Cabin comforts
We are indebted to one of our regular voyagers, Mary Sketch, for permission to reproduce extracts from her journals.
Many first time freighter travellers are pleasantly surprised at the generous
size of their cabins, especially if they have travelled in the often rather compact
accommodation of cruise ships.
Passenger accommodation is generally situated high up in the superstructure of
the ship, usually on a level with that of the Master and senior officers, below
the Bridge.
As a rule, cabins are outside, that is to say they have portholes or windows.
Depending on the design of the ship these may be obscured by containers –
allowing in daylight, but not offering much of a view. Very occasionally there
are inside cabins with no windows, but this will always be specified before booking.
All cabins on freighters are en-suite with their own private shower and toilet,
sometimes even a bath.
On many vessels, the double cabins (and sometimes the singles) are suites, consisting
of a separate bedroom, sitting room and shower and toilet. In standard double
cabins, there may be a separate sitting area within the cabin.
Cabins are often referred to as “Owner’s”, “Supercargo”,
“Purser”, etc. – this does not mean that you will be expected
to share your accommodation, it refers to the original designation of the cabins
which have been given over to passenger use.
Single travellers make up a large proportion of cargo ship passengers and on many
ships there are purpose built single cabins offered at the same fare as doubles,
thus avoiding the dreaded “single supplement”. On those ships where
there are only double cabins, these are usually offered for sole us for a reasonable
add-on of around 20% of the double fare.
The equipment in the cabins varies considerably from ship to ship, but soap,
towels, bed linen and soap are always supplied. There is usually plenty of drawer
and wardrobe space, there may be a refrigerator, television (not satellite), video
player, DVD, CD player, radio and internal telephone. Sometimes the cabin may
be more basic and uncarpeted, but this is usually reflected in the fare.
Almost without exception, all passenger areas including cabins are air-conditioned.
“My cabin consists of an en-suite bedroom (larger than my own at home), with fitted
wardrobe, bedside table and full-length mirror. There are storage drawers under
the wardrobe, under the bed and in the bedside table. I also have my own sitting
room (larger than the bedroom) with one three-seater sofa, one two-seater sofa
and a large coffee table. There is a fitted unit along one wall which has cupboards
for the fridge, a store-locker for my crisps and biscuits, two cupboards above
the fridge. Then there is a long desk with lamps and lots of plug points and the
internal telephone.”
