9 Things I Wished I Knew Before Cruising

After 4 Backstreet Boys cruises under my belt, I'd like to think I've honed my Backstreet cruising knowledge. Too bad that's not a skill I can put on my resume! The good news is, I can share my relatively useless knowledge with my lovely readers. So looking back, I put together a list of things that I wish I knew before I embarked on my first:

1. I think I was an hour into Cruise #1 when I realized my camera wasn't going to cut it. Many fans like to use their phones for pictures, in fact, I may be the oddball who still uses a point-and-shoot camera. But if you do like taking pictures and videos as much as I do, I'd suggest investing in a decent camera and LOTS of memory. You don't want to feel limited by not bringing enough, and its expensive on the ship (yes i learned the hard way)
   
   
2. It's going to be an emotional roller coaster. I went into my first cruise with super high spirits and tons of excitement. It's safe to say on every cruise I've shed tears in some capacity or another (Try not to judge me too much!) Sometimes its happy tears, sometimes its just out of sheer exhaustion, and other times it's because I set myself up for disappointment with unrealistic expectations. Overtime I've learned to just feel all feels!
   
   
   
   
   
3. One of the most exciting things I discovered going on a Backstreet cruise is that I'm not alone!! There are other fans just like me who still love the Backstreet Boys. That was super refreshing for me to experience.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Don't overdo it before or after the cruise. One year I went to Disney World before the cruise and while I had a blast, I will never do that again! I've learned to build in relaxation days before AND after the cruise. Whenever possible, I try to take an extra day off work on both ends of the cruise because I find before a Backstreet cruise I'm usually running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Having a day or two solely dedicated to taking care of those last minute things is so helpful! After the cruise, I also find I need a day to decompress and literally just process everything.
   
   
   
   
   
5. There are really not many downsides to a Backstreet cruise. One of the very few negatives of a BSB cruise is that they are addicting. Once you do it, it's hard to stop! At least I haven't been able to break the habit...not that I really want to ;)
   
   
   
   
   
6. If you thought post-concert depression is bad, post-cruise depression is waaaaay worse. Sitting in that airport terminal on the way home is such a weird feeling because you're still riding off the high of the trip, but also realizing that the trip of a lifetime has come to an end. What I've done to help ease the PCD is extend my trip and spend an extra couple of days with friends. It's so nice to have the support of each other and tell each all all the stories over and over (even though they were there with you for those stories!)
   
   
   
   
   
7. This one could just be me, but I almost have as much fun planning and talking about the cruise as I do on the cruise. I really enjoy chatting with other fans, speculating, getting costumes and door decorations ready. I really have learned to enjoy the build-up of getting ready for the cruise because lets face it, those 4 days with the boys go by a heck of a lot quicker than the 350+ we had to wait for it to get here.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Given the nature of a Backstreet cruise, the green-eyed monster can and will rear its ugly head. There's no doubt it's tough to watch other fans get picked for something you wanted so badly; or get special interactions that "should've been yours." Sometimes I just can't help but feel jealous. The reality is we all want to feel special when it comes to the boys and there's only so much Nick, Howie, Brian, Kevin and AJ to go around. I just try to remind myself that other fans' stories don't take away from my interactions in any way!
   
   
   
   
   
9. One thing that I never anticipated is that my perceptions of the boys changed as a result of cruising. I found that being with them 24/7 for a few days you saw different sides of their personalities come out. Things that are tougher to capture in a concert or on TV. For example, if you've been a long-time reader, you may know that after the first cruise I developed such a love for AJ! It was on that first cruise I really saw first hand how down to earth and genuine he is. I also came to really adore Howie and Kevin because I saw how much time and effort they put into mingling with fans and taking pictures. For me, things like that really went unnoticed and unappreciated until I started cruising.