Sorry I shouldn’t use the word cargo
What I was trying to exactly mean:
To pay € 350 you must be onboard as passenger, and your bike will be considered as accompanied luggage. Is what normally is call Ro-Ro (roll on, roll off)
If not, they are telling you… will go with a forwarder in a normal crate inside a container, with more people and red tape included. Of course, paying normal shipping prices like with any other maritime line. Also local charges at both sides can apply.

That is for 5 weeks travel, 60 euros a day for 3 meals and lodgings isn't so ridiculous is it, If you take 900 euros out of the figure for the air fare you're not paying for it comes down to 35 a day, include the 1000 you're not paying to crate and fly the moto home you're practically travelling for nothing :)

Cheers
Pete

Ok I get it, price will be different and not as RoRo.
And yes it doesn't seem that ridiculous... I thought it was more like 3 weeks travel.
Damn, 5 weeks on a ship seems like a lot of time !
I will consider it.

The way we justified the cost was to look at the total cost of the 2 options we had.

1. Ship the truck as cargo, pay for flights, hotels (for a MONTH while waiting for our truck, meals for a month etc. PLUS - An unknown of port fees, customs fees, Stevedoring fees, storage fees etc.

or

2. Go with the truck on the ship, and have a known total price. As we live in the truck full time, we didn't have another place to live cheaply waiting for the boat.

In fact, we compared notes with a guy who flew and shipped his truck, and our costs for that whole month were way less than his. It was cheaper to go with it! And yes, we paid 2k+ per person to go on board.


HOWEVER: If you do decide to ship it and fly, then you are not limited to Montevideo.... Montevideo is the only port where they will take on "passenger accompanied vehicles".

This is good info, thanks !

So the fees (port, customs etc...) are different if it is shipped as Cargo or if it is Ro-Ro ?

No port fees on Ro-Ro :D

During our 5 weeks we disembarked at 6 different ports and I think the ship was berthed for a total of 10 days.

HTH
Pete

Exactly!

My last outbound trip took forty days, but they flew by. Your fellow passengers will be like minded folk (six double cabins = ten others at most), the Filipino crew will be great guys - be sure to befriend the stewards and cook, you might even be invited to the karaoke sessions in their lounge! However the Italian officers bring to mind Allo Allo ........

Regards, Mick

Well, it does seem like a long time. But it passes really quickly, at least it did for us.

We did 2 blog posts on the trip on the boat, they may help convince you one way or the other :-)

Freighter Cruiser Grand San Paolo – a look inside | Moglander's Travels

Moglander on the High Seas | Moglander's Travels


I think recently the "craic" on the ships has toned off, or maybe we just had a "square" crew, but it was still good. I would do it again.

Merv.

Just reading about your little routine make me want to travel on the ship !
It does seem like a good option. I wouldn't mind working on that kind of boat though, as to pay for the trip.

I don't think you can "work your passage" any more. :frown:

But then you mean to tell me that those are really the prices offered for traveling with them ? (2100 euros for the cheapest cabin). It just seems like a lot of money.[/QUOTE]

Four weeks of food and wine 3 meals a day with a good Italian chef. Plus time to chill out and visit ports every 5 days, shore leave to buy interesting foods and wine for the in between times. To celebrate crossing the equator on the bridge with champagne. Watching sunrises on deck mid Atlantic with flying fish skimming the waves. Time to catch up on books, movies, studying, maps, language, planning? Not worth 2100 euros? Sorry I find some people hard to please. And yes I did come down via Grimaldi. And would do it again.

Do not take this the wrong way, the person hard to please was only asking for info, and obviously did not know the facts of a trip like this.
And as mentioned, thought at the beginning that this was for 3 weeks travel, which makes $100/day, which is a certain budget to travel on a cargo-ship.

As you can see with my previous post, now knowing the facts I have changed my mind about this, and I actually just met a couple who traveled with Grimaldi and loved it.

Is that figure of Euros 2,100 being discussed above a per-person price or the total for two people? I'm looking at the Grimaldi site now: from Europe to Montevideo (and to Zarate, too, I'm not sure) costs 1,735 per person in an inside cabin.

That's per person. Though I'm not sure if it's one way or return.

The Grimaldi option is growing in its appeal.