Favorite Quotes from 2011

Time to bring back good memories with some of my favorite quotes from the cruise. I'll let the Backstreet Boys speak for themselves for this post.

Sail Away

Howie- "We're gonna get our drink on, our groove on, and our party on."

Howie- "Are you going to pole dance again?"

Nick- "I love to see AJ in tights. Its really sexy."
AJ- "Im anxious to see me in tights as well."
Nick- "His junk hangs out. Its scary.
AJ- "I'm not ashamed to put a sock in there at all."
Nick- "No a banana! Is that a banana in your pocket AJ?"

Nick- "How many bad girls we got on this cruise? Oh you better represent girlfriend."

Howie- I'm a Puerto Rican fly."

Howie- "I'm Britney bitch!"

AJ- "I wanna take you way back."
Nick- "If you keep bringing me that far, I might not be born."

Nick- "If Weird Al had a version of our song... That's the way I wipe it"

In it to Win It Group A

Howie- "That's full service management right there."

Howie- "I just had some bean soup, so sorry."

Nick- "These freakin hula hoops don't hula."

Nick- "No one trusts me, right, because I'm the youngest. What the hell?"

AJ- "No one better have gas."

Nick- "Howie got back."

Howie- "I get paid to show my junk in my trunk."

Nick- "There's nothing clean about this show"

In it to Win It Group B

AJ- “Its like jazzercise with the Backstreet Boys."

Nick- “Hey, team pee pee because of the yellow shirts. You guys are so dead.”

AJ- “Team blue balls. Whatever. Its all good. We got this.”

Nick- “Hey at least we got the cajones man.”

Brian- “You know what... My wife is here.”

AJ- “I was going to say something but I kind of feel like Lindsay Lohan.” (With his legs tied up)

Nick- “That’s a little premature over there coming from some blue balls.”

Howie- “Wait, my nose never gets between balls. That’s for sure. AJ, you gotta do it.”

AJ- “I have to say for once, I’m actually glad for once my nose is as big as it is.”

Nick- “Anything to do with balls and moving. We tend to have it.”

Brian- “We played betterly.”

AJ- “Actually in everyone’s defense. We all played it wrong. Seriously we all did. ”
Brian- “AJ, we’re in a boy band, dog."

Nick- “That’s like a Florida vote.”

Nick- “Can someone tell me how the hell we were supposed to play that game?”

Howie- “I got a get out of jail free card. I got a threesome right here… AJ got to watch.”

Brian- “Oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree.”

Nick- “The question is, where’s the mistletoe.”

Beach Party

Nick- “Girl, look at that Kevin”

Kevin- “Sphynkter’s my favorite band.”

Nick- “Yeah, screw the Backstreet Boys.”

Nick- “Say it loud and proud.” (right before the lyric ‘backstreets back alright’)

Howie- “I had one too many bahama mamas that night and things haven’t changed since then.”

 
Kevin- “Was Howie a good boy last night?”
Fans- “Noooo!”
Howie- “Oh no you didn’t!”

Nick- “I have a question."
Howie- "You said you had too many bahama mamas, or too many bahama mamas?”

AJ- “We’ve got twister…we got limbo, see how much you guys can be flexible, we have magical chairs, duck duck goose- duck duck goose, what are we 4?”

Howie- “Have you guys been drinking? It’s really bad you shouldn’t do that.”

Nick- “There’s a cruise right next to us. ZZ Top is on that boat. I might have to say goodbye and we’ll go hang out with some long-bearded old guys. I’ll bring Kevin with me and we’ll get a free pass.”

Kevin (laughing at AJ)- “Dude, its not the last one to sit, it’s the one that doesn’t have a chair.”

AJ- “I'm surprisingly good at this.” (referring to musical chairs)

Nick- “Just don’t sit in my lap AJ.”
AJ- “Are you excited?”

Brian- “Just remember to respect your elders.”

Howie- “I’m getting some ideas of some positions.”

Howie- “Nick that’s a compromising position. We should renegotiate our contracts right now.”

Howie- “Nick’s got the happiest face I’ve seen in a while.” (While playing twister)

AJ- “That’s what the Backstreet boys are supposed to sound like” (Upon singing with Kev)

Concert (Group B)

Howie- "All i can say, you girls want some bad bad boys."

Nick- "I'm in the middle of the song trying to sing and Josh is going 'Tag, tag, tag'. Tie? I dont have a tie on."

AJ- "But now that he took the tag off, it's now Nick's personal wardrobe."

Brian- "Can you turn me down a little bit in my ears because I'm killing myself. It doesn't sound good."

Brian's guitarist- "Hello"
Brian- "That was sexy. Do you want to be in a boy band."

Nick- "See that's what happens we mess up."

Brian- "See I can't read this."
Howie- "Nick, did you tear that up."
Nick- "Yeah I did that on purpose"

AJ (to Nick)- "You almost got in trouble with the Japanese Mafia...I got chased down by the cops. It was fun."
Nick- "It was awesome"

Nick- "I was eating this barbequed eel and it was the grossest stuff I ever had in my life. I wouldn't recommend it."
AJ- "But you still ate it didn't you?"
Nick- "I had to because it was on camera. You can't turn it down"

Nick- "I was thinking that. Next cruise, when you guys do the next cruise. Why don't we do Backstreet Fear Factor?"

Brian- "I'm a business man just like all 3 of the other guys, and when you think about holidays, and schedules, and gifts, and trimming the trees, and traveling home....doesn't it make sense to do it in the summer time when you have a little bit of time off. That's just me be being I cant say ecofriendly, thats not the right term. Economical friendly."

Brian (imitating fan)- "Thank you. God bless you. Because my pockets are empty. I have my room key and some chapstick."

Howie- "This is really unplugged."

Nick- "Can I be honest? We woke up a little late because we partied really freakin hard last night with you guys."
Nick- "Can we get a get out of jail free card, please?"

Brian- "Can we do the little boy band thing where we shake our butts?"

