I know you said you don?t fly, but since I have an uncle who recently
overcame flying, I thought you might consider it since it is by far
the cheapest route across the pond.
And air courier flights are by far the cheapest, especially if you can
fly at any time and can limit yourself to carry-on. There are various
links, but here is a big one.
http://www.courier.org/
All sea voyages are going to be expensive because of the amount of
time (i.e. food and fuel) that will be required compared with jet
travel.
I?ve looked in to freighter travel before too, and it is so expensive
simply because many of their crossings take more then a month.
Offhand, I can?t reminder what the average transatlantic crossing
times are, but this factor still causes the high prices you?ve been
looking at in freighter and cruise travel.
So, you have two options (discounting air travel):
1. Apply as crew on a private yacht, boat, or even cruise ship. There
are various services which will try and place you in a position, such
as:
http://www.crewfinders.com/ But, unless you have prior experience, you
will have to seek out the more competitive entry-level, novice
positions. It is best to think of a way to sell yourself, like maybe
looking in to photographer positions on transatlantic cruise ships.
(a dangerous option would be to look in to NW fisherman, who may be
able to connect you to people fishing along the northern route).
Important to consider is that you can not illegally pay many of these
smaller boats to take you, because they will not hold a Coast Guard
passenger license. You can either work as crew (i.e. work in some
capacity while onboard) or contribute your share of fuel, supplies,
etc.
It would be best to talk to various people around your local ports and
post your notice on the various message boards, Internet or otherwise.
You could also ask them what it usually costs to do a transatlantic
crossing, how many people go, and then decide if you could afford to
contribute an adequate sum to justify your lack of experience.
Because, honestly, I read all the time about people wanting to be on
such crews, and as inappropriate and unsavory as it maybe, I?ve heard
cute girls without experience also do seem to have an advantage in
getting positions.
2. You could find a job with a company or organization that would be
willing to pay your way in exchange for work when you arrive. This is
an even more complicated route, and mostly based on what skills you
can offer that can?t be provided by people already in Europe.
Here are two sites that provide work/volunteer opportunities around
the world, they do not claim, to my knowledge, to offer to pay for
your travel, but they may be a good starting place to begin thinking
of what people might be looking for, or for idea of what you might do
when you arrive.
http://directory.travelerjobs.com/tjc/index.php
http://www.vfp.org/
I am curious to see what the experts on this site say. |
