The steamship to England took between 12 hours and five days, depending on where it sailed from in mainland Europe. First- and second-class berths were located above deck, third-class in the 'tween decks, and general wares and merchandise in the cargo hold.

Many migrants would be very seasick on the North Sea crossings, especially in the winter months when the sea was rougher. Illness and death were frequently reported on arrival in the Humber, and the younger the emigrant, the greater the chance of disease or seasickness.

The fortnightly reports of the Port Medical Officers of Health who policed Britain's Port Sanitary Authorities record the medical condition of immigrants, and the vessels that brought them from Europe. They show how many suffered from conditions such as seasickness, cholera, typhus, smallpox, or, in an example from the SS Romny (owned by DFDS of Denmark), a fractured left clavicle. Reports for each port medical authority are deposited at provincial archives.

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