- Time of past OR future Camino
- Via Gebennensis (2018)
Via Podiensis (2018)
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Camino Del Norte (2018)
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This is from an Australian newspaper, dated 2015:I have read multiple accounts of enjoyable trips on cargo shops and I've never seen an account of a bad one. Unlike on cruise ships.
Let me refresh your memory.Anyone able to recommend an American travel agent who specializes in such exotica?
@oursonpolaire
Getting to Baie Comeau would be the hardest part of that journey. Beautiful area. The drive east of there to the end of the road is spectacular.
Did your freighter cabin have it’s own head?
Great story! Where did the pilot sleep?I took a now-expired local airline from Montréal to Hauterive, just across the river (there's apparently a very Byzantine tale about why the bishop's see was at Hauterive, then later moved to Baie Comeau), and a taxi to the hotel (le Manoir, built to accommodate Iron Ore of Canada executives, including a former prime minister) as the alternative at the time were rooms above a bar, frequented by mill workers.
I had the pilot's cabin; bathroom with shower, bunkroom with two beds, and sitting room with sofa, easy chair, desk and table. Breakfast (German) was brought to me at 8 am, as was coffee with biscuits at 10 am and 4 pm; lunch was on a tray in my room (beer or wine available) but dinner was taken with the officers. All hearty north German food. The only excitement was that the cook went berserk and attacked the captain with a knife-- he was put in the brig for the remainder of the journey and the food improved greatly, courtesy of a Caboverdean sailor, who had considerable kitchen skills. While many years ago, the price was C$180.
Great story! Where did the pilot sleep?
@Albertagirl
I caught a repositioning ship out of Barcelona into Miami, in mid November 2012. It was a brand new ship and I paid extra for a room with a balcony; worth every cent.
@NorthernLightI caught a repositioning ship out of Barcelona into Miami, in mid November 2012. It was a brand new ship and I paid extra for a room with a balcony; worth every cent.
Vancouver to Murmansk? Do you mean Vladivostok or another port on the Pacific? My friends did it the other way around in the '80s but I think that Vladivostok was closed to Westerners at that time. They had to get off at Khabarovsk and fly to Tokyo.As an alternative go overland: I've suggested to a friend in British Columbia that she catches a boat from Vancouver to Murmansk, Trans-Siberian Express to Moscow, train to Berlin, train to Paris, train to Biarritz.
She hasn't responded yet.
We have had a great zoom meeting with Australia, New Zealand and Europe pilgrims today (thank you again @ivar !), and one of the topics that was talked about was how to get to Europe from Australia without getting into a plane.
As a former travel agent, and the father of one, I have dealt with repositioning cruises to Europe from Australia, or from South East Asia, and I am in fact booked on a cruise leaving Singapore early March 2021 and arriving in Tilbury (London) on 16 April 2021.
An alternative to a cruise is to get onto a cargo ship, as opposed to a cruise ship, and sail to Europe. The key thing is that you need to be flexible as, for example, ports of call can be changed, and the trip duration may vary. Note also, and this is important to pilgrims who enjoy the vino tinto on the Camino, some cruise ships do not allow alcohol on board...
You must also be aware that there may only be basic medical first aid on board, as there might not be a doctor on board. You will need to have yellow fever injections. And some cargo lines will set an upper age limit.
To book, you need to go through a specialist travel agency. I have only ever found one in Australia, and it is: https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/
Read all the details, as you may find out that it might not suit everyone's idea of cruising.
Otherwise, consider a repositioning cruise, or a segment of a round the world cruise, both which will provide comfort, entertainment and possibly a slightly more interesting itinerary.
Cheers
Andrew
Woops! Compass way out of whack! Murmansk was where my father-in-law was in a prison of war camp in 1940/41 and nowhere near Russian East Asia!Vancouver to Murmansk? Do you mean Vladivostok or another port on the Pacific? My friends did it the other way around in the '80s but I think that Vladivostok was closed to Westerners at that time. They had to get off at Khabarovsk and fly to Tokyo.
In terms of cargo shipping, I would guess that there might be more chances to sail from Vancouver to Dalian to connect with the trans-Manchurian Express than there are to the Russian ports. (Failing that, I'm sure you can easily find room on a ship from Vancouver to Shanghai and then take a train to Beijing to connect with the trans-Manchurian). No harm in asking what the options are, though.
What an adventure!!!!!In 1960 our family took an American cargo ship from Bayrout, Lebanon to San Fransisco, California. Along the way the ship stopped in 10 different ports. We stayed in each long enough to load or unload cargo. This varied from 3 weeks to 1 day.
On board ships there are two classes of crew, officers and others. Passengers are treated the same as the officers. Officers had separate eating areas from the rest. We all had single or double rooms. My sister and I had single rooms and my parents had a double room. All rooms had a private bathroom with a shower. My parents room has a port hole, my sister's and my room did not.
The "rules" in 1960 were that ships could carry passengers if they were limited to 12 passengers without having a doctor on board. After 12 they had to have a doctor on board.
One of the nice things was that we got to know the officers. When we got into port they would tell us what was there and help us get started on exploring, or not, the port. The ship did not stop in dock areas that had a lot of tourist stuff. Typically there would be a few taxis that would be willing to drive us around. Identifying "better" taxis was helped by the crew. There were no preplanned trips around the towns.
