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Friendships are made easily onboard while you travel, learn and grow together.
We welcome people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures to join our global voyages. We are striving to continually expand Peace Boat's programmes to participants from around the world, and offer our warmest welcome onboard!
If you are interested in applying for a volunteer language instructor or interpreter position, please refer back to their respective information and application pages within the “Get Involved” section of our website at: www.peaceboat.org/english/gvld/index.html

If you are interested in studying Japanese as a language course onboard the ship, please see our Global Friendship Award here:
www.peaceboat.org/english/nwps/cn/arc/100501/index.html
Joining a Peace Boat voyage circle
Symbolising the strength of the collaboration between Peace Boat and the United Nations, the UNMC’s logo “End Poverty 2015” was painted on the body of Peace Boat’s vessel in 2009
A Peace Boat voyage is a life-changing experience. Peace Boat is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) working in the fields of peace, human rights, sustainability and respect for the environment. Through our educational peace voyages, we aim to raise awareness through learning and sharing experiences with the peoples of the world, while at the same time building partnerships with NGOs from all five continents in the support of grassroots projects.

We charter a large passenger ship, The Oceanic, to carry out our voyages, but Peace Boat does not carry "passengers." Everyone onboard is a participant in the Peace Boat project and has the opportunity to contribute to the programmes onboard and in port. Peace Boat is not a traditional,commercial cruise.

Utilizing the public spaces and facilities onboard the ship, and harnessing the talents of staff and participants alike, Peace Boat creates a unique environment in which people can live and learn together while undertaking socially responsible travel to some of the most fascinating regions on earth. On average, between 700 and 900 participants of various ages and backgrounds join our voyages each time. Most participants are from Japan, but also from many of the countries we visit.
Life Onboard circle
Guest educator from India Lalita. Ramdas lectures onboard about a range of issues such as the India-Pakistan conflict, nuclear disarmament, and environmental challenges.
Life onboard Peace Boat as a participant is a rich and rewarding experience. Take part in our peace education forums and play an active role in the issues that we support including human rights, sustainable development and respect for the environment. Life on Peace Boat is also an opportunity to learn more about Japanese language and culture through interaction with the many Japanese participants onboard and participation in traditional cultural events.

Onboard, with the participation of around 50 guest educators from various countries on each voyage, Peace Boat organizes a range of educational activities, including language classes, peace education workshops and lectures, and cultural programmes. The themes of these activities link Peace Boat's fields of work with contemporary issues in the countries we visit. At the same time, all participants are encouraged to contribute to life onboard by sharing their skills, talents and interests through the organization of their own events. The result is a constantly changing daily schedule of dozens of activities including, for example, anything from expert lectures on global issues, salsa dance classes, Arabic conversation lessons, music festivals, documentary movie screenings to soccer games on deck.
Ports of Call circle
Both onboard the ship and in the ports of call, there are plenty of opportunities to have cultural exchange and learn more from those around you.
In the ports that Peace Boat visits we arrange exchanges and study tours with our NGO partners and local community groups, enabling participants to experience another culture first hand and learn about the issues affecting different regions of the world directly from the people who live there. These programmes seek to foster international peace and friendship at a grassroots level through people to people exchange. There are also tourism-oriented tours in port to enable our participants to visit local cultural and historical sites of interest.See more about our Port Activities here:
www.peaceboat.org/english/actp/index.html
Who joins Peace Boat voyages? circle
Peace Boat onboard programmes encourage participants to use various forms of art such as music, poetry, and theater to raise awareness about important world issues.
Peace Boat is open to everyone regardless of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ideology or creed. There are often many young people – on some voyages as many as 50 percent of participants are under 30 years old. The next largest age group is retired people. The creative, energetic and harmonious atmosphere onboard Peace Boat encourages people to become friends with others whom they may not ordinarily have a chance to get to know.

Since Peace Boat made its maiden voyage in 1983, the majority of participants onboard Peace Boat has been from Japan. But after 25 years of experience and international cooperation, we are actively encouraging people from all over the world to take part in a Peace Boat global voyage. Sail around the world or join part of a voyage by boarding Peace Boat in any of the 50 different countries we visit each year.

