Lifelong Learning Program
The Semester at Sea Lifelong Learning Program provides adult learners, who are 30 years of age or older, with an opportunity to join the SAS academic community. Lifelong Learners add a valuable generational element to the shipboard community. They are retirees, professionals on leave, or simply adventurous travelers who desire to study with bright, enthusiastic undergraduate students from around the world. See our digital brochure.
Educational Travel and Programming
Educational travel is woven into the core experience of every Semester at Sea voyage. It is a travel experience designed for curious learners, who want to push beyond the tourist paradigm and experience the heart of cultures around the world.
The Lifelong Learning Program provides adult learners the opportunity to intellectually immerse themselves with the shipboard community. Lifelong Learners may participate in courses (with space availability), a daily Lifelong Learner seminar, and evening programs offered to the shipboard community. These evening programs, often delivered by lecture or narrated slideshow, include topics on the culture and history of upcoming ports, student development matters, current events, faculty areas of expertise, or other interesting current events.
The Shipboard Community
The Semester at Sea voyage is not a cruise! Our ship becomes a floating college campus where you will be living, eating and studying with up to 550 undergraduate college students and 100 faculty and staff members along with their families. In addition, there are 180 multi-national crew members who add to this diverse shipboard community.
This results in a voyage with a unique atmosphere that fosters learning about communities from all over the world. This diverse inter-generational learning community will allow you to form bonds that last a lifetime or simply find a travel buddy who wants to learn and experience what the world has to offer!
The Ship
The MV World Odyssey has operated as the SAS campus since 2015 — the Program’s sixth ship in its 50+ year history. The vessel meets or exceeds maritime health and safety standards and requirements, including those of the International Maritime Organization SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Public Health.
The ship’s state of the art facilities include indoor and outdoor dining, gym, pool and ten deck areas. There are nine classrooms, a theater, large auditorium, and library to accommodate the educational needs of the program. Cabins range from suite styles to individual rooms with interior and exterior facing windows.
In Country Experiences
With over 10 destinations on a voyage, the opportunities to explore and be immersed in cultures across the world are endless. The Lifelong Learning Program offers Semester at Sea sponsored excursions in each port to promote further understanding of each country.
We use trusted local experts to maximize the in-country learning experience. We also deploy a faculty or staff liaison on each excursion to enhance the learning experience. No matter your interest or ability level, you’ll find a diverse array of choices with Semester at Sea sponsored in-country excursions — from exploring a Moroccan desert by camel to making fresh pasta in an Italian cooking class.
Lifelong Learners are welcome to travel and explore independently as well.
Rates
Cabin rates range in price depending on the type of cabin selected and the number of occupants. Cabins are available for the single traveler as well as for those planning to sail with family members. For detailed descriptions and pictures of all available cabin types, please click on the link below.
"I’m just thankful that I’ve lived long enough to, climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa—marvel at the Taj Mahal in India—climb the Great Wall of China—almost slide down the inside of the Great Pyramid in Egypt—watch the penguins in Antarctic and swing on a vine in the Amazon with a group of Semester at Sea students…I will travel and marvel at beautiful places and people around the world, look for new friends, send cards to my family and five great grandchildren, hoping it will instill in them the desire to meet and mingle with the rest of the world."
