Semester at Sea… What’s that?
As a Tourism Management major in college, my professors often talked about different destinations around the world and how they handled tourism. One fateful day in February 2009, my professor mentioned that a fellow student in our program was currently studying abroad with Semester at Sea (SAS). He gave the briefest description that this student was studying abroad on a ship going around the world. After class I returned to my room and immediately looked up the program to get more information.
Solution to My Indecision
My world was changed forever. You see, I already knew I wanted to study abroad during college. However, I had been struggling to choose where I wanted to study for a semester. My internal debate would go something like this:
Should I go to Australia? They spoke English and it was already on my bucket list.
Should I go to Spain? Europe seemed safe, and I spoke some Spanish. As a bonus, I could easily hop on trains to take weekend trips to nearby countries.
I had never heard of a program like Semester at Sea where you live and take classes on a converted cruise ship while circumnavigating the globe. Instead of choosing one place to live and study for a few months, I could live and study on a floating campus that would take me to multiple countries and continents around the world. Realizing this could be the solution to my study abroad dilemma, I began researching the program itself, itineraries of upcoming voyages, and scholarships in earnest. The next step was convincing my parents that it was the best idea ever, and putting together my application for the Spring 2010 voyage.
To Be or Not To Be (A World Traveler)
When my acceptance letter arrived, I couldn’t believe it was possible that I could be a world traveler in a few short months. At this point in my life, I’d only been in the USA, Canada, and Ireland. The prospect of filling my passport with stamps from countries around the world was so exciting.
Setting Sail
In January 2010 I packed my bags and took my first solo trip from Buffalo, NY to San Diego, CA to embark on my Semester at Sea. Before this, I had never flown without at least one of my parents accompanying me, much less left the country and continent. The prospect left me both exhilarated and terrified. Nevertheless I succeeded in getting myself, as well as all of my luggage, safely aboard the MV Explorer. The ship would be my home for the next few months as we circumnavigated the globe. I quickly adjusted to the weird things about shipboard life and spent the next 109 days sailing around the world visiting ten countries on four continents while making the memories and friends of a lifetime.
The experience of studying abroad left me with an incurable case of wanderlust that continues on today.
Read more about my voyage here!
Did you study abroad? If you did, I’d love to know where you studied. Tell me where in the comments!
I’ve never heard of anything like this before. Sounds so cool! A great way to see lots of different places. I studied abroad in France via the Erasmus programme. Certainly not as impressive as a semester at sea!
It was the best experience! I was still a bit envious of some of my friends who did semester long programs in Europe though since they got to explore the countries they studied in as well as some surrounding countries. Different experiences, but both impressive 😉
I always wanted to do a Semester at Sea, but could never make it work with my schedule 🙁 Thankfully, I was able to do a long term in Greece, where I was all over the mainland and Cyclades Islands!
KB
I loved Semester at Sea, it was absolutely amazing (but I did have to force it into my schedule since I learned about it so late). I do wish I could have done a semester in one place though too, I bet Greece was fabulous to explore as a student!
How awesome is this! What a unique experience… I always say go for study abroad and any opportunities such as this, not only are they amazing learning experiences but life experiences too! I have always thought it would be interesting to work on a cruise ship!
I knew I wanted to study abroad & then after I finished Semester at Sea, I literally tell every college student they should study abroad! It has definitely crossed my mind to work on a cruise ship too! 🙂
Wow! What a great experience! You will have this in your bagpack wherever the future will take you!
Super!
Thank you, it was absolutely amazing! I wish I could do it over and over again.
Wow, this sounds absolutely incredible!! I’ve never heard of it before. It’s so wonderful you were able to have such an amazing experience. 😀
So many people have never heard of it, the program isn’t in the media often. I loved it so much, my poor husband has resigned himself to forever hearing about it 😂