By 2024, Gap Science instructor team retreats had already taken two very different forms.
First, a waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale in 2021 focused on connecting after a long stretch of COVID-era isolation.
Then, a desert home in Cave Creek in 2022 focused on alignment, structure, and building forward momentum.
But going into 2024, the question shifted again:
What happens when we’re not responsible for hosting and can just show up and be present?
Not just a new city or a different house. Something entirely different.
So instead of booking another home, we decided to try something new: a cruise!
Not just for the novelty, but to see what would happen if we stepped outside of the structure we’d been building and dropped into an environment where everything was already taken care of.
No hosting… no setup… no logistics to manage. Just showing up.
That’s how the 2024 retreat ended up on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas, sailing from Port Canaveral to The Bahamas.
Planning the Cruise: A Different Kind of Retreat Decision
Planning this retreat looked completely different from the previous two.
There was no house to book. No grocery lists. No figuring out sleeping arrangements or shared spaces.
Instead, we had to choose a ship, coordinate cabins, and make sure everyone could travel to the port smoothly.
The initial planning breakdown included:
- Cruise Ship: Royal Caribbean Allure of The Seas
- Departure: Port Canaveral, Florida
- Destination: Perfect Day at CocoCay (The Bahamas)
Gap Science covered the inside cabin rate for a double occupancy room, with the option for team members to upgrade if they wanted. This structure kept the retreat accessible while still allowing flexibility for individual preferences.
And the planning and booking process was organized through The Getaway Gals Cruise Planners, helping us coordinate logistics and ensure smooth travels (highly recommend – this made a huge difference!).
Why the Cruise Format Changed the Retreat Dynamic
One of the most meaningful differences in this retreat wasn’t just the location. It was what we didn’t have to do.
In Fort Lauderdale and Cave Creek, there were always behind-the-scenes responsibilities:
✅ stocking the house with food and supplies
✅ cooking and coordinating meals
✅ cleaning and managing the space
✅ making sure everything ran smoothly
And while that’s part of hosting an event, it also means you’re never fully “off.”
On the cruise, that all disappeared! Meals were handled. Spaces were maintained. The schedule existed whether we planned anything or not.
And for the first time, we didn’t have to split our attention between hosting and participating.
We could just… be there. Fully present.
Conversations felt easier, time felt less rushed, and the whole experience felt more balanced (not just for the team, but for us too!).
Arrival Day: A New Kind of Start
The retreat began not in a house, but at a port. And boarding a cruise ship feels very different than arriving at a traditional retreat location.
You’re not just arriving somewhere – you’re stepping into an environment that’s already in motion. Once we boarded the Royal Caribbean Allure of The Seas, everything shifted. There was no central meeting space or “home base.”
Instead, the retreat unfolded across:
- decks overlooking the ocean
- shared meals
- scheduled shows
- and spontaneous in-between moments
This created a unique dynamic for team interaction and set the tone for the entire trip.
A Retreat Without Walls
Unlike previous retreats, this one didn’t revolve around a set agenda. There were no scheduled team meetings or formal planning sessions.
Instead, the experience was built around shared participation in ship activities. And that made the whole thing feel less like an event, and more like a living environment for a few days.
Throughout the cruise, the team participated in several onboard experiences, including:
Shows, Activities, and Shared Moments
We spent time at onboard shows like the water acrobat performance and the Mamma Mia! production. A few of the instructors also dressed up and fully leaned into 70s Night!
And while those might sound like typical cruise activities, they actually played a bigger role than expected.
Because when you’re experiencing something together—laughing, reacting to “wow” moments, enjoying it in real time—it naturally breaks down professional boundaries and creates a different kind of connection. Something structured meetings will never be able to recreate.
Trying Something New: Ziplining Onboard the Ship
One of the more adventurous activities was the zipline experience on the cruise ship.
Suspended above the deck, out over the ocean? It’s not exactly your typical “team retreat” activity. But that’s kinda the point! It added a physical, adrenaline-based layer to the retreat that contrasted with the more relaxed ship environment.
Doing something new (and slightly terrifying) is definitely a way to shift group dynamics and bring team members closer together!
Perfect Day at CocoCay
One of our favorite highlights of the trip was spending a day on the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas.
This was the closest equivalent to the “feel” of our previous retreats – lounging around at a slower pace by the water or pool. We had time to sit, talk, relax, and just be together without a strict schedule.
But of course this location came with a few more perks and amenities that the other house retreats didn’t have 🙂
The TikTok Elevator Moment (iykyk)
And then there was the elevator…
At some point during the trip, we all became oddly invested in something we had seen floating around online—the whole #elevatordaychanging thing.
If you’ve seen it on TikTok, you probably know exactly what we’re talking about.
If not, here’s the quick version: on cruise ships, there are tiles in the elevators that show the day of the week and every night, crew members swap them out for the next day.
Somewhere along the way, that turned into a thing people wait for. And apparently… we were those people now.
We found ourselves actually timing it, waiting for midnight, riding the elevators up and down waiting to see a staff member do the honors. We looked around and saw other groups waiting to watch the switch like it was some kind of major event.
It was hilarious! We had the absolute best time and it’s one of those small, random moments about this trip that will stick with us forever (and we don’t even care how lame that sounds).
Key Takeaways From the Cruise Instructor Team Retreat
Compared to Fort Lauderdale and Cave Creek, this retreat felt like a completely different experience.
Fort Lauderdale was about connecting, Cave Creek was about aligning and building forward.
This one? It was about stepping back and seeing what happens when you remove the structured itinerary altogether.
A few things really stood out:
1. When you’re not hosting, you can be more present
In past retreats, there was always something to manage behind the scenes. This time there wasn’t.
We weren’t coordinating meals or running logistics – we were just part of the experience! And that shift made it easier to be fully present.
2. You don’t have to plan connection for it to happen
On the cruise, everything naturally overlapped: meals, activities, downtime.
We didn’t need a structured agenda to create interaction. It just… happened. And in a lot of ways, it felt more natural because of that.
3. New experiences create long-lasting shared memories
Ziplining. Shows. The island day. Even the elevator moment?
They’re the memories we still talk about. Not because they were planned perfectly, but because we experienced them together.
4. Less structure can actually create more connection
You don’t always need a perfectly planned itinerary.
There wasn’t a packed schedule or super formal meetings, which created space for conversations and to just be a team without an agenda.
Where This Fits in the Bigger Picture
If Fort Lauderdale was connection, and Cave Creek was alignment, then the cruise represents something else entirely: expansion.
Trying something new, letting go of control, and seeing what happens when you trust the foundation you’ve already built. In a lot of ways, it reflects where we are now as a team. Not just focused on “getting together,” but on being more intentional about how we experience time together when we do.
And this cruise reinforced something important: connection doesn’t depend on a specific setting. Not a house or a city or even a carefully built plan.
It happens in the in-between moments. In conversations between activities, in shared experiences, and in the small, unexpected things that you don’t plan for but end up remembering the most.
So we’ll continue to carry this forward as we think about future Gap Science Instructor Retreats.
Next Step: What Comes Next?
This retreat completes the full evolution:
2021: Connection
2022: Alignment
2024: Expansion
So now we’re asking ourselves:
Where do we go from here—and what should the next retreat look like?
