This was a cost-saving way to travel the world. Then Covid changed everything

In our roundup of travel stories this week: the reality of living on a permanent cruise, the travelers visiting some of the world’s most notorious destinations, plus how the pandemic nearly killed off cargo ship tourism.

For centuries, cargo ships have welcomed paying passengers, making freighter tourism a niche but enduring industry.

The golden age of voyages on board tramp steamers and banana boats was the first half of the 20th century. However, right up until the Covid pandemic, there were still half a dozen major players booking passengers on cargo ships going to remote ports of call.

For aficionados, it’s a way to visit off-the-grid destinations untouched by mass tourism and to experience the romance and adventure of life onboard a working vessel.

Most of the pre-pandemic operators are no longer in business. Covid-era health and safety issues put an end to many, combined with enhanced onboard security at a time when warfare and piracy are making the seas increasingly dangerous.

Options may have dwindled, but there are still alluring cargo ship voyages on offer, to destinations such as Namibia, Iceland and French Polynesia. Companies such as Aranui and Neoliner Origin are even expanding their cargo-passenger services.

Australia has long been popular with backpackers and young people looking to see the world and pick up casual work. However, the government has announced a dramatic cut in the number of working holiday visas, from 31,000 to 5,000. To have a chance chance, visitors will have to pay hundreds of dollars to enter a lottery-style ballot.

The government says it is about adjusting the intake to favor skilled migrants, who are seen to bring more value to the country’s economy. But not everyone is happy about it.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Japan has been experiencing a tourism boom, with record numbers arriving in recent years. The number of people settling down for longer-term stays, including work and study, also hit an all-time high last year.

However, a series of tightened immigration policies imposed by the Japanese government has made some foreign residents wonder: Is it time to say “sayonara”?

Here’s a selection of content for CNN subscribers. The residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey launched in late 2024, after a bumpy start and no shortage of drama . By the time retired schoolteacher Sharon Lane joined the “forever” cruise in June 2025, however, most of the initial operational challenges had been ironed out and she was excited about a life permanently afloat.

CNN caught up with her after her first year had passed to find out if reality matched expectations and how she and her fellow passengers were faring.

There are even more unusual ways to explore the world than living on a cruise ship or traveling alongside cargo. Earlier this year, CNN talked to travelers choosing to vacation in war zones, radiation sites and volatile borderlands.

The trend is known as “ dark tourism” and it has two distinct strands: people visiting countries classed by other nations as dangerous, such as North Korea, Afghanistan and Haiti, and those going to places where notorious events happened, such as Jonestown in Guyana or Cambodia’s Killing Fields.

Our streaming subscription service CNN All Access this week expanded internationally to Canada and the UK. In his CNN series “Parts Unknown,” Anthony Bourdain visited lesser-explored destinations around the world. Take a look at this episode from 2013, when he journeyed to Libya to see how the country was faring two years after the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi.

These are the 25 places National Geographic thinks you should visit in 2027.

A protest movement. A Washington makeover. A new iPhone era.

What do you remember from the week that was ?

The diving vacation that went horribly wrong.

A fun trip turned into a 13-hour fight for survival.

“Cake sheds” are Britain’s new obsession.

And they’re popping up everywhere .

本周的旅行故事汇总：永久邮轮生活的真实写照、前往世界上一些最臭名昭著的目的地的旅行者，以及疫情如何几乎扼杀了货船旅游业。

几个世纪以来，货船一直欢迎付费乘客，这使得货船旅游业成为一个小众但持久的产业。

20世纪上半叶是货轮和香蕉船航行的黄金时代。然而，直到新冠疫情爆发前，仍有六家大型航运公司在前往偏远港口的货船上预订乘客。

对于爱好者来说，这是一种前往未受大众旅游影响的偏远目的地，体验在工作船只上生活的浪漫与冒险的方式。

疫情前的大部分运营商已经停业。新冠疫情期间的健康和安全问题导致许多运营商关门大吉，再加上战争和海盗活动日益猖獗，海上安全形势也日趋严峻，船上安保措施也随之加强。

选择或许有所减少，但仍有一些颇具吸引力的货船航线可供选择，目的地包括纳米比亚、冰岛和法属波利尼西亚等地。像Aranui和Neoliner Origin这样的公司甚至正在拓展其客货联运服务。

澳大利亚长期以来深受背包客和年轻人的欢迎，他们希望环游世界并寻找零工。然而，政府宣布大幅削减打工度假签证的数量，从31000个锐减至5000个。为了获得一线希望，游客需要支付数百澳元参加类似抽签的抽签活动。

政府表示，此举旨在调整移民配额，优先引进技术移民，因为他们被认为能为国家经济带来更多价值。但并非所有人都对此感到满意。

在太平洋其他地区，日本旅游业蓬勃发展，近年来游客数量屡创新高。去年，选择在日本长期居住（包括工作和学习）的人数也达到了历史新高。

然而，日本政府实施的一系列收紧的移民政策让一些外国居民不禁思考：是不是该说“再见”了？

以下是CNN订阅用户可阅读的部分内容。住宅式邮轮“奥德赛别墅号”（Villa Vie Odyssey）于2024年底下水，此前经历了一段坎坷的开局和不少波折。然而，当退休教师莎伦·莱恩（Sharon Lane）于2025年6月登上这艘“永久”邮轮时，大部分初期运营难题都已迎刃而解，她对这种永久的海上生活充满期待。

一年后，CNN采访了她，了解现实是否符合预期，以及她和其他乘客的境况如何。

除了住在游轮上或跟随货船旅行之外，还有更多不同寻常的探索世界的方式。今年早些时候，CNN采访了一些选择在战区、辐射区和动荡的边境地区度假的旅行者。

这种趋势被称为“黑暗旅游”，它有两个截然不同的方向：一是人们前往被其他国家列为危险的国家，如朝鲜、阿富汗和海地；二是人们前往发生过臭名昭著事件的地方，如圭亚那的琼斯镇或柬埔寨的杀戮场。

本周，我们的流媒体订阅服务 CNN All Access 已扩展至加拿大和英国。在 CNN 系列节目《未知之旅》（Parts Unknown）中，安东尼·波登探访了世界各地鲜为人知的目的地。不妨看看 2013 年的这集节目，当时他前往利比亚，了解卡扎菲政权被推翻两年后该国的状况。

以下是《国家地理》杂志认为你在 2027 年应该去的 25 个地方。

一场抗议运动。华盛顿的变革。一个全新的iPhone时代。

你还记得上周发生了什么吗？

一次糟糕透顶的潜水假期。

一次愉快的旅行变成了一场长达13小时的生存之战。

“蛋糕棚”成了英国人的新宠。

它们正遍地开花。