29

I would like to travel from France to USA (ideally New York) with a ship. I want to use a ship because I have a long-term flying phobia; I know this is the root problem that I should solve, but this will take some time, and I am not psychologically ready yet. Thus the idea of a boat ocean crossing, and also because it can be a beautiful journey on sea.

Are there solutions still available in 2017? Time is not a problem, I have 10 days if needed, or more. Super-luxury cruise ship with 5k$ budget is not an option for me. I thought maybe cargo ships, or even ships in which you have to work (busboy / catering)?

Which are the cities connected to New York via ship? Brest or La Rochelle?

Kate Gregory
  • 80,213
  • 14
  • 232
  • 333
Basj
  • 541
  • 1
  • 5
  • 9
  • 5
    I would recommend to use a ship instead... a boat is something small, and only an adventurer would risk his life going out on the ocean with it. – Aganju Jul 02 '17 at 12:25
  • 3
    See also https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/67908/how-can-i-go-from-europe-to-boston-by-boat-ship-in-exchange-for-work – Relaxed Jul 02 '17 at 12:31
  • 1
    You mentioned in comments that there are 2 other people. Have you thought about you traveling by sea and they by air? – mkennedy Jul 03 '17 at 01:21
  • 8
    @Aganju: not really. "Boat" covers any size of watercraft - it does cover small boats, but referring to a luxury cruise liner as a "boat" is fine. – Martin Bonner supports Monica Jul 03 '17 at 08:42
  • 1
    Maybe in German, @MartinBonner , but in the boat business you'll get only laugther for it. Google 'define boat', or talk to someone you believe that has some experience. – Aganju Jul 03 '17 at 10:54
  • 5
    @Aganju - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_freighter. "These vessels are traditionally called boats". Also, industry jargon is usually heavily disjointed from common use, in literally every industry. If someone heard me talking about programming they would think I had a seizure. – Davor Jul 03 '17 at 12:37
  • Do you have 10 days extra for each direction (to & from Europe), or 10 days extra for the whole trip? The former might be doable; the latter will be very difficult. Even at the height of popularity transatlantic passenger liners, the record crossing time was 3½ days each way, and most freighters today travel much slower than that (1–3 weeks for the crossing) for fuel efficiency purposes. – Michael Seifert Jul 03 '17 at 17:20
  • @MichaelSeifert I have 20 days for the atlantic crossing if needed (2 months summer holidays :) ). – Basj Jul 03 '17 at 18:45
  • The blunt answer is to just suck it up and book the flight. Commercial flight is the safest form of transportation there is, far safer than driving. You'll quickly come to fear the long lines and inconsiderate passengers more than the flying itself. Perhaps a sleeping mask and headphones would help you ease into it? – Pikamander2 Jul 04 '17 at 04:08
  • 1
    @Pikamander2 If only phobias were so easy to solve... – Basj Jul 04 '17 at 12:35

4 Answers4

28

You don't need $5k for a cruise. For example, http://www.repositioncruises.com/holland-america-repositioning-cruises/ has

2017 October 3 – 15-day Transatlantic from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, visiting Alicante (05), Malaga (06), Cadiz (07), Funchal (09) – prices from $1200 pp.

2018 March 28 – 14-day Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Rome, visiting Ponta Delgada (05), Malaga (08) Cartagena (09) – from $900 pp.

Getting to Rome from Paris is not hard if you time it well: Monday to Thursday there's a TGV (TGV 9247) leaving Paris at 9:41am arriving to Torino Porta Susa at 16:18 with the Rome train (ES 9575) leaving at 16:30. Note: some comments suggest 12 minutes is not enough. Perhaps leave more time; there are connections with ~an hour wait time. No matter what, I would plan to arrive to Rome a day earlier than necessary -- you don't want to miss your ship because of this or that.

Many websites will recommend a route changing trains in Milan but that require changing stations there which is a hassle. Driving this is 13.5-14 hours, yes, the train is faster, only 11:14.

Amtrak has direct service from Fort Lauderdale to New York twice a day, it only takes one forever, opsie, 26-30 hours depending which train you take. This is a 21 hour drive, net.

