Cricut Class Information

The information for the Cricut Class part of the Cricut Cruise has finally been released!

Here is the information for the Beginner Classes -


Cricut® Crafting Cruise Upgrade Package—Beginner Classes*
Join the Cricut® Cruise! Book your cruise and then purchase this Cricut® Cruise upgrade.*
$300 per person
LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE!
Upgrade Package Details
This package includes:

• Beginner classes on the Cricut Imagine® machine, the Cricut Craft Room™ design tool, the Cricut Expression® 2 machine, and new Cricut® cartridges!
• Open craft time where you’ll have access to all of your favorite Cricut® machines and cartridges!
• Incredible gifts and prizes given out throughout the cruise!
• All necessary supplies for the classes and open craft time.

*This price is for the Cricut® Crafting upgrade package only. You MUST book the following Royal Caribbean Cruise. Cruise is not included in the price.


Click HERE to go to the website and purchase.



Here is the information for the Experienced Classes -
Cricut® Crafting Cruise Upgrade Package—Experienced Classes*
Join the Cricut® Cruise! Book your cruise and then purchase this Cricut® Cruise upgrade.*
$300 per person
LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE!
Upgrade Package Details
This package includes:

• Advanced classes on the Cricut Imagine® machine, the Cricut Craft Room™ design tool, the Cricut Expression® 2 machine, and new Cricut® cartridges!
• Open craft time where you’ll have access to all of your favorite Cricut® machines and cartridges!
• Incredible gifts and prizes given out throughout the cruise!
• All necessary supplies for the classes and open craft time.

*This price is for Cricut® Crafting upgrade only. You MUST book the following Royal Caribbean Cruise. Cruise is not included in the price.



Click HERE to go to the website and purchase.

To be honest I will probably take the beginners classes since I don't know how to work the machines without Design Studio. I was really hoping for classes on the new Cricut Craftroom Software so I am glad to see that as part of the package.

While ProvoCraft does a wonderful job of  providing supplies I will be providing a list of supplies I will be taking to use during classes on a future post.

There is rumor that the class package will be available through reward points and as soon as I find out for certain I will post that information.

Official Email From Toby

Here is the official email from Toby concerning the cruise.

My friends and I have opted for a balcony room and will be having 4 in our room. We are wondering if we will be a little cramped but figured what the hey....try it this once and figure it out! LOL

I noticed that in Toby's email she has the Cricut price in there of $300. I have NOT seen anything official from ProvoCraft so I can't confirm this at this time. Also I do not know if you purchase that through Toby. I know last year you purchased the Cricut package on the ProvoCraft website. As soon as I find out that information I will be posting it and label it "official".

7 Days Caribbean-Western  • Royal Caribbean Int.  • Mariner of the Seas  •  Departing from Galveston on Sunday, April 01, 2012
Cruise Itinerary
No	Date	Port	Arrive	Depart
1	Sun, Apr 01	Galveston<	-	4:30 PM
2	Mon, Apr 02	At Sea	-	-
3	Tue, Apr 03	Cozumel	7:00 AM	4:00 PM
4	Wed, Apr 04	Caymans/George Town	10:00 AM	6:00 PM
5	Thu, Apr 05	Falmouth	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
6	Fri, Apr 06	At Sea	-	-
7	Sat, Apr 07	At Sea	-	-
8	Sun, Apr 08	Galveston	7:00 AM

 

 

Per person prices:

 

Inside Cabin 1^st/2^nd person             $639.00        

Outside Cabin 1^st/2^nd person          $809.00         3^rd/4^th person $409.00

Balcony Cabin 1^st/2^nd person           $959.00         3^rd/4^th person $469.00

These prices are based on a minimum of 2 people in a cabin.

 

Taxes $95.00 additional for each person

Gratuities $82.00 additional for each person (covers your cabin steward, waiter, busboy)

 

 

Roundtrip transfers from Airport to Galveston (approx 1 hour drive):

Houston Hobby         $77.00 per person

Houston Intercontinental   $82.00 per person

 

$250 deposit due per person to confirm cabin & price.

Final payment due January 13^th, 2012.

 

Travel Insurance is approx $78 - $160 per person depending on your age.

 

Cricket Cruise Upgrade Package:

Beginner user:  $300 per person

Experienced user:  $300 per person

 

Additional items to budget for:  Bar tab, tours off the ship, casino, spa, shopping, air transportation, and pre or post hotel.

 

I look forward to assisting you with all of your vacation needs.  Call or email me anytime.

 

 

Toby Nash

Cruise & Travel Masters

4376 So. 700 E., SLC, UT 84107

801-268-4470 ~ 800-264-0557

Have You Booked?

I have heard from several people they have booked their cruise already! We are anxiously waiting to hear about the classes and the prices of those *okie thinks she might need to do some head smacking to get some folks on the ball* so we can pick and choose what we are wanting to take.

