Semester at Sea: Everything You Need to Know

[@samanthamanuele655]

*Check Description For Links!* TIPS I FORGOT TO MENTION + TIMESTAMPS: - Who can go: college students, gap year students, grad students, lifelong learners (those above 30) - Who will be there: all of the above as well as professors and faculty and their kids/partners and the crew - Scholarship applications open up a few months prior to the voyage. Apply to every one you can!!! - When purchasing international data plans, I recommend buying on that is billed monthly than per day you use it. For example, Verizon offers monthly (20GB) or 10 days of data a month. You're in port for more than 10 days a month, so it ends up being cheaper to pay monthly. You also may randomly get service while sailing past land, so it's nice to be able to turn on data then. - IMPORTANT: You will *not* be able to access your schoolwork online off the ship wifi. So in port you won't be able to log onto Moodle to get homework done unless you download papers offline. This also means that once you are home from the voyage you will NOT have access to your assignments unless you saved them as pdfs, docs, etc. - Bring collapsable drawers! There is NOT a lot of storage space in the closets. Some people also use their empty suitcases as drawers under their bed. - Use packing cubes! They will save so much room and help keep organized, especially when staying somewhere overnight in country. - Bring a toiletry bag with airplane sized toiletries that you have all set to go when staying overnight in country. - Timezone changes happen while sailing. You’ll be notified beforehand to change your clock forward or backward before bed. You may decide to apply for a certain voyage because you’d gain more hours instead of losing them depending on the direction you’re headed. - The crew is the BEST. You will love them, and they will know you by name. I don’t know how they memorize everyone’s name, but they do! || TIMESTAMPS || 0:00 Intro 0:33 What is Semester at Sea? 1:08 Check SAS Affiliation 2:04 Applying 2:43 Once Accepted 3:47 Cabins 4:45 What to Bring 7:54 Top 3 Things to Bring 9:55 Credit Cards (w/o foreign fees!) 10:40 Bring Photocopies of Documents 10:56 Wait For SAS Emails 11:22 Embarkation Day 13:18 How Classes Work 17:02 On Ship Time + Dock Time 17:58 Making Plans in Country 18:45 Preport + Interport Lecturers 20:29 Field Programs vs. Independent Travel 23:22 My In-port Routine 24:38 Join a Club! 25:23 Drink Nights 26:01 Shipboard Accounts 26:25 WIFI/Staying Connected 28:03 Staying Safe in Country! 29:30 Emotional Aspect of SAS 30:26 Outro

[@augustwest5273]

I was fall 90 and finally my daughter is going on fall 23 and leaving in 2 days. I’m so excited probably more excited for her than she is. It was the best experience of my life.

[@samanthamanuele655]

Aw, that’s so exciting! I’m sure it’ll be so great to finally have that experience to share together. It really is the voyage of a lifetime!

[@pallabi.5]

Thank you so so much, this is one of the most detailed video i could find about SAS💛

[@samanthamanuele655]

Aww! I’m so glad to hear it could help!:)

[@lifewithsierra1971]

I want to do this so bad. So glad to hear it’s in person I was worried you’d have to do it all asynchronous.

[@samanthamanuele655]

Yup, classes are all in person! The professors are all professors from different colleges

[@sac967]

Thank you for sharing this helpful information!

[@samanthamanuele655]

Glad it was helpful!

[@evelynxtorress]

Thankyou for this!I have a question.Did you feel safe vlogging in public in each country ?

[@samanthamanuele655]

Thanks for watching! For your question, yes and no. Some countries I didn’t feel safe in certain areas, like India and Morocco, since I didn’t want to flash my phone around or draw attention. And some countries they’ll tell you beforehand in pre-port that it can be illegal to film in public without people’s consent. So definitely just have to use your judgement! Most of the time I just filmed montages so I wouldn’t have to worry about vlogging in port.

[@heathermolitor5011]

What kind of things are sold a the store on the ship? I’m wondering about things like toothpaste, lotion, soap, sunscreen, etc… thanks!

[@samanthamanuele655]

Hey! On my voyage there were clothes, school supplies (notebooks, folders, pens), toiletries (soap, body wash, tooth paste, deodorant). I believe there was sunscreen in lotion form, not a spray. However, things tend to be priced higher than you could buy at home or in ports

[@sanchoyitachatterjee9298]

How many photocopies of important documents are required?

[@samanthamanuele655]

None are required, but they’re good to have on you just in case you lose your passport and need to prove your identity. I just brought one photocopy of things like my passport, social security card, birth certificate. You’ll want to bring copies of any visas you need though!

[@Anna-wj8bv]

On the ship do you know what the classes are like for Gap year students.

[@samanthamanuele655]

Hey! From what my roommate on the ship told me, she had to take a mandatory gap year class for half the semester, and she could take other three (maybe two?) classes besides global I believe. I don’t think there was a limitation for which classes, but probably more of the 100-200 level courses

[@lifewithsierra1971]

What type of classes are offered? And what if no one wants to go out with you as I’m scared if I do this I’ll be left by myself and have no one to hang out with

[@samanthamanuele655]

Hello! About the courses, on Google search Frequently Offered Courses Semester at Sea. I believe I have a link to that website in the description, too. And definitely don’t let the fear of nobody going with you stop you! You’ll meet tons of people in group chats prior to the voyage, and when you make it on the ship you’ll find EVERYONE is eager to make friends, even the less talkative people like me, haha.

[@verayoung8510]

Is there a microwave available on ship to use at anytime?

[@samanthamanuele655]

Not that I’d seen or heard of. There’s hot water available 24/7 in lido and berlin, so if you had ramen cups you could use that, but no microwave

[@verayoung8510]

@@samanthamanuele655 ok thank you and love all the tips in this video!

[@samanthamanuele655]

@@verayoung8510 so glad it could help!!