At around 10:30am on January 5, 2018, buses full of sleepy, anxious and wide-eyed Semester at Sea voyagers descended upon Ensenada, Mexico for the embarkation of the 124th voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Students from all over the U.S. and the world have been eagerly awaiting and planning this moment for months, and today, that moment we’ve all been anticipating came to fruition.
Spring 2018 voyagers arrived to the World Odyssey around 10:30am to begin their extensive journey from the bus, through customs and to the ship. Institute for
Shipboard Education president and CEO Gary Ransdell was waiting as the buses arrived, ready to greet students’ smiling faces with high fives and some positive, reassuring words. After all was said and done, the MV World Odyssey left port with 536 students on board.
The ship was abuzz with electric excitement. Students wandered around the ship looking for cabins and meeting their roommates and soon-to-be best friends for the first time. However, students look forward most to having the opportunity to explore and see the world in new ways.
Taylor Brown, a biomedical sciences major from Central Michigan University,
hopes her experience on Semester at Sea will help her achieve her postgraduate dreams.
“I think it would be really cool to travel to different countries and provide health care to different people who don’t think they can afford those services,” Brown said. “Obviously I would want to start in my own community, but I think taking that globally would be really cool and it’s one of the reasons I decided to sail.”
Voyager Sidney Pidgeon, a psychology and theology major at the University of San Diego, hopes traveling the world can broaden her horizons and help her gain new perspectives.
“I want to see how different people find joy in each country,” Pidgeon said. “I want to see how religion impacts each country because there’s a lot of different religions we’re going to be seeing… and I would like to practice that with them or experience that with them.”
Embarkation was a momentous occasion for the entire shipboard community.
Spring 2018’s Assistant Dean of Student Life, Tiffany Taylor, has sailed multiple times and is particularly thrilled for what the voyage has in store for everyone.
“My advice is to get out of your room and meet people as swiftly and as quickly as possible, but to also take in every moment that you can alone,” Taylor said.
Here’s to Semester at Sea’s 124th voyage, starting now. Next stop: Honolulu.
