Recap 2016: Day 1 Part 1

It's always so exciting starting off my cruise review, starting at a blank screen and anxious to let all my stories fill the page. So without further ado, I'm going to dive right in!

Pre-Cruise
I generally don't like to spend a lot of time going through my pre-cruise adventures but I'll do a quick overview.

Long drive to Newark airport. Long plane ride to London. Long layover at Heathrow. Not quite as long flight to Barcelona. Rain. Sagrada Familia. Rain. Another church. Lunch. Rain. Another Cathedral. Time to head to the cruise terminal!

2 things I want to discuss before jumping into the fun stuff.

1. I have a new appreciation for all you non-Americans who have traveled to the US for past cruises. It's something I've 100% taken for granted how quick, cheap(ish) and easy it is to cruise in my home country. The travel itself is incredibly exhausting and the time change on top of it - forget about it! I found it difficult to start the cruise already zapped of some energy.
2. This was the first year that my friends and I did Airbnb for our accommodations. We got a 3 bedroom apartment with a kitchen and the 8 of us had SO much fun hanging out before the cruise. I think we'd be inclined to try this again in the future, and I encourage other larger groups of cruisers to do the same. The alternative would be to get 4 hotel rooms and this way we saved money on the room, got excited for the cruise together, and were even able to cook some meals to save more money.

Me and the gang before we head to the port

Boarding
The morning of the cruise I wake up, and it feels so surreal that the day has finally arrived. For many reasons, it just didn't feel like a typical BSB cruise to me. I suppose it's because we were in a new city and headed to a new cruise line, new terminal, etc.

I am amazed that we got 8 girls ready, packed, and out the door....not just on time, but early!! I suppose anytime you tell us that Nick, Brian, Howie, AJ, and Kevin are waiting, we can actually get ready on time. I feel like that's a good trick for any husband/boyfriend to use in the future. Hmm...

Anyway, we took a cab over to the terminal and it finally started hitting me. I was going on cruise #5 with the Backstreet Boys!!! Seriously, I love my life.

The terminal experience was wildly different from what we're used to sailing out of Miami. The nice piece is that we were able to check-in right away. No waiting around. However the bad piece is that we were able to check-in right away. And by that I mean, there really wasn't a way to watch the Backstreet Boys board which is always a thrill. Yes, I could've waited outside, but I didn't know that at the time! I felt like a first time cruiser. I was just going through the process, expecting to be held up at some point, but before you knew it, I was on the ship!

So while I missed the boys actually board the ship, my understanding is that due to the overwhelming reception they received in Barcelona airport, they had to have military personnel escort them on board. Oy. I had a feeling in my gut that this was probably a good indication of what we can expect with the rest of the cruise.

Getting on board earlier than normal was super nice this year. Even lunch wasn't open yet! It allowed us time to explore the ship a bit, get our bearings, take pictures of all the cute BSB decorations on board, and of course, take pictures with the infamous cardboard cutouts. Which later we found out, Kevin also participated in the fun. I don't know why seeing the boys take pictures with their cardboard cutouts is so amusing to me. But it is.

Kevin with cardboard Kevin

After I posed with with the elevators (well that's a weird sentence taken out of context!) I was able to get a leisurely lunch with my friends and catch up with everyone. It was so nice!! We then headed to our cabin a bit early (read as, snuck into our cabin a bit early) and started getting our door decoration up.

Having fun putting up my door dec

My cabinmates and I decided to reuse our 'FRIENDS' themed door decoration from last year, for numerous reasons.

1. We didn't want to travel with anything bulky across Europe for 2 weeks
2. It was already done and given our busy schedules, we just didn't have the time to start from scratch. But I feel obligated to point out we did make some updates - about 50% of the memes were new this year. I'll post those later :)
3. Save money
4. We couldn't come up with another concept we loved as much
5. As far as we know, AJ never did get to see the door last year and I still reallllly wanted him to see it in person (yes I know, I'm still stuck on that idea even 2 years later!) We knew we were on the same deck and same side of the hallway this year, so fingers crossed!!

The final product...

B.A.C.K.S.T.R.E.E.T <3

B.A.C.K.S.T.R.E.E.T <3 Part 2

Ok. Back to the cruise. Next up it was time for the muster station drill. I know girls had been camping out by the stage with their suitcases waiting for the sail away. I can't imagine how they felt when they were told they had to move for the drill. Speaking of, Royal Caribbean was A LOT more strict than Carnival with this. They actually took roll call.
I headed down to my station and had a pleasant surprise when I ran into Nick and Brian on the way to their own muster stations. Eeeep! My first Backstreet Boys sighting!!! There were a lot of fans surrounding them both but Brian stood up on a chair real quick and joked around that we all needed to go to our muster stations and get our life jackets on. I remember laughing at the time, but now I can't remember exactly what he said. Knowing it was Brian, I'm sure it was funny though :D

After the muster station drill, there was quite the comical scene of every single fan on board stampeding up the stairs/elevators to the pool deck. And I can't laugh too hard because I was one of the girls in the stampede. I didn't stand a chance to get anywhere close, so I honestly don't know why I even bothered.

Sail Away Party
I found myself off to the side of the stage, which conveniently was the side that the Backstreet Boys entered the event. So I got a nice up close view of all the guys in their sailor outfit get-ups as they made their way to the stage. I then decided to head to the upper deck so I could get a good view.

Captain BSB

Overall I found the sailaway party to be fun, probably not one of the best, but still had a great time. It was raining so that dampened the mood a little bit (pun not intended!). They did their typical cruise introductions. Made funny jokes. Nick did an impromptu poll on which Backstreet Boy is the freakiest of the group. They also took a poll of first time cruisers, second time cruisers, third time, etc. The comical part is that they seriously had no idea how many cruises they had done. They kept going back and forth. Guys, the answer is 5. You've done 5 cruises *shakes head*.

 The boys poll the audience on who has cruised before. Bonus - The clip starts off with Nick talking about Howie's underwear.

The poll did reveal that there were a lot of first time cruisers, which was to be expected. So as the deck partied continued, the boys were mingling around the deck and I noticed Brian head upstairs on my direction. Queue the nervous butterflies! Unfortunately he came close-ish but not quite close enough. Isn't that feeling the worst?? So close but so far.

