Semester at Sea Cost: Prices, Fees & Ways to Save

Semester at Sea is an academic program in which students take university courses aboard a ship that visits ports on several continents. Because the ship is both the classroom and the residence, the program bills a voyage fee that covers the academic program and shipboard living, and leaves travel to the ship and personal spending to the student.

What you pay depends mostly on which voyage you join and which cabin you choose. Home-university billing rules, financial aid, and how much you spend in port add smaller swings. The sections below separate the fee the program bills from the costs it does not.

The program publishes a fee for each voyage, and the fee is set by cabin category. The two voyages listed below carry the same fee in each category, so the cabin decision matters more than the season.

A standard cabin is the lower of the two fees on each voyage, and a premium cabin sits above it. The program fee is what the voyage bills. It is not the whole bill, which is why universities that host students publish a larger figure.

Check the program's current voyage page for the exact inclusions, because what is bundled can change between voyages. In general, the fee pays for the academic program and shipboard living, while the following items sit outside it:

• Airfare to join the ship and to get home from the final port
• Visas and entry documents that individual countries require
• Spending money, souvenirs, and meals ashore
• Optional excursions beyond the ones the program arranges
• Travel insurance and any medical needs

Those items are what universities lump into non-billable expenses. One university estimates them at $9,975 for a voyage, and that figure is a planning allowance that the program does not bill. A student who skips optional excursions and books airfare early can land below it, and a student who travels widely in port can land above it.

When a university sets a student's budget for financial aid purposes, it adds the non-billable costs to the program fee. That produces a total cost of attendance, and it is the more useful number for a family comparing Semester at Sea with a regular term on campus.

Cost of attendance is also what a financial aid office uses, so the figure shows up in award letters. A student on a standard cabin and a student on a premium cabin end up with different totals, and the gap between those totals matches the gap between the two cabin fees.

Three sources appear in the comparison below, and they do not agree. The differences have simple explanations, though the exact reasons for each figure are the publisher's to state.

The program's own figure covers only the fee it bills. A university estimate for the same voyage adds airfare, visas, and personal spending, so it runs higher. A second university's budget can run higher still, which may reflect different assumptions about travel, fees charged by the home school, or the term it covers. When you compare sources, check what each figure includes before deciding which one is high.

The premium cabin costs more for the same voyage and the same classes. What changes is the living arrangement, so the choice is mostly about comfort and budget. Ask the program for the current cabin descriptions and floor plans before committing, since details vary by ship and voyage.

Consider these points when deciding:

• The academic program is the same in both categories, so the extra fee buys living space and not different courses.
• A student sharing a cabin for a full semester may find the standard option perfectly workable.
• If the family is already stretching to afford the voyage, the lower fee leaves more room for port spending.

Semester at Sea offers financial assistance, and many students also use aid from their home university. Awards and eligibility change by year and by school, so ask both offices directly instead of assuming a number.

Practical steps that tend to help:

• Contact your home university's study abroad office early. Some schools apply campus aid to the program, and some do not.
• Ask the program about scholarships and payment plans, and note the deadlines.
• Book flights for joining and leaving the ship as soon as itineraries are final.
• Set a daily spending allowance for port days before you sail.
• Compare the total cost of attendance with a term on your own campus, including housing and meal plans you would otherwise pay for.

A licensed financial aid officer at your school can tell you how credits, aid, and billing will work. This page cannot predict an individual award.