YVR Cockroach

IME, it was included in the fare. Some lines add it (~$250). Read the contracts and T&C. Hopefully in there somewhere. I hope you don't have to buy it separately as I doubt too many insurers will want to sell it. It is the extra cost of sailing the ship to some point where you can be air-lifted off.

YVR Cockroach

Websites of lines offering cruises

Hamburg Süd

CMA-CGM. Here too.

If you can read French, this travel site has a searchable database of many types of cruises, not just freighter ones.

RoyalSwazi

My father used to be a chief engineer and the line he worked for would pay for air tickets once per year for the family to join. As my mother was a teacher with a long summer holiday We got to cross both the Atlantic & the Indian Ocean, sail panama & suez and experience exotic locations like pointe noire, Singapore, lome +++. Back in those days most crews were still Norwegian, and sometimes other families would be onboard as well. Since many of the crew were family men (there were a few women too) my brother & I would become "surrogate kids" for the crew. We had the run of the ship from the bridge to the engine room. The steward would let us raid the larder for sweets & soda, the cook would let us "help" in the galley and we could even honk the horn. Also remember painting the deck and once the ship was switched the engines off the coast of west Africa so they could lower the ramp for some maintenance. We all helped - no life vest offered though. Ships break down more often than you think which often led to longer port stays perfect for exploration. I had my first visit to a nightclub at the tender age of 5, and when we got back to the ship the elevator got stuck and my dad & the electrician had to climb up the escape hatch to get it going again. There were lots of social events, from barbecues to ship's olympics. Lots of great memories, but these days very few will be able to experience it. These days many ships arrive in the morning and leave in the evening, many terminals have been moved out of city centres, crews are smaller. Back in those days it wasn't unusual to stay in port for days either because load/discharge was slow, cargo wasn't ready or breakdowns.

I highly recommend going - and it's a great thing to do with kids too!

BamaVol

http://www.latimes.com/travel/

I don't know if this link will take you there directly or you have to do a little searching, but there was a very interesting LA Times story about a half cruise ship - half freighter, the Aranui 5 that calls on a half dozen South Pacific islands. It looks a lot like the best of both worlds.