After a big party night we opted for the $7 bus ride to Horseshoe Bay where we rented loungers and chilled out on the beach. The Bermudians staffing Horseshoe Bay were in sweatshirts, hoodies and long pants while the crazy Americans and Canadians were in bathing suits, swimming in the ocean in 75-degree weather. Honestly the water felt about as cold as the Jersey Shore in early July so we were fine! The beach was packed and it was a glorious sunshiney day!

Horseshoe Bay Beach is on the South shore and sits at the center of Southshore Park. There are several other beaches that you can access along the coast with a simple stroll to the left or right of Horseshoe Bay. To the right you land on Horseshoe Bay Cove, which is shallow and a great spot for families and accessible to Horseshoe Bay amenities. To the left you can walk along the dunes which has a 1.2 mile pathway that takes you to stunning beaches that are away from the crowds. You can check out Butts Beach, Middle Beach, Water Rocks Beach, Angle Beach, Hidden Beach, Chaplin Bay Beach, Elsbeth Beach, Jobson’s Cove, and Warwick Long Bay Beach, all on foot. My favorite of these beaches is Jobson’s Cove. I didn’t get there this trip but have been many times before. It’s a little slice of heaven!

For our purposes we anchored on Horseshoe Bay Beach to have access to their amenities. They have a great tiki bar with typical beach BBQ food like burgers, hot dogs, chicken and fries and the tropical drinks were delicious. I also like having a bathroom with showers nearby to rinse off before heading back to the ship.

 We headed back to the Gem to sink into a hot tub and watch Broadway superstar Laura Benanti give her one and only performance on the pool deck stage. One thing we noticed was that the seating was very popular but this one hot tub in the back to the right was pretty open and right next to one of the portable bars! We made quick and close friends with the servers who just kept bringing us drinks while we sipped and watched the musical performances.

Benanti was incredible! She announced during her performance that she would not be doing any of the other planned performances due to a medical issue. We found out after returning that Benanti was suffering a miscarriage during that performance. She left the ship right after, returning to the States. Her one performance was so awesome and all 4 of us as moms felt for her loss.