Wow, Iris, you're really pushing your English to the limits! Respect! I had to look this up. I know berth as both a sleeping bunk and a mooring slip for a boat but apparently this is a ticket for a voyage by ship. If it was his sleeping place, it would have happened after going aboard. It's probably related to that, though. The ship is called Edinburgh Castle, it arrived from England, he bought his ticket, boarded, the English came later and they took off.