8 Things I Plan on Doing Differently for Cruise 2011

Looking back on the last cruise, I don’t have too many regrets, but none of us really knew what to expect since it was the first ever BSB cruise. Were they going to eat with us? Would they show up to the theme parties? What do you wear?

As we start to prepare for the next cruise, I learned a lot from the first trip that I'm going to try to do differently for the next one.

1. Get a New Camera: And plenty of extra batteries. I got so camera happy last cruise that I would drain my camera’s battery midway through an event. When I got home and finally looked through all of my pictures, I was slightly disappointed with the quality of some of the pictures so I’ve decided to invest in a new camera for this trip so I will have some nice pictures to share.
   
2. Take More Pictures without a BSB in it: I got so focused on the Backstreet Boys that sometimes I would forget to take pictures of the ship, me just hanging out with friends, everyone in their theme outfits, etc. There will be PLENTY of pictures of the Backstreet Boys at all of the events. So while I obviously want to take pictures of BSB, I dont want to stress about it and forget to take pictures of me and my friends.
   
3. Don’t go to Bed: Okay, I obviously have to allow some time for rest, but I felt like so much was going on from like 12-6am that I don’t want to miss. Not all of the Backstreet Boys were awake, but I know AJ made great efforts to hit up the club, knock on cabin doors, etc and I don’t want to miss out because I’m sleeping. I'm still kicking myself for leaving the club early that one night when AJ was still there. So moral of the story, I’ll worry about sleep when I get home!
4. Relax: At times I was so preoccupied with the Backstreet Boys and where they might be on the ship that I couldn’t always let loose and enjoy myself. I plan on relaxing a lot more and just having a good time, and who knows who might stroll by if I’m lucky.
5. No Expectations: While tough, I don’t think we can necessarily compare the first cruise to the second cruise because this cruise will be a full charter which I anticipate will completely change the dynamic of the whole trip. So I’m trying not to get my hopes up and assume it will be just like last year, because it will not.
6. Meet even more People: One of my favorite parts of the first cruise had nothing to do with the Backstreet boys, but rather with all the friends I met. I’d like to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone and meet new people. I also plan on asking for contact info this time because I forgot to do that last cruise and couldn’t find people after the fact. Oopsies! Hopefully some of those people will come again this year.
7. Plan for all Weather: After last year’s black and blue night, I realize I need to have a Plan B outfit in the event that its cold or rainy. Last year I had to throw on a sweatshirt over my meticulously planned black & blue outfit, which was disappointing.
8. No Gym Clothes: I was really just kidding myself on the first cruise and it took up too much space

So, anyone else plan on doing anything differently for the next cruise?