However my luck hadn't completely ran out as AJ popped up behind me and without any trouble at all my friend and I were able to get pictures and a brief convo!! We told him about our door decoration and we officially challenged him to Friends trivia. He seemed receptive and seemed to grasp what we were telling him. Thus the first seed has officially been planted.

Picture with AJ. Check!

To be continued...

Recap 2014: Post Cruise

I know a couple of you are anxious for me to finish off the never-ending AJ door saga, and I'll get to it shortly.

Sadly the time had come to leave the ship but a few of my friends, Anne Marie and Chrissy, joined me in Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days to relax and rehash all the excitement before returning to reality. Queue the start of BSB withdrawal. I don't know about you gals, but for me leaving the ship is just such an overwhelming experience. A mix of happiness over everything that just happened, disbelief, sadness that it's time to go, and of course exhaustion.

After we go through customs Chrissy calls up our van service that we hired to take us to Fort Lauderdale and after she gets off the phone with us she informs Anne Marie and I that, "They're not able to send a van at this time..." Ugh, are you kidding me?! I'm so tired and all I want to do at that point (aside from trying to invent time travel to rewind 3 days) was get to this hotel and take a nap.

"...So they're going to send us a limo instead," Chrissy finished her thought. Oops- I clearly got upset a little too soon. I can't believe they're actually sending us a limo. It appears as if my good luck streak is continuing. Sure enough, not 15 minutes had passed and there was a limo pulling up beside us to take us to the hotel. It was just what we needed to help ease the sting entering back into reality.

Limo ladies

Fort Lauderdale
The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool and napping. Really nothing too exciting so I'll fast forward ahead to the evening.

Pretty beach

One thing that every cruiser does after leaving the cruise is hit social media hard. We've been away from twitter, facebook, instagram, etc for over 3 days and have like a year's worth of pictures and stories that must get posted immediately. Thus our evening was spent in the hotel room doing just that, with the door open to feel the warm ocean breeze flowing through our room...if I closed my eyes I could still picture being back on the ship. *sigh*

Out of no where Anne Marie squeals with excitement.  Now I really thought I was back on the cruise and maybe Howie had just walked by or something (wishful thinking!) But since we were no longer on the cruise, I'm curious what all the excitement was about. Well, she posted a picture of our door on instagram and we got responses from AJ's friend 'Madonna Mark' and then later on, Rochelle commented on it too. 

"This is incredible!!! The quotes are on point! So creative! I Love this! #illbethereforyou" - Rochelle

Ummm what?! Rochelle wasn't even on the cruise how is this possible? I couldn't believe that one of AJs best friends, and now Rochelle actually saw our door. So at this point I HAVE to believe that AJ has seen it. I mean, he had to have, right? And even if I didn't have concrete proof, it meant so much to me that AJ's wife saw the door and appreciated it.

A few more hours pass. We were busy chatting, catching up, and swapping stories. And then all of a sudden I hear yet another squeal from Anne Marie. Sure enough....what we had been waiting for...

AJ himself finally commented on the door. Mission accomplished. It was such an emotional roller coaster for me. Part of me was thrilled we at least got some resolution and AJ saw all the hard work that we put in. Obviously based on his comment I can't tell to what capacity he saw the door. So if I'm being 100% honest, part of me was still disappointed he didn't get to see it in person. But alas, I felt so relieved that he FINALLY saw the damn door. Ha!


Final Thoughts
This entire trip was absolutely unforgettable. I felt so fortunate from the minute I arrived in Miami to the moment I left. I can't explain why I had so much good fortune and luck on this cruise. While on past cruises I've certainly had some unforgettable moments and run-ins, I've never had the types of interactions as I did this time around. From winning the scavenger hunt and getting to take a shot with Kevin. Playing blackjack with Howie. Being partnered up with Nick on the beach for a game. Having a nice conversation with Brian the last night at the ABC party. And of course all the excitement with AJ and our door. These sorts of things just don't happen in real life and can only happen on the cruise.

In all my years of cruising, I never could've fathomed this. Its like I had had been saving up all my Backstreet karma for the past 15 year and cashed it all in on this trip. Well worth it!

And now that it's taken me 7 months to finish my review...hopefully we won't have to wait that much longer for our next cruise announcement. See you all on the next cruise!!

The luckiest gal on the 2014 cruise

Recap 2014: Day 3 (Part 2)

Returning back from the beach party, I was once again on cloud 9 from the amazing day spent with my friends and the Backstreet Boys.

As soon I got back to the ship, I was busy enjoying in the excitement of my friends who won the Howie and AJ scavenger hunts, as they were getting ready for their 1x1 time with the boys. Both groups were told to wait in the atrium lobby, so I sat and waited with them. My 'Howie' friends were whisked away first by a staff member, which I would later find out they were taken to the casino to play craps (guest blog post coming soon). Of course we were expecting staff to come up pick up the AJ girls, but lo and behold, AJ himself came. So that in and of itself was worth the wait.

At this point I was kind of torn, but I decided to follow my friends to see where AJ was taking them. Turns out they went to the coffee bar for a 'Friends - Central Perk' type of hang out. You can read all about it in the post 'Scavenger Hunt: Chrissy's Coffee Date with AJ.' I basically hung off to the side in a non-obtrusive way in order to take pictures for them. I felt kind of awkward being there. I assumed if AJ saw me, he would've thought I was just being obnoxious trying to take pictures of him. But that wasn't the case AT ALL! I was solely trying to get pictures of my friends on their experience, again, because I appreciate it when people do the same for me.

And in the spirit of the Friends themed prize...this picture perfectly sums up how I felt being there.

C'mon, I know I'm not the only one out there who has felt this way on a BSB cruise! Anyway, their coffee date continued on for close to a half an hour, and actually ran over into the Show 'Em promo and Q&A. Since I had already seen the documentary at the NYC premiere, I didn't mind being late. Plus I really wanted to chat with my friends to see how it went. And after all, I didn't mind watching AJ from afar.

As soon as AJ got up to leave, I ran over to Chrissy & Cory to get all the gossip. They looked just as I had looked the night before after my time with Kevin...a mix of pure elation and disbelief. They went on and on about everything they talked about and it seemed like such an amazing experience! I won't get into everything as Chrissy already touched on it in her blog post. But there was one thing that Chrissy did leave out, which brought me to tears.

