A Journery Begins

The line to board the ship

The day to board the ship has come at last! This morning there was a steady stream of students, parents, and luggage to taxis outside the Atlantis. After a last breakfast in the hotel I gathered up my things and caught a taxi with a set of parents and their daughter and a guy from Canada who happened to be going downtown at the same time. It was there the fun really began. Being the Bahamas it was a very warm and sunny day which would normally be a nice thing but begins to really suck when you’re carrying over 100 pounds of luggage and moving at the rate of about 10 feet per minute! As our boarding times were assigned alphabetically I was toward the middle of the pack and scheduled to board the ship at 10am. I don’t think I even got to the first port checkpoint until around 11!

After clearing the final line and checking my heavier pieces of baggage I was treated to my first up-close view of my floating home for the next several months.

The MV Explorer

It was quite exciting to finally board the ship and after a 45 minute check in process I made my way to my cabin. So until May my address is now cabin 3039 Deck 3, Starboard.

Cabin viewed from the Bed

Cabin viewed from the door

The cabin is modest but should be fine. There isn’t a lot of room but I won’t be spending much time here either. My roommate’s name is Tracy and he is from the University of Arizona. We are both very easy going and I think we will have a great semester together as room mates! According to SAS legend previous voyages often write messages on the back of the pictures hanging in the rooms and sure enough a quick flip of our picture revealed the pearls of wisdom from previous voyages. I’m afraid the writings are privileged information to only those fortunate few who become SAS alums or at least until I can post pictures...

At about 5pm Bahamas time our ship blasted its horn and pulled away from the docks with the aid of our trusty tug boat Amber Jack. The outside decks were completely packed with people and a hearty cheer was heard after the horn began to sound. We were on our way!

Parents Waving Farewell from the Docks

Before we were out of sight of the Bahamas the sun began to set completing our picturesque departure into the sunset

Shortly after dinner we had a welcome to the ship orientation where our Assistant Dean informed us that we would be joining the less than 1% of the world’s population who have circumnavigated the globe! This thought makes me feel extremely privledged to be here!