Voyagers will visit countries including South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, and Malta
Today, Semester at Sea announced its updated itineraries for the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 voyages, which will introduce students to more than 10 countries across the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The Fall 2023 Voyage will embark on Saturday, Sept. 9, from Antwerp, Belgium, before setting sail for six-day ports in Morocco, India, and Vietnam; five-day visits in Malta, Greece, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia, and a four-day stay in Spain. Voyagers will spend a total of 56 days at sea and in classes and will disembark on Friday, Dec. 22, in Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand.
The Spring 2024 Voyage will begin where the fall voyage ends, in Laem Chabang, embarking Friday, Jan. 5. Six of the voyage’s eight ports will be six-day stays–in Malaysia, India, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco. Students and working and retired adults traveling as Lifelong Learners will also visit Mauritius and Portugal for four-day ports. Students will spend 61 days at sea and in class and 46 days engaged in field classes, field programs, or planning their own travel while in port.
Detailed itineraries for the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 voyages are now available on the Semester at Sea website.
“Thailand, South Africa, Malaysia, and Vietnam are countries Semester at Sea alumni have long said were among the most impactful of those they visited,” said Scott Marshall, president and CEO of the Institute for Shipboard Education, which operates the Semester at Sea program.
“I’m excited to return to those countries, but also to offer students such an amazing and enriching overall itinerary. Like all of our voyages, these promise to be life- and world-changing experiences for our voyagers and the people they’ll meet across the 17 countries we’ll see.”
Previous itineraries for these voyages were set in early 2022 and included destinations in the East Asia region, such as Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong, China. Primarily due to ongoing tensions in the region and the need to solidify plans in time for faculty to plan their courses and in-country class sessions, Semester at Sea staff have been investigating alternate options. The adjusted itineraries were updated on Jan. 20.
Semester at Sea voyagers earn between 12-15 college credits through academic partner Colorado State University while taking classes and 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.
