5 Tips for First Time Cruisers

I'm noticing that even though this is the third Backstreet cruise, there are still a bunch of first time cruisers, which is so exciting! I think the allure of Kevin returning with the combination of it being their 20th year anniversary has a lot of fans wanting to come out and party on the high seas with the boys. So here's my attempt at some tips especially for you first time cruisers...

1. Group photos- If you're a first time cruiser, you probably see a lot of these types of conversations/tweets/posts...
   

   "Have 2 Nick girls, 1 AJ girl, and Brian girl..."
   "Im looking for 1 Nick and 1 Kevin spot for late dining."
   "Early Dining Photo Group: we need 2 Howie, 1 Brian, & 1 AJ."

   You get the gist..... So here's the lowdown. Every cruiser is entitled to a group picture with the Backstreet Boys- which will include 10 fans and 5 boys. So if you do the math, thats one person on either side of each boy. Some cruisers like to get their groups arranged early so that they can all stand next to their first choice member. I would recommend starting to find a group if you 1) want to stand next to Nick (and I wish you good luck on this endeavor, not easy to find a group with Nick openings) or 2) you have a strong desire to stand next to one guy in particular.
   
   If you don't meet either of these criteria, I would say relax and you can easily find people on board. There will be members of the Rose Tour staff helping to match groups up the day of the photos. If you do want to arrange your group beforehand, there are a lot of places to go, which brings me to my next tip....



2. Get Social- Particularly if you're a solo traveler, I encourage you to get on twitter, the fanclub, facebook groups, and of course my blog to meet other fans. Everyone is so welcoming! For twitter, Id suggest starting off the the @backstreetboys cruise list. On the fanclub, I'd suggest searching for 'backstreet cruise' and there are at least 10 groups that I'm aware of. If you have trouble finding them, shoot me an email and I'll invite you. And in the fanclub, there is an entire section of the forums dedicated to the cruise. So many ways to meet people before you set sail!



3. Door Decoration Contest- Just recently they announced a door decoration contest. You do not have to do anything if you don't want, but I think it's a lot of fun. You can do as little or as much as you want. Some people slap a few old magazine and posters up; while others do a full-on theme with flashing lights, music, etc. I've included a picture of a door from the Carnival Imagination with measurements. Note that this happens to be my exact cabin so your door may look different!
   

   

   Carnival Imagination Door

   
   
4. Sleep Now- As the boys themselves have said, sleep now. You won't be getting a lot of sleep on the ship. There's a lot of fun to be had around 5 in the morning with drunk Howie up on the lido deck and you won't want to miss it. So be prepared for minimal sleep. My rule of thumb is I won't go to sleep until the last Backstreet Boys is in bed.



5. No Expectations- I know its tough not to get excited thinking about running into AJ in your hall; but my biggest advice to first time cruisers is go in with no expectations and you can only be pleasantly surprised. If you expect to chilling in the hot tub with Kevin all cruise, you're only going to set yourself up for disappointment. You need to go in with an open mind, and heck, sometimes what actually happens is better than what you could dream up anyway.