Check-In and Various Updates

Hi cruisers - We have an update from Rose Tours with some key information! My commentary all the way at the bottom ;)

 

Important Information:

Is everyone ready to leave the Real World behind and cruise for 4 nights with BSB onboard the Carnival Sensation?!?!?

Before the nonstop fun can start we need to take care of some business. All guests sailing on Carnival are required to complete an online check-in no later than 11:59 pm May 2nd, the night prior to sailing. Once the quick and easy 4 Step Online Check-In process is complete you can proceed to print your Boarding Pass and Luggage Tags and book shore excursions and spa appointments.

New for this year – Carnival Staggered Check-in: Carnival has a new staggered check-in policy for their regular cruise guests. You must select a time when you do your online registration. This new CCL check in policy will not apply to us but they do require an arrival time to be filled in to complete your check in. You can arrive any time prior to 3pm.

To begin the Online Check In process, click the following link- Carnival Online Check In

Select Login, Register or Access Your Booking Now and provide the following information:

Your Booking Number: 

Guest Last Name

Date of Birth

Ship Name: Carnival Sensation

Sail Date: 05/03/2018

Step 1 - Provide Guest Information: You will be required to provide personal information such as address, an emergency contact, and your travel documentation information

Step 2 – Select your arrival time.

Step 3 - Onboard Expenses: You will open your onboard expense account by providing credit card information or you can select to provide cash upon embarkation.

Step 4 - Cruise Ticket Contract: You will need to accept Carnival Cruise Ticket Contract (Please note you will not be able to complete the online check in without accepting these terms)

Step 5 - Check-In Summary: You will receive a message you have completed the Online Check In and can now proceed to print your boarding pass and luggage tags.

If you are having technical issues while checking in please call Carnival at 1-866-236-6670 for assistance. If any of the pre- populated information in your online check in is incorrect (example: date of birth) please contact Rose Tours at 1-215-663-8800 (M-F 9am-5pm ET)

Please have proper travel documentation (valid Passport or State Issued Birth Certificate and government issued photo ID) with your Boarding pass with you for check-in at the pier. We suggest you put any necessary medication in your carryon bag since any checked luggage will not be delivered to your stateroom until later in the day.

CRUISE INFORMATION

AUTOGRAPHS: No autographs will be given at the photo sessions. You are more than welcome to ask BSB for their autographs when you see them around the ship, however please respect their privacy if they request it.

PHOTO SESSIONS: We will have groups of 4 or 5 passengers for each picture with BSB. Please respect this group policy. These sessions will be in the Plaza Aft Lounge on Deck 9. Please arrive at the Photo Session with your group of 4 or 5 passengers! NO CAMERAS, MOBILE PHONES, GIFTS OR BAGS WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE PHOTO SESSION. If you do not have a group of 4 or 5, please go into the Disco to make up your group. Once you have your group of 4 or 5, please get in line. If you do not get a group of 4 or 5 you will be added to random passengers in order to get your photo. The photo session will end when the line ends. A link will be sent about 2 weeks after the cruise for you to download your photo. There will be no mixing of group A & B – this will be strictly enforced.

PERSONAL CAMERAS / VIDEO CAMERAS: Please feel free to bring your personal camera to all events except for the official photo sessions. If personal cameras are brought to the photo sessions, you will have to return it to your cabin. Video cameras allowed only for personal events. They are not allowed at official BSB cruise events. NO PROFESSIONAL CAMERAS ALLOWED AT ANY TIME. (SLR, DSLR, HD VIDEO, ETC)

WRISTBANDS: You will receive your wristband at check-in. Your wristband will have your exact seat assignment and either an A or B, which will denote your dining and event time. Wristband color and seat assignment number was determined by time of booking. Please note that these wristbands are required for all events. DO NOT REMOVE these wristbands until the end of the cruise. The cruise is sold out and the showroom is at capacity. There will be no seating changes.

