The 134th voyage will visit 10 countries on 3 continents between September and December .
Semester at Sea has revised its Fall 2024 Voyage itinerary to include six-day visits to Portugal, Ghana, and South Africa, as well as a three-day stay on the island country of Mauritius.
The voyage, Semester at Sea’s 134th, will set sail as originally planned on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. After its new first port in Lisbon, Portugal, the ship will travel to Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam, and Hong Kong before disembarking in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.
Altogether, students will visit 10 countries on three continents, spending six or more days in all destinations except for Mauritius. The updated itinerary, including diversionary ports, is now available on the Semester at Sea website.
The original Fall 2024 Voyage had the MV World Odyssey traveling from Morocco to Croatia, through the Suez Canal, and on to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia before visiting countries that remain on the FA24 itinerary.
Semester at Sea President and CEO Scott Marshall explained in an email to students, families, staff, and faculty today that the change is in response to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Making the change this far in advance is intended to provide students, their home universities, and families with ample time to prepare for the voyage, he said. It also gives faculty members additional time and certainly, as they refine their syllabi and class plans – including their in-country field classes – to suit the four new destinations.
“As is the case with every Semester at Sea voyage, you will get a truly unique, rich and rigorous global experience while onboard. As we travel from Europe to Africa to Asia, you’ll not only see and learn about the world, but you’ll come to define and redefine your place and responsibility within it,” he wrote.
The Israel-Gaza War also impacted the current Fall 2023 Voyage of Semester at Sea. The ship was in the eastern Mediterranean when it was rerouted to avoid the area of conflict. By rerouting, the voyage unexpectedly added more than 5,500 nautical miles to its fall itinerary. Students, staff, and faculty are currently headed for a six-day port in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the last stop before disembarking in Bangkok on Dec. 22. The Spring 2024 Voyage remains unaltered.
The Fall 2024 Voyage will be the first to return to Casablanca since Spring 2023. The Spring 2024 Voyage will also visit Morocco but will be docking in Tangier to avoid interfering with humanitarian efforts underway in the areas impacted by the Sept. 8, 2023 earthquake.
Semester at Sea voyagers earn between 12-15 college credits through academic partner Colorado State University taking classes while traveling to 10+ international destinations. The shipboard community is truly its own college campus and features classrooms, cabins, lecture halls, a theater, a library, fitness facilities, indoor and outdoor dining, a professional residential and student life staff, and counseling and medical teams, in addition to a maritime captain and crew.