My concern for this cruise is my friend Wendi going. Wendi is a tiny thing and I know she is gonna look fab in a bikini. I already told her I was tossing her azz overboard if she looks good. One gal told me "well you might as well get ready to toss her because ya know she is gonna look great!". Guess it will be a short cruise for Wendi!

Project to Remember the Cruise

I made this photo tray with pictures from the 2011 Cricut Cruise and thought I would share it with you guys. I think it is a perfect way to include a lot of photos in a compact way so you can always have something to look at and remember the great times while on the cruise!

Supplies Used:
- Cricut Expression
- Creative Memories Cricut Traveler Cartridge
- Patterned paper - Hobby Lobby
- Various cardstock
- Mounting foam
- Cat Eye Chalk Ink
- Charms, buttons, etc
- KI Alphabet Soup
- Seashells from various locations
- Heat set pearls
- Red Line Tape


If you would like to see more photos and details you can check out the full post HERE.

Finding Roommates

My friend Karen and I knew we would be on the next Cricut Cruise, even if it meant she had to sell one of her kidney's to get our tickets! *okie figures she tries to sell her kidney's enough for scrappin supplies that it was Karen's turn to sacrifice a kidney*. I was excited when my friend Wendi told me that she was going to be able to go. Wendi lives in the same town as I do and we actually met when I had my first Expression up for sale on my blog *okie wonders if she should tell the story of how she got a new one because it was Red and okie really loves red but the decides not to bore people with the details*. My friend Angela is also going to be on the cruise with us. Both Angela and Wendi will be Cricut Cruise virgins, however Angela is a cruise lover and has been on a few.

I was so excited last night that I got confirmation that my friend Sandy, aka Sandy from Ukiah and my friend Sandi, aka sjox44 will be going on the cruise again. I had talked to Sandy for years on the Cricut messageboard so it was wonderful to get to meet her in person and have her to hang around with. I had talked to Sandy a few times on the board after we found out we would be going on the cruise. They were lucky enough to get a room together which is a blessing since sometimes roommate situations don't work out if you end up rooming with someone you don't know.

There were so many fantastic people on the last cruise that even if someone didn't really particularly care for their roommate they could always find someone else to hang around with the rest of the time. And to be honest, you aren't in your room much anyway. If anyone is wanting to go and worried about not having a roommate please feel free to contact me as I am willing to compile a list of names to help people find roommates.

Here is a picture of the ship Mariner of the Seas. It appears to be larger than Holland America's Eurodam that we were sailed on last time. I have heard wonderful things about Royal Carribbean cruise lines and that it is one of the top cruise lines available. I can't imagine anything being better than the Holland America line, but since that is the only cruise experience I have I am not the best one to judge on cruise lines.

I found this picture of an inside cabin on the Mariner of the Seas. Of course not all cabins are going to look just like this one but it is a good representation of what a ship cabin looks like. The one we had last year was larger but it was a quad, meaning for 4 people. I know Sandy and Dee's cabin looked similiar to this one, but I don't remember them having a couch. I am wondering if this inside cabin is not one meant for 3 or 4.

Oh and how cool is the pool deck on Mariner of the Seas? Can you imagine soaking up the sun on this fabulous deck? I sure can! *okie thinks she probably doesn't really need to soak up sun but she is such a good friend to BFF Karen that she will go lay in the sun with Karen so Karen doesn't have to be alone*. There is one pool area that is dedicated to adults only so if you are wanting a get away from the kiddo's that might be the pool for you. Since the cruise is the first of April there may not be many children on board at that time due to school. We didn't have many on the Eurodam last year but I think they cater to an older crowd anyway.

Oops got carried away talking about the boat! Anyway if you would like to go on the cruise but worry about finding a roommate please contact me and I will see what I can do to help!

Want to Share a Cruise Card!

I am on the Design Team at  Obsessed with Scrapbooking and many of you are probably familiar with Joy who owns the website. She was one of the instructors on last year's cruise and had a fabulous layout for us to do in her class, which was posted on this blog sometime ago.  Anyway for my project I wanted to make a card to send to some of my friends who will be going on the Cricut Cruise this year. I will be sending this card out about a month before the cruise just to let them know it is almost vacation time and that I am looking forward to spending the time with them.

Supplies Used:
- Cricut Expression
- Creative Memories Cricut Traveler Cartridge
- Patterned paper - Creative Imaginations
- Doodlebug glitter cardstock
- Various cardstock
- Signo UM 153 Gel Pen
- Mounting foam
- Cat Eye Chalk Ink
- Heat set gems
- twine





 

I loved the postage stamp cut on the cartridge and decided to use it to mat the flip flop cuts on. My friend Karen is gonna go GAGA over this cut as she is a lover of flip flops. In the summer it is rare to see her in any other kind of shoe and I think that is what she wore on the cruise unless we were going to the dining room. Oh anyhow back to the flip flops, I used a 5mm heat set gem for a little added bling. The strap was cut from Doodlebug glitter paper. I thought the twine just added a little more accent and went well with the tropical theme of the card.

