The extraordinary passenger cruise ship MV World Odyssey, carrying nearly 500 students from diverse backgrounds, has arrived at Ghana's ports.

This remarkable 175-meter-long vessel, flying the flag of the Bahamas, functions as a unique floating university campus for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, offering them the chance to explore the world while pursuing academic credits.

After concluding its visit to Cape Town, the ship spent three days each in Tema and Takoradi, Ghana, before embarking on its journey towards Tanger Med in Morocco.

It represents the sixth vessel operated under the Semester at Sea program, managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education in conjunction with Colorado State University in the USA.

Semester at Sea provides a wide array of academic programs spanning liberal arts, environmental studies, international business, and more.

In addition to academics, students engage in a plethora of extracurricular activities and cultural immersion experiences during their voyage.

These encompass field trips, guest lectures, community service projects, and interactions with locals at various port stops.

Captain Jan Christiansen, Executive Dean Marti Fessenden, and several students shared insights into this extraordinary academic adventure with Eye on Port.

Captain Christiansen underscored the program's aim to strike a balance between education and maritime experience, ensuring students have ample time to explore different countries, cultures, and interact with local communities.

Executive Dean Fessenden highlighted the global interaction among students and the program's practice of inviting university students from visited countries onboard.

Benjamin Amoh from OMA Ghana emphasized the company's dedication to providing top-notch ship agency and husbandry services, contributing to the growth of the cruise sector in Ghana. He expressed optimism for more passenger ships to visit Ghana and emphasized the return of MV World Odyssey in October, showcasing Ghana's rich cultural heritage to visitors.

“We stay very long in the ports, mostly we stay up to six days in the different countries. We try to balance the educational part of the program with the maritime experience so that the students have enough time to explore the different countries, and the different cultures, and also to meet the local population of the countries. That is the idea behind Semester at sea.”

“All of these students will tell you that they interact with students from around the globe. Another thing I think is important for you to know about this program is, as we sail from different countries we bring on a university student from that country. So we just sailed from Cape Town to Ghana and on the ship with us was a student from the University of Ghana, Legon. She spent the week in different classes talking with these students and interacting with our faculty,” the Executive Dean added.

"What makes us special is the experience and the personal touch of hospitality we provide to all of our guests, including the students, and some have even familiarized with our brand. OMA always wants to give you the best. We hope that more passenger ships will visit Ghana since it is a wonderful country and we want people to come and experience our culture. This specific ship, the MV World Odyssey, will surely return in October.”