PERSONAL GIFTS TO BSB: Gifts will NOT be permitted at any BSB scheduled events. Gifts can be left at the Rose Tours hospitality desk located Midship on deck 9. Please consult your itinerary for Hospitality Hours. Your gifts will be delivered to BSB.

SEATING: All seating in the Fantasia Show Room will be reserved. Your wristband determines which zone you are in and your Seat Number. Please look at the seating charts provided at check in to see where you will be seated. Please respect the seating policy and do not switch seats during the events. Please be respectful of others when entering the Fantasia Show Room.

CONCERT: BSB Concerts will be reserved seating. Each group gets ONE concert. NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE OTHER GROUPS CONCERT. Please respect your fellow guests during the concert. VIDEO IS NOT PERMITTED DURING THE CONCERT!

DRESS: Dress during the day is casual (shorts, shirts, skirts, jeans, etc.) Theme nights are as follows:

Thursday 5/3 – Fast Times at Backstreet High

Friday 5/4 – We’ve Got it Goin’ Con

Saturday 5/5 – Millennium Night

Sunday 5/6 – Party Like It’s 1993

DINING ROOMS:

Guests with Early Dining are in Group A

Guests with Late Dining are in Group B

• You will receive dining room assignment at check in. Seating in the dining rooms is open.
• Beach & Swim Wear, Tank Tops are not allowed in the Dining Room.
• Please arrive at your assigned dining room with your party, the Maitre D’ will seat you.
• Other options include 24 hour Room Service (fees may apply), Buffet on Lido Deck or the 24 hour Pizzeria.

Free Day in Grand Turk

You can enjoy your day on shore, no activities are scheduled while we are in port.

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Carnival Ban Carry-On Bottled Beverages

Carnival Cruise Line is prohibiting its passengers from bringing bottled beverages onboard

You are allowed up to 12 unopened cans of water, sodas and non-alcoholic beverages per person to be brought on board during embarkation. You can now purchase a 12-pack of bottled water from Carnival at a price of $4.50 plus tax online prior to the cruise or on board.

Passengers age 21 and older can bring aboard one 750-milliliter bottle of unopened wine or champagne in carry-on baggage on embarkation day. If you choose to consume it in a restaurant or bar, you will be charged a $15 corkage fee.

All liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages outside of these exceptions are prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and will be confiscated and discarded with no compensation provided. All alcohol purchased in ports of call or onboard shops will be returned on the morning of debarkation.

Guests also are prohibited from bringing large coolers onboard since it’s an impediment to the boarding and security process. They can bring onboard personal-sized coolers, no larger than 12-by-12-by-12 inches to store small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages and/or medications.

Door Decorating Contest: Please note that while we are having a door decorating contest, Carnival has changed their policy on what is permitted to go on the door. You can decorate your door if it doesn’t present any fire hazards; such as plug-ins or decorations over the lighting features that may overheat.

My Interpretation
Most of this seems pretty standard. The thing that jumped out at me is of course that we're not having a beach party this year. Definitely a bummer as that is always a highlight for me and we missed that last time in Europe. I also personally prefer the vibe at the beach party as opposed to the theme parties mainly because they are daytime events and not late night parties. But on the bright side, it gives us the day in Grand Turk to explore. I do encourage you to take advantage of the day...there's no need to stay on the ship and stalk the guys. In the past, the boys have taken advantage of the port and gone off to explore. Thus you should too! You never know if you might run into them in Grand Turk.

Another point to note is that they did officially announce a door decorating contest. While they always seem to have one, they don't always make an official announcement. So that's exciting. Hopefully they'll have some good prizes this year.

Other than that, we are officially 18 days away! As we get closer to set sail date, if anyone has any questions, always feel free to email me.

Winning Door - FRIENDS Meets BSB Part 2

Turns out fifth time is the charm. After 5 cruises, my lovely cabinmates and I won the door decoration contest. Woohoo!!

I also feel the need to clarify. Yes, we did the same theme last year. No we did not win last time. We really enjoyed this theme and wanted to update it and make it even better than last year.