This phrase was readily available on the cartridge and just seems perfect for the occasion in which I will be sending the card. While I might have been better off choosing a different color I am still over all pleased with the card.


If you would like to order the Creative Memories Traveler Cartridge you can order it from Joy at her CREATIVE MEMORIES WEBSIT

Do You Need A Passport...

The 2012 Cricut Cruise is departing and arriving at the same port, Galveston Texas, so it is considered a closed-loop cruise. At this time a passport is not required for "closed-loop cruises". What this means is that if you are a citizen of the United States you can use a government-issued birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth (ie drivers license, military id, etc). The birth certificate MUST be a certified, meaning having the state seal. You can NOT use a copy of a birth certificate. I used this method last time and it worked okay but this time I will be obtaining a passport because there is less hassle.


On the last cruise I had to show the id when we were all getting ready to board the ship. Once they issued my card for the ship I didn't have to have the identification anymore because it is used when you re-board the ship after being docked. Anytime you leave the ship be sure to have your ship card and driver's license or other government issued identification on your person. To be on the safe side I did carry a copy of my birth certificate with me when leaving the ship and had the original locked in the safe in the cabin.

If you need to obtain a passport for the first time please visit HERE.

If you need to renew your passport, visit HERE.

If you need to replace a lost or stolen passport then visit HERE.

Waiting On Class Information

I have had several questions about the classes on the cruise and the sad answer is...I don't know *okie waits for a smack upside the head*. The classes will be made available on Cricut.com shopping website and you will be able to pay for them there. I haven't seen an official release of what the classes are or who the instructors will be this go around.

I will say that last year most of the classes were fantastic and the projects were really great. This is a picture of my BFF Karen working on her Sand Bottle project. We weren't able to get them finished during the class time but we had time at the nightly crop to finish up projects.

The classes will be scheduled during days the ship is at sea as to not interfere with anyone wanting to go ashore when the ship is docked. Last time we had two classes a day but I think this year it will be up to the individual. I can't wait to find out the information about the classes and instructors and I will post the information as soon as I receive it.

2012 Cricut Cruise Planning is Under Way!

Hello my happy cruise lovers! I know I haven't posted on this blog in sometime but I will be posting more often now that the information for the 2012 Cricut Cruise has been released.

I remember last year I had so many questions and could find so little information about what it was all about. Please feel free to ask questions on the blog posts and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge *okie thinks that might not be good since she has limited brain activity most of the time*.

For now I thought I would post some of the basic information about this years cruise. This years cruise is a Western Carribbean and the cruise line is Royal Carribbean and the ship is Mariner of the Seas. The ship will be departing on April 1st and returning to port on April 8th.

The Itinerary is as follows
April 1 - Depart Galveston, Tx at 4:30 pm
April 2 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)
April 3 - Cozumel, Mexico Arrive at 7 am and depart at 4pm, ship docked
April 4 - George Town, Grand Cayman arrive 10 am depart 6pm, ship tendered (gotta ride a little boat to shore)
April 5 - Falmouth, Jamaica Arrive 8 am depart 5pm, ship docked
April 6 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)
April 7 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)
Prices
*Inside cabin - $639 based on double occupancy, add a third person for $379 each (no option for a 4th person at this time). This cabin is approximately 158 sq feet.

*Outside cabin (window that doesn't open) - $809 based on double occupancy, add a third or 4th person for $409 each. This cabin is approximately 161 sq feet.

*Veranda (cool little balcony) $959 based on double occupancy, add a third or 4th person for $469 each. This cabin is approximately 190 square feet. I believe the balcony is about 40 square feet. I will have to check for sure.

Each person will be charged an additional $95 in taxes. The gratuities (what is paid to the cabin stewards, wait staff etc) is $82 for each person. This is not optional, you will be charged. Tipping your cabin stewards individually is up to you. Karen and I left each one of our stewards an extra $20 each on the night stand because they were so fabulous in taking care of our needs.

Airport/Ship transfers are $77 round trip of flying into Hobby and $82 round trip if flying into Houston Intercontinental.  This will provide your transportation from the airport to the ship and then from the ship to the airport.

Dining is included in the price, however there are a few specialty restaurants available where you are charged and extra $15-$25 per person if you would like a more intimate specialty dining experience.

The deposit for the cruise is $250 and the final payment is due by January 13th. You can cancel without penalty before final payment. Since the drawing isn't until January 31st for the winners of this years Cricut Cruise I am not sure how that would work if you won but I will be asking that information and posting later. Payments by credit card and check are accepted.

