Taking a Boat to China

[Yuanyang]

I have an elderly relative that I'd like to take to China, but he can't take the long airplane ride. Any passenger ships from US to China outside of the 'cruise' packages?

[Randy W]

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?/topic/34526-alternative-means-of-travel-to-us-from-china/

[Randy W]

The first link doesn't work - may have been deleted in the big purge when Don left.

 

Another thread, with some quotes from the missing thread

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?/topic/37877-cargo-or-cruise-ship-from-china-to-america/

Edited May 24, 2012 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Yuanyang]

Thanks, it'll be a toss of pricing a cruise to Hong Kong vs. 1st class air to Shanghai or Beijing.

[dnoblett]

The days of the Ocean Liners are long gone, I believe the only remaining true ocean liner is the Queen Mary 2 and it does not make regular trips trans-pacific.

 

Some have indicated some container ships offer transport.

 

http://www.cargoshipvoyages.com/

http://www.flightlesstravel.com/plan/cargo-ships/

http://www.yearofnoflying.com/2009/10/crossing-the-pacific-by-container-ship.html

[Richard & Li]

I don't have any fear of flying, but the industry has turned it into a mostly unpleasant experience. So, I looked into traveling to China on a freighter.

 

From what I was able to gather, the cost would be considerably more than flying 'cattle class' and the availability is quite limited. This seemed to be especially problematic finding a ship from China to America after staying for a while. The system seems to be set up for staying with the ship, visiting the ports of call and returning to America on the same ship.

 

The accommodations looked relatively nice on the ships I saw pictures of. But, for people who cannot entertain themselves with a good book and an excellent ocean view, I think it might get a bit boring.

It would sure be interesting to hear from someone who has tried it.