Navigating the Cruise Industry

This immersive study abroad program will introduce you to the global cruise industry through firsthand industry engagement, academic analysis, and experiential learning both onshore and at sea.

• Visit the headquarters of Royal Caribbean (and potentially other companies) to learn more about hospitality management and meet with various departments that manage different aspects of the cruise experience.
• Join a Caribbean cruise for a week, where you'll meet members of the management team and take a back-of-the-house operations tour. You'll set sail from Miami, Florida, and visit locations such as George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Costa Maya, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; and return to Miami.
• You will study the cruise line industry through academic case studies that build cultural awareness and sector-specific knowledge. You will analyze real-world business challenges, develop and present strategic recommendations to cruise line organizations, and examine how managers build and advance their careers in this global industry. Through this work, you will also evaluate whether the cruise line sector aligns with your own career goals.
• Students will analyze cruise line marketing campaigns and learn how corporate headquarters and shore-side operations support the day-to-day and strategic needs of the cruise fleet.

This program is open to RIT Rochester students in the Saunders College of Business and students minoring in Hospitality Management.

RIT Rochester Hospitality majors (full-time) would receive a $3,000 scholarship from the Statler Foundation towards program costs.

Course Term: Spring course at RIT, travel to Miami and the Caribbean in May
Travel Dates: May 18-29, 2027
Credits: 3

Course Details:

• HSPT 489: Seminar in Hospitality (1 credit)

Students will be enrolled in a spring course at RIT and will travel to Miami and the Caribbean in May. No course pre-reqs.

Open to all Saunders undergraduate majors and graduate students with a 2.5 cumulative GPA or above (students with a 2.75 cumulative GPA or above will be given priority)

Application deadline: Sunday, October 18, 2026, by 11:59 PM

Note: part of your application includes submitting two letters of recommendation.

Applicants will also need to complete an interview with the faculty director for the program by October 18, 2026. To schedule an interview, please reach out directly to Hillary McCormick at hmccormick@saunders.rit.edu.

Program Cost & Financial Aid

Program Cost: Student budget worksheet - Navigating the Cruise Industry OUTDATED. An updated budget worksheet for the 2027 program will be available soon.

Financial Aid:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Download a copy of the budget worksheet (once available here)
• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare). For the type of document you are providing, select “Other Financial Aid Forms and Documentation” in the Financial Aid portal.
  • Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline so you understand how your aid will apply. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

To Apply

1) Start an application in the Compass (RIT's study abroad application system)
Once you login to the Compass you will need to complete some profile/registration questions, then use the “Search Programs” tab to search for “Navigating Cruise Industry" to complete an application.

Contact

Edwin Torres Areizaga
Department Chair, International Hospitality and Service Innovation
Saunders College of Business
etorres@saunders.rit.edu