Semester at Sea Indescribable Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My program was Semester at Sea and our campus was a modified cruise ship which made academic life for me and other students rather difficult. I was constantly sea sick which did not make me sick but very dizzy, a bit like motion sickness in a car. Because of that it was very difficult to read or study. I did take medication for it but the first one I tried made me fall asleep and the other one cause my vision to go blurry temporarily, both of which made it very hard for me to do school work. Sometimes the ocean was so rocky that even going to class at all was difficult. Some students didn't get sea sick at all but many did. We had very limited free internet and once your free minutes ran out you only had access to free websites and even then the internet was so slow that trying to use it could take hours if it was working at all and it barely reached the lower decks and for some decks it did not reach at all. The library and computer lab are both very small and often full. There were also not many good places to study so concentrating was difficult and sometimes the workload could be a bit much with everything else going on. It was also very difficult to go from country to school to country to school with no breaks in between except a few free days to catch up with work. The teachers were wonderful, all very overqualified, helpful, understanding and easily accessible. Some were not so great but they were in the minority. It was wonderful getting to learn about a topic in class and then go out into the real world in a different country every week and learn about there. Overall I did learn so much more than I ever learned at my home campus it's just that coming back my grades were not so great.

On-site administration of your program

My program had an extensive website with people you could chat with online available most hours during the day. We were assigned advisers we could email with questions as well. There were about 600 students in my program as well as teachers, their families which included parents, spouses and children, and life long learners who were usually senior citizens that attended classes with us if they chose to. We also had Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife on board with us as well as interport students and lecturers that would get on in one country and stay on between that country and another. Every tool that could be provided for us to learn about a country was given to us such as free websites, travel books in the library, seminars, pre-port lectures and students from various countries. My expectations were most definitely met, the program was great and everyone on board the ship was wonderful. All of our deans were friendly and helpful and it was a very supportive and encouraging environment.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We all lived on the ship in cabins. I checked off other and dorm because it is basically a dorm room but it is a ships cabin. Most students lived on the third and fourth deck which consists of two beds and a bathroom which you share with your roommate however it is about half the size of a typical dorm room. There is a small fridge in your room and a TV which broadcasts activities on the ship and certain movies the ship decides to play which usually has to do with whichever country we would be going to next. The ship provides bedding, towels, garbage bags, toilet paper, tissues and roughly 12 hangers each. Each roommate gets a side of the closet with three hooks and a shoe rack, there is a pull out drawer in the third closet compartment for each roommate plus five shelves one of which contains a safe and there is a shelf on top that runs across the entire closet and there are two life jackets. In addition there are three other drawers under the TV and a nightstand for each roommate with three drawers, a desk with a divided drawer and chair and a small table and chair. The bathroom has a clothesline in the shower to hang laundry. There is also a towel rack, hooks, a cabinet with a shelf and a space above the garbage to put things. You are also given four glasses for water. There is space under and behind the beds for luggage and anything else. Laundry is done for you and depending on where you live your laundry is done a certain time usually every two to three weeks, sometimes once a week depending on the spacing of countries. Each hall is assigned a steward that comes in and makes your beds and cleans your room and bathroom. They are absolutely wonderful. The ship is immaculately clean and there is also a dining room staff that pours your drinks and takes your plates when you're done with them. They set and clean the tables as well. All meals are at specific times and all are buffet style. The food is decent but it gets old very fast. There is also a snack time later on at night but many students keep snacks in their cabin. You cannot take food out of the dining rooms. There are two dining rooms and two snack bars. At one snack bar you can get food like pizza, burgers and ice cream but not the other. Both serve snacks like chips and candy. There are still regular meal times in port but no snack time and only one snack bar is open. When you are in port you may stay in hotels, hostels, with host family or wherever else you can find to sleep if you don't want to stay on the ship. On the ship there are Americans and international students that are also enrolled in Semester at Sea.

The food on the ship was neither great nor terrible. It got very redundant because there was the same type of meal every day with little variation. Either way you will not go hungry. There were two snack bars, one with food like pizza, burgers, ice cream and other basic snacks and the other with just basic snacks however you had to pay for these out of pocket as they are not included in room and board. Meals on the ship are at set times every day and there is a snack time at night. In port meals are at the same times but there is no snack and only one snack bar will stay open. Many students however choose to eat in the country. You can order cakes and special meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Social life on the ship was great, everyone had a lot of friends and everyone is friendly. There are seminars and clubs, the focus usually on country or travel but not always. We had special events such as Neptune Day, Sea Olympics, Spirit Week and a dance at the end of the semester. The ship offers many trips in each country but the day trips are usually overpriced and not so worth it. The overnight trips are wonderful. Everything costs less thought if you do not do it through the ship. Every country was a new experience and it carried with all of us back onto the ship. After every port we would meet and talk about all of our experiences and it was amazing to hear everyone's stories.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Semester at Sea did not give us a lot of information before the voyage started except that we were all required to get the yellow fever shot but once we were on the ship the health team told us everything about what we could and could not do. Some countries had mosquitoes that carried malaria and other diseases and many had unsafe drinking water. Semester at Sea provided us with much of this information. The health center on the ship was open a few hours a day and after every port. We all had Medex medical insurance as well. We had ex secret service agents on board as security and our bags were checked before we got on the ship, we also had ID cards we had to swipe. However, sometimes they would not check bags thoroughly or at all. There were different health and safety risks depending on each country. Semester at Sea did not give us much information before we set sail so many of us did research on our own and got shots and medication accordingly. I got seven shots including the yellow fever shot preceding the voyage.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Other
• Dorm

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• International Students
• Americans