My BSB Cruise 2014 Review: Day One

I'm so happy to finally have some time to write my review of the cruise. Compared to my first BSB cruise last year, I would say they both were so much fun and were wonderful vacations. Last year, I preferred the parties better (maybe that had to do with being able to have all of the parties on the deck because the weather was nicer) but this year I had better luck running into the guys. I will say that it was an emotional roller coaster this year filled with all sorts of high and low moments, but I don't regret any of it at all and overall, had the best time!

BSB Cruise 2014: Day One-Friday, October 24th, 2014

After enjoying the yummy breakfast buffet at the hotel that I desperately needed, I packed up my things as quickly as I could and checked out of the hotel. I had the hotel provide me with a cab and ended up sharing a cab with a fellow BSB fan headed to the port. She was very nice, we split the cab ride, and ended up hanging with each other for awhile. Last year, there were gobs of fans in the lobby waiting for buses to take us to the port. I would say that was more fun just because everyone was a BSB fan and was playing BSB music, but I don't think that many people used the hotel as last year so maybe that's why there wasn't anything like that going on this year.

The gloomy view I had during breakfast.

The potatoes and fruit were delicious!

Bacon and cheese omlet.

Port of Miami

It was nice to make it to the Port of Miami early so I could watch the guys board Carnival Ecstasy. I ended up making it there earlier than last year and it was fun to see everyone cheer for BSB and join in on the screaming lol. I didn't take any pictures of BSB, only video to fully capture the excitement!

The view before getting on the ship.

Boarding the Ship!

I ended up taking the boarding picture Carnival does alone, which kind of sucked, and I ended up not buying it because I didn't like my pose so much for $10.

After that, I quickly made my way inside to Carnival Ecstasy's atrium and started looking around. I enjoyed seeing all the BSB decorations, but I noticed they were behind in putting up some of them and there was a lack of BSB music...either that or it was too low. I looked around some more and was trying to participate in the scavenger hunt, particularly Nick's. I ended up hearing that Nick's and Howie's were the only ones not solved and that fans were taking the clues. After checking out some sports memorabilia, the spa, the golf course, and the game area, I quickly gave up because other fans were taking the clues and I had no way of knowing if someone already won. It was still a fun idea though and a nice way to explore the ship.

Had a little fun with this. Nick and I are twinsies lol.

The lido deck drenched in rain :(



The mini golf course. Wish I could have had some time to play.

Towel elephant!
 

After giving the scavenger hunt a good try, I got a bite to eat and seen Howie walk by my table. He seemed happy, but wasn't interacting with fans then. I think he just wanted to quickly get something to eat. It was so nice to see him and I took it as a good sign.

Shortly after, I put up my door decoration for our door. I decided on a "Make Believe" theme where I told a fairy tale story using the lyrics to the song and made up my own beginning and ending. I owe my idea to my librarian side and I also had to incorporate my humorous side with making Jive a two-headed dragon, Lou Pearlman a money-hungry wizard, and Nsync annoying gnomes.

Of course I had to make Nick and I riding on a magic carpet lol.

Even though I didn't get to see a lot of door decorations and there wasn't as many as last year, there were some really great ones that I just couldn't compete with. This one was my favorite!

Sphynkter!

Can I just take this home? lol

Sail Away with BSB Party

Once I was done looking around and eating on the lido deck, I made my way inside to the atrium for the Sail Away with BSB Party. I was bummed that it had to be inside because of the weather, but it still was a lot of fun. The one plus about the bad weather was that when we did the mandatory emergency boat drill, we didn't have to go outside.

Once inside, I ended up with a spot on the main floor to the right of the bar and by the stairway BSB uses. I thought it was a really good spot and was thankful I got it.