In addition to the dozens of international guest educators,interpreters, language teachers, scholarship students and staff, we hope to encourage participants from every country and background to share this eye-opening, exciting experience to learn about the world. We are keen to do our best to ensure you have a wonderful time with Peace Boat, and believe that there really is something for everyone onboard.
Language circle

Life onboard is mainly conducted in Japanese as the majority of participants onboard are from Japan, and some aspects of life onboard, such as food and festivities, reflect Japanese culture. There are however, many nationalities onboard and so there is always a lively international presence and many people communicate in English and sometimes Spanish.

In addition to Peace Boat's full-time staff, many of who are English-speaking, there is also a team of full-time volunteer interpreters who assist with communication at lectures and events. Please note that we are still building our capacity to in this regard and so not all documents and events may be translated or interpreted into English.

However, on all Peace Boat voyages the following will be available in English:

  1. All safety-related information
  2. All important announcements
  3. Basic port-related information and orientations
  4. Daily timetable of activities onboard
  5. English-speaking crew on duty 24 hours a day
  6. An English-speaking staff member will be assigned to you to help you with all aspects of your life onboard
  7. If you wish to take optional tours in port, wherever possible we will provide interpretation into English if the content of the tour is not in English.

English, Spanish and Japanese language courses are also offered onboard the ship as part of our GET programme. If you are interested in studying Japanese as a language course onboard the ship, please see our Global Friendship Award here:
www.peaceboat.org/english/nwps/cn/arc/100201/index.html
Voices of past participants circle
 
Aki Latvanlehto (Finland), participant on 68th Global Voyage
 When I started my trip, not knowing very well what Peace Boat is all about, my greatest expectations were for the numerous countries that we were going to visit. Soon I realized that they are just one small part of something much bigger. Every day on board was full of various activities, and there were countless opportunities to experience new things that I normally would not have chance to do. Those activities also widened my awareness of the world, of environmental and peace related topics, and many more. One of the greatest things was making lots of new friends around the world, and of course on the ship itself. Finally, I could practice my Japanese skills almost every minute, resulting in a clear improvement. It was truly an amazing experience!
Procedures for joining a Peace Boat Voyage circle
Anyone with valid travel documentation is welcome to apply to join a Peace Boat voyage. Participants' passports must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of the end of the voyage, and each participant is responsible for both applying and holding the requisite visas for all countries visited.

The basic cost for a global voyage includes all meals and accommodation onboard, departing from and returning to Japan. Please enquire for quotes for upcoming voyages and further details. Information regarding voyage cost in Japanese is available here: pbcruise.jp


To apply to join a Peace Boat Voyage, please follow the procedures below:

 Step 1.
Contact Peace Boat at participate(a)peaceboat.gr.jp to enquire about availability on the voyage you are interested in joining. At this point, you will be provided with a quote for your voyage from Peace Boat's registered travel agency Japan Grace Co. Ltd.

Step 2.
 You will then receive an application form for the voyage, which should be submitted by fax or email together with a copy of the identification pages of your valid passport.

Step 3.
 Upon registration, Peace Boat will send an invoice indicating the full cost of your voyage and the required deposit. Payment information (bank transfer in Japanese yen) will be provided to you at this stage, and the balance must be paid at least one month before your departure.

Step 4.
 The next step is for participants to apply for all required visas for their voyage. Upon request, Japan Grace, Peace Boat's registered travel agent, is able to provide information relating to necessary travel documents according to your nationality. Conditions differ according to itineraries, so please contact us for specific port details. We also require that you obtain a comprehensive travel insurance policy covering the time you will be onboard.

Step 5.
 In each port of call, Peace Boat organizes optional tours including study, exchange and sightseeing programmes. The optional tour information will be sent approximately three months prior to the start of the voyage and you are welcome to apply for any in port programmes at this stage. Please note that optional tour programmes are not included in the passage fare.

Step 6.
 Participants are responsible for organizing their own travel to their point of embarkation and from the port where they disembark the ship. Our international staff will be ready to welcome you onboard the ship upon arrival!

A Peace Boat staff member will be in contact with you throughout all of these stages to ensure that preparations for joining the voyage can be made as smoothly as possible, and to help prepare you for life onboard.
For more information circle
Being a participant on one of our voyages is a unique opportunity to travel, learn and make new friends while sharing your own energy and skills in the dynamic environment onboard.

To request more information about participation, contact us at participate@peaceboat.gr.jp or click here