All aboard this TOP travel bucket list destination to Alaska! Caregiver Retreat/Dementia-Friendly Cruise & Symposium INSPIRES and EMPOWERS caregivers and family members!
Create a multi-generational adventure to Alaska on Holland America’s MS Oosterdam. We connect families who may have special needs (mobility challenges, food and environmental allergies, etc.) with trained staff so all can enjoy with peace of mind. You, and your loved ones living with memory challenges, receive a specially designed, unforgettable retreat!
Living Every Day to Enjoy Life will include:
An opportunity for attendees to find inspiration aboard from stories about the journeys of global caregivers through Caregiver Circles.
Caregiver respite sessions are a time for the caregivers to relax and experience an adventure or simply take a nap.
Available RN private duty care one-on-one client support at a minimal hourly fee.
Accessible accommodations (no additional charge) and rent-able mobility devices.
Dementia/Alzheimer’s interactive conference sessions intended to educate, inspire and create new ideas.
Opening night private party. Our first opportunity to meet and greet.
An opportunity to benefit from a wide range of programming created for the complex and stressful daily lives of caregivers and their family members. Discover your journey as a caregiver in a whole new way and return home with a RENEWED SPIRIT!
Featuring an immersive conference during the cruise and valuable support services at a ration of 1 professional to every 4 travelers. Offering exclusive heart-based sessions and strategy-focused workshops with DAILY caregiver respite!
Bring your loved one, and Let’s Enjoy Life TOGETHER!
RN support 24/7, daily adult daycare sessions, accompanied excursion, group dinner seating, custom airport pick up and additional programs to create a SAFE and SECURE environment so that EVERYONE can enjoy the moment and caregivers can make life-long MEMORIES!
Holland America’s MS Oosterdam is spacious, luxurious, family friendly!
Possessing one of the highest rates of space per person in the Holland America fleet, the Oosterdam boasts innovative, luxurious features. There are plenty of family-friendly activities, such as the Mainstage with live entertainment, America’s Test Kitchen, the Lincoln Center Stage and BBC earth Experiences.
Check out Billboard Onboard! An exclusive interactive experience which will let you sing along to fifty years of chart-topping hits.
Drop the kids off at Club HAL, a fully supervised area with tons of games and enrichment activities, then head over to the Greenhouse Spa and Salon to enjoy a premium facial or massage treatment.
Gambling lovers will enjoy slots or blackjack at the casino, and music lovers will rejoice at B.B. King’s Blues Club, which has an eight-piece band that presents the best of Memphis music.
EVERYONE GETS TO ENJOY LIFE TOGETHER!
This Alaskan retreat will consist of:
RNs available 24/7, and geriatric care professionals will lead a dedicated cruise support team from Elite Cruises And Vacations LLC. Staff ratio: 1 professional to 4 travelers
Senior-Friendly activities and social events specifically geared to our group
Daily music therapy and movement activities
Respite sessions for caregivers – daily adult daycare sessions – are included
Interactive conference topics created to "Enjoy Life"
"Living Well with Dementia"
Tips and Tricks for caregivers
Mobility safety… Live safe, Be safe… Enjoy
Capture Life’s best and simplest memories with pictures
Overcome the obstacles and keep going
Daily agenda of activities to be incorporated with the daily activity schedule of Holland America Cruise Line
“Private Group Welcome” and “Meet and Greet the staff” party.
Group dinner seating available every evening
Optional group shore excursions in each port escorted by a staff member (shore excursions are at an additional cost)
Pre-cruise group hotel with Cruise Support Team staff to meet and greet you upon arrival and manage transportation to the cruise departure port (hotel at additional cost)
Accessible accommodations and mobility assistance. (ALL cruise cabins can be retro-fitted with elevated toilet seats, shower chairs, and detachable showerheads)
Custom airport pick-up with every family and accompanied escort to the hotel
Custom group transportation to the cruise port Special diets make a splash on this cruise!!
Do you have special diet needs? NO WORRIES! Holland America now offers vegetarian, low sodium, vegan and gluten-free cruise cuisine during every meal!
1. Cruise Director: Kathy Shoaf RN BSN ATP, Travel Professional
Owner and CEO of Elite Cruises And Vacations LLC, Owned and operated with Sincere Passion to help people Enjoy their Lives!
Certified Special Needs Travel Agency "Elite Senior Accompanied Cruises”
Kathy is a Travel Expert with 20+years of clinical and management experience in Geriatric, Neurology, Rehabilitation and senior housing as an RN and Adaptive Technology Professional. She realized after years of counseling with the families of our seniors that the QUEST to enjoy life "Should Never Have to Stop". Her ability to overcome Fear and Anxiety about travel... Makes travel possible and "Bucket-List Dreams come true.
Kathy is uniquely qualified to understand travel challenges and create rational solutions. Her passion is to deliver Senior Group Cruise Events, in an environment where support and friendships increase confidence, even when accessibility challenges and clinical issues exist.
All seniors, and those afflicted with limiting diagnosis, deserve to ENJOY EVERY DAY THAT GOD GIVES US!
Her Senior Accompanied Travel programs include RN support, Integrative group conference events, Educational and supportive presentations, Respite sessions for the caregivers, Topical “Enjoy Life” activities, Supported pre-cruise group hotel and Accessible/ mobility accommodations.
Let’s experience Life together without Limits EliteCruisesAndVacationsTravel.com 888-826-6836
2. Travel and Accessibility Expert: Lesli Jenkins Wang
President & CEO at Free2Go Mobility Products, Inc. Lesli Wang is fiercely committed to developing products that enhance the lifestyle of the aging and mobility impaired, enabling them to retain their independence and - most importantly - their dignity.
Her product, the Free2Go Rollator, makes it possible for those with reduced mobility to safely, confidently, and discreetly use a toilet in ANY restroom - at home, the homes of others, in public restrooms. The 3-in-1 benefits of a walking aid, raised toilet seat, and toilet safety frame make it the ideal travel companion. She created the Free2Go Rollator to meet her mother's needs and recognized the product could serve people around the world.
Please visit their website. You can view this transformative product, a video with Lesli's inspiration (aka "Mom"), and how this product is changing her life - and will for many like her.
3. Barbara Roberts - RN
Barbara is the owner and CEO of Barbara Roberts Consulting, LLC. She has worked as a Registered Nurse in Eldercare Services for over 30 years and currently works near Kennebunk, Maine, in Eldercare Services as a Nurse Consultant. She specializes in Education, Regulatory Compliance and Recertification Medication Competency. Barbara is enrolled at York County Community College with a goal of obtaining a Gerontology degree. She is a former Director of Residential Care facility specializing in Dementia Care, as well as a CRMA and CNA Instructor. Barbara is a Four Star Mariner on Holland America Cruise Line and is compassionate about helping families with loved ones with cognitive impairments.
4. Eric Roberts
Eric is the loving husband of Barbara Roberts, RN. He resides with his family in Leeds, Maine. In addition to his professional responsibilities in the lay sector, he creates time and energy to actively participate in the day to day care of Barbara's mother.
As a trusted family caregiver, he seeks to communicate the health care professions and works tirelessly to establish a realistic and meaningful care plan. Eric is an amazing addition to our cruise support staff.
Enjoy 7 nights departing May 24-May 31, 2020 on Holland America’s Oosterdam, round trip from Seattle, WA:
Accessible accommodations and mobility assistance.
