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Embarkation: Setting Sail for Spring 2014

The long-anticipated embarkation day for the 50th Anniversary Spring 2014 voyage arrived on Friday, January 10th. Students gathered at the port of Ensenada, Mexico, to begin a 112 day voyage around the world. They will be calling the MV Explorer their home as they dock in 16 cities and 12 countries. Students compared packing lists and majors while meeting each other in line to board the ship. After everyone found their cabins, the entire campus came together for a convocation ceremony before watching the ship sail away from port.

Students form an “S” for Semester at Sea while waiting to board the ship in sunny Ensenada.
Robyn Schmitz from Ithaca College (left) and Annie Roche from Stetson University (right) had time to share their excitement and laughter while waiting in the boarding line.
Hayley Olig from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Miles Vince from Dalhousie University turn in their passports to receive their shipboard ID from the crew (left). The student body is is 90% American and 10% international. These passports represent a fraction of the ones taken onto the ship for safekeeping (right).
Kaitlin Coles from the University of San Diego brought along her guitar to make music on the voyage (left). Two students stop to smile as they cross the gangway onto their new home.
Waiting in the boarding line was the perfect opportunity to meet new classmates. With 277 universities making up the shipboard campus, many students are the only representatives attending Semester at Sea from their home universities.
ISE Assistant Director of Admissions Lindsay Dana (right) gives direction to new work-study students Chloe Lloyd from Chapman University and Neeraj Maheshwari from the University of Cincinnati.
Assistant Field Office Coordinator Andrew Allison (left) tells John Redmond from DePaul University about the field trips for the Spring 2014 voyage during orientation in the Union.
While waiting for the convocation ceremony to begin, the excitement builds and students spontaneously start the wave.
As the sun sets, students gather on the aft decks to watch Ensenada fade into the distance. They won’t see land for another six days when the ship arrives into Hilo, Hawaii. The voyage has officially begun!
Written by: Administrator
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