They shared with AJ about their own door decoration, which led to a natural segue to bring up my door decoration. As soon as they mentioned the door, AJ immediately responded, "Oh yeah, cabin U299. I'm going to go check it out tonight after the deck party." Are you freakin kidding me, McLean? You actually know off-hand my cabin number and have plans to come visit. I stopped breathing.

And as if that wasn't enough, my friends also shared with him a little bit about me - how I dressed up as Spudnik from Friends the night before and they also brought up my blog. Apparently AJ knew exactly who I was. Queue the tears to start falling. I obviously wasn't there to judge for myself how genuine he was being with his response, and I still have trouble believing it, but my friends reassured me. The thought that AJ knew of me, without even having the context of seeing me in front of him....and the thought that he may have actually heard of, or potentially be reading this blog....ugh, I can't even begin to explain the rush of emotions.

Now I was a hot mess rushing off to the Show 'Em premiere...


Show 'Em What You're Made of Preview and Q&A

I arrived about 10 minutes into the movie, right at Kevin's hometown visit where he's sharing the details of his dad. I lost it the first time I saw that scene, and being in the emotional state I was in, it got me right in the feels again.


I honestly had trouble concentrating on the rest of the movie because I couldn't wait to share the news with them that AJ said he was going to come see our cabin that night.

A couple of highlights from the event:

• Howie- "Did anyone cry?"
  Crowd- "Yeahhh"
  Howie- "A bunch of babies!"
  
• Howie- "Now I know why AJ sneezes all the time."
  Nick- "My shoulder's wet."
  Howie- "He came from a house that had a lot of mold."
  Brian- "He's actually allergic to Howie's voice."
  
• AJ's story where he recounts a time when he was with Ava and asking her to identify among the Backstreet Boy's 'which one is daddy?' And she replied 'yes' to everyone. AJ joked that him and Rochelle had some talking to do and it could've been the end of BSB.
  
• Kevin sharing some stories about Mason's reaction to his first taste of BSB world. My favorite was when Mason was watching them rehearse their choreography asking "Are they supposed to be [dancing] together?" and Tony replied "No, but they're supposed to."
  
• Fan asks what happens to unreleased tracks and Nick matter of factly replies, "Go to youtube."
  
• AJ revealed he just learned how to do his laundry 2 years ago
  
• I liked hearing Brian's story about his dad coming from home from work and playing catch with him, mainly because it was a story I had never heard before
  
• Apparently Howie was going to let Kev have the master bed in London during their recording time, but Brian swooped in and took it first.
  
• AJ- "Hi, I'm AJ. And I love attention."

Overall this event was good, but perhaps not my favorite of this cruise, nor my favorite Q&A compared to past Q&As. It was a bit more serious because all the questions were based around the documentary. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'm all for digging a bit deeper. But compared to other Q&As, I just wasn't laughing nearly as much. Though of course the boys still managed to infuse a lot of humor, as you can see from above.

My other minor complaint, well complaint isn't the right word, but rather observation with this event is that the bulk of the audience had only seen the first 20 minutes of the film. Well there's only so much you can ask based on 20 minutes of a film. As a result, the questions got a bit redundant. Had we had this Q&A after seeing the movie in it's entirety, I think it would've been completely different because there are some topics that the film brought up which had previously been taboo to mention...and now all of a sudden are fair game to discuss.


Evening
Next up was dinner. One of my favorite non-BSB parts of the day. This meal was particularly memorable because we had the AJ scavenger hunt winners, the Howie scavenger hunt winners, and the Kevin scavenger hunt winners at one table. We had fun swapping stories. Yay for downtime with my girls!

The gang at dinner

ABC Night
I'll just come out and say it - I had no idea what to wear for this night and I frankly didn't have the time or energy to get too creative with it. So I opted for a very fashionable trash bag dress.

I thought this theme night was pretty good, certainly no Bachelorette Night, but then again I don't know if anything will compete with that. I really liked that they brought fans up on stage to show off some of the better outfits. We put so much effort into these outfits, doors, etc, its just really nice to see that they're being acknowledged in some way. I hope they continue to do this in the future. I'm sure it will raise the bar even more knowing that you could be called up on stage for the boys to see your outfit.

Here's the obligatory group photo of the guys from the evening. I just loved Howie's costume, very appropriate with his '100 Kisses' song. Plus he was throwing chocolate kisses into the audience, which is always a good thing.

Backstreet Boys - ABC Night

I'll focus on the highlights of this theme from my perspective. I was up on the top deck and avoiding the crowds. Well I didn't have to wait too long before AJ headed in my direction, which should'nt have surprised me. I couldn't seem to get away from him! Not that I was trying to, but I somehow ended up with so many pictures with AJ this cruise. I didn't really chat with him too much, I was just appreciating his outfit from up close. Of course before I left, I had to grab some popcorn from *ahem* his popcorn bucket.

Shortly after AJ stopped by, Brian was the next Backstreet Boy to come to the upper deck for pictures. I'm telling you, it really is about being in the right place in the right time...and being patient!

Brian was such a sweetie that night. There were about 4 of us standing in a circle and he came over and said 'hi.' Of course I had to compliment him on his outfit. He went on to tell us that he and Leighanne actually worked on a lot of it themselves, unlike the other guys who had their outfits made. If memory serves me, he spent at least 4 hours working on it. It was at this point we were chatting for a record-setting 30 seconds or so. Thus I figured it was time to get our picture so he could move onto other fans who were waiting. I tried to make a segue into pictures but instead, he kept on talking!

I was caught off guard because my normal experience when running into a Backstreet Boy on board is make 10-20 seconds of small talk, take picture, and immediately leave to make room for other fans. But this time was different. We probably ended up chatting for 5 minutes or so, which may not sound like a lot to a non-cruiser. But in the world of Backstreet Boy cruises, 5 minutes is like an eternity. At least for me it is.

So I continued to chat with Brian for a few more minutes, savoring every precious second. We chatted more about the theme outfits and he shared how they have a wardrobe person to help them put something together. The conversation then segued into Halloween night and how the boys picked who would be who. Apparently AJ, Brian, and Howie were all easy to pick and that their characters kinda matched their personalities (Ie- Brian was the cowardly lion who got brave, etc). It came down to Nick and Kevin debating on who would be the witch and who would be Dorothy. I'm pretty sure he said Nick lost that bet.

Having this chat with Brian was really nice. I felt like he was the one carrying the conversation more so than we were, and I never once felt like he was anxious to rush off to get to other fans. It was just great to be able to have a more substantial interaction with any of the guys beyond the usual 5-second selfie. It was a great way to end the cruise.

