Semester at Sea (SAS). Additionally, a two-week 'Enrichment Voyage' program is held for continuing education participants during December and January. EXPLORER Cruise Ship/Floating University. Semester At Sea calls them, “Enrichment. Program Fees; Scholarships; Diversity; Inquire. Semester at Sea itineraries are carefully selected to maximize the value of a comparative global education. Semester at Sea, Fort Collins. Learn more about Semester at Sea. Semester at Sea is a multiple country study abroad program open to students of all majors emphasizing. EXPLORER Cruise Ship/Floating University . EXPLORER at San Diego on May 1. EXPLORER holds a unique place among passenger ships. On the one hand, it is among the best kept secrets in cruising, with voyages anyone can enjoy to unusual ports all over the globe. For much of the year it serves a dual role as a floating university for the Semester At Sea program giving students an educational opportunity they could not find elsewhere. The ship transports people, young, old and in between, to distant corners of our world, while transforming them into a distinctive shipboard community. Cruising is considered too frivolous a term for these trips. They are journeys, or as Semester At Sea calls them, . Of the five ships that have been utilized since the establishment of the ISE, Institute For Shipboard Education, and its predecessors back in 1. Orientation Program Speaker; Success Secrets Speaker; Successful Leadership Speaker; College Talk. College Speaker; College Speaker Series; College Speakers; College. Semester at Sea -- Not Just for the. The Semester at Sea program is supported by a host. EXPLORER is by far the most modern and up- to- date. It is also among the fastest ships in the world with an average cruising speed of 2. Only the QUEEN MARY 2 and a sister ship, the GRAND VOYAGER can offer comparable speeds. In what many, including this writer, now consider a golden era in cruising, the most comfortable ships were between 2. Very few new vessels of this size have been constructed in an era that favors the economics of mega- ships carrying multitudes in the thousands. The EXPLORER proves a happy exception to this rule, with a perfectly sized maximum capacity of 8. On the twice a year Enrichment Voyages during April and December, no more than 7. Photo by Shawn J. The early history of this technologically advanced ship was not without its share of pain and disappointment. Going back a little farther, Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, ROC, was founded in 1. Both companies specialized in cruises throughout the Greek Islands and Eastern Mediterranean. The founding families took the company public in 1. The same year it was announced that the first newly- built ships for the line would be ordered from the famous Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The initial elation was severely tested in 1. Greek tourism virtually collapsed largely due to the war in Kosovo and problems in the Middle East. Stock prices of ROC sank to just $2. The winning suitor turned out to be Louis Cruise Lines of Cyprus which gained a 4. Royal Olympic including all of the portion that had once been Sun Line. The infusion of cash allowed the company to continue operations and importantly the building of the new ships that were desperately needed if the line was going to remain competitive. Cutaway showing the OLYMPIC VOYAGER from a Royal Olympic Cruises brochure. Dake. The first ship, OLYMPIC VOYAGER, was delivered during June, 2. The route would be the 7- Day, 3- Continent cruise, sailing from Piraeus, Greece to Egypt and Israel with Turkey and the Greek Islands included. The high speed allowed visits to a port, or even two, every day. Eight destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia in just a week. The plan was for the second ship to visit as many ports each week but concentrate on an itinerary called the Grand Aegean And Adriatic Cruise. That ship was to be named the OLYMPIC EXPLORER and the maiden voyage was set for May, 2. The date came and went when Royal Olympic Cruises refused to accept delivery of the ship citing technical concerns over alleged severe vibration problems. There was much speculation that the refusal was based more on financial rather than technical reasons but in any event the ship remained at her builders. Meanwhile, with the upcoming 2. Olympic Games being held in Athens, the International Olympic Committee demanded that the company stop using the trademarked word Olympic in their name and the names of the ships. The fleet was restyled as Royal Olympia Cruises and the OLYMPIC prefixes were changed to OLYMPIA. After nearly a year of acrimonious negotiations on April 1. OLYMPIA EXPLORER. Blohm & Voss yard number 9. An early rendering with the intended name OLYMPIC EXPLORER and balconies instead of Bay windows on Deck 5 forward. Dake. The company was justifiably proud of their new ship. One prominent industry publication called it . The OLYMPIA VOYAGER and OLYMPIA EXPLORER were virtually identical with one major difference distinguishing them. On Deck Five forward, the Deluxe Suites on the first ship had bay windows while on the latter, 1. Junior Suites. The hull design of both ships were based on the . The slender underwater forward portion is a mono- hull which extends to a semi- tunneled aft body with two closely placed propellers near the center, creating less resistance and allowing an undisturbed flow of water to the props. The specially built propellers were designed by Kamewa. Four main 9. L4. 