As summer arrived and many people began heading off on their holidays, we started thinking about how we could bring some of that same excitement into our homes.
Many of our residents have enjoyed cruises during their lives and look back fondly on the experience. There is something special about visiting several destinations in one trip, with different food, drink, entertainment and activities all part of the journey.
So, we thought: what better way to take our residents on holiday than to bring the cruise ship to them?
And with that, Stow Healthcare’s Around the World Summer Cruise set sail for July!
From the outset, residents were at the heart of the initiative. Rather than every home following exactly the same route, residents were encouraged to help choose the destinations they wanted to ‘visit’, with itineraries shaped around their interests, memories and places that meant something to them.
Our Activities Teams then worked incredibly hard to bring those destinations to life. A flexible four-week structure gave homes ideas for Mediterranean adventures, Caribbean and beach themes, world explorer activities and a Captain’s Gala finale, while leaving plenty of room for each home to make the journey their own.
Food, music, crafts, reminiscence, sensory activities and themed entertainment all played a part, helping each destination feel different while keeping activities familiar, enjoyable and meaningful for residents.
To make the experience feel even more like a real holiday, residents had their own cruise passports to collect stamps and record their favourite moments along the way.
Boarding passes helped create a proper sense of ‘check-in’ at the start of each leg of the journey, while destination calendars showed where each home would be heading next.
These little details helped bring the whole idea together and gave residents something fun to follow throughout the month.
It was also important that residents could enjoy the experience in a way that suited them.
For anyone who preferred smaller sessions or spent more time in their room, the cruise could come directly to them through themed music, sensory baskets, tasters, passport stamping and one-to-one reminiscence.
That flexibility helped make the initiative something everyone could be part of.
After a month of travelling the world without leaving home, our ships eventually returned to port with Captain’s Galas, special dining and celebrations marking the end of the journey.
The Around the World Summer Cruise gave residents the chance to revisit favourite holiday memories, discover somewhere new and enjoy plenty of fun together along the way.
A huge thank you goes to our Activities Teams and everyone across our homes who helped turn the idea into such a colourful and memorable summer experience.
The ships may be back in port, but we have plenty of wonderful memories from the journey to look back on.