The ship's captain has a lot of control as to what he permits to happen on his ship. The captain on our ship allowed us passengers to buy soft drinks, cigarettes and alcohol from the low cost untaxed port stores. My parents always had a nice before dinner drink. My sister and I didn't. Alcohol consumed on the ship was what my parents, and the other passengers, bought. The ship provided no alcohol, etc.
A significant feature of traveling by cargo ship, is that their primary job is the cargo, not the passengers. This means that the timing of arrival and leaving a port may not be what you might want. For example we wanted to get into San Francisco by going under the Golden Gate Bridge in daylight, but the ship got in in the dark of early morning so that they would have the most time to work cargo on the day shift.
The passenger cabins are often called "Owner's Cabins". If my timing allows it I would definitely go again. Reading this over I find that in some places I write room when I meant cabin, sorry.
Anyone able to recommend an American travel agent who specializes in such exotica?
I returned from a camino on a repositioning cruise. If you skip the formal dining room and go instead to the cafeteria in off hours, avoid the crowded pool area and chose any entertainments with an eye for social distancing, I’d think the risk could be minimized. Perhaps not as fun, but if it is a mode of transport, keep your eye on the goal and self-entertain.
The "rules" in 1960 were that ships could carry passengers if they were limited to 12 passengers without having a doctor on board. After 12 they had to have a doctor on board.
My parents used to go by cargo ship from the US to Guatemala where we lived and I still live. They thoroughly enjoyed it but that was eons agoWe have had a great zoom meeting with Australia, New Zealand and Europe pilgrims today (thank you again @ivar !), and one of the topics that was talked about was how to get to Europe from Australia without getting into a plane.
As a former travel agent, and the father of one, I have dealt with repositioning cruises to Europe from Australia, or from South East Asia, and I am in fact booked on a cruise leaving Singapore early March 2021 and arriving in Tilbury (London) on 16 April 2021.
An alternative to a cruise is to get onto a cargo ship, as opposed to a cruise ship, and sail to Europe. The key thing is that you need to be flexible as, for example, ports of call can be changed, and the trip duration may vary. Note also, and this is important to pilgrims who enjoy the vino tinto on the Camino, some cruise ships do not allow alcohol on board...
You must also be aware that there may only be basic medical first aid on board, as there might not be a doctor on board. You will need to have yellow fever injections. And some cargo lines will set an upper age limit.
To book, you need to go through a specialist travel agency. I have only ever found one in Australia, and it is: https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/
Read all the details, as you may find out that it might not suit everyone's idea of cruising.
Otherwise, consider a repositioning cruise, or a segment of a round the world cruise, both which will provide comfort, entertainment and possibly a slightly more interesting itinerary.
Cheers
Andrew
two words "Golden Ray"We have had a great zoom meeting with Australia, New Zealand and Europe pilgrims today (thank you again @ivar !), and one of the topics that was talked about was how to get to Europe from Australia without getting into a plane.
As a former travel agent, and the father of one, I have dealt with repositioning cruises to Europe from Australia, or from South East Asia, and I am in fact booked on a cruise leaving Singapore early March 2021 and arriving in Tilbury (London) on 16 April 2021.
An alternative to a cruise is to get onto a cargo ship, as opposed to a cruise ship, and sail to Europe. The key thing is that you need to be flexible as, for example, ports of call can be changed, and the trip duration may vary. Note also, and this is important to pilgrims who enjoy the vino tinto on the Camino, some cruise ships do not allow alcohol on board...
You must also be aware that there may only be basic medical first aid on board, as there might not be a doctor on board. You will need to have yellow fever injections. And some cargo lines will set an upper age limit.
To book, you need to go through a specialist travel agency. I have only ever found one in Australia, and it is: https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/
Read all the details, as you may find out that it might not suit everyone's idea of cruising.
Otherwise, consider a repositioning cruise, or a segment of a round the world cruise, both which will provide comfort, entertainment and possibly a slightly more interesting itinerary.
Cheers
Andrew
Haha, at least the front didn't fall off on that one ;-)Golden Ray
ha ha. My brother did the £10 Pom back in 1964.I can just imagine an Aussie arriving at Tilbury asking for his £10 back.
When I was in the RAF I spent 3 weeks on HMS Ocean, those Matelots are weird, speak a different language and have no sense of humour. It put me off cruises and all in holidays for life.Cargo ships! What a wonderful idea! I must look into it.... I crossed the Atlantic (Mayport FL USA to Malaga Spain) by ship in 1978, courtesy of the US Navy and that was no vacation, I can assure you.
Anyone able to recommend an American travel agent who specializes in such exotica?
A cargo ship out from Australia to Europe can be rather expensive
My post-camino, repositioning trans-Atlantic cruise was 13 days with a day in Las Palmas and a day in Malaga. Nine were uninterrupted sea-going days. There was a walking track around the upper deck perimeter, a library, and some activities you could join or ignore. It was blissful. It was important to ration your portions at the buffet.Your post set my imagination awiggle
Come back on a cruise ship from spain..think its 14 days on the ocean to get back
14 days to re adjust to the old life with new pespectives..rest the feet..quiet time with all the "new" inside
Imagine having had time to come down before the madding crowds draw undue attention from the totality of experiences.
And doesnt look too bad on tickets either?
I wonder, has anybody demanded that refund?
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