Nick (On IWITW)- "Which version? we've got like 3 versions"

AJ- "Dude, we're backstreet boys. We're like chameleons. We can make this happen man."

Brian- "Listen, we were like superheroes once in life."
AJ- "Superheroes who ate burgers."

AJ- "Howie doesn't get a mic stand."

Nick- "I forgot where I was."
Howie- "You're on a boat."

AJ- "No, no, no. Can we do the song that should've been the single? And the only reason why it wasn't was because you called TRL. Your fault"
Nick- "Do you understand the concept of TRL? Its voting. THEY voted for it.
AJ- "No I know it. Carson called me personally."

AJ- "Ladies, ladies, I dont know about you ladies, but I am Burning Up. I'm on fire. Nice segue."
Nick- "Just start the freakin song."
AJ- "You know what, I love you too"

Prom Night

Kev- “I wasn’t very creative.”

Howie- “He’s a used car salesman.”

Nick- “We’re adults now I can see things now like shit. Back in the day we would’ve gotten in trouble and I would’ve been spanked.”

Nick (to Howie)- “I don’t love you, I love Lloyd.”

AJ- “I'm the last one to know but I still know it all.”

Nick- “See I think it’s better to do the Perfect Fan versus that song that AJ used to grind to on the stage.”
AJ- “That’s not a prom song.”
AJ- “I was 15 when we cut that. What do I know about sex at 15?”
Howie- “You had no business humping that stage.”

Nick- “I wouldn’t recommend this anybody. I’m sorry. They’re still doing it. You look like cattle…May as well call that the sheep dance.”

Kevin- “I feel like I’m at a wedding reception where everybody just goes buck wild.”

Karaoke

Howie- “Did you guys have fun last night? I know I sure did. Til 6 in the morning.”

Brian- “I was always Sporty!”
Nick- “Howie knew Baby really well.”
AJ- “And it will be on twitter tomorrow.”

Nick- “Did you notice the lyrics to that song? If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my FRIENDS. Then slam your body down and wind it all around.”
Howie- “Zig a zig AHH”
Nick- “Whoever wrote that was a perv.”

Nick- “This song has a lot of lyrics in it. It really does. Right about now I could kill Sisqo.”

Brian- “Hey hold on, hold on. Do you guys know I’m divulging in some personal information but AJ had an old girlfriend that actually did that to his truck.”
AJ- “Wait what was that? Did I hear my name?”
Brian- “She dug her knife into his into his seat and 7,000 dollars later. And he didn’t even cheat.”
AJ- “Oh you mean my ex? Yeah she was crazy. But just because of twitter, she was a nice girl most of the time. But she was still crazy.”

AJ- “If ya’ll want to see little AJs running around she can’t be touching those.”

Nick (referring to the song Before he Cheats) “Girls don’t be mad but I don’t think guys really like listening to that song. It kind of makes them uncomfortable.”

Nick- “Who wants to get wet with Backstreet?”

Howie- “That gave a whole new meaning to my chapstick. I can put it on so much. 100 kisses. It’s got a whole new thought in my mind now. Oh I’m lathering it up tonight.”
Brian- “100 chapsticks girl”

AJ- “Who’s ready for the pajama party?”
Howie- “Make sure to wear your thongs.”
AJ- “I hope you guys brought some nice and sexy pajamas. Ours might not be that sexy but we do have pajamas.”
Nick- “Mine is cute.”
AJ- “Mine has big feet. Seriously.”
Howie- “Mine is easy to get in and out of.”
Nick- “Are you going in your birthday suit?”
AJ- “Uh no. That was the last cruise. Not this cruise.”
Nick- “I dare you to just go in underwear. Just straight underwear.”

Nick- “Do you guys like how dirty the Backstreet Boys have become?”|
AJ- “We have to we’re getting older. That’s what happens with age."
Howie- “It’s called the dirty thirties.”
AJ- “But for you guys its almost dirty forties.”

Brian- “I know you look up to me all the time.”
AJ- “Actually we’re a little taller but still.”

Nick- “Even Brian’s dirty. What the hell is going on?”
Howie- “See what the boat does to you. The boat brings out the dirtiness.”
AJ- “Howie is the dirtiest of all.”
Howie- “What are you talking about? It’s just because I’m Latin. I can’t help it. I have hair all over my body on places it shouldn’t be.”
AJ- “He’ll be talking to you telling you a whole serious talk and his hips will just go.”

Brian- “Can we do a bigger boat?…. She’s like ‘No’ “
Howie- “You want it small and intimate. Like AJ.”
AJ- “Whaaat. Damn this is like the full backstreet boy roast.”
Nick- “Its just because you’re getting married we have to roast you now.”
Howie- “She’s going to roast your nuts.”
AJ- “Really? Damn.”
Nick- “We could make hundreds of dollars of jokes on this cruise.”
Howie- “I'm the king of one liners."
Nick- “Chestnuts roasting on Rochelle’s dinner plate.”

Brian- “Thanks for staying out in the rain with us. It was kind of like the Quit Playing Games video. Its kind of like Howie when he jumped off the stage.”
Howie- “That was when I had a 6 pack. Now I got a 1 pack.”

PJ Night

AJ- “On behalf of myself and my brothers we want to say thank you guys for an amazing cruise. Its been better than the first cruise. We had the best time with all you guys.”

Nick- “Just so you know its past my bed time. And I’ll probably get in a lot of trouble for the things I’m gonna be doing tonight. So I might get a spanking if you want to spank me. Just be nice cause my bum is like really pale.”

Nick (after his voice cracks)- “Does anyone else got this shit going on with their voice? No its not just us, right. You ever hear of people getting sick on a cruise ship so you can be like ‘Yeah I got sick from a fuckin backstreet boy.' You can blame it on us.”

AJ- “We have one last event to end this cruise on a good night. We’re going to play, I cant believe this, truth or dare. So this could be your one and only chance if you get a truth to ask us anything you really don’t already know.”

