2024 Cruise Information Brief

Emergency Contact

Emergency contact with individuals aboard the ship is available.  Should a student need to be contacted in the event of an emergency (death or serious illness of a family member for example), please call Campus Safety at 207-326-2479 or the Dean of Students, Deidra Davis at 207-326-2138. Dean Davis or Campus Safety staff will contact the ship and have the individual call back.

To reach someone aboard the vessel, please provide the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your contact information
3. The name of the person you need to speak with on the ship
4. Your relationship to that person
5. The nature of the emergency

This information will be communicated by Campus Safety or Dean Davis to the Commandant of Midshipmen; he will then discreetly arrange for your student to call you back. Please note that this process may take a few hours, depending on the location of the ship and the time of day.

Communication

The Cruise Blog is the most important hub of communication for family and friends to receive updates about cruise. Blog posts will chronicle the progress of the ship, allowing parents and friends access to a chart of the TSSOM’s course, a summary of activities, activity highlights, stats (latitude and longitude, speed, passage distance, etc), weather, and pictures.

Updates to the site happen at various times and are provided by students, faculty, and staff. If there are technical difficulties or other disruptions, updates may be delayed.

Please note: this blog site does not support commenting.

Training Cruise Manual

The Training Cruise Manual covers everything from discipline to the daily routine, watch position description, and meal hours. The Training Cruise Manual is available to students on the ship’s internal network during the training cruise. Students are required to attend Personal Development classes and pre-cruise briefings prior to the training cruise where additional information is given.

Voluntary Agreement for Summer Sea Term Participation 2024

Money

Students should bring money or credit cards for use in the ship’s store (which accepts cash as well as credit/debit cards), for excursions ashore (these are subsidized so that students don’t have to spend more than $25 per excursion and can be paid for in the ship’s store as described above), and for souvenirs ashore. There are currency exchanges or banks ashore at which they can convert paper money.

Phone Calls

Students do have the ability to make calls home while the ship is underway, utilizing a satellite app they can download to their phones. There is a small fee associated with this service, and it can only be used by the student to make outgoing calls while the ship is underway between ports. When the ship is in port, the student can use their regular mobile service to both make and receive calls; if your provider offers an international plan, you may wish to explore purchasing that for the duration of the cruise. The ship does have dedicated satellite phones that can be used to call home in an emergency situation (please see the “Frequently Asked Questions” portion of the site for more information).

Letters from Home

Mail is slow, so be sure to plan ahead. Please expect it to take at least 1 week for a letter/package to reach the port agent. If you send mail early, the agent will hold it until TSSOM’s arrival. Please use the port addresses listed on this website.

Email

Email will be used for text communication only. Students will not be able to send or receive attachments. If a student needs to receive an attachment, please have them coordinate with the Office on the TSSOM. Student email addresses are in this format: first.last@tssom.mma.edu. Additional information is available on the Email Tips page.

Alcohol Use

Alcohol is prohibited on board the ship. The policy aboard the ship is consistent with that of the US Coast Guard and can be found in the Training Cruise Manual. Students may be asked to submit to a breathalyzer test if it is suspected that they are intoxicated. If a student or staff/crew member refuses to submit to a breathalyzer test, they will be sent home. The cost to come home from a port with no notice due to a disciplinary matter can exceed $5,000. Additionally, the student receives no refund for cruise and must repeat the entire cruise. This kind of mistake can cost over $10,000.

Packing & Tools

All students enrolled in Marine Engineering Operations, Marine Engineering Technology, Marine Systems Engineering, and Marine Transportation Operations on the annual training cruise are required to have a tool kit. This tool kit is required to be with the student during all Maintenance Programs (Semester and Summer Maintenance) and during 4/C and 2/C cruises.

Cruise 2024 Packing List

Cruise 2024 Move Aboard Check List

A list of required tools can be found here.

Student Parking

Students may leave a vehicle parked in the designated parking lot designated by Campus Safety on campus while on cruise.  All vehicles left on campus must be properly inspected and insured.

Cruise Campus Parking Information (coming soon)