Imagine embarking on a two-month ocean adventure to some of the most storied and exotic places on earth: from Hamburg through the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, across the bottom of Asia to ports in South Korea and China, and back! Or from Savannah, Georgia, across the South Pacific to Australia and New Zealand! The world of maritime commerce unfolds before your eyes in bustling ports and historic sea lanes. Aboard ship is a small group of passengers who become part of the shipboard village, mingling with the ship's officers and crew in their floating home away from home, reminiscent of the days when merchant ships carried a few paying passengers from port to port.

In Vacation Adventures on a Cargo Ship, Adrian Peetoom recounts his voyages aboard the container ships Ville d'Aquarius and Sydney Star. Adrian and his wife, Johanna, had long been fascinated by cargo ship travel as a way to journey to foreign ports at a much more reasonable cost than the trips offered by large cruise ship companies. After Adrian retired from his publishing career, the couple embarked on two voyages. What Adrian and Johanna experienced will fascinate armchair travellers and those who may be interested in investigating container ship travel for themselves.

Peetoom's love of the sea informs his narrative, which is in many ways a spiritual, as well as a physical, journey. He reflects on his maritime heritage, instilled in him as a child in his Dutch homeland, and on the significant role his country played as a colonial merchant power.

Vacation Adventures on a Cargo Ship includes an appendix with helpful tips and booking information for those readers inspired by the book to make further inquiries about container ship travel.

Adrian Peetoom is a Fifth House Books author.

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