Brian- “Why wouldn’t you chose dare, AJ”

AJ- “Well, I don’t want to get in trouble.”

Nick- “I say we make a rule. None of us can choose truth. We can only choose dare.”

Aj- “But what if the truth question is really gritty. Like really gritty”

Nick- “I don’t know. Seeing you do some stuff like walking down the hall with your pants down would be pretty funny, AJ”

AJ- “But that’s like a Tuesday afternoon for me.”

AJ-“What do you really really really want to know about the Backstreet Boys. I mean really want to know”
Nick (mocking fans)- “What’s your favorite position?”

Howie- “Protect ya tings. Use a rubber every time.”

AJ (while Brian’s body surfing) “Now that's the definition of a true rock star right there”

Nick- “Hold him up girls.”

AJ- “Boys, boys, boys”
Howie- “AJ, AJ, AJ”

AJ- “First of all, how fucking cool was that? Brian crowd surfing. Never in the last 19 years did I ever think that I would see that.”

AJ- “I feel like Joey Tribbiani right now. How you doin?”

Brian- “I’m not going to fall in a mud puddle.”

Brian- “Im playing by the rules. Normally I cheat”

AJ- “He needs rhythm for a white boy.”

Brian- “Suck it Howie.”

Nick- “I just want to get mine over with please. I don’t want to do this. I'm sure I’m going to get the worst.”

AJ- “Oh my god. That’s my mom’s name. You kissed my mom?! Oh shit.”

AJ- “Where do you think I got it from?”
Nick- “Where you’d get what? Wearing ladies clothes.”
AJ- “Why are you asking me?”
Nick- “Because you wear girls clothes sometimes.”
AJ- “So? Don’t be jealous. I’m just better.”
Nick- “I am jealous.”

Nick (Talking to Jen about Howie)- “Why are you doing that? You are protecting him? Don’t you protect him. Favoritism!”

Nick- “No no no no no no. Can we add to that? He has to have sex with a pillow?”

Nick- “What’s your poison?”
Howie- “Unfortunately everything.”

Brian- “Hey we could be the kissing cousins. I could make out with him.”

AJ- “Howie’s gotta do it on the bar. And Howie, lay the pillow down on the bar. The ladies want to see you work those hips on the bar.”

Howie- “This is definitely different than doing the centipede.”

AJ- “I'm so glad this wasn’t my dare” (referring to Howie's dare)

Howie- “Okay shut all your cameras off”

AJ- “I want you to go back to when you lost your virginity, Howie. That’s what that pillow is.”

Howie- “Don't tell me how to make love to my woman!"

AJ- “Lay her down. Lay her down. Be gentle Howie. There you go. Spank her ass. Howie, spank her ass. There you go! Good boy. Now give her a big kiss. That’s what these girls want to see. C’mon Howie, show that pillow what you’re made of. Pump howie pump. Pump. Pump. Pump. Pump.”

Nick- “Howie, get on the ground with that thing. Go doggie style. Get on your knees homes.”

Nick- “That’s not how he normally does it. Trust me.”

AJ- “In my defense, I really do have to pee so be gentle. If you tickle me too much, it could get really gross.”

Nick- “Go for his knees”

Howie (sung to wiggle wiggle wiggle)- “Tickle, tickle, tickle”

Nick- “I’m not massaging you AJ, what’s wrong with you?”

AJ- “Ladies, ladies. To make it more fun, Nick has to lie on his stomach. Massage his butt. He likes that. Really get in there. He likes his butt massaged.”

Nick- “Honestly, I kinda liked it.”

Howie- “Does anyone have a belt?”

Brian- “Wait, how old are you? Like 12… She looks really young.”
AJ- “How old is she?”
Brian- “She’s 19”
AJ- “So she’s legal. Go for it.”

AJ- “Please please spank it Howie. Please, please spank it harder. Please smack my butt.”

Nick- “The principals are calling you. Calling AJ and Brian. AJ, faster. Run.”

Nick- “I love you too. Even though I don’t know you. I still love you.”

Nick- “Sexy dog? Like dog? Ruff ruff.”

AJ- “We want to have a little pillow fight with you guys.”

AJ- “Are any of you ladies hooooorny? Howie’s horny."

AJ- “I’ll never let go, Nick. I’ll never let go.”
Nick- “OK, you can let go.”

80s Night Unabridged

The first deck party of the cruise was 80's night. The Backstreet Boys, or should I say Sphynkter, came out very appropriately to Just Want You to Know playing in the background. The boys all looked absolutely amazing in their outfits, they really went all out tonight. Brian had eyeliner on, for crying out loud! Meanwhile I think the crowd was a little thin this evening because the boat was rocking. I know several girls couldn't make it out that night due to seasickness.

Nick- "I don't envy you ladies for having hair. This shit's in my eyes."

So as the night unfolded, if I'm being perfectly honest, not a whole lot really happened. Which is why it took me a while to actually want to write this post. As I think back to what happened that night, I cant think of anything noteworthy. My favorite part of this night was just seeing the boys in their getups.

Most of this event encompassed the boys singing along to the songs the DJ was playing. The one that stands out for me was AJ singing along with 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'. So the boys did this for a little while and AJ eventually asked us if we wanted them to come closer. What a ridiculous question. Of course we do, AJ! In the history of the Backstreet Boys ever asking that question, I'm willing the bet the answer was never "No." So soon after, Nick and Howie made their way downstairs to the bar and handed out some drinks to the crowd. AJ also made his way across the deck to get a little closer to the fans.

Loving AJ in a fishnet top and spandex bottoms.

The other highlight of the evening was the boy's playing beer pong with a few fans. They picked a few fans to go up on stage. AJ did sit this event out, which I'm very happy to say. The remaining boys did play though. This is another one of those events that I'm sure was really fun for the girls up on stage playing, but speaking on behalf of one of the onlookers- it was rather boring. It wasn't a game that was particularly entertaining to watch. And I also think it was in bad taste to do it in the first place and make AJ sit out. It just seems like there are so many other things they could've done.