Random thought- Had I known I would've gotten pictures with 2 Backstreet Boys, I probably would've put slightly more effort into my outfit. I never thought I'd have a picture with a Backstreet Boy literally wearing a trash bag.

After my interactions with AJ & Brian, I noticed AJ had a big ole line forming around the upper pool deck to take pictures with him. That was so nice and I really hope they do more of that in the future rather than the crazy mob scene. Kevin and Brian also followed suit and did a lot of pictures. The evening turned into the last chance to get a picture with a Backstreet Boy, and they all did a great job of getting to as many fans as they could.


The Final Hours
I eagerly went back to my cabin while the deck party was winding down, not wanting to miss AJ. He said he was going to come, so I wasn't about to miss that! Well, as the clock kept ticking away, there was no sign of AJ and my eyelids were super heavy. I was fighting to stay awake, but ultimately my body gave up. I just prayed that if and when AJ came, he would knock on our door and hopefully one of us would hear it.

Sadly, I woke up the next morning to the sound of the cruise director (or whoever it was) on the loudspeaker, which meant we had arrived back in Miami and were getting ready to leave the ship. Fortunately, the story doesn't quite end there.....

Recap 2014: Day 3 (Beach Party)

I was so thrown off by the beach day being switched around with the sea day. I woke up feeling like I still had an extra day, but alas, I didn't. It was the last day on the cruise so I had to make the best of it.

Due to the shift in schedule, the day got bumped up nice and early. How fun! (Note sarcasm) I am not a morning person. Though it certainly is easier to get out of bed knowing I'll be spending the day on the beach with the Backstreet Boys! So I got ready to go to the beach, and I try to pack pretty minimal.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this was my last day and last chance for AJ to see our FRIENDS door. Given that he was headed our way the day before, my hopes were high. I also knew that right before the beach party is an ideal time for the boys to be roaming the halls, because they've done that in the years past when the ship is nice and quiet with everyone waiting for them at the beach.

Thus I decided to not rush over to the beach to try to grab a good spot, but instead I lingered on board for as long as I possibly could without missing the beach party. As the ship grew quieter and the beach party loomed closer, there was still no sign of AJ. I felt so torn! Part of me wanted to stay put and wait for AJ. And the other part of me didn't want to miss their grand entry onto the island. I finally gave up and took a tender to the beautiful Half Moon Cay.

Beach Party

By the time I got to the beach it was pretty packed, so I headed down to the water in hopes to find some friendly faces. Well, as good luck would have it, on my way to find some friends to set up camp with, I ran into two women from the Rose Tour staff walking in my direction with a clip board. From my experience, I know Rose Tour staff with a clip board could only mean one thing. They were looking for people to play in the beach games.

Well, I couldn't pass up that possibility so I approached the women and asked if they were in fact looking for people to play in the games. They confirmed my suspicions and asked if I would like to play. Ummm, let me stop and think about that for a minute....OF COURSE!!!! They asked me my name and where I'm from. At that moment I realized that I should probably ask what I would be playing. Not that anything they could've come back with would've stopped me. If they said I'd be up there eating bugs, I'd still gladly sign up. Fortunately they said I'd be playing water balloons. Perfect! I could handle that. I thanked them both profusely and then continued on to find my friends. Now, wanting to share my good news!

Once I found my friends, I was honestly almost embarrassed to tell them about getting to play in one of the games. I already felt so blessed for all my good fortune the night prior, but I still couldn't pass up the opportunity!

The good thing about arriving late is that I didn't have a long wait until the boys showed up. They arrived with the typical fanfare via a boat. Then played around with water guns, per usual.

Brian playing with his water gun

And Nick playing with his water gun

Beach Games

Egg game
This game felt a little disorganized to me but it boiled down (see what I did there?) to the Backstreet Boys getting egged by fans. The game seemed to evolve as they quickly realized that it wasn't really working as they initially planned...

"We know what's going to happen with you guys. You guys want to see egg all over the Backstreet Boys' faces."- Howie

Yes, Howie. That's exactly right. So their solution was to hold a hard boiled egg in one hand and a raw egg in the other. We would cheer for which hand/egg we want to be smashed against the forehead of either the fan or BSB.

Nick concentrating on holding those eggs

The long and short of it is that we saw Brian and Kevin get egged. The rest of the game felt a little drawn out to me, but I still commend them for trying something new.

Brian clearly not as amused as we are that he's covered in egg

Coconuts
They realize this game is a fan favorite, so they brought this back for the third time. I'm still not sick of watching it either! ha This is one of those where I'll let the video speak for itself...

Water Balloons

I heard them announce that the next game on the agenda was the water balloon toss so I started making my way through the crowd to the side of the stage. And I HATE being up on stage in front of so many people, let alone being up on stage with my 5 idols. I thought I would be more nervous than I was, but funny enough, when I was up there the crowd pretty much disappeared. I was really focused on trying not to look like an idiot.

When I got on stage I put my stuff down and said hello to the guys. I went to give Kevin a hug and he did in fact remember me from the night before, which was nice. I never expect them to remember my face from one moment to the next with the sheer amount of fans that they meet, particularly on the cruise.

Jen announced that each fan needed to pair up with a Backstreet Boy. I honestly did not care who I was with, though I was slightly hesitant to be paired up with Howie, only because I ditched him the previous night. I hoped he wouldn't remember, but I still felt awful about it. I did a quick scan of the stage and of course Howie happened to be the closest boy to me. I looked over at him to see if he wanted to partner up with me, but he was very much spaced out. Meanwhile I see Nick make his way towards me out of the peripheral of my other eye. He then throws his arm around me and asks if I want to be his partner. On the inside I was squealing, "Hell yes!" but on the outside I tried to remain semi-calm and play it cool.

Nick swooping in to be my partner (Please pardon this awful picture of me)

So there I was, up on stage partnered with my favorite Backstreet Boy, about to play a game with him. It was really too much to process in the moment. I think I was more focused on the task at hand than anything, which is probably good or I would've started freaking out. So I took my spot across from Nick and the game began. Basically just tossing the water balloon back and forth, trying not to drop it. I think I dropped it a couple times, but all things considering, I feel I did alright. We ended up coming in second place, which is respectable.

