On January 5, Semester at Sea embarked its 129th voyage. The program welcomed 349 students, 24 Lifelong Learners, 67 faculty and staff and companions, and 176 crew aboard the MV World Odyssey in Naples, Italy.

Our students, faculty, staff, and crew understand the challenge of sailing a voyage during a pandemic. Strict health and safety protocols are underway on board. 

In addition to full inoculation, passengers and crew were required to have multiple negative COVID-19 tests prior to boarding. As a result of this rigorous screening process, 15 student voyagers are quarantining in their homes in the U.S., 13 student voyagers are quarantining independently in Italy, five are under Italian government supervised quarantine, and an additional seven are isolating in Naples as a result of close contact with a positive student. In addition, one staff member and three crew members tested positive for the virus. The majority of these individuals are asymptomatic with only a few experiencing even mild symptoms.

Semester at Sea anticipated this scenario and ground teams in Naples are coordinating contact, academic progress, daily check-ins and support to individuals remaining in Italy. One positive crew member is isolated on board the vessel in a designated health cabin. All other COVID-19 positive individuals and known contacts were denied boarding. Quarantined and isolated voyagers will join the ship at a later port, as permitted by local regulation/requirements and our enhanced health and safety protocols.

In preparation for this voyage, the team has taken additional health and safety measures including expanded on-ship medical staff, required on ship masking, increased social distance, decreased passenger capacity, and encouraged outdoor dining. All passengers and crew will continue to be frequently tested to rapidly identify and quarantine any positive individuals and close contacts.

Despite the implementation of these comprehensive health and safety protocols, given the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, additional positive cases remain possible during this voyage. The team is prepared to isolate and support those affected. The Spring 2022 itinerary has also been designed to allow for timely access to onshore medical support should the need arise.  

The excitement of the students, faculty, staff and crew onboard is palpable. We know that it has been a long journey to begin this adventure, and we look forward to a memorable semester. The world is our campus!