When BSB came out in their sailor outfits it was so exciting and they all looked so good :) Nick was trying to shoot confetti out into the crowd and he shot himself instead, then AJ lol. All the guys looked genuinely just as happy as us fans were. It was a nice moment. Nick and Howie ended up pouring champagne for fans and I was lucky enough to get champagne sprayed on me by Nick! It tasted good too. I would have liked to have been one of the lucky fans that got it poured straight into their mouth, but I can never seem to get that close. There's always at least one or two other fans in front of me, making me too far. Still happy I got sprayed on by Nick lol. I was waiting for Lonely Island's "I'm On a Boat" to be played, but they didn't. I thought it was a tradition and should have been played lol. I'm not tired of it haha!

I remember at one point, Kevin mentioned to Nick that it was a like a P. Diddy party and Nick said a White Party. I thought this was funny because I said the same thing about last year's cruise on my Facebook page. It really does feel like a P. Diddy party! lol

BSB making their entrance!

Love this picture of Nick and Kevin!

Howie getting the champagne started!

 

 

After the initial celebration was over, BSB were taking pictures with the fans. I ended up seeing Nick and made my way by him to try to get a picture with him. Well, the crowd was really pushy and tight but we managed to say a quick "hi" to each other. Nick reached for my camera and was able to touch it, but because it was insanely tight, I couldn't move my hand and neither could he so I wasn't able to get a picture. That literally hurt to be that close to a picture, but not get it. I will still say it was worth the pushy crowd to just be able to smile at Nick and say hi.

BSB Loves the 90's Game Show (Group B)

Because of being inside the atrium, I actually got a little sea sick this time around. I was kind of surprised because last cruise I had no issues at all. Fortunately, I didn't throw up but I did end up taking two Dramamine pills and when it kicked in an hour later I was fine for the whole rest of the trip and didn't have to take anymore. I felt if the parties could have been on the lido deck, I wouldn't have even had that feeling. Damn weather. I also had to miss the delicious dinner that night because I wasn't sure if I could keep the food down. Money wasted.

Well, I started getting sea sick during the 90's game show but managed to pull through. This was such a fun idea and I liked all the 90's stuff they had on stage.

I was kind of disappointed in where my roommate and I's seats were for this and the concert because we were on the balcony, but even worse, we were all the way on the left side so we couldn't see straight on and I had a pole directly in front of me. That sucked and I was surprised because we booked the cruise during the pre-sale as soon as we could. I kept trying to dodge between the person's head in front of me and the pole, but it was still nice to be there and somewhat see what was going on lol. Last time we were on the main floor but had the balcony block our view when we stood up for the concert. I guess we have bad luck with our seating. I knew we weren't going to be right up front because we didn't buy the most expensive rooms, but I thought we would have better of a view.

It was still so much fun to see Nick play video games. His face lit up when he was playing and it was cool to see him enjoy himself. I wish I would have gotten picked to play Mortal Kombat with him because I would have tried to kick his butt! My strategy...pushing on all the buttons and hoping I win lol.

Because the group of fans lost to BSB, BSB was able to throw a pie in each of their faces. That was so funny to watch and Nick's fan dodged the pie. I would take a pie in my face from Nick anytime lol. He ended up getting her anyway!

There was also a part where BSB had to jump rope. That was funny to see and Kevin is really good at it!

I enjoyed hearing all the 90's trivia and seeing BSB play the game. It was also funny to see Nick play with all the 90's stuff on stage. They had one of those pin things that takes the shape of whatever you push next to it and Nick was playing with that. I always used to put my hand on those too because it just feels different.

Another cute thing that happened was when BSB first came out, they posed liked they used to in all their 90's posters! That was so much fun to see!

Get Down Studio 54 Night

After the 90's game show, I hung out in our cabin for a bit and then walked around and made my way to the lido deck to feel better. It did help and I was able to find some food, a corned beef sandwich, even though it tasted bad. I just missed the good dinner so that sucked, but I was just happy I was finally starting to feel better. When I felt back to normal, I made my way back into the atrium for the Studio 54 party. I was disappointed this was inside because it just seems more fun on the lido deck and is cooler and less tight, but it was still a lot of fun. I made sure to be on the same floor BSB is on right where the stairway leads down to because I think that's the best spot. It is also probably the most crowded.