They do have Travel Insurance available and the prices range from $79-$160 per person. There are several reasons for the variation in prices and you can obtain that information when you call to book if this is something you are interested in. I know some of the issues covered are medical problems, if you miss the boat *okie thinks she has missed a lot of boats in her life*, cancellation.

I will be posting a little more official information when I talk to Toby on Monday. For some reason people in Utah have a hard time understanding my Okie accent and she didn't get my email address right again *okie still isn't sure why people have a hard time understanding her when she understands herself quite well*. 

If you would like to find out the information or start booking your cruise please contact the person below:
Cruise & Travel Masters
CONTACT: TOBY NASH
801-268-4470 or 800-264-0557
M-F 8:30am-5:30pm MST

Airfare is NOT included in the price but Toby can help you book that as well if you prefer. 

Now about the Cricut classes - 
Those will be purchased through Cricut.com and the information for those have not been posted yet. They will be a separate charge from the cruise itself. I don't have the information on the specifics of the instructors or projects yet but will be posting as soon as I get the information.

PACK YOUR BAGS - Winner

I bet you guys thought I forgot about the giveaway! Well I didn't. I have been busy and just now getting time to sit down and use RANDOM.ORG to get a winner.

The winning number was 144!

LadybugCarrie said...

I would love to go on a Cricut cruise so that I could scrap with other scrappers and meet new friends! Thank you for the chance to win! :-)

Thanks to everyone for reading the Cruising With The Cricut blog and entering the giveaway!

Funny story about in class giveaways and Pink Journey

I am sure I have said this before and I know I will say it again...ProvoCraft sure did take care of us on the cruise!!

During classes they would have drawings and people would win prizes, generally cartridges. There were all different ones and they would pull a cart and then pull a name. Well during class, I think it was the first class actually *okie tries to remember and thinks she is remembering correctly*, they picked up Pink Journey. Of course most of you know that is one of the most difficult if not THE most difficult cart to get! I have seen it go for $170 on eBay! I was so excited and was hoping they would pull my name!

Cricut and Cindy were digging through the bucket to pull a name. Cindy opens the piece of paper with the name on it, obviously Cricut couldn't because of his chubby fingers, and she says "THE WINNER IS SHIRLEY!".

I jumped up immediately and was hollering "oh yeah on yeah" and I think I even danced a little on the way up to the front of the room. I looked at Cindy and she had this kind of "deer in head lights" look on her face and Cricut was shaking his head no *okie wonders how big of a can of raid it would take to put that Cricut in his place* and pointing at the paper. Bless her heart, Cindy was still standing there with this bit of terrified smile and wide eyed look. I look down at the paper and it reads "SHIRLEY S". Well I am not Shirley S, I am Shirley T!!

I looked at Cricut, who was still shaking his head no *okie is wondering about a fly swatter now* and I said "THAT ISN'T ME! I AM SHIRLEY T!". Well the Shirley S was very excited. It didn't even occur to me that there was another Shirley on the cruise. I mean come on! How common of a name is Shirley????

I looked at Cricut and Cindy and said "Did Mike put ya'll up to this?" and then I turned to the back of the room and yelled at Mike "YOU DID THIS DIDN'T YOU!". Some of you might have read my post about the call from Mike telling me I won the cruise so of course it was only natural that I would think he was pulling a prank on me. Mike immediately said "NNOOO!! I didn't do it!". I still didn't believe him. I wasn't angry at all because I thought it was funny and they were pulling a joke on me *okie can have a really good sense of humor about most things, and if her blood sugar levels are stable*.

I sat back down at the table and was laughing when I heard a voice say "Don't worry, I'll take care of it". And for the sake of anonymity I won't say whose voice it was...but in a few minutes I had a Pink Journey cartridge laying on the table in front of me!!

I really think the PC staff felt bad because I was so excited thinking I won and then to find out it wasn't me. Cindy even told me later "I was just going to let you take it but Cricut kept shaking his head no!" *okie really likes Cindy*.

Here is a picture of Cindy and I that was taken on the last night of the cruise. Cindy is such a fantastic person and was great to get to know. She and her husband are wonderful genuine people and both have a sense of humor that makes them shine!

OUR CRUISE layout - Pack Your Bags Giveaway!

First off I would like to apologize for the delay in posting about the cruise. If things got any crazier around here I would be begging for a bottle of valium and a shot of gin! Anyway I am going to try and get more posted...I PROMISE *okie says a little prayer hoping she can keep her promise*.

We received a little booklet that had our schedule and showed the classes and projects we would be working on. Sadly there wasn't enough to go around so I didn't receive one *okie truly is sad about this* so I am having to depend on others for the information from the booklet.

