Independent Travel On Semester at Sea

If you are anything like me, being prepared and planning your travels ahead of time is a must! However, on SAS, you will quickly learn that most things don’t go as planned.

Here are a few tips that I think all future SASers should know when it comes to planning independent travel aboard the M.V. World Odyssey.

1. Do not rely on the computers in the library

This is something that I cannot say enough!!! On the ship there are only 4 computers that have access to the internet at all times and students are limited to 30 minute sessions. This makes it extremely hard to plan and book different hotels/tours especially since it cant take minutes to fully load a page.

Not only are you limited in time, days leading up to port, the line for the computers can be hours long (I’m not kidding). If you solely rely on the ship computers to book independent, you may end up with only 1 or 2 things planned for your 5 days in port.

2. Set aside time in port to plan for the next country

This is something that I wish someone would have told me before my voyage. While in port, you will have certain moments where you have some down time. I recommend to use this time to plan for the next port with your friends.

This can be done in the hotel/Airbnb you are staying at, a coffee shop, or even the port that the ship is docked at (almost all ports that the ship docks at has a sitting area with free WIFI).

Use the fast and free WIFI when you can because it will save you so much time, energy, and stress!!

3. Before embarking, create a small list of things to do/see in each country

I highly recommend creating a list of about 5-10 things to see/do in each country on the itinerary. Not only will this save you the hassle of fighting for the computers on the ship, but it will give you an idea of what you really want to see/do.

Once you are on the ship, and with your group of friends, compare lists and see what everyone wants to do. This makes it so much easier to plan independent travel and saves you so much time. Trust me, you do not want to spend hours fighting for a computer in the library.

4. Do not plan more than 2 ports ahead

I know, I know… planning travel on SAS is so exciting but I highly recommend only going about 2 ports ahead.

Coming from someone who sailed on the Spring 2020 voyage (COVID), I cannot stress this enough. Things can change overnight and that may even mean your planned itinerary (we had 8 itinerary changes). By planning way in advanced, you may end up having to cancel hotels/tours and that could even mean losing money.

Not only can itineraries change, but the group you decide to travel with may change also. You may realize that you travel better with different groups so don’t commit to anything until you know what you want to do for sure!

That being said, if there is something that you want to do in the very last port, and you know it will sell out if you don’t book it ASAP, go for it. Don’t miss out on that opportunity!!

5. Don’t be afraid to travel with different groups

Along the way you may find that you travel better with certain people and that’s okay… I knew of many people that ended up traveling with different groups after the first port for that exact reason.

This is a once in a lifetime experience and you need to do/see what you want to do; even if that means traveling with a different group for the day or for the entire stay in port.