Semester at Sea: Fall 2016 Voyage

Semester at Sea: Spring 2016 Voyage

Semester at Sea: Fall 2015 Voyage

Semester at Sea: 52 Years, 124 Voyages And 1,634 Ports Of Call

On October 22, 1963 an amazing experiment in international education and cultural exploration began when the MS Seven Seas sailed from New York City on an around-the-world voyage with students, faculty and staff/administrators.  124 voyages, and just over 52 years later, the MV World Odyssey has just sailed from Dakar, Senegal bound for Salvador, Brazil.  This “amazing experiment” continues …

Over the years the program has had different names — The University of the Seven Seas, The Seven Seas Division of Chapman College, World Campus Afloat and Semester at Sea — but the spirit and mission of the program has remained unchanged.

The students, their faculty mentors, the staff members who have held things together and the life long learners who have shared in these adventures of discovery and understanding have visited 96 “unique” political units over the years.   That’s another way of saying “countries” — the program has been around so long that South Vietnam was visited before becoming Vietnam; the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong was a common port of call before becoming part of China; the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics broke up and separately became Ukraine and Russia and the same can be said for Yugoslavia and Croatia.

The 124 voyages (including the five lost voyages of the World Campus Afloat program) have made 1,634 ports of call (including embarkation and debarkation ports), including two by land, Barcelona in March of 1965 on the Spring Voyage 1965 — the “dead-head” voyage — and the land-locked city of Jerusalem in March of 1983 during the Spring Voyage 1983 when the SS Universe ran aground in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt.  

Of these 1,634 ports of call, three were also visited via air when the MV Explorer was temporarily out of action for ship repairs during the Spring Voyage 2005 — the entire ship’s company flew to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City (where they rejoined the ship).

Not included in the list are port “stops” for fuel bunkering, the health emergency stop at Diego Garcia (Spring Voyage 2011) and the two “immigration” stops at Ishigaki-shima, Japan (Fall Voyage 1991 and Spring Voyage 2011) — students were not allowed ashore, so these are not ports of call.

Here’s the list as of November 6, 2015:

United States                                                211

Japan                                                             103

India                                                                85

Spain                                                               64

China                                                              63

Egypt                                                              59

Greece                                                            54

South Africa                                                  54

British Crown Colony of Hong Kong       51

Brazil                                                              50

Taiwan                                                           45

Morocco                                                         41

Vietnam                                                         41

Italy                                                                39

Malaysia                                                        38

Turkey                                                            38

Bahamas                                                        34

Canada                                                           30

Kenya                                                             30

Sri Lanka (Ceylon)                                        29

Singapore                                                       24

Portugal                                                          23

Venezuela                                                       19

Ghana                                                             17

United Kingdom                                           17

Mexico                                                            16

Philippines                                                     16

South Korea                                                   16

Mauritius                                                        15

Yugoslavia                                                      14

Senegal                                                            13

Cuba                                                                12

Panama                                                           12

Thailand                                                          12

Israel                                                                11

Russia                                                              10

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics             10

Chile                                                                  9

Croatia                                                              9

Indonesia                                                          9

Ireland                                                              9

Australia                                                           8

Belgium                                                            8

Costa Rica                                                        8

Argentina                                                         7

Fiji                                                                     7

France                                                               7

Norway                                                            7

Peru                                                                   7

Tanzania                                                           7

Myanmar (Burma)                                          6

Netherlands                                                     5

Papua New Guinea                                        5

Seychelles                                                         5

Trinidad and Tobago                                      5

Ecuador                                                            4

French Polynesia                                            4

Guatemala                                                       4

New Zealand                                                   4

Poland                                                              4

Tunisia                                                              4

Ukraine                                                            4

Uruguay                                                           4

Colombia                                                          3

Denmark                                                          3

Dominica                                                          3

Jamaica                                                             3

Lebanon                                                            3

Namibia                                                            3

Sierra Leone                                                     3

Angola                                                              2

Belize                                                                 2

British Crown Colony of the Seychelles      2

Bulgaria                                                            2

French Somaliland                                          2

Germany                                                          2

Haiti                                                                  2

Honduras                                                         2

Ivory Coast                                                       2

Malta                                                                 2

Mozambique                                                    2

Algeria                                                              1

Barbados                                                           1

Cyprus                                                              1

Finland                                                              1

Guinea                                                               1

Iceland                                                               1

Liberia                                                               1

Martinique                                                        1

Netherlands Antilles - Curacao                     1

Nicaragua                                                         1

Nigeria                                                              1

Romania                                                           1

South Vietnam                                                 1

Sweden                                                             1

Western Samoa                                                1

Semester at Sea: Places We've Gone - Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia (Port Calls: 14)