Our first class on the Cricut Cruise was with Joy Tracey of OBSESSED WITH SCRAPBOOKING. Joy had a great layout for us to make using Pack Your Bags, and even made it easy by having the kits all ready. In the booklet there was a page that had a picture of the finished layout and then also all the instructions. I think this was great because if you didn't have time to finish you could always refer to the instructions and finish it at a later time. There were papers that had been printed from the Imagine and while we didn't use it right then we did get a short tutorial on what was done to make the layout.


Kristy, Melanie and Tammy were great about going around and helping those who needed it. I let my daughter put my layout together. I was a bit busy talking to Dan Larsen about my reasons for hating the Gypsy. I think he still thinks I have a screw loose for not loving my Gypsy. Evidently Dan loves his Gypsy. He saw a picture of my daughter and I from formal night and said we both looked so friendly and that he was going to put the picture on his Gypsy. Have a mentioned that Dan can be a bit of a smart azz? *okie so loves smart azzes and laughs*. Dan is the one who was in charge of getting most everything ready for the cruise I believe and he did a BEYOND AWESOME job!


Sandie and Deanne worked hard on their layouts and to tell ya the truth I think they just liked to show off and work quietly and quickly. Of course that didn't last beyond the first class after we got even more acquainted.

Sandie was really good about using the Cricut Cutter, which I admired since I had problems and had never used one before. Both were helpful in helping me, Karen and Shiane with learning to use the cutter.




Here is a close up of Deanne working on her layout. I know it is her not only because she sent me the picture to post but also because of the dark purple nail polish.

This picture also shows the great colors in the layout, looking very tropical and cheery! I plan on using pictures of when we first got on the ship and were on deck for the sail away party to put on my layout.





I really wanted to post the finished layout with pictures but since I haven't finished going through and editing pictures I figured I better get a post up before you guys lose interest!Here is the page from the booklet we got. It shows the full layout completed. It is a lot cuter in person! Joy did an awesome job.




















Now to make up in the delay of posts I am going to giveaway the Pack Your Bags cartridge! We received one on the cruise and it was a cartridge I already had. I thought it would be nice to give it away on this blog since it was used for the layout.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post about why you would like to go on a Cricut Cruise. The deadline to enter will be midnight Friday March 25th. Comments will need to be approved so make sure you comment only once please.

There will also be other giveways as we go along, maybe not cartridges but items from the cruise, so be sure to check back with us!

Check In Gifts

I totally forgot to tell you guys about what we got when we checked in at the hotel!

When we first arrived at the hotel there was a table set up for the Cricut Cruise folks to check in so ProvoCraft would know we had arrived. Dan Larsen and his wife Kayela were there to get us all settled in and gave us some gifts. Kayela took our pictures so they would be able to identify us later on. I told them I didn't think that was right because no one ever looks good after being in an airplane all day. Okay, okay, I actually said "do you have to do it right now? I look like total chit!" But I didn't say chit. And yes, they had to do it right then evidently because they laughed at me and took the picture anyway *okie so hopes the picture has since been destroyed because she believes a mug shot would probably look better than that photo did*.

We received an email before the cruise asking for shirt sizes so I figured we would be getting t-shirts but I was surprised about the water bottle and sunglasses. I just love free stuff!!

I totally forgot to take a picture of the items but Annette Hindes was nice enough to let me use one that she took. Annette was great about setting up a facebook page for us before we went on the cruise so some of us could chat and get to know each other before hand. She has also agreed to allow me to use any of her photos she has on Facebook. THANK YOU ANNETTE!

~okie

I think she drank the Potion!

LOL... When Deanne and I got to FT Lauderdale we decided to take the water taxi to the shops on the other side of the channel. While we were strolling down the street we saw this Alice in Wonderland chair. We so had to have a picture taken in it, because it does look like she drank the potion...lol. We had already had so much fun before we even started the cruise.

Okie and Shiane

This is one of my favorite pictures from the cruise. They are having a moment that every mother and daughter should have. Even thought it was only a moment...lol. I love it anyway. We all met up in the crows nest of the ship for a little meet and mingle and maybe a little drink or two. We all had fun but again me and the foursome kinda stuck like glue together.

Dinner with Good Friends

Well here we are all together at dinner. When I knew I was going on the cruise I was so glad I was going with my BFF Deanne, because you always feel comfortable when you are with someone you know. I had no idea that as soon as I met Okie, Shiane and Karen that I would feel like I have been friends with them all my life. I could not have asked for a better foursome to hang with on the cruise. Ladies start saving those pennies for next year.

Go for the Quad Cabins!

If you ever go on a cruise and don't care about a balcony or window then I would say go for the quad cabins! Since there were three in our cabin we got the quad and I have to say it was the roomiest of the cabins I saw. I didn't see the high dollar ones because we were on the main deck and not up top and I would think some of those have more room. But for the economy friendly ours was great!

