How long does it take a cargo ship to travel from San Francisco to Hawaii?

Answer 1

There are many merchant ship companies that take 8 to 20 passengers as well as freight on their merchant ships. The usual reasons for travel by merchant ships are: less organized activities, so if you don't care to socialize with large numbers of tourists, or have many activities to entertain you, this might be for you. Usually, they have good food, comfortable cabins, and a minimum of bureaucracy. The major drawback---it is a freighter, not a cruise ship. They are slower and sometimes older vessels. They may take longer to get where you are going, or may be delayed for days at one port or another, as cargo is loaded or unloaded.And freight is their priority, not passengers. They may be smaller ships without the stabilizers that make the seas a little less choppy in bad weather.

How long would it take from San Francisco to Hawaii? No way to tell, because the ship may stop at ports in Southern California (Los Angeles, San Pedro, San Diego, etc.) or Mexico, or even Central America , before they arrive in Hawaii. Or they may go directly--in about a week to ten days or so. You can get a general idea from theshipping company; but the time is only approximate, and that is usually spelled out in the ticket.

Another problem is that many of these cargo ships are of foreign registry. The crews and the ship may be Panamanian, Liberian, various oriental nations, Eastern European, or other countries. Although there are international requirements for seaworthiness, and the US requirements for safety if they land at US ports, the ships may vary in quality and dependability.....(i.e., may be slow, or may be subject to various types of delays.)

Having said that, ....several friends of mine have travelled by merchant ships, and enjoyed themselves throughly. They entertained themselves, watched movies on DVD's, read as many books as they wanted., ate good food with the ship's officers..the ship even had a small pool on the cabin deck. So, if you know what you are doing, you can have a great time!

Source: yahoo answer