Community
  • 1
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Mark Mayo Jul 03 '17 at 05:19
  • 11
    Note that repositioning cruises only usually happen in one direction at a given time of year: the ships move to Europe for the summers and back to the Caribbean for the winters. This might make round-trip travel difficult. – Michael Seifert Jul 03 '17 at 17:09
26

Freighters are an option. It's not really cheap but should be cheaper than 5k$, perhaps around €1500 all-in. In France, Brest or La Rochelle are not usual departure points, Saint-Nazaire or, especially, Le Havre are better options. This answer to another question provides pointers to a number of agencies who can arrange a trip like that.

One thing to note is that travelling by freighter to the US means you need a visa, even if your citizenship makes you otherwise eligible for the visa waiver programme.

Relaxed
  • 106,459
  • 10
  • 231
  • 385
  • Do you think 2000€ for a 2-way trip is something possible? (France -> USA -> France) – Basj Jul 02 '17 at 12:48
  • @Basj Not with a freighter, no. You also have to have something like €300 for the visa, various insurances and harbour transfer. In total, maybe €3000 for a round-trip. – Relaxed Jul 02 '17 at 13:11
  • 1
    Hum ok, so pretty expensive for a 3-person family because of my flying phobia ;) Thanks for your answer @Relaxed! – Basj Jul 02 '17 at 13:27
  • 2
    Good point on the VWP angle. One could in theory avoid the US visa by traveling to Canada by ship and crossing the US border by train or bus. I do not know whether such a route would be available in practice, but it seems like one ought to be. – phoog Jul 02 '17 at 14:05
  • @Relaxed, I believe those freighter berths are surprisingly actually very expensive. – Fattie Jul 02 '17 at 16:05
  • @Fattie It's not a berth, it's a whole cabin and I just wrote about the price!? I wrote “perhaps” because I did not look up a specific one for that route, but I know it well. It is indeed more expensive than most people suspect, about €100 a day. – Relaxed Jul 02 '17 at 16:39
  • quite, I just meant berth in the most general sense. yes, often they (apparently) have surprisingly luxurious cabins. anyways your other answer is an article on it, good one. My guess is the OP won't find a cheap solution on a "cargo ship of some type". – Fattie Jul 02 '17 at 17:40
  • 9
    One note I have read with freighter travel (I've never done it myself) is that you have to be flexible and prepared for unpredictable changes. The ship may adjust its schedule, experience delays, add or remove ports, or even cancel altogether, because the primary purpose is to make a profit transporting cargo, and any passengers are simply an added bonus. When you'll get there, what kind of food you'll get, etc... are all simply out of your control. If you like traveling like that, then great, but if you really need to be somewhere at a certain time, it may not be the best option. – Zach Lipton Jul 02 '17 at 21:00
  • @Relaxed Can you cite a source for that crucial info about a visa being required? – Basil Bourque Jul 03 '17 at 00:39
  • @BasilBourque Not directly, that's what the agents told me. I believe this stems from the fact that shipping lines are not on the approved carrier list. – Relaxed Jul 03 '17 at 04:46
18

Another option is Cunard's Queen Mary 2, the only passenger liner with regularly scheduled service between Europe and the USA. You'll have to get yourself to Southampton by train, but the ship docks in New York on the other end.

While it is expensive, they have some special offers for fares on certain sailings between $649-$1049/person (assuming double occupancy, plus taxes and fees), mainly for inside cabins. The ship runs every few weeks (occasional special trips disrupt the schedule), and they go slow, so it usually takes seven days from Southampton to New York.

Zach Lipton
  • 86,274
  • 13
  • 271
  • 325
8

There are such travels offered, for example http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/transat.htm. Google 'transatlantic passenger sailings' for more.

They take about 8 days, and start around 135$/day, but other sites might offer cheaper.

Aganju
  • 28,631
  • 6
  • 62
  • 107
  • 1
    I found routes as low as $100/day. Subtract the cost of plane fare, and you're left with ten to fourteen days cost being similar to a cheap hotel cost. – WGroleau Jul 02 '17 at 19:07