Howie partying all night

I hate to say it, but that pretty much sums up 80's night. Howie was out with the fans until the wee hours of the morning, which was great. Was it my favorite event of the cruise. No. But it was still an evening with BSB thus I still had a great time. Plus it was a once in a lifetime chance to see Sphynkter live.

So what did everyone else think of 80's night?

My Routine for General Admission Events

In case my last post didn't give you enough info on how to approach a GA on board, I'll go through my experiences and my overall observations with the general admission events on the cruise.

My Experience with GA Events

So I lucked out right off the bat and had front row for the sail away party. I maybe only put in 30-40 minutes of waiting and it paid off tremendously. It was great to be up front and be super close to the boys, but along with that came all the negatives of a GA event. Was it worth it? Absolutely. But because I was up close for that event, I didn't worry too much about it for the remainder of the trip. My general mindset was that I knew I couldn't be front row for everything, so don't stress myself out over it.

For the theme nights, it varied every day. For 2 of the nights, they had a concert right before the deck party. So I knew if I did go up early to wait, it would be a while before the boys showed up to either of those deck parties. I also went in with the mindset that it was more important for me to be up close for prom night because I figured it might increase my odds of getting picked for prom queen. However that proved to be moot. I would later realize PJ night was the key night to be up close. But these are things no one really knows until you get there, so as much planning as I did, it didn't really matter. I personally didn't show up very early to any of the deck parties just because of the nature of the events and the schedule. There's not really a "performance" where its key to be up front. Its more about just being there. Hopefully that makes sense.

The Beach Party was an event that most closely resembled your normal GA event because there was 1 main stage and a lot of waiting. By the time my bus dropped me off, there was already a massive crowd in front of the stage. Thus it made sense for me not to stand around for hours in the back of a crowd. I may have changed my mind if there were only 1 or 2 rows of people in front of me when i got there. However it worked out well because I was able to relax on the beach and get some lunch. I also had a fantastic view in the back anyway, so it didnt make much of a difference. The boys also moved around a lot and crowds shifted with them. It worked out in the end and I had a front row at one brief point and was able to snag a picture with Brian. No complaints here at all with this event and I didn't have to stand and wait at all.

Karaoke was the last general admission event. I did get there semi-early that day because there was more of a "performance" to watch. Maybe 45 minutes early or so? My memory is a little fuzzy, but that sounds about right. However because the boys were elevated on a higher stage, it proved not to make a difference whether or not I was up front.

One other thing that is pseudo-GA is dining. Both in the lido buffet and in the main restaurant. I found the experience to be the worst on 2010 cruise during dinner because all of the boys ate with us and it was a mad dash to be at those tables closest to them. Girls would start lining up over an hour early to get a prime spot. But as with any BSB event, there was cutting in line, pushing, shoving, and trickery to get in. What else is new? Since there wasn't any set schedule or dining room for the boys to eat in 2011, it was a lot more relaxing and not nearly as much waiting. I think people only waited outside because they wanted to eat dinner.

General Observations

Now that you've heard my experiences, I'll back up and speak to my general observations. I personally felt that as the cruise progressed, it got harder and harder to get good spots without putting in some serious time. I felt that as everyone got more acquainted with the cruise and how things were run, you'd see girls camped in front of the stage earlier and earlier. At least that was what I noticed. This was another deterrent for me to get to events too early. I knew I'd be able to see what was going on no matter where I was, even if I didn't get there super early. And for me, I didn't want to spend my whole trip waiting and not enjoying my vacation.

I also didn't think it always made sense to "camp out" for a good spot on the Imagination because of how the deck was set up. There were 2 stages, and the boys utilized both. So I knew if I was in the front for 1 part of the event, I'd be in the back for the rest. Which brings me to my next point. If you're patient, you will have your moment. I seriously can't stress this enough. For most events the boys moved around a lot. Even though you might not be up front in the beginning, doesn't mean you won't be next to them at one point.

I can think of countless instances where this proved to be true for either myself or friends. At the pre-club event I went upstairs just not to be packed in like a sardine. I didn't have to wait long before Nick went upstairs and was 2 feet away from me. *Swoons at the thought* This sort of thing happened a lot. Another example is Brian roamed around the deck at the sail away and even went to the upper deck. I also felt the boys moved around a lot at the beach party. Everyone is able to have a good spot at one point.

Another factor in deciding whether or not to wait around for a GA event is to prepare for the unexpected. There were instances were the staff might tell you the boys will be mainly on 1 stage but in actuality, they were mainly on a different stage. This resulted in some upset fans. Or look at the last night, the event was last minute changed to the main atrium. Had you been waiting up at the pool deck, it wouldn't have mattered.

Last point. I also notice that when you shy back a bit and are away from the massive crowd, it can pay off as well. If you think about it, the boys don't generally stop, take pictures, and talk to people who are in the mosh pit. But I do see them stop if you're maybe on the upper deck or just away from the main crowd in general. That's how I was able to grab my solo picture with Howie and Kev this past trip.

So in conclusion. You'll get to see plenty of BSB no matter where you are. Just be patient.

Your Favorite Memories

You may have noticed that I asked everyone for their favorite memory in my Backstreet Cruisie survey but didn't give any awards for that category. I know I'm being cheesy here, but everyone is a winner! I had so much fun reading everyone's response so I felt it deserved its own separate post.

Here are all of YOUR favorite moments from the cruise. If you didn't get a chance to take the survey or you may have skipped that question, feel free to post your favorite memory in the comments section below or email me and I'll update this post. You can also email me if you want me to link your memory to your blog/twitter/etc. Enjoy!


Chrissy

Brian remembered me during the photo session from the Wylee Party and the Pre-cruise event and called me "Kentucky Girl" as we had been discussing the University of Kentucky at the Wylee party.  I was taken aback when he remembered me.

