‘Floating University’ MS World Odyssey drops anchor at Aqaba Port

AMMAN — Semester at Sea (SaS), a cruise-based study-abroad programme administered by the Institute of Shipboard Education (ISE) from Fort Collins, Colorado, arrived in Aqaba on Tuesday.

More than 623 students from various US universities are travelling aboard the ship for the duration of one semester in order to pursue their research specialisations in the various countries they visit, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Peter Marji, Director of Tourism at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), said that the floating university hosts students from 60 countries studying 75 different disciplines.

He added that the students will have the opportunity to conduct in-depth interviews with locals and visit tourist sites like Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo, all of which “will enrich” their scientific research and studies.

In 1963, the University of the Seven Seas, also referred to as the “Floating University”, set sail from the port of New York.

In 2015, the ship was changed into the MS World Odyssey and annually hosts one spring and one fall cruise. The autumn trip focuses on Europe, Africa, South and Central America, while the spring trip typically explores Asia, Africa and a few European ports, Petra added.