There was a queen bed that split into two beds and that is where Karen and I slept. Shiane slept in the pull down bunk bed. Karen did hit her head a few times and I think that is how she ended up with a headache one day! There were little lights next to our beds so if we wanted to read we could. There were also controls for the main lights in the rooms at the head of the beds. Shiane had a light up in her bunk area as well.

The beds were amazingly comfortable and I wish I could have brought the pillows home with me! The linens were awesome feeling as were the robes! I don't think Holland America is chintzy about anything!

The closets were great! In each closet there were life jackets *okie is rather grateful those were not needed*. In the first closet there was a safe where we could put our money and valuables. It was big enough to hold our purses, jewelry and other items. We were able to set the code specifically for us. Being the organizer I am *okie knows EVERYONE is surprised that she organized right off* I went straight away to unpacking and getting things organized when we got to our cabin. We were able to put the suitcases in the first closet. The second closet had shelves and we put clothing and eventually our Cricut projects in there. The last closet is where our clothes were hung. There was a DVD player for our use and we could call for movies from the list provided, at no charge. The TV did get a few channels but I think we watched the ship announcements the most.

Now here is what was really nice, or we thought it would be, was the sofa! But actually we rarely used it because we were not in the room very often. There is a bed in the sofa as well. They had it pulled out at first but it was difficult to get to the bathroom and we opted for the bunk bed instead.

The couch and table were great to have for when we ordered room service for breakfast. The vanity was nice as well for when we were getting ready.

We had plenty of room for all three of us to walk around and not be in each other's way while getting dressed and ready for the day or evening.

There are a lot of things I missed getting pictures of and might just have to make commentaries about those. I wish I had gotten pictures of the social on the first night but I think the only one I have is of me and my evil twin Diane aka Capadia.

I am hoping the other bloggers will start posting soon and share their perspectives, but if not, ya'll are stuck with me! *okie raises one eyebrow and is ready to lash anyone with a wet noodle if they complain*. I will be getting to more of the Cricut classes and stuff soon so hang in there.

Had some snags...but GIVEAWAY coming soon!

Sorry I haven't gotten to post more, I have had some snags this week and also been busy trying to make up for lost time at work. I promise I will get more posted soon. And I will also be having a Giveaway coming next week so be sure to stay tuned!

ALL ABOARD!!

The morning we were scheduled to board the ship we had breakfast together. Okay, to be honest most everyone else had breakfast together. Karen, Shiane and I were late...this was to be a pattern for the rest of the week.

We finished our breakfast and left out of the room via the back doors. As we did my daughter leans over and says "Mom I think those women are talking about you because they kept staring and whispering" and Karen said "yeah I noticed that too!". I looked around to see who the heck would be staring at me and suddenly a woman pops around *okie won't admit that it almost scared the chit out of her* and holler "OKIE!". I look at her and say "yeah" and she says "IT'S SCRAPDEE!" Of course then I immediately give her a hug and then another lady pops aroud and says "SJOX44!" And I have to give her a hug. Well that was it for us! While we had several others we did spend time with we for the most part spent most of our activity time together and have declared the 5 of us are now BFF's for life!

Everyone gathered in the lobby with their luggage, some folks had enough to fill the lockers of a football team, I am just sure of it! *okie cracks up laughin*. We got to meet more people and it looked like total chaos with everyone making sure they had everything. The afternoon before we had gotten checked in at the Renaissance hotel and I met Dan Larsen and his wife who were an absolute hoot! I did feel for Dan since he had several boxes that he and his wife were having to tote around. Luckily they had one of those rolly things that hotels offer.

Pretty soon they called us to go out and meet the buses. Well once again we were at the back of the line. The bad thing about this was that one of the buses got held up at customs and while the first bus filled up there were quite a few of us standing out on the curb waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...Finally the first bus left. And were stood there and waited....and waited...and waited...and waited. At this point I told everyone if they could find a screwdriver I would hot wire the hotel van and take us to the port. No one seemed to think this was a good idea *okie thought it was a fabulous idea*. I wasn't too worried since I noticed that we were the only cruisers left behind, and the others left behind were the ProvoCraft staff and the travel agent. I figured we had a better shot of getting on that ship than anyone else at this point.

Our travel agent Rusty was getting a bit hot under the collar by this time. Someone finally called for some cabs to come and get us. This is when I soon discovered that when you go on a trip with ProvoCraft, THEY DO TAKE CARE OF YOU! Well there were like 3 cabs that drove by, and then 2 van cabs...none stopped. At last a cab turned around. Mike (from ProvoCraft) had Karen, Shiane and I get in that cab. We also took a lot of luggage that was on the curb in the trunk of our cab. I have no idea whose luggage it was but since I didn't see any naked people on the cruise I guess the luggage found it's owners!