Anne Marie

Getting a picture with Kevin on prom night.

Erin

I got to swim with Nick in Nassau & got a group hug from him, that was the best.

Anonymous

Every second was so amazing to me! I have so many memories and friendships that I have made that I know will last forever!

Melissa Duncan aka @melissa8313

Nick: running into him in the hallway deck 6 at 330am.  Having a moment with him during 80's night.  "look at that hair,  omg nick,  that's hot,  touches hair,  he grabs my hand...
Brian: talking to him during sail away about nicks pants,  getting him to sign my flag of him,  yelling at fans to get out of the way at the beach party so he could pass.  Watching him be free on pj night,  brian taking my camera and taking a pic of us on 80's night. 
Aj: getting a picture with him o.  80's night when i went in for group photos he says nice to meet u... Im like wtf nice to meet me then i grab his ass.  Lol.  Seeing him in the hallway deck 6 at 6am acting a fool with others.  Grabbing his butt multiple times on pj night and getting a pic.  Lol. 
Kevin : getting a pic with him,  saying ty so many times. 
Howie: pic on 80's night and at the beach.  Enjoying his other side... The machine who parties all the time.  And with nick and aj,  the private conversation on the lido deck that was funny and memorable.

Silvia Machielsen

Meeting Howie at the Bahama's on my Birthday

Venus

Walked up the stairs and saw Nick. I said Hey Nick and he motioned to go give him a hug.

Desiree (SingleMomDes)

At lunch the first day Howie walked past me just as I was starting to eat, I asked for a photo and he said sure and waited patiently with his arm around me as we got my camera turned back on...waited 14yrs for the best photo I took all weekend, I'll always be thankful for that

Melissa

NY best friend Danielle rocking out pinks raise your glass at karoake & being with my BSB fam

Melissa

Getting picked to play truth or dare.

Anonymous

Partying with HOWIE alllllll night!!!

Ashley

Winning door dec!!!!

Chelsea Smith

Being with nick and AJ up on the deck after the pj party. Hearing AJ talk about his wedding, nick (drunkenly lol) talk about his life and about the fans, was just a really special thing to be a part of. It was a smaller group of ppl, everyone put their cameras away, it was just really nice.

Kristen

I have to pick just one? Impossible!

Jennifer Blackwell

I just met brian littrell at the same hotel that i was stay for the night... i met aj mclean at the beach for the first time and they are the best people that i really want to meet for a long time since i was 14 years old... I really want to said thank them to be nice to me to take a pic with me because i was their awesome fan in the world....

Brandy

We randomly ran into Brian twice in the hall...just me, my friend, him and his bodyguard...the night of prom night. It was awesome because he just talked to us for a few minutes without any other fans being around.

Anonymous

Meeting new and other BSB friends.

Natizb

"I just said ""Hi AJ"", and he said ""How you doing sweet"", and my brother recorded!"

Kathryn

Has to be Brian crowd surfing! Right before he started I thought to myself JOKINGLY, "I should touch his butt!" I decided to be good & not grabby though. But lo & behold, that is the part of him that was passed to me! I also ended up holding his legs because NO ONE else around me was. When I couldn't move any further, I had to let go of him & that's when he fell on that girl! I am super glad though that no one around me knew what to do, though! It was so awesome & it made the trip for me!

Cynthia Irani

Being Nick's prom queen.  He made me laugh and it was an amazing experience :-D

Babybsbgrl

Kevin on prom night turning around to take a pic with me specifically! Awesome.

Anonymous

My best memory is Brian crying while singing Mary did you know. I cried too, it was very emotional and a very special moment that I'll remember the rest of my life. Also getting a pic with Nick at the beach party.

Salena

Hanging out on the back of the boat with Nick while he was in his ninja turtle pj's having "deep thoughts" :)

Mascia Cantoni

When i took the pic with him!!! i know, it could look stupid but... it was very important to me!

Tati Brayner from Brazil

Nick  giving me his bottle of water at sail away event. an than coming back just to give me the cap.

Cortney

Having Howie sing Helpless when she smiles to me at group A's concert.

Anonymous

Meeting Kevin, it made the experience of meeting the guys this year complete

Jay

Gosh getting a photo with Kevin <3

Anonymous

DJ Yo-C

Anonymous

Seeing Kevin!!!

Sammi Goff

I got to talk to Brian about how much I wanted his pink shoes, talked to Howie before In It To Win It, talked to Kevin about how awesome I thought it was that he was there, Nick liked my tattoo and remembered it the next day, and got to hug AJ 3 times even though I wad too nervous to have a decent conversation with him. Lol. Oh.. and Brian tried to tackle my friend because we were wearing Colts jerseys hahaha. It was awesome.

Janine

I don't think I can pick just one memory, and there isn't enough space or time to even begin on my favorite parts of the cruise.  :)

Anonymous

Nick and AJ said they liked my t-shirt during the meet & greet/photo session

Bethany Drader

Concert, the boys came up to the second level and each of them held my hand while singing As Long As You Love Me to me!

Anonymous

Seeing the concert first row!!

Gaby Zamudio

I have a lot of memories,HOWIE i signed my t-shirt, Nick and Kevin i was greeted, the last day ran into Nick on the boat and we could talk with him and AJ, Howito took my hand when we ran and good of all i got very good moments, the day of the meet & greet brian approached to greet me was in shock and nervous ... everything was awesome

Anonymous

The best memory certainly when we arrive in the boat ...we were at the bar drinking our first drink of the cruise and Howie just appear behind us ! Alot of girls jump on him ...we just stay there and smile to him ...he smile back and say thank you ....Or at the cameo club AJ kinda remember we were from Montreal and on our way down Leighanna spot us and was so happy to see us ! She wave to us like a crazy loll

Debnick

My best time was just when I met Nick in the elevator .. I did too much fun when I made ​​a funny face for me that I was photographing!

