In 2019–21, research was carried out at the University of Helsinki regarding the development of the degree programme in maritime archaeology. To develop the teaching of the programme, we designed and launched an online learning platform. The platform, entitled ‘Perspectives in Maritime Archaeology’, consists of lectures by international experts and literature on a variety of topics ranging from boatbuilding to seamanship and from trade and exploration to public outreach and contemporary art. The purpose of the platform was to convey a broad image of the discipline and promote multidisciplinary thinking among students. To assess the success of the platform in achieving this objective, we conducted surveys on student expectations and satisfaction as well as on (potential) changes in the perceived image of maritime archaeology. We discovered that a kaleidoscopic and eclectic approach to teaching maritime archaeology online made the topic more interesting to the students and helped them understand the variety and importance of different approaches to researching maritime archaeology. In this article, we report the findings of our research on the development of online learning and discuss them in the wider context of higher education in maritime archaeology. We conclude with a reflection on the potential use of poetry and metaphor in teaching holistically about the cognitive and cultural relevance of water.