GRIMALDI Freighter cruises with cargoholidays. Essentially, you are paying a cargo vessel to transport you along with whatever they are ferrying across the sea, usually containers these days, although some multi-purpose ships still survive and you can sail from the USA and Europe to China and Japan in a heavy-lift ship or from the Great Lakes to Europe in a grain carrier. Imagine having your own 100,000-tonner for just five passengers instead of the 5,000 that a similar-sized cruise ship might carry – many of the new container ships that serve the Far East from Europe and from California are now in this category for GRIMALDI Freighter cruises. Passengers on freighters are mainly retired and early retired people who can afford the time (it takes about a day of sea travel to cover the same distance as an hour of air travel). There are also many returning students, relocating executives and their families, and people who are simply tired of air travel. Cargo vessels usually take no more than 12 passengers along, as by international safety regulations, ships carrying more than 12 passengers on international voyages are required to be constructed and equipped as passenger ships See More. The shortest passages are of course Transatlantic and these vary between eight and twelve days each way, while a voyage can be made around the world in between 80 and 120 days in GRIMALDI Freighter. A trip from Marseille to Cape Town could take up to 25 days. If you are looking for even shorter passages there are trips offered in Europe crossing the North Sea or sailing around the Baltic Sea in between 5 to 10 days in Freighter cruises. The freighters sometimes call in ports on the way, to load or unload cargo with GRIMALDI, which can take from 12 to 36 hours. You will need to have all visas for these stops in your passport to be allowed to travel. It does mean though that you are able to spend some time on land See More.
Typically, you will have a small cabin and access to crew facilities, such as lounge, mess hall and common areas. Dinner is usually served along with the ship’s crew. On some German ships, there are actually cabins that include both a day room and a bedroom, as well as en suite facilities See More. All freighter cabins are outside rooms except on Grimaldi Lines, who also have inside cabins. With most travel agencies, passengers receive cabins which have both shower and toilet. Single travelers really benefit as single supplements are usually limited to between 10% and 25% about GRIMALDI Freighter cruises with cargoholidays(compared to 50 to 100% on cruise ships) and some ships have single cabins that are sold at the same fares as the double cabins about GRIMALDI Freighter cruises. Wine, beer and spirits are available at duty free prices in GRIMALDI Freighter(cruise ships now charge shore prices), and on French and Italian ships table wine is included with lunch and dinner for GRIMALDI Freighter cruises with cargoholidays in Freighter cruises While many travel books mention ferries across the Caspian Sea, these are actually cargo ships and on such you will be required to bring your own food and it is best to bring some bottled water too. On such ships, plan to bring more than you would need for the time specified with GRIMALDI, as ships can wait up to a week to enter ports.
Grimaldi freighter cruises with cargoholidays. At its simplest, a freighter cruise is just that: a journey on a ship the primary purpose of which is to transport cargo. Passengers can sail on working vessels that can accommodate only up to a dozen people (the maximum allowed without having an onboard physician), and are expected to share basic facilities with the officers and crew. Alternatively they can choose to cruise on a combi-liner (also known as a passenger freighter or deluxe freighter), which is designed to carry hundreds of passengers in addition to cargo for freighter cruises. (These types of ships were commonly used for long-haul travel until the 1970s, when the advent of containerization combined with cheaper airfares made them all but obsolete for Grimaldi freighter cruises with cargoholidays.)
The majority of freighter cruise lines like Grimaldi freighter cruises with cargoholidays operate year-round, so you can sail almost any time you please. Exactly when you travel depends on your budget (obviously fares are pricier during the destination’s tourist season), weather preferences and tolerance for crowds. For example, the weather in French Polynesia in Grimaldi freighter, where Aranui 5 sails for freighter cruises, is least humid in July and August, but prices are also higher and available cabins are fewer since there’s a large local festival in July, and August is when most French take their summer vacation on Grimaldi freighter cruises with cargoholidays. There are similar freight cruise lines operating along the coast of India, in Indonesia and along the Chinese coast, but maritime historian Peter Knego warns that they are a “far cry” from what cruisers will find on Aranui 5 and RMS St. Helena in terms of amenities, food and service. Such freighters, he said, are suitable only for the most adventurous and low-maintenance travelers on Grimaldi freighter. Why would I do that? The benefits are many. Fewer people are on board cargo cruises: On average, freighters take between one and 12 passengers; any more and they’d have to bring along a doctor. Plus, the cargo ships often port in less-touristy locales, not just overrun hotspots. In the case of a cargo cruise, it really is about the journey and not the destination.
