Cargo can range from delicate fruits to heavy machinery to hazardous materials to household goods, etc. A container ship will typically carry thousands of containers which can originate anywhere in the world, so there is no way to know in advance what cargo will be onboard or picked up in transit. The only exception is with Mineral Shipping which requires the passenger to be unbelievably flexible and to also be prepared that the sailing may not happen. Children Generally children under the age of 13 are not accepted as passengers. It can be very difficult to coordinate connecting segments on freighters due to sailing date changes and the possible difficulties in keeping in communication while overseas.
Extreme flexibility is required to try to arrange such multiple voyages.
All items purchased on board are usually paid for in U.S. currency, cash only. Travelers checks, personal checks and credit cards are usually not accepted. Refunds policies in case of cancellations vary from line to line and will be specified in the Booking Conditions for that line. See Insurance Required . Deviation Insurance Deviation insurance is an insurance policy taken out by a shipping line to protect them in case the ship must deviate from its intended itinerary for any passenger related circumstance, and is considered part of the fare.