Making Payment FAQ

What is the Payment Policy?

Cabin space is not guaranteed solely upon admission. Therefore, once you have been admitted to Semester at Sea you must confirm your intent to participate by submitting your $1,000 deposit with the Cabin Reservation form. Deposits are accepted by check (payable to Institute for Shipboard Education) or by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover). The deposit is not a supplemental expense and will be your first payment toward the total cost of the program. The entire balance is due 90 days before departure for spring and fall voyage participants and 60 days before departure for summer voyage participants (this includes those enrolled in the TuitionPay payment plan). The exact deadline will be indicated on your invoices. If you are anticipating financial aid you should plan to provide documentation of approval from the aid source(s) indicating details of the disbursement to ISE. The necessary forms will be provided to you. Documentation of any financial aid that is to be credited to a student's account (such as Stafford loans or Parent PLUS loans) must be submitted to ISE by the payment deadline. Participants who have not made arrangements for full payment by the due date may forfeit enrollment in the program. NOTE: The $1,000 deposit is refundable or transferable until the final payment deadline. Participants confirmed into cabins from the waitlist will have two weeks to make full payment.

What is the deadline for complete payment?

For fall and spring voyages payment is due approximately 90 days before departure. For summer voyages the payment deadline is 60 days prior to sailing.

Will I be charged late fees?

A penalty of $250 is assessed on outstanding accounts after the due date. Participants enrolling with the TuitionPay payment plan and those receiving documented pending financial aid are exempt from this late fee.

What does the shipboard account entail? How and when do I pay for it?

The MV Explorer operates on a cashless basis. Food at the snack bars, additional trips, and items at the campus store and Purser Square are all paid for through your shipboard account. Before embarking on the ship your child will be asked to provide a credit card to which shipboard account expenses will be billed each month of the voyage. We suggest that you bill your shipboard account to a credit card that is independent of the primary credit card that your child uses in port.

What are the cancellation and withdrawal refund policies?

All cancellations or transfers must be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed by the participant.

Prior to fall and spring departures, all funds received on a student's account are refundable until the 90-day payment due date for the voyage. Cancellations following this deadline will automatically result in a charge of $500 regardless of name change or cabin resale, and the following fees will apply:

• Cancellation up to and including 90 days prior to the voyage - full refund to participant
• If cancelled 89-60 days prior to voyage - 25% of program fee
• If cancelled 59-45 days prior to voyage - 50% of program fee
• If cancelled 44-31 days prior to voyage - 75% of program fee
• If cancelled 30 days prior to the voyage and after 100% of program fee

Prior to summer departures, all funds received on a participant's account are refundable until the 60-day payment due date for the voyage. Cancellations following the 60-day payment due date will automatically result in a charge of $500 regardless of name change or cabin resale, and the following fees will apply:

• Cancellation up to and including 60 days prior to the voyage - full refund to participant.
• If cancelled 59-50 days prior to voyage - 25% of program fee
• If cancelled 49-40 days prior to voyage - 50% of program fee
• If cancelled 39-30 days prior to voyage - 75% of program fee
• If cancelled 30 days prior to the voyage and after 100% of program fee

After departure, refunds are not made to passengers who must withdraw from the program due to any violation of the rules aboard the ship. No refund of any kind is made if a participant must interrupt the voyage due to the reoccurrence of a medical or psychological illness that was diagnosed prior to sailing. However, if the participant leaves the voyage for documented medical reasons arising after embarkation and during the first 25 days of the semester, he/she may be entitled to a pro-rata refund of the program fee. No refund of any kind is made after the first 25 days of the semester.