Customer Reviews

Freighter Odyssey - Around the World in 130 Days

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A great read about a fascinating journey. A once in a life time adventure that I felt a part of.

I very much enjoyed Dale's book, and how he presented his unique view of sailing around the world. Note that the book is a collection of short Blog entries in a diary format.

I worked with Dale several years ago, and when a mutual acquaintance told me about his trip, I started following his Blog posts. It's nice to have everything compiled into one book.

If you are interested in sailing without having to be herded into a cruise ship, then check out this book!

Full disclosure: I had the great good fortune to be Dale's fellow passenger from Singapore to Houston. He also generously sent me a copy of his book, so in many ways I am a biased reviewer.

That being said, his book is an excellent primer for anyone considering a freighter cruise. His details of his preparation are invaluable as well as his list of travel related resources. I wish Dale's book had been available before I started planning my own trip.

His daily narrative is great reading and provides a wonderful and succinct overview of what life aboard a modern freighter ship is like.

The trip was one of my best experiences and Dale captures much of what made it so special. The routine and mundane activities that define life on a modern cargo ship, punctuated by those exceptional moments that remind us of the romance and adventure of travel and exploration.

If you are considering, hoping, or dreaming of a freighter cruise, buy this book.

Wish I had known about these trips when I was younger! Man, they sound just like something my husband and I would loved to have done. This is a well written story that tells about a way of travel that is so much more than the usual "floating dinner/booze cruise" where you're packed like sardines and whisked around for a few days and nights to the "same old-same old" ports of call. This is an adventure with real "elbow room leasure". Also sounds like some really good food and interseting places not everyone sees. Not only was this a good story, but if you are looking for a great vacation, not worried about schedules, and have some time for fun, here it is! Pack a some casual clothes, load up your Kindle and book this trip!

This is nothing but the publishiing of a daily journal. Since the journal was being sent home by satellite phone each day it is very brief - about one paragraph per day. Everything is abbreviated with no explanation. For example, the sentence about stowaways reads... "The crew is usually able to detect a stowaway in a day and the method is very interesting." And???? Nothing else. This is a really useless vanity piece. I might have been interested in tracking where he was if I was a friend but either as a piece of literature or a really useful guide to traveling on a freighter it is pretty awful. I will say that he seems to be someone of narrow interests and tastes. If he has much interaction with the crew it doesnt get mentioned. And the brain-numbing days of passage just seem to go by for him. Glad he had a good time but don't waste even $2 on the "book".

The author offers a unique perspective on his 130 day around the world freighter cruise. His daily diary gives a brief window of life on the freighter from the view of a passenger. An easy read, I would recommend to anyone considering this type of travel.