In case you're curious, we found out that we won on the very last night, after the final deck party had started. I went back to our cabin and found a note on our bed saying that we won. Our prize this year was a swag bag of merchandise including a picture frame, trucker hat, water bottle, tote, medal, and a signed copy of the Show Em What You're Made Of documentary.

New Memes from 2016 Door

Enjoy these memes? Be sure to check out the original FRIENDS/BSB memes that we created for the 2014 cruise.

Recap 2016: Day 4 Part 2 (Sea Day)

Just to be Close to You: A Guinness World Record Attempt
Once the question and answer session was done then it was time for our Guinness world record attempt where they would find out how many nationalities would fit in the hot tub. All of the girls were pre-selected and were all brought up to the front of the stage and given numbers.

Now as an American you're going to have to let me rant for one quick second here. I understand they were going for a Guinness world record attempt but the reality is because the Backstreet Boys are from the US, no US fans were even eligible to participate in this event. Not a huge deal, enough time has past so I'm over it. But it definitely sucks they had an event where a good number of fans were ineligible to participate. Yes I know there are many unfair things about the Backstreet fandom, I suppose this is just another to add to the list. But its my blog so I get to voice my opinion :) I just think there could've other sorts of records that would've at least given everyone the chance to participate.

Anyway...This event was actually more fun than I thought it would be. They had fun Caribbean music playing (even though we weren't in the Caribbean this year). AJ and Nick actually both got in the hot tub which probably threw our numbers off a little bit. The other thing that surprised me is that the other back she boys did stick around to watch the events unfold. I just assume that only one of the boys would participate in the rest with the retreat back to the safety and comfort of their cabin.

Brian and Kevin watching the festivities

Overall I felt like there was a lot of energy on deck and it was actually quite official with a Guinness officiator, or whatever they're title might be. They had AJ and Nick getting the crowd pumped. I was initially torn if I would attend this event because I wanted to get ready for the preferred event, but I was happy that I stuck around.

AJ getting ready to get in the hot tub

Preferred Event
During this time slot those cruisers who bought the more expensive cabins had the opportunity to go to a 'preferred event'. There was no description of what this event would entail, so it was a complete surprise to everyone. Meanwhile the other half of the ship had the chance to go to a BSB trivia with Rose Tours. I'm still kinda bummed I missed that. From what I heard not many folks showed up but it sounded cool.

Since Rose Tours never did send a survey, I'm going to voice my honest opinion of this event here. I need to at least have the illusion that my opinion might be heard. 

What was Supposed to Happen
For those of you who missed the event, I suppose I should start with the general concept of the event. It opened with their manager Jen entering the room and informing us that it was going to be a "chill mingling" event. The fans would stay put and the boys would mingle around the room. Everyone wildly cheers! We're all excited and naively optimistic that this is what would actually happen.

What Really Happened
Sadly that concept fell apart REAL quick. Unfortunately many of the boys couldn't really leave the front stage because fans were crowding around. Nick was the only one who actually attempted to mingle around the room. And he's only 1 boy, so he didn't get too far. Thus I'd say the first 20 minutes or so people generally played by the rules. Brian sat up front talking to a crowd of people while the other boys starting mingling and sitting at tables with fans.

I'd say around the 20 minute mark is when things started to go down hill. The boys who were mingling SLOWLY moved from table to table, some hitting the same group of girls who already had a boy visit. Brian never moved from the front of the stage. Fans started approaching the boys and crowding the front area, asking for pictures thus making it even harder for the boys to mingle. By the end of the event, fans were frantically asking the boys for pictures and I'd say at least half the fans in the room didn't get to interact with any Backstreet Boy. And sadly it was the fans who played by the rules and patiently waiting who didn't get anything.

