Spring 2025 | Asia, Africa, and Europe Exploration

Sending Mail to the Ship & Port Arrival Times

View information regarding sending mail to the ship and port arrival times below.

Sending Mail to the Ship

Please be aware that mail service can be unreliable in many of the destinations that we visit. Semester at Sea does not assume liability for lost, damaged, or undelivered items or the costs associated with the return or forwarding of items. Customs, duty charges and local taxes may all increase the cost of the package or cause it to become undeliverable. Itinerary changes are possible, and, while we will attempt to forward delivered mail to our next destination, it is not always possible. Due to these challenges, sending mail and packages to the ship is strongly discouraged.

If you have an emergency or must send something to the ship and have more questions, please contact us at (800) 854-0195 or email familysupport@semesteratsea.org for instructions.

For small flat parcels like heavy duty envelopes a $10 fee will be charged to the student’s shipboard account for shipping/handling. Higher fees will be charged for larger packages.
Duty charges are calculated by in-country officials based on the perceived value of the items enclosed or in some cases the local price. As a result, duties may exceed the value of the items sent and are commonly in the hundreds of dollars. Again, sending packages to the ship is strongly discouraged.

We recommend that you avoid sending any of the following items: medications, credit cards, currency, valuable items, food (snacks, chocolates, candies, etc.), and electronics (cell phones, tablets, chargers, etc.).

Port Arrival Times & Mailing Addresses

Planning Your Own Travel

The disembarkation process upon the ship’s arrival to port can take anywhere from 1–4 hours depending on local customs and immigration.Additionally, on-ship* and departure times are based on a variety of factors, including weather, and can vary from what is listed below. When making independent travel plans, please give yourself extra time to both disembark and re-embark the ship.

[*] On-ship time is the time is the latest time that participants can return to the ship. Times listed below are estimated; final on-ship times will be announced onboard prior to arrival in port.
[**] When the ship repositions to a different port in or near the same country, it is considered an overland port. This means that participants have the option of traveling with the ship as it repositions or staying in-country for the entire span of scheduled time. Overland ports for this voyage are: Tema/Takoradi

Suggested Airmail Arrival Date

International shipments must pass through local customs and port security upon arrival to each country. The timelines for these processes vary and are out of Semester at Sea’s control. Therefore, it is up to the sender to determine the latest date and best method to ensure your package will ARRIVE at the port agent’s address NO LATER than the date listed.