Alternative to air travel to Europe?

Anne, I haven't but my mom did. A lot of cruise ships do repositioning cruises and cross the Alantic in the spring from the Caribbean .

She enjoyed it,, but found the 4 or 5 sea day crossing a bit boring.

Hi Anne,

I haven't done the trip either, but we have friends who've done three transatlantic cruises and loved them. You have to be a really dedicated cruiser to get excited about that many days at sea, but if you've tried cruises and love life on a boat, it sounds like it could be right for some folks. I believe there are cruises from Florida or NYC going to London or Barcelona, and probably other ports as well. A quick google search yielded this website, which might be a good jumping-off point:

http://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/

Good luck!

We have gone to and from Europe 3 times,each time by ship. It is a pleasant alternative to flying but it is time-consuming. The fewest number of days for a crossing that we have seen is 11,many are 14 days with stops in the Caribbean and either the Canaries or Azores. Most ships leave from Florida. A few from New York. A smattering from other ports and, as was mentioned above, also from Caribbean.

If you have more time than money, a repositioning cruise is a great idea for one leg of your trip.

Unless you stay the entire season, the return trip won't be a repositioning cruise.

I'm sure I'll do one someday but I'm still working and a 12 day cruise across the ocean (including some worthwhile stops) takes too much of my vacation time.

Repostioning cruises can be a good deal. The days at sea may be off-putting to less dedicated cruisers, but if you enjoy cruising and have the time, they can be fun and economical. The killer could be the return flight home on a one way ticket. We just completed a 16 day reposition from Seattle to Kobe, Japan. The roundtrip Columbus-Osaka fare I was quoted was $950; the one way return was $3000! We ended up cashing in miles for that ticket. I found similar prices last year when I briefly investigated returning from Italy by ship, but the $1200 RT became a $4000 one way. Is there a way around these exhorbitant fares? Are there repercussions for using only one leg of a RT? I'm guessing if you miss the outbound, the airline might just zap your whole ticket. I would be interested to hear what options there may be.

Anne, Cunard has regular transatlantic crossings from NY to Southampton, or Le Havre and sometimes Hamburg. Unfortunately, as you are in BC, it would be an expensive journey for you to NYC. Last week I saw an ad in a Toronto paper for a Cunard January crossing, 7 days, (first leg of an around-the-world odyssey) NY to Southampton, including air from Toronto and air from London to Toronto, plus all transfers, $2100 Canadian. Quelle aubaine!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I had looked at the Cunard line travel and after adding in the air fare and time to NYC, I realized it would be silly not to fly directly to Europe.

My hope is to find a "green" form of transportation because I travel to Europe every one or two years to visit family. Buying offset carbon credits offends my frugal nature, plus I suspect it might be the biggest scam going.

/www.freightercruises.com

About 8 days from the East coast( Charleston ) to Genoa. Very nice, roomy cabin, great food, bring a few good books.

"Buying offset carbon credits offends my frugal nature, plus I suspect it might be the biggest scam going."

I tend to agree. May I suggest you fly and then donate money to an environmental charity or volunteer to plant trees, something of that nature? (no pun intended)

Russia, China, Brazil and a hundred other countries do not worry about being green or carbons.

One way around the round trip - one way dilema is to buy a round trip where the first half of your leg is home then don't use the second half.

The only potential problem I see is customs wondering why you are returning to Europe in a week or two. I'd probably just be honest and say, "I'm not. I took a repositioning cruise to Europe. The one way ticket home was $3,000 and the round trip was $750, so I bought the round trip."

"One way around the round trip - one way dilemma is to buy a round trip where the first half of your leg is home then don't use the second half."

This sounds risky as it would violate your "contract of carriage" with the airline. I'm not sure of the consequences, when you didn't show up for your return flight.

"I'm not sure of the consequences, when you didn't show up for your return flight."

You could be blacklisted by the airline, or they might try to charge your credit card. One way around it is to make sure you've booked on two separate airlines, but so many are partnered/merged/codeshares this is a somewhat risky strategy as well.

Thanks for the input. We have always been apprehensive, and for many of the above reasons. I might just call the airlines and ask outright...perhaps if I disguise my voice?

Don't think by taking a ship you are any greener then flying.

Are cruise liners a viable alternative to flying

According to that article they produce more carbon per passenger mile and you are creating A LOT more waste on a 5 day trip then you would on a 8 hour flight (food waste, people waste, etc.).

I am all for being green, but I am against green washing.

Of course you can do RT airfare and only use the first leg. Things to watch out for here are making sure there aren't any more legs after the one you miss or they'll cancel the ticket (depending on the airline), but when I was at college it was way cheaper to buy the RT and just use the first leg. Most airlines have a 30 day limit on RT travel so this was the best way for us to work around the semester schedule.

I've skipped a last leg of a ticket as recently as 2005 with no negative result.

Rumor has it the airlines are becoming especially picky about it.

I don't see how they could be too upset, however, if you call and cancel your return ticket after you are home. Maybe it forces them to do special reporting to homeland security.

Using half of a roundtrip ticket: just make sure you call and cancel the second leg before your flight date. Then you will have a credit for rebooking later.

If the ticket is nonrefundable, you will not get credit for a future date unless you fly that exact route. You can change the date of a ticket with a penalty fee but you can't change where you go.

Anne,

You should get accurate information regarding the RT but only use 1 leg plan. Bad info from several posters here. Certainly well meant, but not correct.

The whole point of my query was to avoid flying all together because I simply hate the 9+ hour flight. I am tall and mildly claustrophobic; sitting for over 9 hours is torture.