My Personal Experience
I had a seat in the back and I waited patiently for the first maybe 15 minutes sipping my champagne (though my friends will probably tell you I wasn't that patient :P). Once we got into the 20 minute mark and beyond...I realized how slow the boys were moving around the room. I'm kind of a numbers gal and I started doing the math in my head and realized that this wasn't working quite as well as they had hoped and previously indicated. So now I'm getting more anxious by the minute, but still try to wait a bit longer to see what will happen. 5-10 more minutes pass and Nick starts heading towards the back. I think to myself, 'Great!' I love me some Nick, so that would make me a happy camper. Sadly he veered off in the other direction before coming my way and my heart sinks.

Back to square one.

Around 30 minutes in I'm more than a little worked up having 0 interactions with any Backstreet Boy and watching other girls in the front having a grand ole time. I ask one of the staff how long the event is and he told me an hour and that the clock was ticking. At this point I give up on being polite and sadly resolve to being part of the problem. I still feel bad about it, but I suppose I've been to other events in the past where I patiently waited and end up leaving with nothing. In general I struggle to find the balance between being respectful and playing by the rules, but being assertive as well. There have been a few too many instances where I leaned more towards polite and left with nothing. I wasn't about to pay as much as we did for a suite and not get anything for it.

Brian had been chatting with a bunch of fans up front for a while so I thought if nothing else, I could at least sit near him and hear him talk and be part of that conversation. By the time I got up there he was pretty much done chatting and now having a loose sort of line to briefly chat with him and take pics. So I hop in line and scoot my way up to the front. I had a nice little moment with him where he asked how I was enjoying the cruise. I told him I was having a great time, and that I always do have a great time on the cruise, but the crowds were a little more intense than what I'm used to from past cruises. He gave me knowing look and said he agreed with me. I felt like we shared a moment haha

Me and Brian <3

After having my nice moment with Brian, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I had some interaction with a Backstreet Boy. But there was still time left and I wanted to make the most of my time. Howie wasn't too far away and he was also chatting with a group of girls. Once again, I figured that it'd just be neat to eavesdrop into the conversation. He was talking to some girls about filming Dead 7, what that was like. I asked him if he would consider doing a sort of sequel (totally not considering that they all pretty much died in the movie. Oopsies) But hopefully he understood what I meant. He said that he'd be open to doing a movie again in the future but no immediate plans at the moment. When he was finished chatting with all the girls, he took a few pictures with the girls at the table so I grabbed a pic as well. I still inadvertently blocked him a bit. Oopsies again!
 

Me and Howito

There was still some time left in the event but it was clearly turning into a shit show at this point. Fans were really upset because the boys were starting to leave and many people didn't get any interaction at all, which made me incredibly grateful for what I got. It just shouldn't have played out the way it did. Period.

Suggestions for Next Time
I would actually love to see them try this event again (though I doubt they ever would because of the backlash on this one). I truly loved the IDEA of this event, it sadly just failed in execution. The key here is the event just needed a few logistical modifications to make things run smoother:

• For starters they need to limit the number of people drastically. Maybe do Group A and Group B? There were simply too many fans in that room for the time allotted and only 5 backstreet boys. Something had to give.
• I also think they should ban cameras from that event so that fans cant take pictures...make it 100% about the mingling. Unfortunately as soon as we see the boys are taking selfies, everyone wants pics and then there's no mingling. I'm just as guilty. I think they should just have Justin go around and snap candid pics for us instead.
• The boys needed to spread out more. Since they all started in the front of the room, a few girls sitting up front had an amazing time because they had 3 backstreet boys visit. Meanwhile the fans on the side and in the back had no one. And sadly its the fans who played by the rules and patiently waited, ended up getting nothing. The other factor is that some of the boys *cough* Kevin *cough* sat and talked to the same group of girls for like 15-20 minutes. I know that's just Kevin being himself and I'm sure it was awesome for those girls (and I dont fault them at all!) But when there are a couple hundred fans in the room, it just doesn't work. I think staff should've helped manage the boys move around the room better.
• One idea if they were to do this again, I almost envision the event like 'Backstreet Speed Dating'. Every fan has a chair and can't get up, perhaps in small groups at tables. But the idea that there is a set time limit of 5-7 minutes with each group of fans, and when times up, the bell dings, and the boy moves to the next group of fans. I think it would make it fair and eliminate a lot of the chaos we experienced this time around.

