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Oct. 9-14, 2006

Staci and I had a wonderful time on the Caribbean cruise with the 325 people who went. The five-day cruise included visits to Grand Cayman Island and to Jamaica. The Carnival cruiseship Imagination had 10 decks with 2,000 passengers and 900 crew on board. The food on the ship was incredible, with formal dining rooms, casual buffet-style restaurants, midnight buffets, and 24 hour room service (all included with the cost of the cruise). Every night the ship had Las Vegas style shows with singing and dancing in a large show room. Staci took advantage of the beauty salon on board. Friends of ours visited the 1/11th mile jogging track on the top deck. Every day the cabin stewards folded a towel in your cabin in the shape of a different animal.

The Cherished Teddies activities included welcome and farewell parties, bingo and keno games everyday, and a “Bear or No Bear” contest (like “Deal or No Deal). There were lots of prizes for players, including figurines, afghans, pillows and other CT merchandise. Special prizes included 20 plush bears with cruise logos and Jean Grainger won a prize of an interview in The Town Tattler. Enesco held a raffle to raise money to help a cruise attendee whose home had burned down just before the cruise. The raffle raised $1,600 and the raffle winner of a signed Glenn drawing was Dorothy Lehman.

Each day throughout the cruise Enesco gave attendees special gifts. The big surprise of the cruise was that there were two exclusive cruise figurines, not one. We received both painted and “paint your own” versions of Roslyn & Adele “Setting Sail For A Lifetime of Memories” (4007335 regular and 4007335P paint your own). The “paint your own” version had a mishap in shipping and some of the paint leaked inside the box. Fortunately, none of the “paint your own” figurines were damaged since they were inside a clear plastic bag but the leaking paint jars were discarded.

Other gifts received by every attendee included the figurines Teddy & Roosevelt (624918) and the Red Hat figurine (105674). Everyone received a lanyard with nametag/wallet for use on the cruiseship. Other gifts included these items with a CT Cruise logo: a canvas bag, sunglasses holder, car coffee mug, luggage tags, tan visor, cruise pin and different yellow and blue cruise t-shirts. Enesco also had a group photo taken with everyone receiving an 8x10 print. They also gave every couple a $25 cruise credit for use onboard. At the farewell ceremony Enesco told everyone on the cruise that they would receive their 2007 membership club kit for free in January and they unveiled what the club pieces for 2007 would be. During the cruise there were two signings with Priscilla and Glenn where everyone could get two things signed at each signing. During the first signing they had a professional photographer take individual pictures of everyone with Priscilla and Glenn. They had everyone fill out a survey to collect views on collecting and future events

The weather was gorgeous throughout the cruise with sunny skies and smooth seas. The waters off Grand Cayman were light blue and crystal clear and the sea was as smooth as glass. The waters off Jamaica were darker blue. Everyone had the choice of dozens of excursions on the islands. We took a Grand Cayman submarine ride and a rode a Jamaican party boat to a scenic falls for swimming. Ya Man! The weather was a nice contrast with the hurricane experienced during the 2004 Disneyworld convention. The Enesco and KP Partners staff worked long hours (from 7 am to 10 pm) and provided tremendous service to the attendees during the 5 days of the cruise. They made this CT adventure the trip of a lifetime for Staci and me and we treasured every minute with our bear buddies.

In Bears We Trust, Wes and Staci Wedermyer

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