Considering you're on the west coast...here's a suggestion....

Train across the country to Halifax. Fly Icelandair to Reykjavic (4 hours) layover in Reykjavic. Fly to London (3 hours).

ON return you could do the same or schedule your trip to coincide with a transatlantic crossing to New York where you again would train home.

Unless you are willing to stay in Europe for an extended time, at some point you'll have to fly. Perhaps numerous stops along the way will break up the trip and limit the claustrophobia.

My post of 11/17/09 also suggested Cunard but took note of the fact that Anne lives in B.C. on the other side of the continent from Cunard's departure and arrival port of New York City. She particularly wants to avoid long flights, due to the physical discomfort and her mild claustrophobia. She is also concerned with her carbon footprint. I personally see no solution unless she can overcome at least two of her three objections to flying.

I tend to agree with Norma. Claustrophobia can be controlled via medication and/or counseling, and there’s first-class or business-class options for much more legroom and comfort.

Oh, and I’m not sure there’s enough scientific data available to suggest that one form of transport is more eco-friendly than another. Shipping is responsible for producing a lot of CO2, as most of the world’s goods are transported via shipping. And, I agree that buying carbon offsets sounds intriguing but may be a scam. You’re probably better off going out and planting a few trees in your yard if you want to offset the pollution from your flight.

What a good idea! I never thought of drugs. Believe me, my claustrophobia is pretty mild -- elevators are manageable if they are not crammed.

The Cunard is expensive and time consuming but when you consider that the price includes bed and food with transport, it is not bad. Although it is hard to see much of Europe if you spend most of your time underway. Wonder why they take so long to make the crossing? One of positioning cruises was only three days long from Caribbean to England.
It is a lot of fun reading your replies. Thanks.

Unless you’re reserving a suite, standard staterooms on a cruise ship are pretty small. Does that bother you? I mean, they’re bigger than an elevator, but still. Wouldn’t you have enough room in the first-class cabin of a major airline? They have flat beds for crying out loud. And, wouldn’t it be better to get there in hours instead of two weeks? Is your concern tied more to a fear of flying than to any discomfort you may have due to your height and/or claustrophobia? How tall are you? I say (not intended in a mean way), suck it up and get on the plane. You said you travel to Europe every 1-2 years...how have you been getting there?

Anne, which ship takes only 3 days from the Caribbean to England? That seems almost impossible to me.

For the money you are spending on a ship, you could book a business class seat on an airplane and have much more room.

How have I been getting to Europe? Flying, of course. I used to travel on Zoom Airlines and was able to upgrade from regular, ie cramped, to business class for about $200 extra per round trip. They also allowed the purchase of long legged seats for an extra $60 per leg. They were a decent airline but they went bankrupt and are now gone. Sigh! After a brutally expensive experience with a charter airline, I travel, now, with KLM which has been a varied experience, with usually good food and service, but again the seats are jammed in there. Cost is not the only consideration. We paid over $2500 for a couple to fly with KLM from Vancouver to Amsterdam in October. An upgrade to business class at the airport was going to cost us $300 each per leg plus points. Might have been a good idea, now I think about it, but I decided to suck it up and hope it wouldnt be too bad.----
My interest in alternative travel to Europe springs from being miserable on a plane, as well as beginning to see that air travel will become restricted to the wealthy population and the desperate. Leisure travellers are going to need alternatives to air travel.----Sorry, I cant remember which positioning cruise was three days, I was probably mistaken.--- Oh yeah, I am 5 foot 10 and consider my height average for the human species and not very tall for a woman. But that isn`t the point -- how do we get to Europe when air travel becomes restricted for whatever reason?

Swim?

From the various posts and replies from Anne herself, this message may not be relevant. in the event, however, that someone sees her question and is wondering about this very issue, let me say that a transatlantic crossing is delightful-- if you have the time and the money. My family and I have crossed three times (once there and back and last year, just to Southampton; we flew home) aboard the Queen Mary 2. I completely enjoyed watching the wide, sweeping open ocean, day after day (a favorite moment was when an announcement came from the bridge, "The closest land is two miles away-- straight down!"). On one crossing, we had some bad weather and instead of ruining the whole thing, it made the crossing seem even more adventurous. Again, if you have the time and money, it's a grand way to travel. And, I would add, that after spending months and months planning two extended trips to Europe, it was nice to have six days to lounge on a deck chair and wait for tea time. Depending on the time of year and how far ahead you plan, you can find some deals. Or, iif you are brave enough to wait until the last minute, you can get really good deals; I met several women, all solo travelers, who booked last minute fares which were very reasonable.

Hi Anne. For a person travelling from British Columbia in Canada to Europe, I agree with Michael and John : Travel in airplanes, in the Business Class or First Class section. Your seat there can recline to a horizontal position. I know that is expensive, but it would not cost more than travelling in a ship across the Atlantic Ocean. I, also, have a tendency to feel clausterphobic, but I do not have that kind of feeling in a large airplane, "coach section", if I am at a seat at an aisle..
I would suffer from clausterphobia in the lowest priced room in a ship. Those rooms are very narrow, the room does not have a window. And if a room has a window (not a balcony) the window can not be opened, thus I would fear that the air quality in the room is bad (low amount of oxygen), especially in a room located near the bottom of the hull in a ship. And, in some trips by ship across the Atlantic Ocean, there is fog all day, for 4 or 5 consecutive days. The passengers stay inside all day. That is not enjoyable.