Stampin' and Scrappin' With Kristin

2010 Stampin' Up! Cruise to the Southern Caribbean in Review

Wow!  It's been a week since we got home from the Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip and I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging about it....mostly because my photos were trapped on my travel laptop.  So, here are the highglights:

Day 1 - Our Stateroom:  Here's a photo of our stateroom.  I've been told that the earlier a demonstrator earns the cruise, the bigger the stateroom.  I earned the cruise on the very last day last year.  So, I was expecting a teeny tiny inside stateroom.  But, boy, I was THRILLED when we found a spacious Balcony Stateroom!

Day 2 - At Sea and SU General Session:  On the first full day on the boat we simply sailed the seas.  It was great to relax.  The day started off with a General Session.  I also stopped by the SU Hospitality Desk to spin the prize wheel.  I received LOTS of fabulous free products from the prize wheel.  I believe the final tally was three packs of DSP from the Summer Mini (worth $29.85), a Paper Piercing Tool, Tombo Liquid Adhesive, a stamp set and samples of all of the new card stock!  That's on top of the pillow gifts and make & take supplies!  I've learned to always leave LOTS of extra room in my suitcase.  Here are some photos of the Hospitality Room, the Prize Wheel, and Shelli with her Minnie Mouse Ears (really blurry) announcing that we'll be going to Disney World in 2012!  I REALLY need to learn how to use my camera!!!

 
 
Day 3 - Barbados:  As much as I enjoyed cruising the sea, it was nice to get off the boat!  It was SO much fun to wake up, roll over, and look out the window to see the view.  We had an afternoon excursion to the beach scheduled in Barbados so we wandered around the harbor area for a little bit.  In the evening we met up with other demonstrators to swap and share stamping ideas.  It was fun to see some AWESOME projects!  I even got my photo with Shelli before she was whisked off for a photo opp with the Advisory Board.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

 
 
Day 4 - St Lucia:  I was excited to see St Lucia because that's where my brother and his wife went on their honeymoon.  I woke up before we were completely pulled into port so it was nice to see the island go by on our way in.  Another cruise ship followed us into port and we watched airplanes land on the other side of the harbor.  Nothing was on our agenda today so we simply wandered around and shopped.  I picked up a couple of pieces of jewelry and we went on a water taxi ride.  We had lunch at a local restaurant where we tried Coconut Curried Fish with peas and rice.  It was good, but I learned that I shouldn't assume that the fish was boneless!!!  Not a pleasant first bite!
  

 
 
Day 5 - Antigua: I was thrilled to wake up before we got into port again this morning.  It was a beautiful ride into port.  I instantly fell in love with the beaches in Antigua.  Our excursion for the day was a beach trip in the morning.  The tour group took us to a quiet beach that is shared with the Sandals Resort.  Let me tell you....that's one resort I'll be looking into in the future.  It was a GORGEOUS cove.  I'm also including a photo of my favorite view from the 14th deck on the boat.  This was where I loved to sit and watch the boat pull out of port every day.  I loved looking down on the island or watch the other ships pull out.  I could also keep an eye on Mike who preferred sitting by the pool!  We also saw the Ice Show on board the ship.  That was REALLY impressive!

 

Day 6 - St Maarten:  All week long I had heard that St Maarten was the place to shop.  I should have listened!  We had an excursion planned for the day and decided to skip it.  Instead we wandered around the city and visited with the local vendors.  I think the water was the most beautiful in St Maarten!  I decided to see just how low I could get one of the local jewelry shops.  I made notes and will go armed with my newly learned skills on our next trip.  Who knew you could talk down a $5700 canary diamond ring to $1200!!!  That night was also our Midnight Make & Takes!  I stuck around for about an hour!

Day 7 - St Croix:  Today was our last port.  It was happy and sad.  The trip was fabulous!  We had nothing planned again today.  We simply got off the boat and wandered.  There were beaches and plenty of shops right off the boat.  I was thrilled when we ran into Claire, Farrell, and Elihu while strolling along the shoreline.  It was nice to sit and visit with them for a bit.  We also found an adorable courtyard with some of the cutest buildings I've ever seen.  The last two pictures are of our wait staff.  Theik (I think I spelled her name correctly) and Santiago were fantastic!  I miss them immensely.  There were GREAT.  The entire restaurant staff entertained us with singing a couple of nights.  I have that on video that I'll post someday.  I really enjoyed spending the evenings with these two.  I certainly miss having them at my dinner table at home!

 

Southern Caribbean Loot!

What a trip!!!  Stampin' Up! never ceases to amaze me!  I'm going to post highlights over the next few days.  But, I thought I'd start with some highlights of all of the goodies SU gave us throughout the week!  You've already seen the travel wallet we got before we left.  I'm going to try to share everything else...while keeping in line with SU policies on posting photos of products!

If you're not familiar with a Stampin' Up! incentive trip, Stampin' Up! leaves little "pillow gifts" in our room EVERY NIGHT!  This was a 7-night trip...so I was excited to see what we'd get!  Each gift was accompanied by a little note shaped like a "fishy".  These "fishies" also were our coupon for BIG prizes and a chance to win free products!