Me on stage ready to play water balloons

After Jen announced that we came in second, Nick got distracted and starting throwing water balloons into the audience. Then I realized that was my queue to go. It felt very quick, especially because the previous group of girls were up on stage for probably 15 minutes, and I was up there for closer to 5 minutes. Though before I left, we took our group picture. But I also wanted to get some solo shots with the boys. Heck, I couldn't pass up that opportunity.

Group shot from the water balloon game

First I approached Brian, and he graciously took the picture with me. I just snapped and didn't even bother looking at it. He even asked me if it came out okay and I just said ,"Oh I'm sure its fine." When I finally got a chance to look at the pic, it ended up being on the dark side, but we're both in the frame and smiling. So I can't complain. If I wasn't so lazy Im sure I could brighten this up in photoshop or something ;)

Me and Brian at the beach party

Next up was AJ. No story behind the picture other than I managed to get a picture with AJ. There wasn't much time for interaction. Though I'm happy with how it turned out.

Me and AJ at the beach party

At this point I felt them trying to rush us off the stage and get ready for the next group. I consciously made the decision not to ask Kevin for a picture because of the time I spent with him previous night. He clearly remembered me and I just thought it would come across the wrong way if I asked him for another picture. I didn't want to taint that experience. I also didn't want to bother Howie for a picture because I was afraid he might remember me from the night before as the girl who wanted nothing more than to leave his blackjack game. Sorry Howie!! That definitely wasn't the case! *hangs head in shame*

Last, but not least, was Nick. I was going to give up on him, just because I know of how he is. In my 4 years of cruising, I've never been able to get a spontaneous picture with Nick around the ship. Ever. I just don't really bother trying. I think it was almost engrained in my DNA that you just don't get a picture with Nick on the cruise. But, I decided that he was my partner and there wasn't a massive herd of girls surrounding him - so I had to go for it. Even if they were trying to kick me off the stage at that very moment. Alas, I approached him and he agreed! My inner fangirl was jumping up and down!! He grabbed my camera and took the picture for us. So now I can tout that I was finally able to get a picture with Nick on the cruise.

Water balloon partners

ANOTHER SHAMELESS PLUG- If anyone was able to get any pics/vids of me on stage, I'd really appreciate if you could email them to me. I don't care how bad or blurry you think they are, I want them! Many thanks in advance! :D

More Beach Games
The boys continued to play more beach games including the caterpillar game and slip & slide among others.

Both the caterpillar game and the slip & slide seemed like a lot of fun, but the issue is that they were played laying on the sand so not a whole lot of fans could actually see what was happening, unless you were up front. I sadly fit into that category and wasn't able to see much of anything, though they sounded like a lot of fun from what I'd hear after the fact. The caterpillar game seemed to be quite intimate with the fans and boys lying adjacent to each other and passing a ball down the line. I liked the idea of these games, but I think Rose Tours needs to make sure as many people can see the games as possible. Otherwise I think it defeats the purpose.

Anyway, once the boys finished the caterpillar game the crowds seemed to disperse a bit, as did the boys. Howie & Kevin were out in the ocean taking pictures. Believe me, I was tempted to get a picture, but for the same reasons I didn't approach either of them earlier, I didn't want to approach them now either. At one point Brian tried to set up a nice photo op for us with the ship and ocean in the background, setting up chairs for himself and a fan. Brian- this was SUCH a good idea. But of course the fans ruin it by crowding him, rather than waiting patiently for their turn. This is why we can't have nice things, people!

Kev in the ocean before the fans got to him

I stood back and watched a lot of happenings from afar- chatting with friends, grabbing some lunch, enjoying the beach. I met a super sweet fan, Hayley, and we were chatting for a bit. I love how after 4 cruises, I'm still meeting new friends and first time cruisers. It's just wonderful and I wish I had more time to get to know everyone better.

Meanwhile AJ was taking pictures by the stage, and I easily could've gotten another picture with him. But I already had one, so I wanted to let others have their chance. It was then that I realized I really got everything out of the beach party that I could - pictures with Nick, AJ, and Brian. Playing beach games with Nick. Beautiful weather and beautiful beach. Seriously, I couldn't ask for anything else.

Volleyball

Anyway, on my way out, we were just about at the tender, and I notice a small mass of people off to my left. I inch closer to the crowd and I see that Brian is playing volleyball. And as I get even closer, I see that he's playing against Nick. Jackpot! When I arrived there were maybe 20 fans there. I got a spot right up front with my friends and settled in to enjoy the show.

Frick vs Frack volleyball

Well, I didn't get very settled because their security guards were announcing where the line was forming for people who wanted to play. The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I didn't bother trying to play for numerous reasons:

1. I'm not very good at volleyball.
2. In fact, I think playing volleyball hurts. Maybe I'm just not doing it right. But my poor wrists are dying whenever I play.
3. I already had my moment with the boys at the beach, I wanted someone else to have their turn.
4. Last and most importantly I was with my friend, Chrissy. Her goal from day 1 on cruise 1 was to play volleyball with Brian. I know how much this meant to her so I wanted to make sure I did everything in my power to make sure she could play. Just as I know she'd do the same for me if Nick ever held a video game contest or something. That was her man and her activity.

I was sooo happy that she ended up playing. Even though it was on Nick's team, I know she still had fun. Thus I sat by and played photographer/videographer. I must've looked crazy because I was double fisting it- with a camera in each hand. I wanted to make sure I captured the moment for her as best as I could. When Chrissy's turn was done, I was getting ready to leave, but then I saw my roommate Ana and another friend take the court. So I resumed my spot and my photography skills. I make a point to take as many pictures/videos as I can for my friends, knowing that that's what I'd want when the roles are reversed.

Brian finding something very funny during volleyball

Nick sharing in on the laugh

With that, we left while the boys were still playing. Which was previously unheard of. I don't like to leave anything while the boys are still there. That's my number 1 rule! Though I made an exception as I was anxious to get back to the ship because I wanted to beat AJ back in case he stopped by my door (I know, I know. I promise I'll shut up about it soon!) Meanwhile my friends, Chrissy & Cory, had to be back for their 1x1 time with AJ. 

Me and the gals leaving Half Moon Cay

Overall it was an amazing day at the beach. We had nice weather. The boys were out and about, mingling with fans. Lots of fun games. Of course I'm biased, but I'd venture to say it was probably the best beach party yet.

