Information on crossing the Atlantic

As of November 18, Grande Brasile

Catering

The food is very plentiful and intended for sailors who have to work hard all day. The Filipino chef is not really used to preparing European food. Twice a day we got meat with super small vegetable portions. Definitely nothing for vegetarians. Only after a complaint from us after two weeks a different side dish than overcooked fried potatoes have been served. The alternative to this dish was then overcooked pasta and sticky rice. All meals are most likely ready at least one hour before the official mealtime and are therefore always cold. The captain told us that he had a budget of € 5.70 per passenger per day. Looking at the price we have to pay per person, that is not very understandable. It is advisable to take food, that you like to eat from time to time, with you and also prepare it yourself if possible. We were also invited by the captain to cook ourselves, but the chef would not appreciate that. From other travelers we have heard, however, that the chef enjoyed these kinds of actions and that the food on other ships were much better.

Water

There is plenty of water on the ship. You can shower properly and do not have to be very economically with it. The water we use is treated in a vacuum plant from seawater. The water is according to the engineer not suitable for drinking, but not dangerous either. There is far more hot water than cold, as the water is heated by the cooling water from a heat exchanger. For drinking enough still mineral water is available.

Electricity

Since the ship’s generator produces enough electricity, power is available at all times and sufficiently. With Schuko and Europe plugs and all the devices can be connected at any time for loading. There are sockets in all cabins. The Chief also offers connecting the vehicles to “shore power” or “boat power” from time to time to charge the batteries of the vehicles. It is also possible in the harbors to run the engine of your vehicle itself.

Money

You do not need money on board. Depending on the captain, there are little things to buy, usually alcohol. These amounts are always in USD and you have to pay in cash.

Accommodation

In advance we were advised that we are on a cargo ship and not on a passenger ship. Although our accommodation is large for a cabin, since we have booked the owner’s cabin, which has a sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom. The quality of the facility and the cleanliness, however, correspond to an aging youth hostel in a developing country. The upholstery group is so dirty that we only sit on our towels. It is eighteen years old and was obviously used heavily. The price for the cabin, however, is more like a upper class hotel. The price-performance ratio is an absolute impudence. The windowless interior cabins though are much cheaper, but the price-performance ratio remains modest. According to Grimaldi’s description, the owner’s cabin is cleaned daily (like the officer’s quarters) and the linen is changed weekly! We only get a super quick cleaning once per week and new bed linen after complaint, if we ask intensively. Towels are not available always as it has so little that our towels must first be washed before you get some again (the same). We therefore wash them ourselves.

Internet

The captain organizes in the first port in Brazil for all who want SIM cards with 1GB of data for 20 USD. This is extremely convenient and lasts until we reach Montevideo.

Visits

According to Grimaldi, you can walk anywhere on the ship as a passenger, unless the captain gives other instructions. We have experienced that as well. Although the parking decks are not accessible to passengers, we were always able to ask the Chief if we could get to our vehicle and that was always granted. A crew member has accompanied us each for security reasons, great! During the work on the deck on which our vehicles were parked, we were able to keep watch in the ports and protect our vehicles from thieves.If time permitted, the captain has organized shore leaves for the passengers, in our case e.g. in Rio.The visit of the engine room with explanations of the chief engineer was very impressive.Except during complicated maneuvers, we could at any time visit the bridge and fire questions to the guards.

Entrance and exit from the harbor area

Access in Antwerp

Before you can drive with the vehicle into the harbor, all passengers traveling on the ship, must go to the immigration office (the building is labeled “Police”).The address is:Antwerp Schengen Immigration OfficeKauwenstein (between Boudewijnlock and Van Cauwelaertlock)2040 Antwerp, Belgium,
Tel: 0032.3.546.07.30N51° 16.652 ‘ E4 °19.924

There you get a stamped document you need for embarkation.For the document to be created, the ship must already be in port.At the latest, however, this must happen 6 hours before departure of the ship. The authority is open 24 hours (including weekends).Then you can drive directly to the port terminal (Haven / Kaai 1333, at Grimaldi). It does not need additional papers, you drive directly to the barrier and submit the papers to the employee there. He then explains where the ship is exactly. On the port area pedestrians are forbidden. Getting out is only allowed with a safety vest and definitely highly recommended given the many movements in the harbor. The watch officer in front of the ship welcomes us and leads us to our cabin. The vehicle can be parked itself once the Chief has assigned the location.If you are shipping your vehicle without being on board, we recommend installing a rev regulator. The drivers turn up the cold engines at full throttle until the necessary pressure is reached.

Exit from the port in Montevideo

Once the ship is completely unloaded, the person responsible releases the cargo. The nice lady of Grimaldi’s local agent accompanies us to the customs control for the vehicle and the passport control. Everything is done in about an hour. Customs was generous and just wanted to check if our vehicles really were motorhomes.We did not have to make any further payments.

Laundry

On board are a washing machine and a tumbler. The times when the passengers and when the officers are allowed to wash are fixed but are not really kept by the officers. Nobody bothers about it. Washing powder is available.

Security

During your stay in the harbors it is an advantage to be able to guard your own vehicle. That was always possible in our case, and the chief even preferred that. On the cabin deck, we felt very safe. Due to the good contact to the crew a theft in our cabin or on our vehicle was unthinkable. On the other hand, on another deck all saddlebags of a Harley Davidson were dismantled. We also saw how a pile driver made a video of the entire load and possibly forwarded it to someone at the next port. Also on our deck there were always many official vehicles and dockers who had nothing to do there, all of them just watched the Charge.

Take along on board

Photos and videos to show and watch
Long-lasting favorite foods (such as wholegrain bread or sweets, etc.)
Aperitif
Reading material
Board games
Take your own camping chairs with you