Job Discussion Forums

[thorpig]

I am looking to find a freighter company who will take me from the Canadian/American west coast to Japan this summer. So far, I have only been able to find one freighter going from Oakland to Tokyo which costs $1200, and I'm wondering if there are some Japanese freighter travel agents I do not yet know about who might have something else. So far, I have only been able to find a handful of agents by searching 'freighter travel' on Google.

More generally, has anyone done this before? I am totally unfamiliar with this practice, but it interests me because of its environmental and experiential advantages. The cost is a bit discouraging, but it does include almost two weeks of room and board.

[shuize]

Here's a thread on the off-topic China forum discussing freighter travel with a few links:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=52602

[DNK]

Where did you find $1200? I've been looking and seeing $1800+. Or was that not including all the extra fees/insurance?

If this was = airline, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[thorpig]

Thanks for the info, shuize.

DNZ: Try http://www.freighterworld.com/. The price is 850 euros one-way, but if the two of us shared a bedroom we could save 50 euros each! Moreover, I have a degree in mathematics yet I still fail to understand what you mean by 'If this was = airline'.

[DNK]

I meant if the cost of a freighter to Japan = X
the cost of a plane ticket to Japan = Y
If:
X =/< Y
Then:
Assuming p(n) = probability of me buying a ticket for (n) mode of transportation
p(X) = 1

In fact, if:
X =/< Y + 200
Then
p(X) = 1

But so far it looks to be almost double ($1600+ in addition to the trip to the port, since I'm in Iowa)!

[thorpig]

Yes, they mentioned an extra 200 euro surcharge among other little payments that would need to be made later. Given that I have found a flight for 600 and that my entry visa would probably not be ready by the date of departure, this is no longer a feasible option for me.

*sigh*

[JimDunlop2]