Chrissy & I heading back to the ship

Recap 2014: Day 2 (Part 3)

I'm still on cloud 9 from the Howie and Kevin interactions that I just had, but the day was far from over. We still had the In a World Like This Redux concert as well as Halloween night.

In a World Like This Redux Concert

This concert was sooo amazing. Not at all what I was expecting, but absolutely for the better! I was expecting the In a World Like This concert, with just a few modifications. But this was an entirely different show. It was very laid back and reminiscent of the 2011 cruise concert. They did a few classics but a lot of songs we rarely get to hear. And some songs we haven't heard in ages!

A random picture of Nick from the concert for no particular reason

Set List

Backstreet's Back
Hey Mr. DJ
(AJ Talk)
If I Knew Then
ALAYLM
(Brian Talk)
Undone
That's the Way I Like It
Permanent Stain
(Nick Talk)
Siberia
Just to be Close
More than That
(Howie Talk)
Hot Hot Hot
IWITW
IAWLT
(Kevin Talk)
STMH
The Call

There were so many awesome moments of this show:

• Brian messing up his intro. I absolutely love how many goofs they have during the cruise concerts! And somehow this segued into a random chorus of DMXs 'Up in Here'
  
  "Oh crap, I got the wrong one." - Brian
• Nick's incredibly cheesy introduction of Siberia, "In this place, on this next song, it's very cold."
• Howie's equally cheesy intro of Hot Hot Hot, "Nick sang a song that had a cold temperature. Now this song has the opposite temperature."
  Seriously boys?! Good thing I love cheesy intros.
• Brian's tale on how rehearing for Just to be Close was a "trainwreck."
  
  
  Brian explaining how Just to be Close made the set list
• AJ- "Is it me or was Ariel like the sexiest Disney princess ever? Oh and Elsa was pretty hot."
  The best part of this line is the sheer randomness of it. It came out of nowhere.
• Kev brought out his 'INBYH' deep throaty voice at one point
• Hearing songs we'd never thought we'd hear again (Straight Through My Heart & Undone)- and with Kevin!
• Hearing songs we REALLY never thought we'd hear again (Just to be Close)
  
  Just to be Close a capella

My personal highlight of the show was actually As Long as You Love Me. Now this is a song I would never expect to be at the top of my list as I've heard it hundreds of times. But during this particular rendition, none other than Nick came down the aisle and stopped to sing to me for a few lines. In reality it lasted probably 2 seconds, but in the moment it felt a lot longer than that. Thank you, Ana, for capturing that moment!

Oh you know, Nick singing to me. No big deal

I think it was right around 'That's the Way I Like It' I actually got quite emotional and got a little teary eyed from being so happy. It was a culmination of all the events of the day - playing blackjack with Howie, chilling with Kevin before the show, having Nick "serenade" me during ALAYLM (albeit super brief, but I'm counting it!) ...and then experiencing this amazing one-of-a-kind concert. It just all caught up to me. I just felt like the luckiest girl in the world and I didn't know what I did to deserve this kind of luck.

Just to be Close

Bri singing his heart out (eyes closed of course)

This concert ranks up there as one of my top BSB concerts. I think it was partly due to the experiences I had early that night, but it was so nice singing and dancing to this phenomenal set list without a care in the world. Even the little things like taking my shoes off and having carpet under my feet. How often does that happen at a concert....never! There was just such an energy in the room and I love being at a concert where everyone is a die hard fan like myself. There's no judgment. Everyone knows all the words to all the songs. There's nothing like it. I reallllllly hope they do something like this again.

Post-Concert

After the concert I went back to cabin to change for Halloween night. Well soon after I got there, a fan whom I never had met approached me. I figured she was going to look at the door or perhaps recognize me from my blog. But instead she shared some exciting news...

She was a few cabins down the hall from me and told me that AJ was headed in the direction of my cabin. She overheard him say, "I've gotta see this f*ckin FRIENDS door." Apparently he was headed our way, but there was a mob of fans that deterred him and he retreated back down the opposite hall his own cabin. Queue me freaking out!

I had mentioned the door to AJ earlier during the meet & greet, but based on my interactions, he didn't seem to fully process the information. And understandably so, I was just a number in a sea of hundreds of girls he was meeting. Meanwhile I had several friends and fans tell me that they mentioned the door to AJ or planned to tell him. So based on this amazing update, I'm inferring that he must've heard about it enough to the point where he actually intended to come see it.

I really hoped he would get to see the door, so now I'm super excited and my dreams are starting to turn into a reality. And with all the luck I've already been having on the cruise thus far, I was really hopeful my good luck would continue just a little bit longer! The only downside of this news - there's no way I was going to miss him if he came to visit my cabin. So from this point forward, I knew I would be glued to my cabin until he came.

Halloween Night

Given the recent update about AJ and my door, I decided to stay back and hang around my cabin in the hopes that AJ would come by before they went up for the deck party. Plus it was cold outside, so I didn't have any problem being comfortable and resting before heading up to the lido deck.

Alas, he did not show up. So I went up to the deck party, clad in my repeat outfit from last year. I went as Spudnik, from FRIENDS. It seemed very fitting and I didn't have much creativity (nor budget) to come up with anything different for this cruise.

Chrissy, me, and Anne Marie

By now I'm sure everyone has seen the pictures. But in case you live under a rock, the boys came out dressed as the cast of Wizard of Oz.

AJ- Scarecrow
Brian- Lion
Howie- Tinman
Kevin- Wicked witch
Nick- Dorothy

BSB as the Wizard of Oz

My fave was of course Nick dressed up as Dorothy. He was complete with the red ruby shoes and even lipstick. AJ, "It's not every day you see Nick Carter in drag." Very true, AJ, very true. Nick on the other hand didn't look as happy with the costume assignment...

Why does no one seem happy except for AJ?

Once again, the Halloween party didn't have a whole lot of meat to it. It's pretty clear that the boys are really shifting their deck parties to a more 'after party' type of atmosphere where it's basically selfie-hour. Which I inherently don't have a problem with as they're coming to hang with us, but in all honesty, there isn't a lot to do other than chase down the boys for a picture. 

