On arrival in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Hamburg or Rotterdam, the emigrant would be greeted by a variety of Yiddish-speaking agents selling tickets to Britain, America, Canada, South America and South Africa.

The migrant heading for Leeds and Manchester via the Humber could cross from Europe to Grimsby on steamships run by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later the Great Central Railway). Those crossing to Hull could use the Wilson Line, the Hull & Netherlands Steamship Company, the Holland Steamship Company, the Argo Line, DFDS, or the steamships of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.

There was a hostel at Grimsby docks, and once the emigrant city was built at Veddel, migrants from Hamburg had accommodation at both ends, a 'comfort' not always available on other routes - hence the greater popularity of the Grimsby crossing.

For each ticket sale, the agent earned himself a fee: the longer the journey, the bigger the commission. Those with more money usually paid more for the same class of travel as those with less. 'What do you have? ...That is just the correct amount for travel to Leeds!' would often part the poor migrants from their hard-earned roubles.

The standard of comfort differed very little between competing shipping lines. Most passengers had to share cabins, with men sleeping separately from women and children. Three meals a day were included in the price of the ticket, and in most cases some kosher food could be found. The ships that sailed from the North Sea ports offered better comfort and cleanliness than the cattle ships carrying emigrants from the Baltic ports of Libau and Riga.

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