Can The Prices Of Freight Travel Ever Beat Airfare

[alison]

I love this site and hopefully it will help me find a way to travel by freight and maybe you guys can help me with this.

I recently discovered freighter travel and I really want to travel by sea because I've never done anything like this before. However, I've found it to be very expensive, especially compared to airfare. Last year when I graduated from college (I'm 23) I went on a round the world trip (by air) through US - Europe - Middle East - South Asia - Southeast Asia - Australia - Southeast Asia - Middle East  - Europe - US. The airfare was about $1900 and I took a plane the entire way.

I guess I've just been surprised at the costs of travelling by freight, especially when compared to the lower costs of my round the world trip I took. Am I just not using the right websites and resources? Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I understand that when travelling by freight I wouldn't have any other costs, such as lodging/meals, etc. I think the previous trip cost me about $3,000 in total, but I was on a budget.

I have been looking at routes through Baltimore, Maryland because I live in Northern Virginia and it is only 40 minutes north of me.

Any thoughts our ideas would be greatly appreciated    

[Steve]

Alison

Freighters are always more expensive than flying.

Ask yourself this. How much does an around the world cruise cost? A lot more than the $1900 you paid for your airfare.

Why? Because a flight around the world is about 48 hours of flying time - the cruise is a 3 month all inclusive vacation.

The only accurate way to compare the cost of freighter travel is to compare it to the cost of a cruise of the same duration - by this measure it is much cheaper - especially for a single cabin

[alison]

I guess I could compare it to the cost of a cruise. However, I see a cruise and freighter travel as different, you pay a premium on a cruise for the luxuries a cruise offers. I do not think that the same people who enjoy cruises also go on freighter travel - am I wrong?

For me the allure was not travelling by sea but travelling on a working industry boat and that experience. When I first discovered freighter travel it seemed like it would be similar to budget travel, not stripped of all luxuries but not luxurious.

I guess it is something I will have to look into later in life and for now I will have to travel by land...

[lunamara]

You might do a lot better pricewise on a repositioning cruise ship. Of course that is a totally different experience than a cargo ship. One thing to factor in when figuring expenses, is time. At now well over $100 a day plus the insurance, freighters are not the bargin they used to be. The extra expense is for the adventure!

[lunamara]

For example, I did Houston to Lisbon, 13 days good ports includind Azores for $670. last year. I did it to catch my freighter    which was far more expensive per day.