8 Things I Plan on Doing the Same for Cruise 2011

So I shared with you all what I plan on doing differently for the next cruise, so I figured I’d also share what I want to make sure I do again.

1. Try new foods: This isn’t exactly Backstreet Boy related, but last cruise I tried new foods that I wouldn’t normally otherwise try. After all, its free, so if you don’t like it you’re not out the money. Last year I tried some new stuff which I really enjoyed and I want to make sure I do that again.
2. Get to Miami early: It’s just too stressful traveling the morning of the cruise. Any number of things could happen like the random freak airport fire in Miami. It’s just not worth it, especially in December one would expect potential weather delays. You never know what will happen so I plan on getting there early.
3. Not a lot of alcohol: I did have a few drinks on the last cruise (mainly when they were free) But I found I had an absolutely amazing time without drinking. I didn’t need it and it saved me a bunch of money and a hangover the next morning. So, I don’t think I’ll be drinking a lot on the 2011 cruise either.
4. Take advantage of the Fan Club: I met so many great people on the BSB fan club before the cruise, that I already recognized so many faces by the time I stepped on the ship. I went up to people to say hi (although some I accidentally got wrong…oops lol) and I had people come up to me to say hi. I will definitely be doing that again.
5. Look Presentable: At all times! Maybe I wasn’t great about this last time, but considering how I normally look on vacation I was doing pretty well. You never know when you may run into a Backstreet Boy and if they are willing to take pictures. I happened to luck out that Brian was posing with fans right when we came on board after lunch, before we even had time to get to our cabin. Good thing I wasn’t wearing my usual sweats.
6. No Cell Phone: As soon as we sailed away from Miami I turned my phone off and didn’t really turn it back on until we arrived back in Miami. It was so nice not to have to check in with work and the rest of the outside world. I also didn’t get slammed with any crazy roaming charges. But what I may do is get a larger text plan for that month. I was texting everyone like crazy those days leading up to the cruise and those first few hours on the ship. Mainly because I was in BSB overload.
   
7. Decorate my Door: I had so much fun last time decorating the door and I felt like I came up with a pretty unique idea. It definitely felt nice to have people acknowledge my work, even though the Backstreet Boys themselves didn’t. Plus I felt like this was a great way to meet your neighbors because people were decorating those doors all around the same time.
8. Plan Outfits Ahead of Time: Once we got the itinerary, it was very easy to see what you would be doing at each point during the day so I could determine what I wanted to wear and when I would change. I found this to be very helpful because it helped me pack exactly what I needed- no more no less. I also didn't waste time on the cruise pouring through all of my clothes deciding what to wear for any given event because I had already tried on my clothes and knew ahead of time what I was wearing. It worked out very well for me last time and its one less thing to stress about while on board.
   

Merch

The first cruise had tons of great merchandise, rather overpriced, but what else would you expect when it comes to BSB? I spent $130 on merch, only leaving with 3 items. I bought the This is Us hoody (since I regretted not getting it on tour) a cruise t-shirt and the towel. Side note- I mistakenly told my boyfriend how much I spent on my hoody, and he will now tease me every time I wear it to be careful not to ruin my ‘super expensive sweatshirt.’
When it comes to merchandise, there’s only a few things you need to be aware of. I felt that the hours of the store were very limited, but this could have been a limitation of the half charter. Due to that, the lines were almost always very long. They had everything spread out in the library, which was a tiny room that could accommodate around 10 people comfortably. The problem is that you are browsing and potentially trying on clothes, so the line moves rather slowly.

However its worth going earlier on in the cruise and waiting the extra time in line because you will have a greater selection in terms of items and sizes of clothing. I found that select items had run out by the end of the cruise, most notably the tote bag. Most of the shirts sizes ran from small to XL, but the white cruise t-shirt ran to XXL. So if you are in the market for a size that’s more uncommon, definitely make sure you get your shopping done early in the cruise.

