Program Reviews

SAS was the perfect study abroad program for me. You could be entirely immersed into a culture for the day and come back to enjoy the comforts of the ship at night without having to worry about food, lodging, or security. Of course, spending the night away from the ship was always a plus and made for some fun adventures.

SAS gave me the opportunity to see not just one country like most study abroad programs, but rather gave me a glimpse of the entire world, literally! It was an amazing experience and I grew tremendously from the many adventures and mishaps I went through. The faculty and staff do a wonderful job not only with academics but also in making sure that you have the experience of a lifetime.

I spent months, years even, planning for and dreaming about my Semester at Sea experience. It ended up being my last semester as an undergraduate student, and boy was it a way to end my college career. No amount of space or time would be enough to capture my experience as a member of the Semester at Sea Spring 2011 voyage community, so what I will say will be as short and direct as I can make it. Semester at Sea will blow your mind, anyone's mind. No matter how many plans you make ahead of time or how many expectations of yourself and others you muster up and how many times they are fulfilled or disappointed, SAS will be a mind-blowing, eye-opening, and all around beautiful experience. I believe that everyone, and I mean everyone, should have the chance to travel and learn in the SAS way, so those of you who can actually make that happen for yourselves, embrace it and do not waste a moment of it. No matter what happens along the way, good, bad or otherwise, SAS will offer you glimpses of people and the world that few are lucky enough to have. Whatever you choose to be involved with aboard the ship, however you choose to travel while in port, and whoever you befriend along the way, you will not regret your experience, rather, when it ends, you will be begging to get back on the MV Explorer and see the world in reverse. Get ready for the experience of a lifetime and many days, weeks and months of wishing you could do it again once it ends.

Going on Semester at Sea was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. It's such an incredible experience to be able to see the world like this and you make some of the best friends you will ever have. One of the things that I did not like about SAS, however, was that it seemed like about 1/3 of the students on board thought they were on a party boat the whole time and didn't seem to be that open to experiencing the different cultures. Getting black out drunk in every single port (including the countries where drinking really isn't socially accepted) really isn't why I signed up for this program. But there are certainly people that do Semester at Sea that are not like that at all. Despite the not so good qualities.. I wholeheartedly recommend SAS as a study abroad program!

Let me start by saying that SAS isn't perfect for everyone. Alcohol is not allowed on the ship. You can buy a beverage voucher and they'll allow you to have up to two drinks (a glass of wine or a beer) on certain days. The program was perfect for me, and to be honest I wouldn't change anything about it.

Make sure you pick the right classes if you decide to go, as some of the classes are a joke and a lot of busy work. Go for classes that don't sound like BS classes, trust me- they're not what you think they'll be.

On SAS I met so many incredibly awesome people and got to see the world with them. I would definitely do it all over again if I could, and in fact I'm looking into sailing again Summer 2012 (I was on the Spring 2011 voyage).

Good luck.

I would wake up at 7:15 shower, head down to breakfast(meals get boring quickly but really good when there's french toast)....two classes in a row then lunch then usually movie/nap time then dinner catch up with friends which turns into take over Class room 1 or 2 and have a movie night until 2 or 3 in the morning usually with "How I met your mother"

Some people you talk to will say that it was "THE experience of MY LIFE!" and that the friends they made are "the greatest, bestest, most awesomest, perfect friends I could ever have! BFFL!" but take note if the person talking is eagerly foaming at the mouth.

Yes, it was an awesome experience.

Yes, you will explore other countries and cultures.

Yes, your view of the world (and your place in it) will be expanded and greater understood.

Yes, you will make some awesome friends.

But the program isn't perfect, so don't expect to sign up and have everything be sunshine and rainbows. Academically, some of the teachers really suck. Don't assume that just because the teacher is on SAS means they're going to be awesome. Make sure you research the professors before signing up for their classes. Some people were surprised by how much busywork some of the so-called "easy" classes had.

Bottom line, if you want to get off your butt and do something remarkable, this is your chance to push yourself. Stop talking about the life you want and start creating some amazing memories. Paradise waterfalls in Dominica, the view from Table Mountain in South Africa, the fun and low key (and very underrated) Busua Beach in Ghana, not to mention the taxis, trains, buses, boats, rickshaws, and planes you'll travel in along the way.

Stop thinking about it and just do it!

This program is a learning experience unlike any other. The interactions between students, teachers, staff, life-long learners, and locals in very country helps you learn more about each other and grow as an individual. After circumnavigating the globe and seeing foreign places that many people dream about going to, that is when I realized how fortunate I was. I met many locals in these countries, who were the most accepting; respectful;and welcoming people I have ever met in my life.I would highly recommend going on Semester at Sea as a study abroad program. I can guaratee that you will have a FANTASTIC time with SAS...you may never want to go home, I didn't.

As with any study abroad program, there are amazing things about Semester at Sea along with drawbacks that are typical of a voyage of this nature: spend 110 days sailing around the world on a ship with 800 other people, hitting 11-13 countries along the way. The number of countries is a little vague here because unpredictable stuff happens. I sailed on the Spring 2011 voyage and we were supposed to go to Japan, but after the disasters happened in March, we went to Taiwan instead. We also made an emergency stop once or twice on some random islands because of a breakout illness on the ship. The ship is often tossed about by storms and we lost our first day in South Africa because the winds around the cape were so strong. But that is part of the adventure and unpredictability of Semester at Sea, and all of the disadvantages don't outweigh the enormity of this experience. If I had chosen to study abroad in Europe, I might have done the typical thing: fly around the continent on the weekends, see great architecture, party, meet some cute European boys. Instead, I visited 12 countries in all four corners of the world. I snorkeled in the Champagne Reef while visiting the island of Dominica, searched for caimans in the dark through the reeds of the Amazon River, stayed with a Ghanaian family in a remote village, slept on the Great Wall of China, took a 12-hour train ride across India in a 4th-class car, rode a camel through the Thar Desert at sunset, explored the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia riding the backs of motorcycles, trekked mountains alone in Taiwan, and saw what looked like the end of the world while standing in a cloud on Table Mountain in South Africa. These are just a few of the many things I was able to do with Semester at Sea. Yes, it's pricy, but ultimately it's worth it. You will get your bad eggs on the voyage, usually a large group of half-wits who just like to get drunk in every country, but you shouldn't let that group of people dampen the amazing possibilities presented to you on this trip. There is no other study abroad program quite like it. And no, I am not a social media representative for SAS, I actually enjoyed it this much. I'm so glad I chose Semester at Sea for my study abroad venture, it was literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience, unless I get to do it again. Which I would, in a heartbeat.