Crossing the Atlantic Without Flying

[Teebs]

I know someone who, for various reasons, refuses to fly but wants to visit New York in March (from the UK). I was wondering if anyone knew of realistic alternatives to flying? I've looked at Cunard's transatlantic cruises but they are surprisingly infrequent and non-existent in March. Anyone have any other suggestions?

[Zaune]

Lots of sea traffic goes that way, and a surprising number of freighters take paying passengers. A company called Strand Travel specialises in this kind of thing. It's not as expensive as you might expect, but still more expensive than flying.

[Thanas]

Yeah, freighters are the best bet. My brother's freighter did carry a lot of passengers.

[K. A. Pital]

Cheapest one-way two-week trip one can catch from Barcelona, it's around $500, the line is called "Holland America Line". Real cheap IMO. I wouldn't bother with taking a freighter since the route is damn well served.

[Zaune]

You've still got to factor in the price of getting to Barcelona from wherever in the UK this person happens to live, though. Without flying, you're looking at -optimistically- another $500 for the train tickets. Plus you'd probably have at least one overnight layover, meaning a hotel and cab fare there and back and probably a load of other expenses. By the time they've paid for all that they're probably only saving ten, fifteen percent compared to what the company I linked are charging for the trip direct from Southampton to New York.

[Korgeta]

Really the best way is flying, I know that's an issue for your friend but the alternative is to go by cruise/freighter and none are cheap, if your friend is interested then they'll have to take into account notable increase in expenses, and deal with other possible complications (such as missing the ship back)

[Teebs]

Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated. I was vaguely aware of the possibility of freighters, but hadn't properly thought about it. That looks most viable in the circumstances.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Freighters can be expensive, and until you actually spend a long time amount on a ship it is hard to realize just how fucking boring that stretch of time can be. It is not a fast means of travel. And often you might end up with nobody to talk to - for insurance reasons, passengers are generally restricted to relatively narrow parts of the ship. You can't just wander around as you please.

[Zaune]

That's a point, actually. From Strand Travel's description, travelling by freighter would be a lot like being confined to a small but moderately well-appointed motel with no TV or Internet for several weeks.

Personally I think that sounds quite appealing, but I can see how it might not be for everyone.