While I don't have any insight into what will be available on the 2011 cruise, in case you were wondering here is what they had available on the 2010 cruise and the associated costs:

White T-Shirt: $35
Light blue Baby doll T-Shirt: $40
Tank top with picture of sunset: $35
White Cruise Hoody with the burnout material: $50
Gray Hoody (Same as on This is Us tour): $65
Gray cruise Hoody: $65
Beach Towel: $30
Tote Bag: $15
Shot glass: $12
Photo album: $20
White Baby Doll T-Shirt ‘Straight Through My Heart’: $35
Silver Baby Doll T-Shirt ‘This is Us’: $35
Black Baby Doll T-Shirt with a bulls eye: $35
Pink Tank Top: $35
Purple Baby Doll T-Shirt: $35
Hat: $35
Cup: $10
Keychain from This is Us: $5
Glossy 8x10 in color: $5
Glossy 8x10 in black and white: $5
Program from This is Us: $20
Laminate: $15
Dog Tag with ‘Soldier Down’: $15
Stickers: $5
Pack of 6 buttons: $10
This is Us CD: $20
Millennium Platinum Frame: $325
Black & Blue Platinum Frame: $325

BSB Cruise Towel

BSB Cruise T-shirt

This is Us Hoody (My fave!)

Pre Cruise Hotel 2011

I’m rather delinquent on posting this but Rose Tours announced not too long ago that they negotiated a rate of $189 at the Intercontinental Hotel for the night of December 1st. You can check out more information about the cruise special rate here.

InterContinental Hotel

Personally I don’t think that’s a very good rate. Last year I stayed at the Holiday Inn, which was a great location near the port and a lot cheaper. Plus a lot of fans were there and I think there is something to be said for staying where a lot of other fans are staying, made me feel safer. Another large group of people stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, since that is where Rose Tours negotiated the rate last time. However without a negotiated rate, that particular Marriott will be a bit more pricy this year at $229 a night. I enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn and I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a cheap, but nice hotel near the port.

For some of you first time cruisers, you be wondering why you want to get a hotel at all and not fly in the morning of the cruise. Yes, you can fly in the morning of the cruise if you wish. I’ve done it before with no problems, but for this particular cruise I did not want to take any chances with weather delays or missing a plane for whatever reason. It will be winter in the US so you never know if a storm might hit. My mom took a cruise a few weeks ago and her flight got cancelled due to a freak fire accident at Miami airport. So you just never know what might come up, so I would recommend arriving the night before to be on the safe side. Plus the Backstreet Boys have hinted that they may do something the night before in Miami, in which case you would definitely need a place to stay that night.

I was debating whether or not I should create a nice spreadsheet for you all with all the hotel options, but there are over 200 hotels near the Port of Miami so I decided I should probably not waste my efforts. Plus some of you may not want to stay in Miami and some of you may be looking at hostels. So instead I’ll just give a high level overview on my top hotel choices. I’ve done some research and found that hotels range from $59/night-$1,733/night near the port. Those prices range from a random motel to the Ritz. I would say a good rate would be between $120-$150, to make sure you don’t end up in a complete dump. Based on what fans are saying in the fanclub, the majority of people seem to be staying at the Holiday Inn this year. The current rate for the Holiday Inn Port of Miami is $136/night so its definitely a great deal for what you get. I would also recommend splitting the hotel with multiple people to cut costs. That is what I did last year, and it turned out not only to save me money, but I met 3 wonderful girls that I continue to talk to on a daily basis.

As for me, I plan on staying at the Courtyard Miami Downtown with several other ladies I met last year. I want to stay at a Marriott because I have rewards points to use towards the room, which will cut costs, and it looks like a decent hotel near the port. We just need to get our act together and book the room soon!

Lose it All Challenge

I know I'm not the only who is trying to watch their weight for this cruise. I lost about 25 pounds for the last cruise, but have since admittedly put a few of those pounds back on. With spring in the air, I'm finding motivation again to get back into my regimen and lose those lost few stubborn pounds.

My friend, Chrissy, and I came up with the idea of doing a friendly weight loss competition leading up to the cruise inspired by the show, the Biggest Loser. We want to make sure we get in shape and shed some weight to look good for our boys (and of course ourselves), all the while having fun doing it. In case you aren't familiar with the show, The Biggest Loser is a reality show where overweight contestants compete for a cash prize by attempting to lose the most weight. We're going to do the same concept but Backstreet style. Hence, the Lose it All Challenge!

We will weigh in once a week with final weigh-in happening right before the cruise. But instead of competing for a cash prize, we are competing for BSB merchandise on the cruise. We're also going to give ourselves BSB related challenges every week to keep it fresh and exciting.

Feel free to join us in the Lose it All Challenge. The cruise is 30 weeks away so here are the first set of challenges:

Week 1: Do the elliptical or a cardio exercise of your choice at least two times this week while listening to the entire This is Us album

Week 2: Time to Honor Nick! Make his favorite home cooked meal. Remember his quote from the last cruise? "My favorite home cooked meal now is dill salmon, in a poached type of salmon with some really cool complex carbohydrate vegetables. Sorry I'm getting scientific with you. With maybe some brown rice on the side instead of 2 high starch type of stuff." Get cooking!