Shiane was excited and said "THIS IS MY FIRST CAB RIDE!" Cindy (from ProvoCraft) had give us bottles of water as a consolation prize of having stand on the curb and we were very grateful to get it!

Our cab driver was super nice. He pointed out some of the ships to us and pointed to ours, the MS Eurodam. He also pointed out the FREAKINGLY HUGE ship and told us it was one of the largest cruise ships, MS Oasis of the Seas, that exists today. I could not believe something so big even existed!! I swore I would remember our cab drivers name, but ya know what? My memory is not what it use to be! *okie wonders of some of that ginkgo bo bango or whatever it is would help her memory*. Anyway I did get his picture! I informed him he would be blogged and scrapbooked. He didn't seem too impressed with that, but he did like the tip we gave him, and yes I mean money! *okie shakes head knowing some readers are such smart azzes*

We had to laugh when we realized we arrived at the port before the bus that left almost 30 minutes earlier. The check in went smoothly. Karen had a passport and Shiane and I had our official emboss sealed birth certificates and state issues photo id's and we didn't have a problem. Right now if you are going on a closed port cruise an official birth certificate and driver's license will work in place of a passport. But with that said I do plan on getting a passport soon.

Before The Cruise Even Started

I was very fortunate to meet up with some friends from Florida that I have made via the Cricut, in Ft. Lauderdale. Carmen aka Scrappinbee, Robin aka rcz28, Tisha aka TPthatsme and Caroline aka Doxieluv01 met Karen, Shiane and myself for a great evening of fun.

Robin came in and picked up Karen at the airport and Carmen met me and my daughter at the airport, talk about fantastic service!

We went to the beach, ate at Bubba Gump and visited for hours at the hotel. Heck I didn't even have time to meet the others who would be on the cruise with me but I figured I would have a whole week with those folks and I wanted to enjoy my precious time with my friends.

We all were laughing until we cried that night and I can tell you that I wish these ladies had went on the cruise with us!





My daughter got camera duty for a little while and looked like a professional tourist with the cameras hanging from her neck and her wrists. I did notice a few people laughing at her. She didn't seem to mind, especially when we snapped this picture of her. She is such a ham!!

I think she learned never to go on an adventure with 6 scrapbookers at once!! *okie nudges Sandie and Dee in the side and then says..* BLESS HER HEART!! *okie then holds sides with laughter*









Here is a picture of my daughter and I on the beach. It was very very windy and I was totally enthralled by the folks on surfboards and huge kites they had making them sail around. I also thought those parents who had little ones in the water were nuts because to me the water was freezing!

I also kept wondering why people were staring at me then I realized I had on my Paper Ho tshirt and figured they were wondering "WHAT THE HECK!". Oh well, at least I was easy to spot! HA HA



Here are a few more pictures at dinner at Bubba Gump.


Tisha and Karen at the dinner table. Tisha, poor thing, wasted a good drink by letting it get watery! Something I will never let her live down because I sure enjoyed my Lt. Dan punch! *okie thinks that was the name of it only she can't remember exactly because it went away so fast*








Karen and Carmen looking over the menu. It really was hard to order because everything seemed to look and sound so good!











Robin and Shiane smiling for the camera. I swear they were having some kind of contest about who could sport the biggest grin!

Caroline joined us at dinner but by the time she got there we had put away the camera's so we could eat. I mean seriously how can you think of taking pictures when you have all that shrimp in front of you. Caroline, aka Doxieluv01, did order a Cobb Salad. She asked for no avocado's and some how she ended up with avocado's and no chicken! She did get her chicken, and Shiane was more than glad to take the avocado's. Carmen wanted one and Shiane put it on a fork and acted like she was going to give it to her but then turned the fork around and popped it into her mouth! My child does not play when it comes to avocado's!

~okie

Serious Snag At The Beginning

My daughter and I had Lucy drive us up to my sister's house on Thursday afternoon so we could take Lucy to stay the week and we could stay the night. Luckily my sister only lives maybe 20 minutes from the airport and that makes it convenient not to have to drive an hour and 45 minutes.

Once we got to my sisters we went to Khol's to pick up a few things and then stopped and got a bite to eat. When we got to my sister's house we decided to go to the casino "for a little bit" and while I did come out $75 a head I sure did regret staying out late because I was so tired when we got home and then I was also too excited to sleep. My daughter and I made sure we had everything packed the night before so we could just toss on our clothes and head to the airport at 6am.



Bright and early the next morning grabbing our stuff and loading it into the car. I was sad to see Lucy trying to follow us out the door but I assured her I loved her and I would be back. My sister dropped us off and we headed to check in. After getting the luggage checked we headed security. SNAG! My daughter goes to grab her license and says "OMG! I LEFT MY LICENSE IN MY JEANS POCKET AT AUNT CHERYL'S!".

This is little Miss Porsche' Shiane looking very sad because she forgot her license.

