Custom Voyages - Options

Sea|mester provides full room and board for the duration of any voyage. The arrangement of sleeping accommodation is dependent upon the vessel. Aboard any of Sea|mester’s owned vessels, each person is provided an independent bunk and personal storage space, typically split into three, four or six person cabins. Sleeping accommodation aboard smaller charter vessels is usually in shared cabins of two or three, but many students select to sleep up on deck in hammocks.

Along with snacks and soft drinks, we provide three meals a day while aboard the vessel. Meal planning, provisioning, meal prep, and clean-up is a fundamental group process at Sea|mester, and everyone aboard will be expected to play their part. While there may be opportunities to select to eat ashore as a group, this is typically an additional expense and will be discussed during voyage planning.

Sailing is a fundamental part of the experience, so during any voyage our team will provide both formal and informal sailing instruction.  Depending on the length of the voyage and programmatic emphasis, our instructors can also offer a more formalized sailing curriculum, leading to certification through International Yacht Training, our sail training partner.

Travel and cultural exploration live at the heart of every Sea|mester experience.  When we are not actively underway on passage, we’re at anchor spending time exploring ashore.

Shore time includes organized group tours or activities as well as individual or small group exploration. New destinations bring challenges of language, customs, and culinary exploits so each activity is designed to engage with the local culture, history or geography.

Each destination brings its own flavor. So whether by foot, bicycle or horseback, whether on beaches, over mountains or through the towns, exploration is a Sea|mester staple.

From the moment you step aboard, you’ll quickly discover that there are no passengers on our vessels, only crew members.

Irrespective of the length of the voyage, you and your team will take the helm of your own experience. It takes teamwork to ensure that the crew is healthy and the vessel operating smoothly, so we share the responsibility and rotate roles daily. From Skipper to Mate, Navigator to Bo’s’n to Engineer to Chef, and to positions that simply support the success of others, every crew member should be 100% involved.

This responsibility is designed to present challenges, and with our staff as facilitators, overcoming them holds a genuine possibility of having a profound impact.

The cost of travel from home to the vessel starting location is not included. Of course, these costs are primarily determined by where your group is based relative to where the vessel is located, yet other factors may also come into play, such as the time of year your group selects to travel and flight availability.

Either way, we work with a travel coordinator who can help you find the best itinerary and rates.

Sea|mester cannot apply for passports or visas on a student’s behalf, but we can provide the information you need to do so yourself. All US and Canadian students traveling on international voyages need to have a passport which is valid for a minimum of six months after the date of departure from the trip. Visitors from certain countries other than the US, UK, and Canada may require visas.

While some voyages may visit global locations with health risks, our goal is to avoid places where the State Department or Center for Disease Control (CDC) issue serious health warnings. If requested, we will provide you with links to these sites so that you and your group can make individual decisions regarding vaccinations.

Because we want to be prepared for every scenario, we’ve partnered with International SOS, the world’s leading medical and security risk services company, to provide complete emergency evacuation coordination and insurance for our participants. A critical piece of this plan is that International SOS membership also provides 24/7 access to a robust network of doctors and security services both before and during the trip. The cost of the membership is:

• Nano|mester – $35 per person
• Micro|mester – $50 per person
• Mini|mester – $75 per person
• Full Sea|mester – $150 per person

While we understand that this is an additional fee, we believe our custom program partners and their families will appreciate the value of International SOS’s services along with the peace of mind that this resource brings.

We will add the appropriate membership fee as a separate item to the invoice once we know the total number of travelers, and prior to the program, we’ll send all of your International SOS membership details.