Week 3: Straight Through My Heart Challenge- Do 5 minutes of cardio every morning to STMH before you head to work/school. It’ll get you pumped for the day as well.

Week 4: Get those creative juices flowing and create a healthy dish inspired by the song 'Shining Star'. And don’t forget to tell us what recipes you come up with.

Week 5: Time to Honor Brian! Go grab that basketball out of your basement and shoot some hoops.

Week 6: Go green for Nick. And I don’t mean for the environment. Green is Nick’s favorite color (or at least it used to be) so eat a different green vegetable each day of the week for Mr. Carter.

Week 7: Learn the dance to a BSB song. I cant think of a better way to enjoy exercising. And no, you can’t pick a song/dance like This is Us. That’s cheating. It must have a fast beat with lots of dance moves.

Week 8: Time to Honor AJ! Follow in AJs sober footsteps by refraining from all alcohol this week. Beer has a ton of unnecessary calories and mixed drinks are full of sugar.

Week 9: The Backstreet Boys have been together for 18 years. That means every day you’ve got to do 18 crunches, 18 jumping jacks, 18 lunges, and 18 push ups.

Week 10: Beautiful Woman Week. Time to reward yourself after you’ve been working hard for 10 weeks. Hit the spa and treat yourself to a massage or go get a cute new outfit to celebrate the pounds you’ve lost. Just don't reward yourself with food. That would defeat the purpose.

Week 11: Time to Honor Howie! Make a healthy latin dish for dinner this week. That means no cheese or sour cream. Try substituting greek yogurt for sour cream or use avocados to get the healthy kind of fat.

Week 12: Black and Blue week. Take out some stress by trying a kickboxing class at your local gym.

Week 13: Nick's Grocery Store Challenge. My favorite Q&A question of last year's cruise was when a fan asked the guys if they sing along to their own songs on the radio. Nick responded: “It’s so funny because I don’t ever hear it on the radio. I hear it in the grocery store... so I have to listen to it while I’m buying milk” So before you go to the grocery store this week, make a list of lots of healthy foods to buy. Stick to this list and don't make those impulse purchases strolling through the cookie isle. Just smile and think of Nick to help you resist.

Week 14: Pop your favorite Backstreet Boy video in your DVD player. Maybe its the Disney special or it could be Night out with the Backstreet Boys. Whatever it is, you must lift free weights, do stretches, or keep yourself active while watching.

Week 15: ‘Hold the pickles, Hold the Lettuce, Special Orders Don’t Upset Us…’ Even though the Backstreet Boys endorsed Burger King, we will not. No fast food this week. If you must, go to a healthy fast food place instead like Subway.

I ate there so much during that time to get all the BSB goodies

Even if you don't want to participate, I need everyone's help to help me come up with more challenges!

I've never been so excited to diet in my life. My first weigh-in was tonight and I'll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck, I want to win some good merch on the cruise.

The DVD Has Arrived

I FINALLY got my cruise dvd from the 2010 cruise and was able to sit down and watch it tonight. I figured since I’ve been waiting as long as I have, I was going to do it right. I live in an apartment complex with its own private mini movie theater. So I rented it out to watch the DVD with my brother.

Yes, I really did rent out a theater.

So I had the mood all set with the right atmosphere. But when it comes down to the DVD- I’d unfortunately rate it a ‘C’. I hate to say it, but it was just average. What I enjoyed most about it was the commentary from the Backstreet Boys. There were definitely some funny comments, and I learned a bit more the cruise. For example I didn’t realize that Howie was so drunk at International and had to be put to bed. Overall I just enjoyed reliving all those moments, even though I’ve probably seen about 80% of it on youtube already. I did have fun spotting all my friends in the DVD. I was probably only in it for a split second, but not really noticeable. I liked how they took you through pretty much all the events. I also thought it was a nice touch at the end to include all of the fans’ names by their country in the credits.

So I do appreciate the effort, but I was also disappointed with several aspects of the DVD. Mainly, the production value was really poor. I’m certainly no film critic, but I do agree with some of the other fans. They played the music too loudly over all the content, to the point where I couldn’t hear what the Backstreet Boys were saying. I’m just shocked that no one would have caught that. It’s like they didn’t sit down and watch the final product or someone would have noticed that. I really just wanted to see the raw footage, not just a montage of scenes with the BSB CDs playing in the background.

