You will leave Semester at Sea without the right words to describe your experiences. You will not have another opportunity quite like this one. Though you may not be fully immersed in one single culture, you will learn a lot about a lot of cultures and develop you own ship culture with your peers on your voyage. This unique group of students will become some of your best friends for life!
The hardest part was getting the paperwork done for visas and your home university. Once you're past that, it's smooth sailing..... (well sometimes!)

I would (and do) highly recommend this study abroad program to anyone! I had the most amazing time and it opened my eyes to so many new experiences. I never thought I would be comfortable experiencing this journey alone, but I met the most amazing people with the same passion--traveling!

Semester at Sea is an incredible, global comparative study abroad program that allows participants the ability to interact and experience many different countries and cultures all within one semester. While the voyages change a bit each semester, many of the same countries are visited, allowing for feedback and tips from alumni and program staff. For example, my voyage in Spring 2012 left from the Bahamas, then traveled to Dominica, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Japan (Kobe and Yokohama), Hawaii, and ended in San Diego. We spent 1 to 7 days in each country. Students take classes on board the ship while at sea, but have great freedom within each country to explore and do independent travel. This freedom allows you to create your own unique semester at sea experience. While some of the major highlights of each voyage involve the incredible sight-seeing, the truly amazing aspect of this program is being able to interact with different cultures and people all around the world. You also form life-long bonds with your fellow voyagers and develop better friendships than you may have ever had with people back home. The food on the ship can get monotonous, but I always found it perfectly fine (lots of potatoes, pasta, and pork). One other major criticism for the program is the fact that you don't really IMMERSE yourself into any particular country or culture, due to the short duration of time spent in each place. However, this is not the intent of the program; rather, the program puts a higher emphasis on the global comparisons and helping to expand students' minds to think as global citizens. So, if you really only want to focus on one country or culture, this program isn't for you, but if you love to have incredible experiences, see the world and travel, and see multiple countries in one semester, you should sign up! My voyage was truly life-changing and has somewhat defined who I am going forward in my life. My Semester at Sea experience almost always comes up at some point in conversation with new people. It helps make me more marketable in any area of life I choose to pursue, as I have demonstrated that I have an understanding of other cultures from my own and have experienced different ways of thinking only possible through the first-hand interactions that are part of the Semester at Sea program. If you are able to go on a Semester at Sea, the world will truly be at your fingertips.

Today is my birthday. As I reflect on past experiences, I realize that the greatest gift I have ever received was the chance to travel around the world with Semester At Sea. It literally changed my life in a way so comprehensive that it's not explainable with mere words. SAS is a mentality, it's a perception, and it's a sense of purpose. It's the best thing to happen in my life so far.

There is nothing like it elsewhere in the world. Your eyes are opened up to a multitude of experiences that make you a more insightful and caring person...a person that is on track to change the world in very big ways.

I mean...you're on a freaking ship! It's a community full of people that you study, sleep, eat, play, travel, (and definitely stink, as we did in Brazil) with. It's the pinnacle of any travel adventurer.

But the even more amazing thing is is that it doesn't have to be the end, and it certainly hasn't been for me. It's the greatest foundation of a life well traveled, and a life that is prepared to take on the world's myriad challenges.

I studied abroad on semester at sea's spring 2012 voyage around the world. I can not say enough good things about the program. It exposes you to various cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, and unmatched experiences that you will not find on any other study abroad program. We travelled from the Bahamas to Dominica, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Hawaii, and debarked in San Diego, California. In what other study abroad program can you wake up to some place new every single day, while living on board a cruise ship for 4 months? I have seen more and done more than most people will do in their entire lives, thanks to Semester at Sea. GO SAS!

Semester At Sea is truly an amazing program. I think nearly every person that has done a voyage (whether a student, professor, or other faculty member) can say that SAS has changed or greatly impacted their life. This program is worth every penny. Also keep in mind that the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) is very generous when it comes to awarding students scholarships and grants for SAS. If you don't think you can afford the program, apply anyway! You never know what might happen...

As someone who was studying International Affairs during my undergrad, I wanted to do a study abroad program that would give me a better perspective of the entire world - not just one country. I had already studied abroad twice, but I wanted a more worldly view. I felt like Semester At Sea was the only way I could obtain this perspective while finishing my bachelor's degree, and I was definitely right. Although I'm not an expert in any of the countries I traveled to during my voyage (and am not an expert in the countries I studied abroad in either), I feel like I have a better understanding of the world as a whole.

A Semester At Sea voyage is really what people make of it. I've heard some people criticize the program and say that SAS students don't learn anything. I would absolutely disagree with this. I think some people are more likely to immerse themselves in other cultures more so than others. If you go abroad, I would challenge you to immerse yourself as much as possible. I think some people took academics more seriously (such as myself) than others. Your SAS journey really is what you make of it, but I DO think there are a few things that inevitably come with sailing on SAS. The voyage will change the way you perceive the world around you, and you will learn more about yourself than you ever thought possible.

Living with amazing college students from all over the USA, learning from professors who have great passion, seeing so much of the world - what more could you ask for! If you have an adventurous spirit, this is the place for you. I saw so much and met great friends and really tasted the life of travel and adventure and I have never turned back - still living overseas now, currently in Switzerland!

I was a college senior, who had never left the country. I had dreamed of studying abroad but couldn't figure out - of all the countries in the world - where I wanted to go. Enter Semester at Sea. A unique opportunity where you live on a cruise ship converted into a university campus and circumnavigate the globe while taking classes from some of the world's most distinguished professors, interacting with ambassadors, and foreign dignitaries (Desmund Tutu spend the entire voyage on our ship), and stopping at over 13 different countries along the way. The experience gave me a truly global perspective, one that I had never had before. (Along with a heavy dose of wanderlust.) I cannot think of a better experience for someone who wants to see the world, and change your life.