6C Wartsila NSD engines generate 9,4. W of power each with four additional 2,0. W auxiliary engines. With only two of the main engines running, the ship can attain a speed of 2. At full power the top speed is estimated at 3. Even at the normal cruising speed of 2. Bow view. This was followed by a series of three Caribbean cruises and a longer roundtrip through the Caribbean and up the Amazon River to Manaus, Brazil. Lauderdale to Los Angeles was made in just 1. The vessel transited the Panama Canal for the first time on January 1. Los Angeles on the 2. A roundtrip cruise to Hawaii with the obligatory stop in Ensenada, Mexico to satisfy cabotage laws rounded out the first North American season. The longest voyage during this phase of her career was a 5. South America departing from Los Angeles, February 7th heading south along the West Coast, rounding Cape Horn on March 8thand terminating in Ft. The same day the ship departed for an eastbound trans- Atlantic crossing, resuming the previous Mediterranean itinerary on April 2. Maiden call of the OLYMPIA EXPLORER to the Port Of Los Angeles, January 2. In November 2. 00. Atlantic returning to North America for the winter season. The plan was to operate a longer season of roundtrip Hawaiian Islands cruises from Los Angeles and San Francisco followed by an even more extensive South America cruise in 2. World events had not been helping the company improve their outlook since the new ships were added. The tragedy of September 1. Mediterranean because of the war in Iraq. Royal Olympia did little to help themselves by choosing to position their ships primarily in the eastern Mediterranean while other lines departed for areas perceived as safer by the public. A nearly constant switching of ship deployments after the brochures were printed further confused passengers. As 2. 00. 3 drew to a close it appeared likely the company would soon be heading for bankruptcy. Two of the ship holding companies within Royal Olympia filed Chapter 1. The cruise season that never was. Dake. The OLYMPIA VOYAGER was detained at St. Thomas, canceling the voyage of December 1. OLYMPIA EXPLORER cancelled her December 2. Christmas and New Year Hawaii cruise at the Port of Los Angeles. The bankruptcy came as a direct result of the company being unable to restructure $2. By March, 2. 00. 4, an additional six ships had been seized and the entire company had gone under. The OLYMPIA EXPLORER was moved to the adjacent Long Beach Harbor and remained anchored from January until May about a half mile off the stern of the QUEEN MARY, with just a skeleton crew aboard. Strangely, many evenings the rigging lights of the ship were brightly illuminated giving the false impression of a beautiful cruise ship about to set sail. OLYMPIA EXPLORER laid up at anchorage off Long Beach, California, May 8, 2. Having only sailed for 2. The purchase price was US$8. The bank kept the ship laid up at anchor while they sought a buyer or charter arrangement. UNIVERSE EXPLORER (ex BRASIL, VOLENDAM, MONARCH SUN, VOLENDAM, ISLAND SUN, LIBERTE, CANADA STAR, QUEEN OF BERMUDA, ENCHANTED SEAS). That ship had been built in 1. American liner BRASIL for Moore- Mc. Cormack Lines service to South America. The BRASIL later served as a great cruise ship for a number of different lines including Holland America Line as the VOLENDAM, MONARCH SUN, then again VOLENDAM, with subsequent renaming to ISLAND SUN, LIBERTE, CANADA STAR, QUEEN OF BERMUDA, and ENCHANTED SEAS before becoming the Semester at Sea vessel UNIVERSE EXPLORER. It was a long and brilliant career that finally ended on the beaches of Alang, India in 2. By a happy coincidence, the much newer ship available for charter to Semester At Sea, bore at least in part the EXPLORER name of the previous ship. The OLYMPIA portion was simply dropped. For a brief time the two ships were together in Portland, Oregon while materials were transferred from the old to the new including 1. As the UNIVERSE EXPLORER sailed off to meet her fate the two ships exchanged poignant whistle salutes. This changeover also marked the end of the long relationship between ISE and the Seawise Foundation founded by the late C. Y. Tung. Royal Olympia Cruises funnel colors combined the logos of Sun Line and Epirotiki Cruises. They took over operation of the ship in 2. German banks that had seized the ship when Royal Olympia Cruises declared bankruptcy. Eventually, a loan of $8. December, 2. 00. 7. The market value of the ship was assessed at $1. Semester At Sea now regularly embarks students on voyages lasting up to 1. Around the World in the Spring and Fall. Summer semesters are typically 6. Between semesters there are Short Term and Enrichment Voyages of between 2. One such voyage, the 2. Central America and Panama Canal journey of April 2. May 1. 8, 2. 01. 1 will be reported on these pages in more depth, coming soon. The atrium lobby. The former casino has been transformed into one of the world's largest floating libraries. Topics can address any number of issues including history, culture, literature, geology, biology and things related to the regions in which the ship travels. In the area where a casino once took passengers money, a 9,0. Instead of shore excursions, tours ashore are called Field Programs allowing for new discoveries in each port.
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