I obviously wished the DVD was longer. While they did manage to cover most events, some events only showed like a minute or two of footage. There were so many great moments that I think should have made the DVD but did not. It just felt very incomplete (pardon the pun)

My last complaint is that the footage was rather repetitive at points. This wouldn’t have been such a problem if the DVD was longer, but considering they omitted so much, I don’t know why they felt the need to repeat so much footage.

I hate to be such a downer on the DVD, as I was really looking forward to it for months. It’s not in my nature to be so pessimistic, but this was my honest review. Will I buy it next year? I know I’ll probably cave and get it even though out of principle I don’t want to. It is a great souvenir to relive those memories. I just hope they take our comments seriously and improve the DVD next time around.

2010 Cruise Playlist

I dont know about you all, but I find myself jamming along to the radio to many songs that take me right back to the cruise. So many great songs that just make me smile whenever I hear them now. I wanted to put together my 2010 cruise playlist with accompanying videos of why I love them so much. And I know I missed a ton, but here are my top ones:

1. Shots -Theme song of the cruise!
2. London -AJ and Brian singing London live. Priceless.
3. Bust a Move - Hearing Howie rap. Also priceless.
4. OMG -AJ was right, this was on youtube the next day.
5. Forget You - Well, AJ made sure to sing the uncensored version.
6. Low - All of my dinners need to have this performance as the dessert!
7. Baby Got Back - Karaoke at its best.
8. Don’t Stop Believing/Billie Jean - The infamous dance-off.
9. I Like It - Leighanne is really getting into this one. This clip also has Hey Mr DJ in it towards the end.
10. Mr. A - AJ working the crowd.
11. Livin’ on a Prayer - How can I not have fond memories of AJ singing this?
12. Burning Up -Getting a sneak peak at Nick's new song. Since the cruise this has come to be my favorite off his new album.
13. DJ Got Us Fallin in Love - One of my favorite songs of the cruise.
14. Please Don’t Stop the Music - Only Nick could pull off that wig
15. Step by Step - See below :)

Step by Step

It's Not too Early to Book Your Flights

So initially I was not too worried about booking my flight. After all, the trip isn’t for another 8 months. Heck, Southwest doesn’t even have their December flights posted. But I realized something. Since I’m planning a trip to Disney World before the cruise, I would be traveling during THE busiest travel day of the year. November 27th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, is the most traveled day of the year because everyone is returning home. This means that flights will fill up that much quicker, they will be more expensive, and not to mention all the craziness that I’m sure will take place the airports. Ugh, I’m already dreading the lines.

So if you’re anything like me and plan on extending your trip, just keep this in mind as you make your travel arrangements. I’m still trying to decide the best day to travel. My goal is to make sure I have enough time to see Mickey.

If you're planning on going straight to the cruise, when booking your flight, you have 2 options of airports to fly into- Miami (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Flying into Fort Lauderdale tends to be cheaper than flying into Miami. But FLL is also 14 miles further from the port than Miami. So you need to factor in that added cost of getting to the port. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Getting from Fort Lauderdale Airport to the Port

Travel Options

• Taxi cab- $67 though this is an estimate. Generally available immediately. Could work out to be cheaper if you travel in a group.
  
• Shared Ride- $21 per person. The van will hold a maximum of 10 people. Maximum waiting time of 30 minutes but most shared vans leave within 10 minutes. This method could save you quite a bit of money, especially if traveling on your own.
  
• Luxury Sedan- $70. Generally available immediately.
• Rental Cars- FLL offers 12 rental car companies in one building next to Terminal 1. If you are traveling with a group and plan on doing some additional site seeing, you may want to consider this option to allow for more flexibility.
  

Travel Time
On average it should take about 45 minutes but during traffic, you should allot up to 90 minutes for travel.

Getting from Miami Airport to the Port

Travel Options

• SuperShuttle- $14 This is basically a shared taxi service. Reservation not required. Good option if you're traveling by yourself.
  
• Taxi- $24 flat fee
• Car Rental- There is a shuttle at the airport that will take you one mile away to the Miami Rental Car Center which has over 16 rental companies to choose from. This may be a good option if you're in a group and want to have extra flexibility.
• Hotel shuttle- You may want to double check to see if the hotel you are staying at has a shuttle to the airport. I assume that would be free but you’ll have to double check.

Travel Time
On average it should take anywhere from 15-20 minutes depending on traffic.


As for me- I’ll be doing none of the above haha. Since I’ll be going to Disney, I'll fly into Orlando airport but I anticipate flying out of Miami.