Port of Call: Dubrovnik - Number of Visits: 11

April 18, 1998

SS Ryndam - Spring Voyage 1968 - Voyage 09

SS Ryndam - November 15, 1970 - Fall Voyage 1970 - Voyage 14

TSS Regina Prima - July 19, 1974 - Summer Voyage 1974 - Voyage 25

MV Romanza - July 29, 1974 - Summer Voyage 1974 - Voyage 25

SS Universe Campus - October 1, 1975 - Fall Voyage 1975 - Voyage 29

SS Universe - November 30, 1986 - Fall Voyage 1986 - Voyage 48

SS Universe - February 16, 1987 - Spring Voyage 1987 - Voyage 49

SS Universe - December 1, 1987 - Fall Voyage 1987 - Voyage 50

SS Universe - January 31, 1989 - Spring Voyage 1989 - Voyage 53

SS Universe - December 2, 1989 - Fall Voyage 1989 - Voyage 54

SS Universe - February 16, 1990 - Spring Voyage 1990 - Voyage 55

Port of Call: Split - Number of Visits: 3

July 30, 1974

MV Romanza - Summer Voyage 1974 - Voyage 25

SS Universe - February 15, 1988 - Spring Voyage 1988 - Voyage 51

SS Universe - December 1, 1988 - Fall Voyage 1988 - Voyage 52

Note: For port calls to Dubrovnik after Sept. 8, 1991 see Croatia

It should be noted that the voyage count of 124 includes the five “lost voyages” that have been unearthed and documented through the efforts of students, faculty members and administrators who sailed on these “lost” World Campus Afloat voyages.   

Semester at Sea: Places We've Gone - Western Samoa

Western Samoa (Port Calls: 1)

Port of Call: Apia - Number of Visits: 1

June 30, 1996

SS Universe Explorer - Summer Voyage 1996 - Voyage 68

It should be noted that the voyage count of 124 includes the five “lost voyages” that have been unearthed and documented through the efforts of students, faculty members and administrators who sailed on these “lost” World Campus Afloat voyages.   

Semester at Sea: Places We've Gone - Vietnam

Vietnam (Port Calls: 40)

Port of Call: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Number of Visits: 39

October 20, 1994

SS Universe - Fall Voyage 1994 - Voyage 64

SS Universe - April 1, 1995 - Spring Voyage 1995 - Voyage 65

SS Universe - October 17, 1995 - Fall Voyage 1995 - Voyage 66

SS Universe Explorer - April 5, 1996 - Spring Voyage 1996 - Voyage 67

SS Universe Explorer - October 18, 1996 - Fall Voyage 1996 - Voyage 69

SS Universe Explorer - April 4, 1997 - Spring Voyage 1997 - Voyage 70

SS Universe Explorer - October 18, 1997 - Fall Voyage 1997 - Voyage 71

SS Universe Explorer - April 17, 1998 - Spring Voyage 1998 - Voyage 72

SS Universe Explorer - October 8, 1998 - Fall Voyage 1998 - Voyage 73

SS Universe Explorer - April 26, 1999 - Spring Voyage 1999 - Voyage 74

SS Universe Explorer - October 12, 1999 - Fall Voyage 1999 - Voyage 75

SS Universe Explorer - March 30, 2000 - Spring Voyage 2000 - Voyage 76

SS Universe Explorer - October 12, 2000 - Fall Voyage 2000 - Voyage 78

SS Universe Explorer - March 24, 2001 - Spring Voyage 2001 - Voyage 79

SS Universe Explorer - September 28, 2001 - Fall Voyage 2001 - Voyage 81

SS Universe Explorer - March 30, 2002 - Spring Voyage 2002 - Voyage 82

SS Universe Explorer - September 29, 2002 - Fall Voyage 2002 - Voyage 84

SS Universe Explorer - September 24, 2003 - Fall Voyage 2003 - Voyage 87

SS Universe Explorer - March 21, 2004 - Spring Voyage 2004 - Voyage 88

MV Explorer - September 27, 2004 - Fall Voyage 2004 - Voyage 90

Via Air (MV Explorer departure Feb. 23) - February 20, 2005 - Spring Voyage 2005 - Voyage 91

MV Explorer - November 5, 2005 - Fall Voyage 2005 - Voyage 93

MV Explorer - March 26, 2006 - Spring Voyage 2006 - Voyage 94

MV Explorer - July 19, 2006 - Summer Voyage 2006 - Voyage 95

MV Explorer - September 27, 2006 - Fall Voyage 2006 - Voyage 96

MV Explorer - April 9, 2007 - Spring Voyage 2007 - Voyage 97

MV Explorer - September 27, 2007 - Fall Voyage 2007 - Voyage 99

MV Explorer - March 27, 2008 - Spring Voyage 2008 - Voyage 100

MV Explorer - October 30, 2008 - Fall Voyage 2008 - Voyage 102

MV Explorer - March 22, 2009 - Spring Voyage 2009 - Voyage 103

MV Explorer - November 3, 2009 - Fall Voyage 2009 - Voyage 105

MV Explorer - February 26, 2010 - Spring Voyage 2010 - Voyage 106

MV Explorer - November 3, 2010 - Fall Voyage 2010 - Voyage 108

MV Explorer - March 19, 2011 - Spring Voyage 2011 - Voyage 109

MV Explorer - October 25, 2011 - Fall Voyage 2011 - Voyage 112

MV Explorer - March 25, 2012 - Spring Voyage 2012 - Voyage 113

MV Explorer - February 12, 2013 - Spring Voyage 2013 - Voyage 117

MV Explorer - February 14, 2014 - Spring Voyage 2014 - Voyage 120

MV Explorer - February 11, 2015 - Spring Voyage 2015 - Voyage 123

Port of Call: Halong Bay - Number of Visits: 1

July 20, 2004

MV Explorer - Summer Voyage 2004 - Voyage 89

 Note: See South Vietnam for port calls prior to July 2, 1976

It should be noted that the voyage count of 124 includes the five “lost voyages” that have been unearthed and documented through the efforts of students, faculty members and administrators who sailed on these “lost” World Campus Afloat voyages.