Student Studying at Sea Shares the Odd Tradition That Sees Students Kissing Fish and Shaving Their Heads (Exclusive)
Student Studying at Sea Shares the Odd Tradition That Sees Students Kissing Fish and Shaving Their Heads (Exclusive)
Jordan GreeneWed, April 22, 2026 at 9:19 PM UTC
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Lauren Lobanoff and her friendsCredit: Lauren Lobanoff (2) -
Lauren Lobanoff's TikTok about Semester at Sea went viral with over 840,000 views, sparking curiosity about ship life
The program combines classes at sea with travel to multiple countries, offering a unique and unplugged experience
Lobanoff says the video inspired people to explore the program and step outside their comfort zones
Lauren Lobanoff wasn't planning to go viral.
The 19-year-old college student from Minnesota was sitting in the dining hall on a ship, chatting with a friend about the little things people don't usually see about Semester at Sea, when they decided to turn the conversation into a TikTok.
“We were hanging out, talking about random things people wouldn't expect about the program, and we thought to ourselves, why not make this into a video!” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It wasn't planned at all. I just hit post because it felt real and relatable, and I didn't overthink it!”
Lobanoff, who studies marketing and management and runs her own photography business, is currently participating in Semester at Sea — a study abroad program where students live on a ship, taking classes while traveling to multiple countries.
Within days, the video struck a chord, racking up more than 840,000 views and hundreds of comments from viewers reacting to details they hadn't expected.
“I would loveeeeee to do a semester at sea but 5 minutes of WiFi 😳,” one person wrote.
“Did you say chlorine in your drinking water ?!?!?!” another commented.
Others leaned into the fantasy: “I wasn't aware I could live out my suite life on deck dreams in real life.”
For Lobanoff, that curiosity is exactly what she hoped to spark.
“I wanted to make the TikTok because I realized there's so much about Semester at Sea that people don't really see online,” she says. “You see the travel and the highlights, but not necessarily what daily life is actually like on the ship.”
Lauren Lobanoff and her friends at seaCredit: Lauren Lobanoff
Though those are just some of the unexpected parts of life at sea, Lobanoff shares one of the even quirkier traditions people might not know about — the kinds of moments that feel unexpected in real time but end up becoming some of the most memorable parts of the experience.
“Neptune Day is one of those super random but really fun traditions on Semester at Sea that everyone ends up talking about long after the voyage,” she explains. “It's basically a ceremony for when the ship crosses the Equator for the first time, and it's rooted in long-standing maritime tradition.”
According to Lobanoff, the day comes with its own storyline that brings the entire ship together.
“There's this whole storyline behind it where King Neptune ‘comes onboard,' and everyone who hasn't crossed the Equator before has to be ‘initiated' into becoming a ‘Shellback,' ” she says.
For many students, that initiation means leaning into the unexpected.
“People do things like kiss a fish, get covered in slime or even shave their heads,” she says. “It sounds so weird, but it's all part of the experience — a way of stepping outside your comfort zone and fully embracing it.”
While participation is optional, she says it quickly becomes something bigger than the individual moments.
“No one's forced to do anything, but a lot of people join in because it's such a shared moment with the whole ship,” she adds.
Even the more unusual rituals carry meaning.
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“The fish-kissing and head-shaving are part of that initiation,” she explains. “Kissing the fish is symbolic of ‘respecting the sea,' while shaving heads represents a playful ‘rebirth' after crossing into a new hemisphere.”
Looking back, Lobanoff says those moments stand out not because of what happens, but because of how they feel.
“Honestly, it ends up being less about what you're actually doing and more about the energy of the day,” she says. “It's one of those moments that feels so random at the time but ends up meaning a lot.”
These unusual traditions aren't the only things that make studying at sea particularly unique. That behind-the-scenes reality is also clear in how students' day-to-day life is structured — something she says often catches people off guard.
“You only take classes while you're at sea, and the schedule runs on A and B days, so you could have class on a Sunday and then be off on a random weekday,” she explains.
Just as surprising for many viewers is how disconnected ship life can feel.
“WiFi is also really limited,” she says. “You can buy packages, but you're definitely more disconnected than usual, which ends up being one of the best parts because it forces you to be really present.”
That slower, unplugged pace quickly reshapes daily life.
“When we're at sea, our days are structured around classes, but outside of that, life feels really simple,” she says. “We spend a lot of time together playing games, going to events, working out or just talking for hours.”
With everyone sharing the same space — from classmates to professors — those interactions naturally deepen.
“You're living, eating, learning and traveling with the same people, including your professors, so it turns into this really tight-knit community,” she says.
Even so, it's often the smallest, most unexpected details that leave the biggest impression.
“There are small things that people don't expect, like having set dining hours, water on the ship being chlorinated, or how you genuinely lose track of what day it is,” she says.
Lauren Lobanoff and her friends at seaCredit: Rosie Santellano
At times, the unpredictability goes beyond the day-to-day.
“The ship can also get way rockier than people think! We even had to cancel classes one day because of the waves!” she adds.
“It's such a unique mix of structure and unpredictability, and that's what makes it so special,” she says.
As her video continues to circulate, Lobanoff says the response has been especially meaningful for one reason: the number of people who see themselves in her story.
“The messages that have meant the most are from people saying the video inspired them to look into the program or even apply,” she says. “Knowing something I shared could encourage someone to step outside their comfort zone is really meaningful to me.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
