Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip 2023. Norwegian Fjords

Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip 2023. Norwegian Fjords – #1 Stampin’ Up! UK Demonstrator Pootles

Well this trip has felt like it’s been a very long time coming! Sadly the last 3 trips were missed due to Covid, so 2019 was the last time I was with all the other achievers.

And this trip wasn’t originally destined to be the Norwegian Fjords, but the war in Ukraine meant an itinerary change by Royal Caribbean, and that meant that we set sail from Southampton, here in the UK!

What an absolute delight it was for me to see so many of my overseas friends come in to the UK early and explore our amazing country. It made me a little bit sad that I was missing out on the exploration I usually do when I’m travelling for a trip, but it also made me really appreciate the things I see every day and take for granted. So in our dedicated facebook group, I decided to add in some photos too. The local Cathedral in Peterborough, the windmill in my next door neighbours garden, the 200+ year old former convent school my parents live in….

It was fun!

And of course, the trip itself was amazing. I brought my husband Chris along with me for this trip. He doesn’t always come, it depends on just how far away from home we are. Long distance, he tends to stay back and be Dad. You never know when a child may need you, and being so far from home has always been a concern. But you can’t get much closer than Southampton and Norway….

There were 4 planned port days, however, the weather and the seas were so rough on one of them that despite getting into port, our moorings were damaging the port and we had to leave! Not fun!

And though I thankfully don’t get seasick, nor does Chris, there were 2 bad nights, one of which was so bad that I was involuntarily rolling over in the bed!!!

I don’t have many photographs, I tend to be a fairly hopeless photographer. I live in the moment and then afterwards think about taking photos….

But I did manage to get some photos of the startling weather we had as well as the very long nights. Norway is known as the land of the midnight sun, and the further north we got, the shorter the ‘dark’ was. One night, the sun was still up at close to midnight! But the sea was so black!

Another night, we had the most incredible sunset.

And then there was the day where the clouds were hanging over the mountain tops (apparently those who ventured to the top had snow falling on them!), but we had a rainbow on the water, followed by rain, followed by a stormy wash and roll of the boat!

I absolutely love what I do, and as a fairly ordinary ‘vanilla’ kind of person, I genuinely believe that anyone can earn this trip, but I do know that it’s less than 1% of us who do.

I have already earned my place on the 2024 trip to Mexico, and I’m taking my oldest son (he turns 21 while we are there), but we just had the announcement that the 2025 trip is to Disney World and staying at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Trust me, there’s a whole load of my team who also want to achieve this, so I’m drafting up an action plan as we speak!

It was a delight to have 2 of my team on the trip, my goal is for us to be in double figures one day!

I’ve got a video coming out next week on all the gifts and treats that I brought home with me, but I leave you with some of my photos, in no particular order!

S x

 

I hope you enjoyed this project, I absolutely adore what I do and spend many hours working on designs, new projects, new ideas and more.

I love to spoil all the people who shop with me, so every month I post out a handmade card, an exclusive newsletter and a product gift too.

And if you use the hostess code, I send even more free product! (hostess code shown in the top right of my blog for the current one!) Learn more HERE. If your order is over £150, please do not use this code as You become the hostess and get the Rewards!

Sam Hammond Donald

#1 Stampin’ Up! UK Independent Demonstrator

• • You can buy Stampin’ Up! online easily through my Stampin’ Up! shop link on the right hand side, or within this blog post.
  • You can also join Stampin’ Up! through similar links too! I have various FAQ and joining Stampin’ Up! pages on the blog, so do click around!  
  • I cover the UK, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, France and Austria with my shop, but also my team too, so you can join me in those countries also!
  • And of course, you can find me on facebook, instagram, pinterest and on YouTube as a Guru with my account name as PootlesPapercraft, however, I’m scattered everywhere as Pootles!