We quickly called my brother in law and Shiane told him where to find the license. He found it and as soon as Cheryl got home he gave it to her and she drove back to the airport. I was seeing about catching a later flight when my daughter comes running waving her license in her hand.

I asked Shiane "what did Aunt Cheryl say" and Shiane laughed and said "She told me 'YOU DOOFUS!' ".

Luckily there were no more snags! But it is definitely a scrap worthy moment! And to be honest, pretty funny since everything worked out okay!

First night of goodies

When BFF Karen and I went back to our room the first night on the ship there were two pails on one of the beds filled with goodies. We were so excited to see what was included!

Included in the pail was -
Cricut Cartridge Pack Your Bags
Imagine Cartridge Kate's Kitchen
Cricut Toolkit
Small Cricut plush animal
Stamps






Of course being afraid someone would take my wonderful goodies from me I decided I best sleep with my pail next to me! Heck I don't even have an Imagine but I was still excited about the cartridge!

Sadly my bucket didn't get to make it home with me. My daughter packed our bags as tight as she could and there still wasn't room for it. Me being the dummy I am didn't think of it until now that I could have stuffed my purse in the bucket and carried it that way! *okie bangs her head on her desk because she really did love her bucket*.

This was only the beginning of the nightly gifts we received!

~okie

How did I get to win a trip?

I won my trip on the Cricut Cruise by participating in the Cricut Circle membership referral program. I was lucky enough to be one of the top two recruiters. But let me tell you a little story about this...

I received a call from Michael at Provocraft and well the conversation went something like this...

Mike - I just called to tell you that you were one of the top 10 recruiters for the referral program

okie - NO WAY! That's awesome! I get a free years membership to the Circle!

Mike - Oh wait...let me check the numbers

okie - what do you mean check the numbers *okie wondering what the heel*

Mike - I'm sorry, that's wrong. I just checked the numbers.

okie - WHAT THE HELL! YOU ARE GONNA GIVE ME A FREE YEAR! Uh uh Michael you can't do that!

Mike - I can't believe I looked at the wrong numbers

okie - uh uh! I want my free year!

Mike - Well let me check the numbers again

okie - *about to really cuss Mike out*

Mike - Okay what if I told you that you were one of the top two recruiters

okie - *silent for a few seconds* Uh....what

Mike - Yeah you were one of the top two recruiters. YOU WON THE CRUISE

okie - *yelling and mean voice* DON'T PLAY WITH ME MICHAEL!!!

Mike - *laughing* Yeah you won!!

okie - *skeptical* dontcha play with me Michael!!

Mike - *still laughing* I wanted to call you myself and tell you when I saw your name after they pulled the numbers. YES YOU WON THE CRUISE!

okie - *jumping up and down and screaming* OMG OMG OMG NO WAY!! I AM GOING ON A CRUISE!! OMG OMG OMG!! NO FREAKIN WAY!!

Then I did a little more screaming and some dancing. I think poor Michael might have ended up with some hearing problems. But if he did he deserved it for being mean to me about how he told me I won!! *okie cracks up laughin*

Here is a picture of Michael and I on the beach at Half Moon Cay. He really is a great guy, although he likes to throw stuff at people, more about that in another post though. Oh and don't ya'll tell him I think he is a great guy because I think I finally convinced him I don't like him! I swear I am gonna put his wife up for sainthood! *okie makes exasperated sigh to put emphasize on the sainthood*


~okie

Wow!! What an amazing trip!!!

After a very long day being at the mercy of Delta I am am home.....

I just spent the last week cruisin with cricut!! I am lucky enough to have a best friend that allowed me to tag along with her on the Provo Craft cruise! We had the best time ever and made some life long friends!
When I started scrapping 13 years ago I would have never imagined that this little hobby of mine could have opened so many doors and given me so many awesome friends!

As soon as we started our trip we ran into Shirley(aka Okieladybug) and her BFF Karen....what great friends they became!

I will be posting much more about the trip and more about the awesome job Provo Craft did for us....I have tons of photos to share and lots of projects we did on the cruise to share. Stay spinning with me, we will have a blast together!

Thanks for spinning!

WELCOME TO CRUISING WITH THE CRICUT

When I found out I won a cruise with ProvoCraft I was thrilled! I searched high and low for information about the cruise from the previous year. I was able to find a few pictures but very little information about what it was all about.

I decided to ask a few of my fellow Cricut Cruisers to help me with this blog so we can share the experiences, pictures and projects with people who might be interested in knowing what it is like to go on a Cricut Cruise. I can tell you now that I believe each and every person who will be posting on this blog is making plans to go on the next Cricut Cruise if ProvoCraft plans to sponsor one!


Oh and guess what! There will be a few giveaways along the way so make sure you check in to see what we have to offer!

~okie