Sep 19, 2007
Attention, well-off students! There's a new cruiseship for your college studies, claiming to offer the equivalent of an education
For 24 years prior to last May, the University of Pittsburgh operated a "Semester at Sea" program on board the 25,000-ton, 600-passenger Universe Explorer, carrying students around the world on sailings that promised them credits towards their eventual graduation. The partnership came to a troubled end in 2005 over disagreements between Pitt and the institute that ran the program. The program is now run through the University of Virginia.
But you can't suppress an attractive, leisure-time substitution for classroom learning. Aided, apparently, by financial help from Royal Caribbean Cruises, a new ship -- the 29,000-ton Oceanic II, with 398 cabins -- began operating a similar program this September called "The Scholar Ship" (a worse name can't be conceived) to transport students onto the high seas on two four-month-long sailings per year costing $20,000 per student per four-month period. English-language classroom instruction aboard is supplemented by the educational value of making group shore excursions at the many ports where the ship will stop.
As promised by the chief sponsor of the cruise program, which is Macquarie University of Australia (also in the sponsoring consortium are universities in Morocco, China, Ghana, Monterrey (Mexico), and Berkeley (California), the multi-national students will receive an unspecified number of academic credits for each semester they go cruising. It's too late to book the current semester (the ship has already departed its port of embarkation in Athens), but openings for the semester starting in January are presumably still open. You'll have all the information you need by going to www.thescholarship.com.
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But you can't suppress an attractive, leisure-time substitution for classroom learning. Aided, apparently, by financial help from Royal Caribbean Cruises, a new ship -- the 29,000-ton Oceanic II, with 398 cabins -- began operating a similar program this September called "The Scholar Ship" (a worse name can't be conceived) to transport students onto the high seas on two four-month-long sailings per year costing $20,000 per student per four-month period. English-language classroom instruction aboard is supplemented by the educational value of making group shore excursions at the many ports where the ship will stop.
As promised by the chief sponsor of the cruise program, which is Macquarie University of Australia (also in the sponsoring consortium are universities in Morocco, China, Ghana, Monterrey (Mexico), and Berkeley (California), the multi-national students will receive an unspecified number of academic credits for each semester they go cruising. It's too late to book the current semester (the ship has already departed its port of embarkation in Athens), but openings for the semester starting in January are presumably still open. You'll have all the information you need by going to www.thescholarship.com.
Write and read comments about this post.
Sep 17, 2007
STA Travel has emerged as a power-house of travel for young vacationers
STA (the Student Travel Association) is the consumer of and successor to the now-defunct Council Travel (the former U.S. student travel agency), and it has achieved a size and influence within the travel industry that Council Travel never had. If you're of student age and you haven't recently studied the STA website (www.statravel.com), you really should. It offers travel opportunities at prices of which the older traveler can only dream.
$312 round-trip to London. Buenos Aires lodgings for $11 a night. Australia for $16 a night. One-way domestic fares for $51. The bargains, especially as we enter the autumn, are remarkable, and the site makes it clear that they are reserved for legitimate students who must authenticate their student status before they book. What's more, STA maintains offices in a growing number of locations across the country.
The student is, and should be, a privileged traveler, benefiting from every sort of discount and preference. By constantly consulting the STA site or their offices (whose attendants will tip you off as to the top offers), a student can achieve far-ranging travels at low cost.
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$312 round-trip to London. Buenos Aires lodgings for $11 a night. Australia for $16 a night. One-way domestic fares for $51. The bargains, especially as we enter the autumn, are remarkable, and the site makes it clear that they are reserved for legitimate students who must authenticate their student status before they book. What's more, STA maintains offices in a growing number of locations across the country.
The student is, and should be, a privileged traveler, benefiting from every sort of discount and preference. By constantly consulting the STA site or their offices (whose attendants will tip you off as to the top offers), a student can achieve far-ranging travels at low cost.
Write and read comments about this post.
Sep 5, 2007
A program known as "AirTran U" permits young people aged 18 to 22 to fly for as little as $69 to $89 anywhere in the United States
In a few days, it's back to school (an out-of-town school) for many young people aged 18 to 22. And they should know that Air Tran permits them to stand-by for $69 to $89 per flight, depending on the length of the trip. The program is known as AirTran U (www.airtranu.com); it will be operated until December 15 of 2007; and all the young person need do is show up at the ticket counter with a carry-on bag two hours before a flight. If there's still a seat available by a half hour before departure, the seat is theirs for the cut rate. Naturally, there's some risk involved, since if a flight is full, they'll have to hope for space on the next one. For that reason, trying this on lower traffic days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday is a good idea. And don't try "standing-by" twice in a row, as for a connecting flight, which involves just too much luck. Finally, keep in mind that there are black-out dates: November 21, 22 and 25-27.Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