Many of my friends, myself included, bought a more expensive cabin JUST for this event..hence the high expectations and unfortunate general outrage when the event fell short. As I said, it was a great concept, as I think many people agreed. I was lucky and at least got a few quick interactions/pics. A lot of people I know essentially paid $1000 for a glass of champagne. I remain optimistic with a few logistical changes it could be a great event in the future.

Dead 7 Screening: Q&A
Before the screening, my roommate told me that she ran into Howie near our cabin door and apparently he complimented our door too. Eeek!! I wasn't even thinking about how the other boys would respond to the door, but that was super nice to hear :)

So I have been literally running from event event all day (not complaining by any means!) and there was still more excitement ahead, thus I continued my Backstreet marathon. Running across the entire length of the ship. Again.

Given I had already seen the movie, the idea that it was a "premier" and something new and special was slightly lost on me. I didn't feel the burning need to be there right when it started. But I understand why Nick wanted to do this event for his international fans who hadn't gotten a chance to see the movie yet. Of course as a Nick girl, you bet I still wouldn't miss this. Particularly because I wanted to hear the Q&A. 
 
I sadly missed the first couple of minutes, and they didn't skip a beat and were well underway in the Q&A. 

Nick making a funny face

Sidebar - just putting on my logistical hat, I honestly don't know why they had the Q&A BEFORE they showed the clip. Wouldn't it make more sense to see the clip and THEN ask questions? Or is that just too practical? So unfortunately the key when I was supershort I think it lasted no more than 10 minutes and I had missed the first few because I was still coming from the last event.

If you have 10 minutes to kill and want to watch (pretty much) the entire Q&A (minus the part I missed in the beginning), here you go:

Start at 7.48 for a funny story

  

My favorite part was when Nick shared one of his ideas about creating a movie based with the following premise:

• Dark Comedy
• Inspired by the Cruise
• A fan kidnaps one of the Backstreet Boys, and according to Nick, "Let's just choose Howie"
• Howie thinks the boys will save him
• The Backstreet Boys hire someone like Liam Neeson to save Howie a la 'Taken'
• The rest of the boys don't care and continue tour and figure out who to replace him with

The last thing I'll mention about this event, I was super duper close to getting picked to ask a question. I was able to capture the attention of the person walking around with a microphone and she was standing right next to me. She literally had the mic pointed in my direction and I was going to be next. However Nick decided to cut the event and put the movie on at that point. So close but so far! I can I can't be the only one who has these sorts of close calls with the boys right? Oh well no big deal but still a bummer.

Blackjack Tournament Finals 
I decided to go to dinner a little late because I wanted to watch the final blackjack tournament. I couldn't pass me up some AJ. As a bystander, I wasn't able to get super close to really see what was going on. But I still enjoyed just watching on and seeing AJ play with some fans.

AJ playing blackjack at the tournament finals

50 Shades of BSB Leather & Lace Deck Party
So one of the last or rather the last events of the cruise was leather and lace night. Queue the sad music that it was the last event :( The guys were running super late for this one and it was a shame because I was so tired. 4 days of chasing the Backstreet Boys around Europe was finally catching up to me. 

Sadly, once again they had to move the event inside due to rain. Which I understand is out of anyone's control. But deck parties are just not the same when they are inside. I was a couple stories up and waiting for the boys to arrive. Eventually I got tired of standing, so I sat down and leaned up against the chair. I remember closing my eyes and my roommate later would tell me that I fell asleep. I didn't think I did, but I don't doubt that it was true.

Me and my roommates waiting for the boys

The boys finally arrives in and entered to the famous Fifty Shades of Grey music. I was still at this point unsure what to expect and where the evening was going to take us. The guys were all on stage and bought a few lucky fans up to interact with the boys.

