Educational Cruises

Mind-expanding Voyages

Journey to the ends of the earth and to the center of the mind

”Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. (Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad).

Twain's words are the credo of a rapidly expanding niche of the cruise business that caters to those seeking adventure, education, and comfort in equal measures. Instead of long, boozy nights at the gambling tables of the Love Boat, these travelers traipse through the ancient ruins of Pompeii or encounter primitive Indonesian tribes.

Educational cruise ships are usually smaller than the mega-ships used for ordinary cruises. Some carry 50 passengers or fewer: They generally have shallower drafts that enable them to anchor in ports that cannot accommodate bigger vessels. And on many trips, smaller specialized landing boats are taken along to carry travelers to more remote locations. On a New York Botanical-Gardens-sponsored trip down the Amazon River in Brazil, for example, voyagers spend four to six hours a day exploring the shorelines in motorized canoes. Accommodations may not be luxurious, but most ships are perfectly comfortable.

Only the most adventurous travelers would venture unaccompanied to many of these destinations. Take heart: University professors and other experts lecture nightly onboard most cruises.

What makes an educational cruise really interesting and exciting is gaining access to culture and places that would otherwise be quite inaccessible, explain experts in alumni travel.

With the guidance of an expert, educational cruises allow passengers to retrace the Mediterranean voyage of Odysseus, follow the Nile, explore Antarctica and visit some of the primitive island cultures of the South Pacific. Many colleges and universities now sponsor trips for alumni, and various museums, organizations and environmental groups have teamed up with cruise lines and travel agencies to offer trips to exotic locations.

There are so many choices, in fact, that you will need to do your homework to match the right destination to the right cruise line. One factor to consider: the lecturer who's coming along with you. Like college tuition, passage isn't cheap. Costs range from 1,0000 to 5,000 per person per day. You can save by skipping alumni – or museum-sponsored trips and booking directly through an education cruise company. Alumni associations often provide world-renowned members of their university's own faculty for the cruises, but the cruise companies through which the museum or alumni association has been chartered often have their own knowledgeable experts for much less.

Educational Cruises are mind-exploring voyages. Photograph by Elena.

Following are some of the more popular trips offered today be leading outfitters. To get you into the spirit of the journey, we”ve also included a list of recommended reading:

The Voyage of Odysseus

Recreate the ancient sailor's struggle against the plans of Zeus with a voyage (sans sea monsters) around the Mediterranean. Begin at in excavation site in Turkey believed to be where the ancient city of Troy was located, then travel on to Malta, Pompeii, and Tunisia. Though you most likely won't be seduced by the goddess Calypso, you will be transfixed by the beauty of this ancient sea.

Classical Cruises, Swan Hellenic – The Odyssey. Homer: Gods, Graves and Scholars by C.W. Ceram. The spirit of Mediterranean Places, Michel Butor.

The Nile: Cradle of Civilization

Cruise the 600 miles from Cairo to Aswan and see the famous step pyramid of Djoser at Sakkara, the temple of Luxor, the botanical gardens on Kitchener Island, and the Temple of Horus – the best preserved temple in Egypt.

Swan Hellenic: The Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt, Peter A. Clayton. Egypt in Late Antiquity, Roger S. Bagnall.

A Crusade through the Dark Ages

Cruise up the Rhine, Main and Danube Canal to visit the perfectly preserved medieval town of Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber. Stop at Duernstein to see a Benedectine Abbey, then on to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. Don't miss the thousand-year-old cathedral city of Bamberg on the Regnitz River.

Classical Cruises, Swan Hellenic: The Danube, Claudio Magris. The Viennese: Splendor, Twilight and Exile.

The Unspoiled Wild of Northwest

Follow the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver up the coast of British Colombia to historic Wrangell and on to Jumeau (accessible only by sea or air). Don't miss Haines, which has the world's largest concentration of bald eagles, or Glacier Bay, with its breathtaking fjords. Last stop: Victoria, the City of Gardens.

Special Expeditions, World Explorer, Clipper Cruises: Alaska by James A. Michener. A  Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic, by E.C. Pielou.

Whale-Watching off the Baja Strip

Sailing along the Baja peninsula off Claifornia and Mexico offers an opportunity to see dlophins, sea lions, and finback and blue whales. You can sometimes get close blue whales. You can sometimes get close enough to whales to touch item. Strap on a mask and snorkel for an op-close look at the wildlife and beautiful coral reefs.

Special Expeditions: Log from the Sea of Cortez, John Steinbeck. The Forgotten Peninsula, Joseph Wood Krutch.

The Ever-Evolving Galapagos Islands

Just off the coast of Ecuador are the islands where Charles Darwin did his ground-breaking studies in the nature of evolution. Here's a great chance to observe the fauna that inspired him; many of the island's animals will let you walk right up to them.

Adventure Associates: Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin. The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner.

The Dragons of Indonesian

Cruise to the Indonesian isles of Bali, Komodo, and the lesser Sundas. Stops include visits to the palace of the Sultan in Rabu Dompu. During an afternoon on the Komodo islands, you will probably encounter a 10-foot long Komodo dragon, the last of the prehistoric giant monitor lizards. And on the island of Sumbwa, the Duo Donnggo people continue to live as their ancestors did more than a thousand years ago.

Abercrombie & Kent: South Pacific Handbook, David Stanley. Indonesia: Paradise on the Equator, Karl Mulller and Paul Zach.

The Sacred Cities of Southeast Asia

Journey down the Mekong River past the ruins of Angkor, the temples of Borobudu, and on to the island of Bali. An unusual experience for Western travelers, but it doesn't have to be an apocalypse or journey into the heart of darkness it it is planned properly.

Classical Cruises: Southeast Asia, Past and Present, D.R. Sardesai.

Out of Antarctica

Cruise from the Argentine coast down to the final frontier at the bottom of the world: Antarctica. Try to score a cruise with Sir Ranulph Fiennes, one of the world's great explorers and an authority on the area. Look for whales, sea elephants, penguins, and fur seals along the way.

Abercrombie and Kent: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent.

Victoria Park in Toronto. Photo by Elena.