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

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

Where Houston is, and what it handles

Houston sits on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, in the city of the same name. The port works petrochemicals, containers, steel and project cargo.

Houston sits 50 miles inland up a dredged ship channel, and the transit past the refineries is one of the more striking approaches on this list.

Which lines carry passengers from Houston

Only a minority of cargo lines take passengers at all, and which of them calls at Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston

From Houston the scheduled trades run to northern Europe, the Mediterranean and Latin 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 Houston move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want.

Getting to Houston

The nearest airport is George Bush Intercontinental. From there, Houston, Amtrak Sunset Limited. Plan to be in Houston 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 Houston

Can you travel by cargo ship from Houston?

Yes — Houston handles petrochemicals, containers, steel and project 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 Houston 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 George Bush Intercontinental, then continue to the quay — Houston, Amtrak Sunset Limited. 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 Montreal — the other North America option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Baltimore — the other North America option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Charleston — the other North America option on the same trades.
• North America freighter routes — how Houston fits the wider picture.
• Read about freighter voyages in the Mediterranean.
• Read about what shore leave is like in port.

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