# Hop a slow boat to China

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 10, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843 "2005-07-10T14:02:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843/1 "2005-07-10T14:02:35Z")

</div>

Seriously, is this less expensive than flying? And do big cargo ships actually carry passengers at all? Or is this a total movie invention?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843/2 "2005-07-10T14:15:11Z")

</div>

Here’s a staff report on the origins of the saying: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mslowboatchina.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mslowboatchina.html)

Yes, some cargo ships carry passengers. Personally, I’d love to tale a trip on a merchant ship. Modern freighters these days can be quite comfortable.

[Internet guide to freighter travel.](http://www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo/mainmenu.html)

More info: [http://www.itravelnet.com/transport/water/freighters.html](http://www.itravelnet.com/transport/water/freighters.html)

Plus, there are books on the subject if you’re really interested.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843/3 "2005-07-10T14:29:12Z")

</div>

Oh - and the costs. Here’s a page with some hefty world cruises:  
[http://www.freightercruises.com/](http://www.freightercruises.com/) (special discounts link - left side)

According to [another site:](http://www.freightertrips.com/guide/costs.html)

> [@](#):
>
> The cost of a freighter cruise is calculated on the basis of a daily rate, with most voyages priced between US$80 - US$120 per day.
> 
> The daily rate charged by freighters is much cheaper than ordinary cruise ships, which usually charge around US$200 - US$400 per day.
> 
> Although the daily rate is cheaper, you need to bear in mind that freighter voyages tend to be much longer than regular cruises. This means that a freighter cruise will usually cost more than a typical 1 or 2 week standard cruise vacation.

It goes on to explain the different costs associated with different types of fares, taxes and insurance. It seems to be at least as convoluted as airfare pricing, if not more so.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843/4 "2005-07-10T16:35:58Z")

</div>

Cool! I just might try this someday. I’ve always wanted to travel, and \*where \* is not hugely important.

But I’d have to check out the ones devoted to real shipping to save any money at all. It’d be too expensive any other way. In fact, some of those fares they advertise were enormous!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hop-a-slow-boat-to-china/311843/5 "2005-07-10T16:42:10Z")

</div>

It’s more expensive than flying.