Caregiver Cruise 2017

Caregiver Cruise

We cruised to Bermuda, June 3-8, 2017!

In Bermuda, our participants and caregivers enjoyed a glass bottom boat tour, visiting the pink sands of Horseshoe Bay, viewing the beautiful coastline from the Fantasea Sightseeing Boat tour, and exploring the city of Hamilton. We also had some time for shopping, sampling rum cake, and of course a little eating and drinking at the Frog and Onion Pub!

We took advantage of all the amenities on the Anthem of the Seas as well. Several participants were selected to participate in a jewelry fashion show, many raced in bumper cars, enjoyed a wine tasting, and took in evening shows at the theater. Joel and Christi, the Insight staff members on the cruise, were the only ones brave enough to try out the roller skating  rink!

While everyone enjoyed all the sights and attractions, many said the best part of the cruise was the company and the support.

Check Out What We Did!

We made daily posts here with trip highlights and excursions so you can feel like you've cruised along with us!
We departed from New Jersey on Saturday, June 3rd, traveling to King's Wharf, Bermuda, and returned on Thursday, June 8th.

Day 3: Life in Bermuda!

Day 3: Life in Bermuda!

June 5, 2017

Today started off with a group of the cruisers heading to the Dreamworks Madagascar’s Character Breakfast where we got to meet King Julien and Alex the Lion! It really just goes to show you that everyone is really a big kid at heart! Jack and Jim totally embraced their inner kids and got the award for “best interaction” with the characters. Mind you – our group was several decades older than the other guests at this breakfast!

Then after a quick gathering at the Schooner Bar, the group was headed off to our first excursion of the day: Sightseeing and Glass Bottom Boat Tour. The group disembarked the mighty Anthem and just a short jaunt down the pier our tour boat awaited us with Captain Kevin and First Mate Tiana. Kevin did a fantastic job telling us all about life on Bermuda (it is rated the most expensive place to live in the world, their main industry is insurance and re-insurance, and the collect their own water by special roofing on their houses that drain the water and filter it naturally into reservoir tanks under their houses.) Luck have it, the America’s Cup is going on while we are here as well. So in addition to all our great sightseeing, we also got to sit on our cabin balconies and watch the sailboats compete. Next up, Tiana took us down below and guided us through the oceanic life in Bermuda. Touring the beautiful coral reefs (which are paler than Caribbean Coral because of the location of Bermuda) and seeing the shipwreck site was a sight to see! After our sightseeing lessons and history of Bermuda, we were handed our Rum Swizzles and headed back to Port.

The rest of the day was open to the group! Some of the cruisers decided to just hang out on the ship and take in some much needed R&R, another group decided to take a ferry ride over to St. George and explore, and Christi and Joel took a group to the famous Horseshoe Bay (famous for their pink sand!) Oddly enough, when you hear “pink sand” you think you are going to see a beach that is the color of a flamingo. In reality, it looks just like regular sand, but has a slight pink hue to it.

Our taxi driver gave us a fabulous tour of the island on our way to Horseshoe Bay and filled us in on some of the local life and also stopped to allow us to take in some picturesque views. After arriving at Horseshoe Bay, some folks opted to take their shoes off and head right into the water (Jim was the only one who actually came PREPARED to the beach with his bathing suit!), while others just lounged on our lovely Insight towels and some climbed up to the top of the hill which overlooked the bay to get a birds eye view.

After hanging out on the beach for a while, the group headed back to Port as the evening plan was a group dinner at The Frog and Onion Pub in Kings Wharf. Our taxi driver highly recommended the fish chowder and rock fish (Bermuda signature dishes.) Before we could go any further, one of our cruisers misplaced her Sea Pass card while at the beach and had to get screened before she could re-enter the ship! Finally, once on board, Joel went to take a few pictures of Ellen being escorted away by Security when he was approached and his phone was confiscated! Apparently you are not allowed to take pictures of the security entrance on the ship! So after deleting said pictures, Joel recommended that they put a sign up saying “no pictures.” Apparently they did not heed his recommendation as no signs were posted upon our return later that evening.

The group hit the ship, freshened up and took off again down the pier (following the green footprints!) Some folks opted to remain on the ship again as they had a long day out, and the group who went to St. George was going to meet everyone there.

Upon getting to the Frog and Onion, the group decided to take advantage of some of the local Rum specialty drinks (Yes, that is a 46 ounce Dark and Stormy) and being the only craft brewery in Bermuda, Christi and Jim decided to test the Beer Flight! After the other group arrived, dinner was ordered, which consisted of traditional British pub fare, Bermuda signature dishes and some good ol’ fashion steak. Consensus was – The Frog and Onion was a triumph!

After dinner – some folks headed right back to the ship as they were exhausted from the day, while others went in search of the Rum Cake Company. Wouldn’t you know it – closed for the evening. Luckily we are in Bermuda for a second day tomorrow and I see Rum Cake’s in this groups future! Finally, everyone was back on board (and after one slight incident where one of the cruisers was separated in the elevator from the group – and Joel took off running up 6 flights of stairs to meet him before the elevator let out), most folks decided to call it a night. Apparently Joel and Christi wore everyone out!

So, for the remainder of the night, it was a quiet one aboard the Anthem as the Insight Memory Care Center Caregiver Cruisers were all nestled in bed (while Joel, Christi and Patrick took in another Cabaret Sign-Along!)

Tomorrow is Bermuda: The Sequel. We will be checking out the capital city of Hamilton!


Enjoying the character breakfast!


We had a great time!


We won best interaction with the characters!


The group departing the ship in Bermuda!


Great views from our Glass Bottom Boat Tour!


A few more smiles on the tour!


Enjoying the beach!


And getting our toes in the sand!


Enjoying exploring the island.


Think the drinks are big enough?


We enjoyed the Frog and Onion!


Elevator Animals #6


Elevator Animals #7


Elevator Animals #8