Dear Prospective Student,

The cruise on the TS Golden Bear is an amazing experience, and one that you will never forget. As with anything, there are pluses and minuses as part of the cruise. Originally I was going to go on this “trip” because my best friend was and I thought it would be fun to go together, and I love to travel. But when the class list came out she decided not to go because nothing counted for her, and I was kind of bummed and doubting going. Then I kind of just said to hell with it, and signed up to go and before I knew it I was on the ship. Now that I went alone, I am so happy that we did not come together because almost everyone comes alone and you meet so many awesome people on the ship on your own. I wouldn’t let anyone hold you back from coming because it is a great thing to do on your own.

I loved the whole ship experience. I wanted to study abroad but didn’t want to go to just one place, and this trip allowed me to go all over with people my same age. You meet tons of new people from Poly and CMA and form some really strong friendships. The ship becomes your life and it is like its own little community. It was nice to just have a break from “life” kind of, and have no phones or internet and just be out in the middle of the ocean - nothing to be worried about. It was also nice having classes with everyone because everyone would study together, and it made it easier to get homework done because everyone else was doing it too. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I loved having a month off of school before coming aboard the ship!!

While there were tons of positive things, there were many other things that were not necessarily negative but hard to deal with. The living situation is difficult to deal with. I lived in lower berthing with ten other girls. This was a really fun experience - almost like being at camp and having a slumber party every night. At the same time that it was fun it was also difficult because you didn’t have any really personal space. Luckily I had some good friends in a stateroom and I would go there to kind of regain my sanity. In the stateroom you have three people with a desk and a couple of cabinets. The staterooms are a nice place to go sit and do homework at the desk, or just go take a nap in your bed. In lower berthing it is a little difficult sometimes to just go take a nap, and I could not study or do homework in the room which was fine because most homework and studying took place in the classrooms. I am a deep sleeper so the lower berthing situation did not bother me, but for people who are light sleepers it may be difficult because there are alarms going off at all different times or people coming in and out. Another thing I found very difficult was alone time on the ship. There is nowhere on the ship where you can really go and be alone - it is not like at home where you can go close your door and just be by yourself in your room. This was really difficult for me and once in a while it really got to me, but having friends in a stateroom helped because I was able to kind of escape in their room.

Another thing about coming on this cruise is that you should definitely not take more than twelve units, and you really don’t have as much leisure time as people say that you will have. I started class at 7:20 in the morning and went until 10:30. After that you have an hour before lunch, and then you have lunch and quarters, and then the afternoon until dinner at 5:30. But time flies and usually I would take a nape in the afternoon because your sleeping patterns get a little off. Basically I am trying to say I wouldn’t take the hardest classes offered because even with three GE’s I found it difficult to get my homework done for each day just because of all the other things that come up in a day, and with port time. But it all depends on the person - I just found for there not to be as much leisure time as I thought there would be. Aside from the studying and living, it is an amazing trip. The ports are amazing and the people you meet. Another thing to consider for this trip is having a boyfriend or girlfriend at home., I would advise you to definitely not come on this trip with a bf or gf at home. There are a few (when I say a few I mean like 3 out of the whole group) who somehow seemed to remain loyal to that special someone at home, but for the rest of them that failed to be the case.

These are just a few pointers that will hopefully help you with your decision to go or not go on the cruise. But overall the cruise is an amazing experience where you learn a lot about yourself, meet all sorts of new people, and have the time of your life.

Sincerely,

You Cal Poly Cadet