MCC516

Thanks again John,

Yeah the trip to the dock is certainly more dangerous... especially with a South Korean cabby, those guys are crazy :p But all good advice and I will certainly keep it all in mind. I did read a few accounts from previous passengers, and while I'm not sure if the officers will all be the same, it did seem like they were a pretty entertaining group of guys.

It's encouraging to know the amount of space on the life boats is so high, meanwhile in my time on the magic I always wondered with so many people on the ship how we would all manage to make it to life boats in an orderly manner (make note this is when I was in the sixth grade, my mind has always kind of thought in the worst case scenario) so only having 2 dozen or so on board seems like it would be an easier situation to manage (not to mention easier to realize someone has gone missing)

I've decided to go for it, truth is I don't think I will have this kind of opportunity again for a long time. As it seems most people have to wait until they are retired to have the time to do something like this and I'm lucky enough to be 25 with the time and money to go for it so might as well :) I'm sure my girlfriend will post about our journey on her blog so I will be sure to link to it when she does so anyone interested can see how the trip went.

Thanks again to everyone.

Thanks John,

Yeah I realize mother nature is unpredictable and any attempt to guess the weather I'll get will be just that, a guess. I just wasn't sure if there was an average I can expect for that crossing and that season. I know I'm not sailing out dead in the middle of typhoon season at least though ;)

I've been told by a few people who have done freighter cruises on both smaller and larger ships that a vessel the size of the Baltimore should remain fairly stable but that a roll would always be noticeable due to the lack of stabilizers and this doesn't really bother me, one compare what they experienced to riding a train and that happens to be where I can get the best sleep. In any case we have loads of seasick meds and ginger gum and tablets.

I offered to fly my fiance home, and frankly I think she would much rather do that but she swears she's sticking by me if I do this... guess that's love for ya :) She's fine one dramameine (sp?) But said it knocks her out so she would just sleep most of tge trip. I found a non-drowsy kind and we're going to try it because I think if she was awake and not sick she would enjoy it as she keeps up a travel blog and this would make for an interesting entry.

I guess my last question, and I've done a lot of research into the matter is what people think of the relative safety of this kind of voyage. In relative terms it's not a long time to be at sea (like john's 40 years!) But I just want to make sure I'm keeping myself and my friends out of danger the best I can. From what I read most issues on these vessels are related to personal choice or work hazards rather than the safety of the vessel itself. Luckily none of us are heavy drinkers and we're generally have good sense when it comes to safety. In any case I'm excited about the adventure :)

Thanks, admittedly it's not just the flying issue attracting me to this trip, I could probably get over it. But Freighter travel in general seems intriguing to me. My main concern is weather I can expect due to my fiance's sea sickness.

Hi, I've been lurking these forums for a while but this is my first time posting.

So basically my story goes like this. My fiance and I are in South Korea where we came to teach English. I had always been a nervous flyer but I was never one of those "Oh my god I'm going to die" the moment the door closes types. Well when we got to Korea, that all changed. All of the sudden I could not imagine getting on a plane again, it was just terrifying (bit of a rocky 16 hours of flight here going over the North pole). Naturally when you are 7000 miles from home (in my case Maryland) this can prove to be bit of a problem.

In researching ways to get back I found out about freighter travel. I have only cruised once, 5 days on board the Disney Magic in 1999 (loved it!) and have taken ferries a few times for trips which lasted several hours. So I said what the hell and went ahead and booked passage on the Hanjin Baltimore sailing from Busan to Long Beach in the end of March (most likely to change to early April as the ship is dry docking in January). The lack of entertainment doesn't bother me as I spent most of my trip on the Magic hanging out in my cabin drawing and playing gameboy or being up on deck watching the ocean go by anyways... the shows don't really appeal to me.

I guess my question is, am I being crazy? Am I avoiding 10 hours of anxious flight for 11 days of anxious sea travel? I know weather patterns are unpredictable but does anyone know what I could expect in the Pacific around April? I don't have a seasickness problem but my fiance does, I know people say that after 2 or 3 days it goes away but I just worry about her (amazingly she didn't hesitate to say she would go with me and meanwhile my Best friend from back home has offered to go along and is quite looking forward to it.) Meanwhile I would prefer not to die if possible :p.

I am a writer and a week and a half of relative solitude sounds pretty sweet to me, but as my experience in the open ocean is limited at best I guess I am a bit nervous since I don't know what to expect and was just wondering if anyone here had any advice they could give me. At this point my only options for getting home are this, or being put into a medically induced coma to get on the plane. I have to make a decision to pay the rest of my fare by Jan 5 so as time has come closer to make a decision I have gotten more nervous about making it. Any advice would be appreciated.