read next

• Freighter travel from Auckland — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Fremantle — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Cape Town — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Southern hemisphere freighter routes — how Melbourne fits the wider picture.
• Read about how long an Atlantic crossing takes.
• Read about cruises you can reach without flying.

Ask us what is sailing from Melbourne — tell us your month and we will tell you what has a berth.