I stayed put on the upper deck, waiting patiently for one of the boys to come upstairs. And AJ was the first and only boy to come up my way that night. Thus I was able to get a picture with scarecrow AJ. Yippee! So now I have 2 pictures with AJ dressed up as Spudnik. Go figure! Not only is AJ actually looking at the camera this year, but I also didn't poke his eye with his antenna this time :P

The scarecrow and Spudnik

Halloween Night from the 2013 cruise

He was very nice and immediately recognized my outfit, "Spudnik, right?!" He appeared excited at the reference and said he loved my costume. He then went on to quote a few lines from that episode and I just remember he kept saying "Doody!" Which again is a reference to the episode, for those of you don't watch the show. I was super tempted to bring up my door decoration, after all, I had the perfect segue. But I didn't want to beat him over the head with it.

So basically both times I've interacted with AJ on this cruise involved potty talk. The first time during 70s night he made a joke about balls. The second time he jokes about doody. I'm not really sure what to do with that random factoid, but just felt the need to point that out. Ha!

Unfortunately Halloween night was just getting going and the sky opened up. Rain, rain, and more rain. I held my ground for a bit, but then the rain really started coming down. One by one the boys fled as well. Such a bummer! I really wanted a picture with Nick as Dorothy. Obviously they cant control the weather, but I found it funny that the night prior they moved the event inside and no rain. The night it actually rained they held outside.

They moved the party indoors to the atrium, but sadly none of the Backstreet Boys returned to the party. Definitely a shame that the night had to be cut short, but I went to bed that night with the biggest smile on my face from all the excitement of the day.

Recap 2014: Day 2 (The Howie & Kevin Interlude)

This whole post takes place from 7:45-8:45, and it the craziest hour in my cruising career, so bear with me on this one.....

Anne Marie, Ana, and I went to the piano bar early and saw some staff members getting the piano set up. At this point I really started freaking out, speculating that Kevin is going to play the piano and sing to us. If that happens, I wouldn't know how to handle myself! Seeing them set up the piano made me think "Howie, who?" Ha! We were so excited for our special event that we accepted the fact that the tournament with Howie wasn't going to happen. I was content with the decision.... or so I thought.

Waiting for Kev. Why is that the 2 Kevin girls look so composed and I look like a nervous wreck?

We get chatting with the member of the Rose Tour staff, as we wait for Kev to arrive, and try to glean more info about the event. Basically just make small talk. We also share how we were also supposed to be in the blackjack tournament at that very moment. Well....she cuts us off and then walks away and makes a few calls on her headset. I don't think much of it, but she comes back over to us and says "Alright, girls, we're going to hold Kevin off. You both go upstairs and do the blackjack tournament with Howie."

She barely finished her sentence before Ana and I bolt upstairs to the casino. There was already a huge crowd surrounding the table, so we squeezed through the crowd and then they started going over the rules. The dealer told us how the event was going to run:

• We would pick our seats in order that we placed in the earlier tournament. Meaning I would pick last.
• She would then explain the rules to us.
• Howie would come out and she'd explain the rules again. (I have no idea why she couldn't just explain the rules once)
• Then we play 7 hands
• Whoever has the most chips at the end of the 7 hands, wins. 

I just made it!

Simple enough. So things start happening as she describes. I quickly realize that everyone else at that table clearly knows what they're doing, and I am so freakin clueless. I am NOT a gambler, by any means. I think maybe one of the other girls was in the same boat as me - in that our primary reason for being at that table was Howie. Not the blackjack. But I didn't really care.

After the dealer explains the rules, Howie comes out and takes the middle seat. I had to pinch myself that this was actually happening. Especially because it was almost taken away from me! He makes some small talk, but I sadly can't remember what he talked about because all I was focused on was the fact that I was playing blackjack with Howie. I know, I'm the worst! There has to be a term for this....Backstreet amensia??

So no sooner than Howie sits down and I start getting settled into the game, I see this same lady from Rose Tours pop up in the crowd and she motions "Hurry up, Kevin just got here."...............Oh you have got to be kidding me! We didn't even start the tournament! At this point, I am beside myself. I know we only have 7 hands, but I also know what I'm missing.

The game gets under way and it's going a lot slower than it was previously, which makes sense because its a full table and people are getting fancy and taking time with their bets. And in any other situation, I would've tried to slow down the event and savor my time with Mr. Howie D. But unfortunately, my head was in such a fog. I don't remember what Howie was talking about. I don't remember the cards that were dealt. All I remember is how anxious I was.

On hand #4, Ana had lost all of her chips so she just gets up and leaves. So now I'm really sweating bullets. It's probably been a good 10-15 minutes. And for all I know Kevin could have come and gone. By hand #6, we're now approaching 15-20 minutes. I keep looking over to Hal Roseman, who was watching and knew the situation. But all he did was shrug. Oye! I am literally dying on the inside.

I made up my mind. I can't stay a minute longer. I'm done with this tournament. I don't want to miss Kevin!

Random picture of the BSB-themed blackjack table because I don't have any pics of me at the event :(

So I decide to get up and leave. Little did I know, you're not allowed to leave in the middle of a tournament. The dealer tells me I couldn't go. Seriously, now? Are you kidding me? I feel like I'm on candid camera.

I'm not sure she would've physically restrained me or anything had I continued to try and leave, but I clearly wasn't thinking straight. So I sat back down, and everyone yells, "Go all in!" Of course, why didn't I think of that sooner?! So I go all in hoping I lose...

....and of course I somehow manage to win that hand. So let me just pause here and recap the situation.

• Playing blackjack with Howie on a cruise in the middle of the Caribbean
• Never played blackjack for money in my life
• Beating a bunch of professional players with a huge stack of chips in front of me
• Also beating Howie
• Howie sees me squirming, and trying to leave the entire time he was there. What he and everyone else must've thought of me....I'll never know
• I'm simultaneously standing up Kevin in that exact moment

Not even in my wildest dreams could I have ever painted this picture. I'm having a mild panic attack just reliving this!

So now we have one hand left and I'm actually doing semi-well so I figure I have to stick it out one more hand. At this point the dealer decides to stop the game and count up everyone's chips. All I was thinking in my head is "C'moooooooooon! Lets gooooo!"

Well, after the 7th and final hand, I quickly scanned the table and saw that everyone has busted out of chips except for Howie, myself, and 1 other person. So I knew I had come in at least third place, but I didn't waste another second to see if I had won. My watch said 25 minutes past and I feared the worst - I missed the entire Kevin event. I sprinted SO fast back down to that piano bar. If you happened to be in my path and saw a crazy girl sprinting from the casino to the piano bar, my apologies. Now you know why. I knew I had this man waiting for me...

