Crossing the Atlantic as a passenger in a cargo ship

[Rob Lightbody]

This sounds like a fascinating experience!

I didn't want to fly – so I took a cargo ship from Germany to Canada
A slow boat across the Atlantic plus a scenic train home to Vancouver add up to a hugely enjoyable three-week trip

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/jan/07/cargo-ship-train-rail-to-vancouver-canada-low-carbon-travel-europe

[Clydebuilt1971]

There was a container feeder vessel mv Cervantes, a regular caller at Greenock Ocean Terminal, which offered trips on board as she made her way from port to port. She could only take a maximum of three pax.

I knew a couple of people who took a voyage on her and they loved it. They said the accommodation was excellent as was the food and general hospitality indeed one of them made it his annual holiday for a good few years.

Renamed Perceiver, Elevation and then latterly Haidar she was converted to a livestock carrier and sadly capsized and sank at her berth in Brazil in 2015.

Photo by John Newth shows her outbound from Greencok passing Cloch Point, River Clyde some time between 2000 and 2005.

Gav

[Chris Thompson]

When working in the Carribean during the late 80's I aleays liked to see the Geest ships, cargo and passenger.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Thank you for the link, Rob! That is the kind of travel which I would find so tempting…

[Andy Holloway]

My mother took a cargo boat from Bristol to Trinidad,  then another onto Georgetown in  British Guiana in 1938 to marry my father who was a missionary, she was aged 21 and had never been outside of Cumberland, let alone England!

On the first part of the journey  to Trinidad,  there were only 6 passengers, 4 men, my mother and the Captain's wife.

After returning to the UK in 1946 her 'overseas' travel amounted to 2 visits to my uncle who lived in Paisley, and a flight to Vancouver to visit one of her bridesmaids after my father died.

What she would have made of my life at sea on QE2 and the other 11 different ships I worked on!

[Tony]

When working in the Carribean during the late 80's I aleays liked to see the Geest ships, cargo and passenger.

There is a youtube video of this ship doing a transatlantic from the Uk to the Islands, called banana boat

[Rod]

In the early 60's, we travelled from UK to Kingston on the Golfito.
I was very young but never remember being bored!

[Ben Zabulis]

It is a different type of journey but no less enjoyable. We did it a few years back from Hong Kong to Southampton and great fun it was too ! Someone once wrote, perhaps a little unkindly, that one of the great things about cargo ship travel is there's no entertainment. In fact we soon realised that as passengers we actually became 'the entertainment' as crew and officers were delighted to have a couple of new faces to talk to !