I just don't even know how to really explain this events if you weren't there but wowser.

Surprisingly AJ disappeared for the first little bit of this event. I would've assumed of all the Backstreet Boys he would've been the most involved and excited about this particular theme party. And on the flipside I thought Brian was more engaged than I thought he would be. This event was interesting for me because I honestly was uncomfortable at points. Even Kevin made a comment about saying that he was done. I enjoyed watching from a far and was just waiting for the boys to make their nightly rounds for selfies.

Door Decoration Contest
So around at some ungodly hour I was tired and wanted to go back to the cabin to just rest for a few moments. And when I went back to the cabin I noticed there was something on my bed. Well lo and behold it there was a note sitting beside 4 bags. The note read…

We won!!

I couldn't believe it we had one the door decoration contest!!! I was almost so happy that I didn't care how ridiculous this handwritten note signed by " - BSB - " was. Seriously though, this looked liked the cabin steward scrawled this out before sliding it under our door.

This was just the icing on the cake because I felt that I had already gotten my prize when AJ came to the door earlier in the cruise. I also felt really good about winning because I was able to showcase my strength as a fan - which is my creativity. Some people can sing, some can dance, some are artistic. I'd like to think I can be creative when I need to be.

Plus, it was very nice to be acknowledged. We did work really hard on that door and I personally think it was probably one of the best ones on the cruise. And just to clarify for any one out there we did not win the year prior.

So we ended up winning a little swag bag of goodies that included stuff that you found in the merch shop. It included a water bottle, a hat, a metal and the tote bag. Heck - it was probably worth $100 or so.

Now Im dying to go find my roommates and share the good news! I scamper back to the atrium and I was able to find a few of them. I casually just slip them over the note and I enjoyed seeing their reaction. So we were all very excited to win!

Later that evening my cabin mates and I found ourselves near AJ as he was making his rounds. I already felt like I had more than enough pictures with AJ but given that we just found out that we won, we thought it would be nice to close out the cruise and just thank him again if we had that opportunity.

As even more AJ luck would have it, we did get the chance to not only get a picture with him but also let him know that we won and we wanted to thank him for picking us as the winners. He exclaimed 'how could it be anyone else.' It was very nice to have that last moment with AJ. That was the perfect way to end the cruise in my mind.

Me and masked AJ

AJ signed our winning notice

So at this point in the evening the crowds are starting to dwindle and the boys were peeling off one by one. I was desperately not wanting the night to end. Brian must've heard my inner dialogue because not soon after AJ left, Brian made his way around the corner. I don't recall saying a lot to him but I was able to get my final pic of the cruise.

My final pic of the cruise

We knew we had an early morning ahead of us and we wanted a few hours of sleep. The next morning we left the ship bright and early. The interesting thing that I would later realize is that the boys actually left after the majority of the cruisers debarked. Typically on Carnival cruises they've historically always been the first off the ship. I have to admit I really did want to get one last glimpse of the boys before I left, but sadly we wanted to get to the hotel. 

Post Cruise
Oh I feel like stepping back onto land after a backstreet boy cruises just such an indescribable feeling. It's just a mix of every emotion you can possibly experience at once. I'm sad that such an amazing event is over. I'm sad that something that I had been looking forward to for over a year had finally come to an end. I'm upset that I won't get to see some of my friends in a long time most likely until the next cruise in some cases. I'm happy for all of the amazing experiences that I was so fortunate to have had. Happy for all the pictures, seeing all my friends, making new memories. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. In a weird way I'm also relieved that I can finally get sleep and give my body some rest.

There's just no other feeling like leaving a BSB cruise.

Overall this was a good cruise for me and I made a lot of great memories. I'm so glad I was able to go on my FIFTH backstreet cruise and experience my first European BSB cruise. Yikes, i'm still in disbelief over the fact that I've been on 5 Backstreet cruises. I never thought in a million years I'd be so fortunate.

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...