Public outreach and education as part of a commercial cruise liner and academic partnership on Explorer of the Seas

The Explorer of the Seas, a 1020 ft (311 m) long cruise liner operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCCL), cruises a 7-day itinerary from Miami, Fl through both the Eastern and Western Caribbean on alternating weeks. In 2000, a cooperative agreement between RCCL and the University of Miami established two staffed onboard laboratories with comprehensive meteorological and oceanographic instrumentation. Coincident with the laboratory operations, a public outreach component was incorporated into the onboard facilities from the beginning. This program consists of a weekly onboard visiting scientist lecturer or researcher and interactive educational galleries permanently installed on Deck 4. Since operations began in October 2000, over 56,000 vacationers have toured the laboratory facilities onboard and been given exposure to marine and atmospheric research topics as well as the importance of long-term monitoring. Over 200 scientists have participated in the visiting scientist program providing two lectures to the guests onboard each week. This unique combination, research and education, facility has the potential to reach 180,000 family vacationers annually and to provide training and education extension programs throughout the Caribbean region. Since the program inception, undergraduate education and K-12 teacher mentoring programs have been added as extensions to the original outreach component of the program. The visiting scientist program has attracted participation from scientists around the world and a new pilot program has been initiated to provide an opportunity for regional Caribbean marine science facilities to invite the visiting scientists onboard to give seminars at their facilities while the ship is in port. The program continues to introduce innovation and quality educational opportunities through this partnership.