What Not to Bring on SAS

What Not to Bring on SAS…

If you have ever seen a packing list for Semester at Sea, you know that it can be very overwhelming. Most of the time, these lists contain anywhere between 50-100 items that people say claim “necessary”.

To help cut down on how much you pack for your voyage, here is a list of the top 10 things you should NOT bring with you for your SAS voyage.

If you want the full packing guide on what to bring, click here!

1. HAMMOCK/ENO

This is something that I never even considered bringing and I’m glad I didn’t. There is no place on the ship that you will be able to hang a hammock so, unless you plan on spending a day at port sitting in one, I recommend leaving it at home!

2. HAIR DRYER

Please save yourself the space in your suitcase and leave the hairdryer at home! You may use it once or twice, but after the first week, you will fall into the SAS way of living. The ship is super relaxed and most people walk around with their hair up because of the wind.

If you absolutely need one, each cabin comes with one and it actually works really well!

3. YOGA MAT

This is the one thing that I wish I did not bring with me. Before getting on the ship in San Diego, I went to Walmart and purchased one and that was probably the biggest mistake. Not only did it take up so much room in my suitcase, but I think I only used it once.

Just like the hair dryer, after the first 2 weeks, working out will be a thing of the past. If you need a yoga mat for any reason, there are a handfull in the gym that you can borrow throughout the day!

4. TRAVEL PILLOW

There is nothing like having your own pillow and blanket while you are traveling around the world. The number one thing I would always hear people say is that they wish they brought theirs from home.

Since I knew I probably would not have room in my suitcase, I purchased a cheap pillow and blanket in San Diego and left them on the ship at the end of the voyage. Of course, you can bring your own from home, but just make sure that you have room to bring them home.

5. TOO MANY SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Classes on SAS are not like normal college classes. Most of the time, the course consists of sitting in lectures rather than “class work”. For many assignments, you will be writing papers and working in groups so save some space when packing school supplies.

I only used one spiral notebook (like 15 pages), index cards, and pens/pencils. I ended up throwing a lot away at the end because I did not have enough room to bring the rest home.

6. PASSPORT COVER

As soon as you get on the ship, SAS takes your passport (without a cover) until you get to the next port of call. Save yourself the space (storage when they have your passport) and money!

7. BOARD GAMES

I know the endless days at sea can get boring, but save the space in your bags and leave your board games at home! There are so many different board games up in Lido Terrace so you will have plenty of options to pick from throughout the voyage.

I would recommend brining a couple decks of playing cards though because the ones on the ship are not complete sets anymore!

8. HARDCOPY TEXTBOOKS

Unless your personal preference is a physical textbook, please, please, please find your textbooks online in PDF form. Not only will this save a ton space/weight in your bags, but most of the time you can find these books for free online.

There are so many websites for free college textbooks so you just have to find the one you like the best. Make sure you can download the PDF though because you will not be able to download it once you are on the ship.

9. TOO MANY CLOTHES

You won’t wear half of the clothes that you end up bringing. Like I said, the ship is VERY relaxed. On almost every day at sea, you will find most voyagers in sweatpants and a SAS T-shirt.

After you finish packing, I recommend taking half and putting it back. You will get in the cycle of re-wearing the same 4-5 shirts and figuring out different outfits for them along the way. I wish I would have done this because I had so many clothes with me that I NEVER wore.

I have a detailed clothes packing list HERE if you want to check it out!

10. TOO MANY SNACKS

I know, I know… everyone says bring a thousand and one snacks but please don’t!!! At every port you are going to want to buy foods specific to that country to bring back on the ship with you and you will most likely end up eating those first.

If you decide to bring anything with you, I would bring no more than 3-4 boxes of something. I brought way too many snacks and ended up throwing them away at the end of the voyage because I ate the ones I bought in-country instead. Don’t make the same mistake as me!!

More SAS related blog posts HERE!!

SAS decal Stickers HERE!