Jennifer Hall

When nick held my hand & was looking right at me while singing. I wanted to melt. Lol

Natalie

As I sat down to think about my favorite moment of the Backstreet Boys cruise, I realized two things. First, it’s hard to choose only one. Second, it’s hard to express in words the excitement you feel every single minute on that boat! If I had to choose one thing though, the highlight would have to be the entire concert. Even though I have seen BSB live multiple times, this was by far the best performance I’ve ever seen from them! And the thing is… they didn’t need fancy choreography, new music, or an expensive set to put on a good show. It was so special to see the boys be themselves onstage, getting emotional, joking around with each other, and forgetting a few lyrics here and there because they were too busy partying with us the night before to rehearse.  Like many fans, I grew up listening to them and seeing them sing “Don’t Want You Back” for the first time in over a decade was a dream come true. AJ and Nick seemed just as excited!  “If You Want It To Be Good Girl”… who would have ever thought we’d get them to perform that one?! Kevin coming onstage to perform “Drowning” at the very end of the show was the icing on the cake! Although there were hundreds to choose from, the shared connection I felt with the boys and my fellow fans in that moment tops everything.

Thank you everyone for sharing your favorite memories!

Recap 2011- Day 1

After a long sleepless night it was finally time to get ready and make our way to the port to board the ship. We headed to the port rather early, all looking fabulous in our matching cruise shirts (thanks Danielle!)

OMG We're Back Again!

I not so patiently waited for the time to pass until it was time for us to board. Though I didn't have to wait long before we saw Howie sneak around the corner to check in. The rest of the boys were soon to follow. Eventually AJ and Nick walked past us to the restroom and I stole a handshake from Nick. Though in hindsight I probably should've done it before he went to the bathroom and not after.



Me happy after my handshake with Nick

 BSB boarding

After the Backstreet Boys boarded, it was finally our time to board the ship! Walking up that gangway is one of the best feelings in the world because you have the whole trip to look forward to. Love that moment. Only got better when we were greeted by life-size Backstreet Boy cardboard cutouts on the ship. I decided to hold off on grabbing a picture because my first order of business- get lunch. The restaurant was empty so it wasn't hard to spot Brian eating with his family. I felt odd sitting right next to him so we sat a table away. Otherwise it reminded me of going into a  movie and sitting directly next to the only person in the theater. It was definitely cool eating lunch next to Brian again, I had a slight feeling of deja vu because that's how I started off the cruise last year as well. Though I was significantly more calm this time around.

Second order of business- door decorations. This year it took us a little longer to put up but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Our theme was based on the song 'Color my World' so we did coloring book pages around our door and even put crayons up for people to color as they walked by.  To be honest I'm surprised we didn't get more vandalism because I knew we were asking for trouble putting crayons out. Our bonus giveaway was a little mini coloring/activity book that you could take home.

Color My World

Yet again I didn't win, but we had a lot of fun with it. I had a blast putting the decorations up with my roommates, meeting our neighbors, and blasting the BSB channel in the background. And the experience wouldn't have been complete without getting repeatedly run over by the luggage carts going up and down the hall. Note to self- don't put up door decorations while they are still delivering luggage to the cabins.

Sail Away Party

Next activity on the agenda was life boat drill. That's boring so let's move right along to the Sail Away party. Soooo much fun! I particularly enjoyed this because I was in the front row for this event. At least I started off that way, I'm really not sure how I ended up in the third row by the end. But I still enjoyed every moment of it and was able to take some great pictures and fun videos. I love being so close when you hear them talk without the microphone (and of course because they're so close you can reach out and touch them) 

    The boys kicking off the whole cruise with a bang

Lots of fun banter and interactions with the guys. I had a few favorite moments from the Sail Away party. I liked when AJ dedicated Nsync's song 'Tearin Up My Heart' to Nick and they did spoof dancing to it. Apparently Nick like's that song.

I love Brian's ridiculously bright shoes. They're barely in this shot and you still can't miss them.

Also enjoyed Nick and AJ playing with those streamer shooter thingies.

Another favorite moment was getting our first taste of Howie wiggling it up.

Cruise 2011 Anthem

In it to Win It (Group B)

After the sail away party there wasn't too much time before we headed to the Dynasty Lounge to get ready for our game show. I was so happy to see my seats were more centered this year, so I actually had a decent view. Since the boys were running on Backstreet time, I decided to take some pictures while we waited, in typical Laura fashion. I take way more pictures than necessary. Let's not even discuss what my final picture tally came to at the end of the cruise.

Me and Natalie. Im also wearing my dress that I bought when I thought we'd be having white night.


The boys finally came out and the games began. Lots of funny moments. I really enjoyed this game show. Anyone else notice how competitive the boys are? I liked how they did lots of little mini games because it stayed fresh the entire time. The games got progressively more entertaining.



This doesn't have much to do with the game but I couldn't NOT post it

I laughed so much that all of my videos came out shaky. I just like seeing the boys be themselves. We saw Brian goofing around singing to a tiny Christmas tree, Howie ironically not so good at flip cup, Nick excel at kissing a coconut, and AJ really out of shape after Nervous Nelly.

Coconut Smoochie

My only minor issue is that I wished they switched the girls up in between the games as to give more people a chance to get on stage. But again, a minor complaint in an otherwise really fun event. I think they learned their lesson by Group A.

After In it to Win It, we tried to make our way to the merch booth but it was just way too crowded. I peaked my head in at the overpriced merchandise and spotted a few items I'd pick up later. But I have to ask why everything in that shop had a picture of a naked mermaid on it? I really don't know what they were thinking when they designed this logo. That's going in my recommendations for next cruise.

I made my way to the dining room and was quite pleasantly greeted by my friends sitting off to the left and Brian sitting off to the right. I was truthfully shocked to see Brian eating in the main dining room, but no complaints from me. I felt like I was getting spoiled eating near Brian for both lunch and dinner. Why can't all my meals be like that? Plus it would make a great diet. Called the 'Too nervous around a BSB to eat diet'.