Kevin getting his laptop set up for us

I push past a few fans waiting outside the piano bar, and enter the room to find it empty. My heart sank. But then I peered over to the corner and saw Keith sitting there. I asked if I missed it and he motioned over behind the piano. I turn my head around to see Ana, Anne Marie, and Kevin sitting there tucked in the back, corner booth. My heartbeat returned.

I made my way back to join the trio and apologized profusely to Kevin for being late. He seemed to largely understand, but made a comment like they shouldn't have scheduled them both at the same time. I agree!

Catching my breath, I mentally scolded myself to try and forget about the stressful situation, and to just enjoy the time left I had with Kevin. As soon as I sat down he asked my my name and where I'm from, which was nice. One of the things I love about Kevin is how engaging he is and being genuinely interested in what we have to say. That proved to be true this evening as well. No sooner than I shared, he informed me that we would be taking a shot of tequila. I guess it was everyone else's second shot, my first. He went on to explain that this particular tequila was really good quality and goes down nice and smooth.

Kevin pouring tequila and I guess that's me visibly shocked at the thought of doing a shot? Ha - I have no idea what I was doing!

My response to him, "I haven't done a shot since college, only for you!" Which was the truth. He poured us all shots and I couldn't turn down a shot from Kevin! Before I took the shot, I turned around to see if there was anything I could use as a chaser, even water. I'm such an amateur. There was nothing around except for a piano. I just remember mentally telling myself 'please just keep this down.' Luckily, I did. Last thing I needed to add to my night was vomit tequila all over Kevin.

Shots with Kevin

After our tequila, he graciously caught me up on what I missed. He had his laptop there with him and he explained how he was playing songs off his upcoming album, which will be called 'Cover Story.' He played maybe 4-5ish songs? I can't quite remember. He gave a lot of background on the genesis of the album and the meaning behind the songs. You all know Kevin, he likes to talk! So he probably spent 5 minutes on that. It honestly was a lot of what we heard the year prior at his Cover Story event on the cruise. He shared the John Lennon song that was written when he left the Beatles, and how he he could relate with everyone calling him crazy when he left the group.

One of the most special thing about this event was that he played these songs for us that no fan has heard yet. Yes, we heard some of these songs last year performed live. But I don't believe any other fan has heard these recorded versions. For me to sit here and say I've heard his music months before it gets released to the public, is super special. And just the fact that he had his personal laptop out, sharing his music with us. Its very surreal and indescribable how that feels. Its like we were old friends just hanging out and sharing music. It's something I'd do with my friends, scrolling through my iTunes to find a good song to jam to.

Anyway, he basically told us a little background about each of the songs, and then he'd play them. He also shared that he intends to release his album next year as well as tour. He said he wants to do intimate 200-300 person venues. I was so excited to hear this! I really hope that happens, especially with an anticipated slow BSB year. I will gladly take me some Kevvy Kev on tour. At one point I remember Ana looked over at his laptop and requested Back to Your Heart. Kudos to Ana on that one! Before he played it, he went on this mini-technical rant about which key he recorded the song in some of the challenges with recording it. It honestly went over my head.

Group shot with Kevin

So we talked over his music, and chatted about a little bit of everything during our precious time together. We shared how much we love the cruises and hope that they continue to do them in the future. He again confirmed what many of us have heard - that they want to do a cruise in Europe, he mentioned a Scandanavia cruise, but logistically it's a big challenge. He also mentioned that they've kicked around the idea of doing an all inclusive resort instead of a cruise.

Ana, Anne Marie, and I were all fortunate to have seen the full documentary so we wanted to share with him our thoughts on the film. I don't want to get into specifics and ruin any surprises, but we discussed some of the sensitive material that was brought up in the film. So that was another highlight of this event to me. I felt like we were talking about real, personal issues. And in typical Kevin fashion, I think he got choked up twice during this segment of the convo ;)

We also talked a little about his family. He shared a super cute story that Kristen shared with him, while he was away, about their kids. He even said, "My son, Max." To me it shows how humble he is...just because we obviously know his sons' names. Hearing about his kids was another highlight of our time, just because as much as I love getting inside scoop on some of his solo projects and the BSB stuff, hearing him tell stories about his family are things I don't get to hear at a sound check party. It didn't feel like an interview type question, but again, just hanging out with a friend.

I swear we were just getting going, and then Keith came over and said "last song." Boo! Granted we were still chatting for a while after the song ended. You know how Kevin likes to talk, so we milked that for a few more minutes. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. So before we left, we had Keith take a few pictures for us.

Me and Kev

I'd say the event lasted around 25 minutes. I later found out from Anne Marie, that I maybe missed the first 5 minutes or so. Turns out it took a while for them to set up the speakers, and with Kevin being the perfectionist he is, it took some time. I was incredibly relieved that I didn't miss that much of it.

After Kevin left, the 3 of us stood there still in disbelief that this happened. If Justin wasn't there to take pictures, I wouldn't believe it myself. I composed myself, and headed back up to the casino. I was still kinda afraid to go back up there, I felt like I was retuning to the crime scene or something. But I went. The dealer told me that I ended up coming in second place, and won $250. I just sat back and had to laugh. I was not in this competition for any monetary prize. Playing with Howie was the only prize I wanted. Of course I was absolutely thrilled, as I was able to put that back into my cruise fund.

Reflection

That hour was the most hectic, intense, amazing, and special hour of my Backstreet life. I look back on it with such mixed emotions. I'm so happy I was able to do both events, and finally have not 1, but 2 super amazing, unique moments on the cruise with the boys. But at the same time, I feel like I short-changed both of them. I wasn't 100% mentally present at either of them given the situation, especially Howie's. I also feel like I was incredibly rude to both Kevin and Howie - running out on one of them, and being late for the other. I hate that the most. Not that they'll remember. But I will.

I don't regret anything, but I don't think that Rose Tour staff should've told Ana and I to go play in the tournament when there clearly wasn't enough time. It was the one time I really needed Backstreet time, and it failed me! I don't want it to come across that I'm complaining in any way, because I'm so grateful.

Shameless Request - As you probably realized from above, I don't have a single picture of me playing in the blackjack tournament. If anyone out there has a picture of this tournament, or knows someone who might have a picture, I will be eternally grateful! Please feel free to email me or post below. Thank you, times a million, in advance.