Freight Cruise Travel

In ages past, the great transatlantic and transpacific ocean liners were all the rage. After all, there was no other way in the days before plane flights that one could cross the ocean or travel around the world. Even when airlines started to become successful the great ocean liners were still popular. But, all eras come to an end and, in time, these great ocean liners were retired do to lack of interest. Yes, there are cruise ships a plenty. But the days of using a ship to travel around the world have become a thing of the past. Or have they?

Anyone who has watched an old B-movie is probably fairly familiar with the cliche of the stow away on a freight boat who volunteers for duty. This was, the adventure seeker could see the world by conning the people in charge of a great freight ship into joining their journeys. These days as well belong to an era that is no more. Haven't they?

Well, while no one will accept a work for passage deal, quite a few freight ships will take on a passenger if the passenger buys a travel tickets with them. Yes, while they are not all that well known, freight cruises have grown in popularity in an amazing fashion in the last decade. The idea of visiting anywhere in the world in any manner one sees fit appeals to those who will enjoy the comforts and the fairly reasonable tickets prices of a freighter ship cruise.

For those unfamiliar with what a freight ship does, it is no different than a tractor trailer that one sees on the road. Freight and cargo are loaded upon the ship and then transported from port to port where drop offs and pick ups occur. It is not uncommon for a freight ship to be at sea for three or four months in a row, making several overnight stops in ports all over the world.

Some of these freight ships have a cabin or two that they are not using and they offer their cabins as a place to stay on the boat while one travels to a multitude of destinations (or even just one destination, depending on how long one wishes to stay at sea). Meals are also included as part of the trip which makes this quite a fabulous deal.

Is freight passage inexpensive? Freight passage usually runs $75-$100 a day. This is not a bad deal. Considering that three meals a day and a hotel room can run $200 a day and the hotel is traveling across the world. Booking a freight travel trip is kind of unique as most destinations are one way tickets and one will need to purchase another ticket on another freight cruise to get back home. (If one decides to return at all, that is!) Because there is quite a number of freight liners that accept passengers and the fact that each freight ship is following a different path across the world, one can create a wild adventure comprised of several composite tickets that will result in bouncing the traveler all over the planet!

For those interested in this type of travel, the website http://www.freighterworld.com/ is a great place to check out for news, information, bookings and articles. Freighter World is not the only site, however, as there are many others out there providing valuable information as well. In fact, when one takes all these sites into consideration, then it becomes fairly obvious that freight travel is far more common and popular than one would think. It is, however, far more popular with college age adults than with families. Perhaps this type of travel, since it suits the adventurer, attracts young males traveling solo a lot? Maybe. But it is a form of travel that can be enjoyed by anyone looking for a fun traveling experience.

Looks like the days of the great cruise liner traveling across the world still live. And, mercifully, because of the nature of what a freight cruise is, this type of trip will always be an intimate experience and not one that a person would have to share with a hundred other vacationers. Hopefully, freight travel will never suffer the poison of over-commercialization and stay such a wonderful little secret.