When we arrived in our staterooms on Friday, we found A LOT of water!  It's not what you may think!  Stampin' Up! purchased eight GIGANTIC bottles of water for us to keep us hydrated.  But they also gave us a reusable water bottle with SWEDISH FISH tucked inside!  I did not share the Swedish Fish!  I kept them all to myself!  The little "Fishy" read...."Welcome Aboard Adventure of the Seas, We hope this trip will be full of Stampin' Up! memories.  The days will be hot and you are sure to be thirsty, But we got you covered and even added some fishies."

I was REALLY looking forward to the second day's gifts.  I was expecting to get "the bag".  At every Stampin' Up! event, we are given a bag.  I'm getting quite a collection.  In Hawaii, the husbands also got a bag.  So, when we got back to our staterooms after dinner and there was NOTHING, I was SO bummed.  I crawled right into bed.  A few moments later, there was a knock on the door.  I heard Mike give a HUGE thank you to the person at the door.  He carried in a FABULOUS backpack and an adorable clutch that coordinated with the travel wallet.  (Click on the photos to see a larger picture.)  The note on my clutch read "Look what we found at the end of our line, A clutch for you when it comes time to dine!"  Now that I look back, it would have been appropriate if the cruise staff delivered them earlier!  Thursday night was our first formal dinner.  Mike's backpack read "Look what we found at the end of our line, A backpack for your guest, while you enjoy your time."  My clutch is lined with the Island Oasis Print.

  

The third night's gift was only a note with a teaser!  The note read "Visit the Hospitality Desk for a chance to spin, And be delighted at the colors you might win."  I guessed that it was a gift related to the new SU colors.  I was right!  We all spun for a prize that included a card front-sized swatch of every color card stock in plain and textured!  So there's a hint....textured card stock will still be around in July!  I will have them on display at my Open House on the 15th.

Day four's gift included our "non-consumable" supplies for our Make and Takes - including a GREAT never-seen-before stamp set that will be in the new catalog.  SU says I'm not allowed to take photos of products and post them on my blog.  But, I will post a photo of the bag and the inside contents.  The contents included the 3-punch pack in the Summer Mini, a package of the bitty buttons from the Summer Mini, and 3 ink pads.  The accompanying note read "Inside this tote, lies a project that's a keeper, This gear will help you reel it in...hook, line, and sinker."  We received more products the night when we made the projects.  We made a card and a journal.  Very cute!

 

 

By Day 5 I was about to give up on getting a bag.  But, there was still another teaser note that read "One fish, two fish, three fish ,four, Come spin for a prize that you will adore." 

Day 6 was the last time I figured we could get "the bag".  When we went to dinner, it still hadn't shown up.  But, at dinner, my two demonstrator tablemates mentioned that they'd gotten theirs.  They didn't tell me what it was but they told me that it was NOT a bag.  I was SO bummed!!!  I loved my clutch from Day 2 but I REALLY wanted a bag.  I was counting on a bag to get my loot home.  So, when I opened the door to our stateroom, I burst into tears when I saw what was sitting on the bed (I'm crying now as I type)!  It arrived in a cloth bag with the SU logo on it...just like my Kate Spade bags!  Inside was the BESTEST bag I've ever seen SU give out!  It was a fabulous purse that coordinated with the clutch.  I LOVE this bag!!!  You will see me carrying it around everywhere!!!  The note read "Of All of the wonders in the ocean below, This is one catch, you will never let go!"

But SU wasn't done yet!  If you've never been on a cruise, you probably don't realize how your luggage is handled.  More on that later.  BUT, you basically put all of your luggage out in the hallway the last night and you don't get it back until after you leave the ship.  Therefore you have to be packed and only hold onto a carry-on size bag.  So, there's not much room left for any big items.  SU gave us a little teaser...  It read...

Latitude:  58 degrees 22' North

Longitude:  134 degrees 35' West

"These coordinates point the way to our next journey together, Use this gift to keep you warm, through all kinds of weather.  During the coming winter, it will keep you from the cold, Plan on Alaska 2011 where wonder will unfold!!!

There's a lot of debate whether it's a headband or a scarf.  I don't care.  It's CUTE!

Because the prizes I "spun" for are just products, I can't post photos.  None of them were sneak peeks.  I also received THREE packs of DSP, Tombo liquid adhesive, and a Paper Piercer.  On top of all of that, I also received two more stamp sets!  The SU employees and Shelli's family played a game throughout the week.  If we caught on, we won a stamp set!  I won "Wedding Sweet".  I also won a never-before-seen stamp set from the Prize Patrol during General Session.  Only about 20 of us received that stamp set!!!

Congrats and Thank You!

You thought I forgot didn't you?  I had a contest and promotion running while I was gone!  Several of you took advantage of the promotion. I drew the winning name this evening.  Congrats Rita Harris!  You've won a hostess stamp set of your choice!  Thank you to every one of you who placed an online order while I was away!