Traveling to Europe by boat

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 has regular crossings from NYC to Southampton, UK, and some to Hamburg & Le Havre. However, if you want fast and cheap by sea, good luck!

If you are flexible, you have many options. Most of the cruises lines have repositioning cruises in the spring and fall as they move ships between Europe in the summer and Caribbean in the fall. The rates can be very reasonable in the range of $100 - $150/day. Obviously, round trips are not available. And, as mentioned early there is limited, regular service between New York and Europe. I have of heard of some cargo ships taking a few passengers but you would have to have a high sense of adventure for that. Not sure I would want to bounce around in the Atlantic on a cargo ship. 'Cause you would bounce. If you cannot fly that is about your only other choice.

I found websites of a couple travel agencies specializing in freighter travel. From what I've read in the past, the passenger accommodations on the freighters that offer it are reasonably comfortable. Also, considering how huge most freighters are, I doubt they'd be more "bouncy" than a cruise ship. However, the cost may not be less than Cunard's bases fares on the Queen Mary 2. https://www.freightercruises.com/ http://www.travltips.com/

Frank and Will: Please note that the OP specifies FAST and cheap. Repositioning cruises are not fast, neither are freighters.

In addition to any responses you get here, look at Cruise Critic (the "800 pound gorilla" of cruise websites). They don't seem to have a trans-Atlantic cruise forum, so you might start with their general questions forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=114 I agree that "fast," "cheap," and "trans-Atlantic boat" don't mix well in the same sentence.

As others have said there are no cheap/fast transatlantic crossings by ship. QM2 is 7 days each way and cheapest fare I saw was about $1500 each way (so $3000 r/t - twice a normal airfare), not to mention you have to get yourself back and forth to NY. If you can't fly are you prepared for 3 night train ride across US before even embarking on the ship (more time, more $$). You can research freighters that carry passengers but they may not be any faster or cheaper and I believe their schedules are erratic. So you're looking at min 4 weeks even for a short time in Europe, hardly worth it. I feel for you, I really do. If I couldn't fly to Europe I don't know what I'd do because I couldn't afford the time or money for the train/boat.

Yup. Sounds pretty hopeless. I think it will be cheaper and easier to grow a new pair of lungs...

Fast. Cheap. Good. Pick any two. It's the iron triangle of life. Sorry.

Hi Sarah,
I have not travelled by freighter, but we are seriously considering it and I have done quite a bit of research on it. I have good friend who travelled on multiple freighters and loved it. It does take time, and the boats certainly do not have the "amusements" of a typical cruise ship, but my friend said the accomodations are actually pretty good. She compared them to "a standard Rick Steves recommendation, plus private bath." ha ha! Rooms on board generally include a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. Rates run 80E-120E per night, including 3 meals, which I think is pretty good. You must be able to manage a lot of stairs. There is a lot of helpful info on freightercruises.com in case you want to do more research.

Thanks, Angela. That's really helpful info! I'll check it out!

Go to VacationsToGo.com and look for their repositioning cruises. Most head for Europe and the Mediterranean the third week of April. They come back to the Caribbean in October. Barcelona is the biggest port for cruises. There is another set of cruise ships operating out of Southampton and the North Sea. The repositioning cruises are dirt cheap--2 weeks of rest (and food.)
Cruises are great ways to see many off he beaten path cities on the water in Europe, and they're very good values in travel.

Sarah,
I thought of cruising as a way to avoid some of the difficulties that regular flights present. They are wonderful, even if you opt for a less glamourous one. My warning is that if you are traveling alone, you might be subjected to a mighty high upcharge. Cunard (which just ended a great sale) doubles the cost, for example.

Well if you make this your once-in-a-lifetime trip you could do the following. It would be neither fast nor cheap. Cruise from California (say San Diego) via the Panama Canal to Florida. Pick up a transatlantic to say Rome. Tour Europe by train ending up in England. Cruise back to say New York. Train back to California. This route would take 4 weeks just to get to Europe, say three weeks there, 10 days perhaps back to NYC and then several days by train back to CA. Then there is the whole cargo ship route which a friend of mine did and had a great time (he is quite self sufficient). Pleasant accommodations and decent food. He really enjoyed the crew (well those that spoke English or Spanish). Cheaper and can be actually faster. Well, cheaper is a relative term.

Hi Sarah, I've done a transatlantic from Rome to the US and it was wonderful. Cruising is perfect for everyone, even those with physical limitations and you can do whatever you want or don't want to do. It is also a very economical way to travel. It does get a bit tricky in going both directions by ship as most TA's are in the spring or fall, but a few, mostly Cunard, goes other times of the year. NCL's Epic ship has single rooms so that might be very appealing to you. Since you are a cruise ship newbie, I would recommend talking to a travel consultant.

Love it! Yes, a once in a lifetime trip but what a thing to cross off your bucket list!

So, it seems "fast and cheap" has become "extremely slow and not so cheap".