Me and the gals at dinner

It was so nice to sit down to a relaxed dinner and catch up with my friends, whom i haven't seen in a while. A moment where we came together after months of anticipation and just enjoyed each others company with Brian only a feet away. It just doesn't get much better.

80's Night

After dinner it was time to tease up the hair and put on those neon bracelets to get ready for 80's night. I had a lot of fun getting ready for this night and seeing how other people dressed up.

Me and Cinzia rocking our side pony tails.

I was pretty excited for 80's night because it was our first deck party and I thought it would set the tone for the rest of the cruise. I ended up having a lot of fun dancing with friends and not getting smushed in the front row this time. The boys were running on Backstreet time, per usual, and showed up around 12:30am. I was so excited to see them all decked out as sphynkter. They looked fabulous! I was so impressed with how much effort they put into the costumes.



Sphynkter!

As for the deck party itself, I thought it was good, not great. I don't mean to sound negative, but the boys did such a good job of spoiling us last year. Though they did a good job of making their way around the deck and using the stage up top, the stage in the middle, the bar, and making their way through the crowds. So it seemeed everyone had a front row at some point. I really only was close as they walked around the deck, which was fine by me. I just wish they had done more activities or went on the mic a bit more to entertain us. I did enjoy seeing Nick struggle with his hair.

By 3:00 my tummy was grumbling so my roommate, Chrissy, and I hit up the pizza place and stole a glimpse of Nick at the bar inside. I swear I'd never get sick of watching him. Even standing around doing nothing I'm in awe of his hotness. We were surprisingly energized and were far from ready to go to bed. Lucky for us Howie shared the same mindset. Seriously though, where has this Howie been hiding all these years? He was up partying until 6 or 7 in the morning. We didn't make it quite that long, but close to it.

I was even able to snag a picture with the wiggle king himself. And the great thing is I finally broke my Howie curse! Finally able to get a picture with him :)


Chrissy, Howie, and I

Realizing that the night couldn't get any better after this, we hit the cabin to get a few hours of sleep and prepare for Day 2 of our Backstreet adventure. 

All Dolled Up

I’ve noticed that one of the most talked about things before the cruise is what to wear. Theme nights, beach parties, dinners, meet and greets, etc. It’s a lot of outfits to coordinate, and of course we all want to look our best for our boys. I'm no expert in fashion, not even close. So I'll give you guys a high level overview on what people did for the last cruise and throw in a few tips based on my past cruising experience as well.

Meet and Greet

Fans really dressed in a wide range of clothing for the meet and greet. Everything from T-shirts to cocktail dresses. Overall it's whatever you feel comfortable in. Just consider that your full body will be in the picture so make sure to think about the whole look. You may also want to think about the fact that the boys themselves typically don't get very dressed up. My most recent picture with Nick was a lovely shot of me in my cocktail dress and Nick in a T-shirt. I love the picture but we definitely look mismatched. Last thing you might want to mull over is if you know your group ahead of time, perhaps you can coordinate your look with your friends. I've included a few samples below to help give you a better sense of what other girls do: 

Mostly dresses for my group pic

A lot of fans represented their home country with their clothing

Some girls donned their BSB shirts

Some even went in costumes

Theme Nights
As we are all well aware, there are three theme nights to prepare for. I've seen so many 80's outfits and prom dresses over the past few months. I swear I've been putting more thought into these outfits than I did my actual prom dress. As I mentioned, I am no fashionista, so I'm not giving specific fashion tips here. My two biggest pieces of advice are to dress comfortably and plan for it to be potentially cold. Oh, and be sure to wear something that you won't be upset if it gets ruined. So make that three pieces of advice.

Lets start with pajama night. There seems to be two very distinct schools of thought on this- slutty or not slutty PJs. I don't want to get in the middle of this debate. I'll just say that I have opted for the classic, comfy PJ look and I'm doing so for several reasons. One, I don't feel comfortable wearing lingerie in public. Two, I'm afraid it's going to be too cold to wear practically nothing. Three, I don't think its practical. I want to be able to dance and run around without worrying I'm going to fall out of my outfit. Thus I plan on hitting the lido deck with my comfy pjs and cute pair of slippers. That said, I have nothing against those who want to take the other approach. I learned my lesson last year that you should also plan for a cold night, just in case. If you have the suitcase space, you may want to consider packing a bathrobe so that it is theme appropriate. I'm going to call dibs on the free bathrobe in our cabin just in case.

Moving onto 80s night. This theme is pretty self explanatory. Leg warmers, neon, jellies, oversized shirts, acid wash jeans, etc. I've never dressed for this theme before, and I was only 4 years old during the 80s. Thus you're all on your own for this one!

Last but not least prom night. I'm a practical person, so for me the biggest point of consideration was whether or not my dress would fit in my suitcase and travel well. I was going for sensible over aesthetics, so I'm opting for the shorter cocktail dress. Plus I was afraid with a bigger dress, I wouldn't be able to fit in the bathroom stalls. Those things are small enough as is without a huge gown to squeeze in. But it seems like girls are doing a wide range of dresses from big ball gowns to shorter cocktail dresses so I think you'll be fine with whatever you choose. As you are selecting your dress, I would also recommend you consider the fact that it may get ruined so I wouldn't advise taking anything incredibly valuable. And by ruined, I mean girls might spill drinks on it. Also make sure to pack comfy shoes with it. No shame in wearing flats!

Day Time
During the day you may find yourself changing several times. A casual outfit of your choosing should suffice during the majority of the time. Whether it be shorts, skirt and a tank or T-shirt, or a sun dress, you'll fit in just fine. You'll also want to pack at least 1-2 bathing suits. If you plan on getting in the pool/ocean every day, you'll definitely want more than one in order to have a dry one every day.

