Within the past few hours new information has been made available to us and advisories have been issued from the U.S. State Department and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regarding COVID-19 and travel by cruise ships. While the U.S. State Department and CDC are only two of the many health and safety agencies with which we consult in these situations, these advisories are definitive enough that we need to follow through with their counsel.

Based on this new information, we are writing to let you know that there will be another change to the Spring 2020 Voyage itinerary, and the voyage will need to end in Cape Town, South Africa. Specific details related to the voyage end date and academic program completion plan are being discussed with the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) home office staff, Colorado State University, our ship management company, and the voyage leadership team. We will send more information and details no later than end-of-day today. We are asking all voyagers to discontinue any travel planning until we send out additional information.

We share the disappointment and frustrations of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the world-wide community, and on the Spring 2020 Voyage. In honoring our commitment to provide the most updated information as soon as possible, we wanted to give notice of what is currently occurring. We want to thank our Semester at Sea community in advance for grace and patience as this is developing and trust that we will provide more information as soon as possible.

For more information about the Spring 2020 program, please visit the voyage page.