The MV Explorer (pictured here) was built in 2002 and adopted by the Semester at Sea program in 2004; it's the fastest cruise ship in the world, said its staff captain, Mats Nelson. Built by German-company Blohm & Voss, the passenger ship is 590 feet long, with seven decks, 418 cabins, two dining rooms, an outdoor pool, fitness center, spa and hair salon, and on the top deck, the classic on-ship game of shuffleboard.
In decades past, students would meet new friends in remote areas of the world, exchange postal addresses and correspond months later after they were back ashore. Now they can form "instant" friendships, exchanging e-mail with new friends in India or South Africa as soon as they're back on the ship, COO Moschella said.
Students used to meet their classmates cold, much like they did upon arriving on a dry-land campus for the start of their freshman year. Now, with the use of social networking site Facebook, Semester at Sea students can form friendships before the program even starts, he said.
"College students are so connected, and they expect that. We've had to adapt to that," he said.
Photo by Stefanie Olsen/CNET News.com
