By SeaIt used to be fairly straightforward to travel to the USA by sea. This was often cheaper, avoided flying for those who still feared this method of tempting fate, and enabled large amounts of baggage to be taken along at reasonable rates. Containerisation has undermined traditional freight services that provided such passenger accommodation. However, some travel by
freight vessels is still possible. Fortunately there is a Cadogan Guide
Travel by Cargo Ship (£10) which deals with 120 itineraries to 300 destinations worldwide, with details of companies and fares. Call Cargo Ship Voyages on (01473) 736265 for details of worldwide routes.
Only if you want a cruise en route and they offer you a good baggage rate (so you can take all your boxes in the hold) should you consider going over by
transatlantic liner. Some cruise liners bound for the Caribbean do go over to New York City first of all (to pick up the bulk of their passengers) so you might be able to find a place. Certain student families returning home from New York City to Britain have returned on vessels such as the liner
France just for the baggage allowance (with a glimpse of the high-life thrown in). Call Cunard on (023) 9263 4166 or (020) 7491 3930 for the Transatlantic Timetable, which contains arrangements for independent travellers. There is a Berlitz Guide
Cruising and Cruise Ships 2000 for about £17 covering worldwide information and advice, written by Douglas Wood.
Strand Travel on (020) 7836 6363 can arrange places on
cargo boats sailing from Thamesport to Montreal north of New York, Staten Island, New York, or Norfolk, Virginia, leaving several times each month. The trip takes 10 days and costs £995 per person. Leisurerail on (01733) 33559 can arrange
trains onward to US destinations.
If you want to go to sea and visit America you might consider working on a cruise ship.
By Air
The North Atlantic is the most heavily used long-distance route
anywhere. So the good news is that there’s plenty of flights. The bad news is that the fare structures are very confusing (even for travel agents!).
No summary can hope to do justice to the complex web of prices. Try looking at page 200 on Teletext for a sense of the range of travel possibilities and varied prices.
The main variations are:
- ordinary full price
- advance excursion booking (APEX)
- charter fares
- last minute deals
- economy airlines
- consolidator fares
- courier flights
- package tours
- round the world via USA.
Ordinary Full-Price Tickets
These provide great flexibility as any ticket is almost as good as money, being exchangeable with and between airlines. Tickets can be cancelled without penalty, and there’s a generous baggage allowance with good service. If your employer will pay for this, then well and good.
Who buys ordinary tickets? Those for whom money is no object and where flexibility is essential.
Advance Excursion (Apex)
These tickets are the most popular form of advance booking as they have a significant price advantage over full-price fares. Tickets must be bought some three weeks in advance (though sometimes this period is changed to meet market demand). Once into the three weeks period, though, no change of departure or return date is permissible (except at deliberately prohibitive cost). Single tickets (costing half the return price) are usually available, which is useful if you wish to return from somewhere else or at an unfixed future date on an ‘open jaw’ ticket. These tickets are increasingly sold as part of a fly-drive package,
where a hired car (but no accommodation) is included.
Who buys APEX? Those needing to trade off price for flexibility, and staying no longer than a year (maximum validity). If you know your dates APEX may well be for you.
Seasonal variations can be extreme. A September fare to Boston is £648, by October £482, down to £450 just before Christmas puts prices up again.