The article discusses the highlights of the international conference on the Study of Matter at Extreme Conditions (SMEC) 2011 which was held from March 27 to April 2, 2012 on a cruise ship sailing from the port of Miami, Florida to the Belize and Mexico. The goal of the event was to provide a unique platform to meet frontier researchers and share new developments in the field. Aside from plenary talks on various disciplines, there were discussions on topics related to planetary interiors.