Semester at Sea Opens Applications for 104-Day 2027 Voyage
Most calls are scheduled for six days, while Singapore returns to the itinerary for the first time in recent years and Cape Town has a seven-day stay.
Semester at Sea opened applications July 1, 2026, for its Fall 2027 World Voyage, a 104-day sailing aboard World Odyssey scheduled to depart Ijmuiden, Netherlands, on Sept. 9, 2027, visit four continents across two oceans and end in Thailand in late December. Applications are open to students and Lifelong Learners for the program’s 140th voyage.
The itinerary is built around extended port stays. Most calls are scheduled for six days. Singapore is returning to the program for the first time in recent years, while Cape Town is scheduled for a seven-day call.
Extended port calls anchor the route
The announced port list includes destinations in Portugal, Morocco, Brazil, St. Helena and South Africa before the ship continues toward Asia, with Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong also scheduled. Semester at Sea said participants will move “beyond tourism” through engagement with local community leaders, environmental experts and historic heritage sites.
Cape Town’s longer stay follows the city’s consistent ranking as a favorite destination among Semester at Sea alumni and guests. Semester at Sea also described Singapore as a setting for experiencing a major green city.
Sea days will remain part of the academic program, with coursework tied to the regions visited during the voyage. Semester at Sea uses the vessel as a shipboard campus, with classroom instruction by faculty teaching from global perspectives.
The Fall 2027 voyage extends a shipboard-education program whose modern history dates to 1963 and whose earlier inspiration was a 1926 Floating University voyage. Since 1963, more than 73,000 participants from 1,700 institutions have sailed with the program to more than 60 countries; the Institute for Shipboard Education manages Semester at Sea, and Colorado State University has been its academic sponsor since 2016.
World Odyssey’s 2027 schedule remains partly open
World Odyssey, built for Peter Deilmann as Deutschland and sailing for Semester at Sea since late 2015, normally operates under a charter arrangement and spends summer seasons with Phoenix Reisen under the Deutschland name. Phoenix Reisen has decided not to renew its contract beyond 2026, leaving the ship’s summer 2027 deployment undisclosed.