Evening
You'll want to wear something nicer for dinner if you opt to eat in the main dining room. Carnival goes by the 'cruise casual' attire which is casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, capri pants, dress shorts and jeans (no cut-offs). I would say most girls abide by these guide lines, though a few will opt for a more elegant dress. Basically as long as you don't show up in your bikini or gym-wear, you should be okay. One dinner is also designated as the formal night, so this is the night to dress to impress. I would recommend a nicer dress for this night.


After dinner we will have the deck parties, which I've already covered above. But after the deck parties, a lot of fans were still up either going to the casino, clubs, or just hanging out. Depending what you wore to the deck parties, you may want to run back to the ship and change into a more night club look. However I'd say that most people didn't go as glam as they would typically. After all, you are on a Caribbean cruise, so it tended to be a little more casual. Maybe a cute skirt or jeans and a nice summer top should do the trick. 


Feel free to share any additional tips below in the comments section. This is most definitely not my area of expertise.

The Return of Sphynkter

First of all, I apologize I couldn’t get to this post sooner; I was out of town this weekend. Second, congratulations to Marjorie Shipman for winning the free cruise giveaway contest through the Fan Club. If you’re out there reading this blog, I hope you have a fantastic time! Third, if you are a member of the fan club, the guys announced yet another cruise giveaway twitter contest. It really seems like they are having trouble filling the boat up this year. Fourth and most importantly, themes were announced last Friday!! As a matter of fact, I was in the car driving with my dad when my phone started blowing up with emails so I knew we had to have finally gotten the email about the themes. I made my dad read the email to me while I was driving. I got a laugh out of him trying to pronounce Sphynkter and then another laugh when I tried to explain to him what that was. So here are the 2011 cruise themes:

1. Sphynkter 80s Night!
WE JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW that we can't wait to see your sexy booties done up 80s style. Rock that big hair, neon colors, leg warmers, lace gloves, etc and look out because there may be a special appearance by none other then everyone's favorite band, Sphynkter!

2. PDA Pajama Jam (PDAPJJ)
Intimate scenes fresh from my dreams..us all running around a boat in our PJs! Let's get cozy and party it up sleepover style. Who wants to pillow fight with us?

3. The Perfect Fan Prom Night
Was your prom BLAH? Well that's sure going to change! Join us for our first ever BSB Prom Night! Get ready to relive that magical night together aboard the Imagination. Each King, that's us, will be crowning our PERFECT FAN or Prom Queen. Come ready for some FUN and lots of memories!

I’m thrilled they announced the themes so early this year, giving us ample of time for shopping. I have to admit, I’m neither overly excited nor upset with any of the themes. I’m only slightly disappointed that these themes are ones that the New Kids used for their cruises in the past, making them slightly less original and unique to BSB. But that is really only a minor complaint.

For 80’s night, I predict the theme of the evening to be fun. Lots of fun, bright clothes with high energy music. But my first reaction to this theme was that I think it made slightly more sense for the New Kids cruise as opposed to ours, since they were popular in the 80s and meanwhile I was only 4 years old in the 80s. So I will definitely have to do some shopping for this night. Thus far I'm well on my way with lace glove and some scrunchies.

Sphynkter

For the PDA Pajama Jam, I envision the theme of the evening to be half fun, half sexy. I assume half of the fans will take a more conservative/cute approach- wearing actual pajamas. Meanwhile the other half will opt for the sexier approach, wearing lingerie type ensembles. I think I’m going to fall somewhere in the middle, leaning more towards the cute approach. I’m well aware no one wants to see me in some skimpy lacy outfit. Plus, I just don’t think the sexy approach is practical. It’s going to be cold and windy so I wouldn’t want to give everyone a show if the wind lifts up my dress. Plus, I don’t want to worry about falling out of my top while partying with the Backstreet Boys. I already have enough to stress about.

Prom night should be a fun evening as well. This will be the classy evening of the cruise and I’m always pumped for the dress to impress night. I don't have fantastic memories of my prom, but hopefully the Backstreet Boys will make this one better. Heck, it shouldn't be too hard to top mine. My biggest challenge here is to find a dress that is budget friendly, will travel easily, wont wrinkle, doesn’t take up too much space in the suitcase, is comfortable, sexy, but not too sexy, and is also appropriate for a Caribbean cruise deck party. Hopefully this dress exists and the ideal dress would be one I could wear again in the future. All I know is I don’t want a typical ball gown type dress because it’s just not practical.

My favorite part of the themes being announced is actually not to think about what I am going to wear, but what the Backstreet Boys are going to wear. It sounds as if for 80’s night they will be appearing as Sphynkter. This should be a fun evening full of laughs and I will definitely have my camera ready. I don’t think there will be too many surprises for prom night. I assume the boys will all be wearing a tux, unless AJ wants to be more of a rebel and wear one of those T-shirt tuxedos. And we all know Nick wearing anything beyond a Tampa Bay Bucs T-Shirt is him getting dressed up. So as a Nick girl, the thought of him actually putting on a suit is super exciting. I would just die if I could get a picture with him all dapper and dressed up.

The evening that is the most of a wildcard in my mind is the PDA pajama jam. A few of my friends and I were hypothesizing about what each guy would wear because I think each one is going to take a wildly different approach to the night. We thought Howie would be in some sort of classy silk robe; Brian in some goofy outfit like footie pajamas with funny slippers that make noises every time you take a step; AJ in some sort of revealing leopard print item; and we had trouble coming up with Nick’s outfit. I guess we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

And if the themes being announced wasn’t a big enough treat, ground control also ended their newsletter with this….

LET'S SAIL AWAY TOGETHER
We are working on a pre-cruise bash the night of Thursday, December 1st in Miami.
Stay tuned for more details!

Just so much excitement to absorb in one email! I really hope by "bash" they mean concert and not some sort of after party. But you can be sure that no matter what it is, I will be there.

PS- Not sure what happened to our previous hint of 'white night' from the millennium album cover. I think its a stretch to say that alluded to the 'perfect fan prom night'. But truthfully I'm happier with these themes than 'white night'. White is not a good color on me.