I enjoyed hearing the seventies music during the party and it was great to see BSB all dressed up. I liked all their costumes, but I think AJ and Nick had the best ones. I should have stuck to my gut and did the hippy look, but I ended up doing the glam route since it was Studio 54 and not just a seventies party. I was happy with the glitter on my blouse, and the black dress shorts I was wearing was keeping me cool in the big crowd.

Kevin! He's always so much fun! I liked his British accent throughout the party.

 

 I enjoyed hearing most of the 70's music played and got a purple disco ball necklace that Kevin threw out into the audience.

 

I wasn't able to get a free drink that night because I was close to the action, but I didn't really miss that. It's funny because even though I don't drink, I was planning on having a little something and even had a complimentary free drink coupon but everytime I tried to use it, the Carnival people told me I couldn't use it there or at that specific time. It was like the universe didn't want me to drink lol. That was probably a good thing since I was by myself.

 

What I thought was fun about this party was that Nick had a bubble gun and was blowing bubbles into the audience. This added to the atmosphere and will probably be the closest thing to a foam party with BSB lol.

 

Definitely the highlight of the party was being able to get a picture with Nick! It was so hard to get a picture, but thankfully it happened! I think out of all the picture moments I was able to have, this was definitely the most aggressiveness I felt with the other fans. Maybe they were really pushy because it was the first party of the cruise and they were really excited, but even though I expected this, it was still disappointing.

 

I ended up being on the same deck as Nick and made my way to try to get a picture with him. I was able to get really close and eventually was right behind him. A group of girls behind me were pushing me even closer into Nick so they could get their picture and girls kept cutting in front of me to take their picture with Nick. This kept happening and I must have had like at least ten girls cut in front of me and I was starting to get annoyed and was certainly missing the nice, relaxed environment we had at Nick's dinner the night before. I couldn't believe how tight we all were and I still was getting cut in front of with those pushing behind me.

 

Because of the pushing behind me and girls constantly cutting in front of me, I ended up pushed into Mike, Nick's bodyguard, and he looked at me and said "can you stop that?" Well, Mike was very nice at Nick's dinner and even said hi to me when he seen me by the elevators on the cruise before this happened, but this moment bothered me. I understand that he was just trying to do his job and was probably annoyed with all the pushy behavior, but it still rubbed me the wrong way none-the-less. It just sucked to be the one yelled at when everyone else was pushing behind me and girls kept cutting in front of me and getting away with that. I just felt like he yelled at the wrong person. I still respect him for protecting Nick and I'm sure the crappy situation of everyone acting crazy led to this moment so I tried not to let it get to me.

 

After this happened, I ended up getting out of the crowd without a picture because the whole thing was a let down and I didn't want anything like that to happen again. The pushy girls behind me and the ones cutting in front of me quickly moved in. I ended up going to the other end of the deck and just looking around for a bit. After going through what just happened in my mind, I was kind of ticked how I spent time and didn't get a picture. I ended up seeing where Nick was and this time went around the other side to the direction he was walking towards. By this time, I think most of the girls got their picture so it wasn't as pushy. I ended up getting my picture with Nick after all that and it was worth it and made me feel better!

 

 

Overall, an adventurous day for Day One exploring the ship, the Sail Away with BSB Party, BSB Loves the 90's, and Studio 54 Night! 

 

 

Dinner and a Show with Nick in Miami!

Hi all! I feel like it's been so long since I last blogged, but I'm so glad I have some time to write now. I had a blast on both BSB Cruise 2014 and at Nick's show the night before and thought I would write reviews to both share with you and hold onto the memories. Here's my review of Nick's dinner with my cruise experience to follow in a future post.

Dinner and a Show with Nick in Miami: Thursday, October 23rd

Getting a Ticket

A few days before I was to leave for Miami for BSB Cruise 2014, I spotted Nick's tweet about possibly doing a dinner and a show before the cruise. Well, when the event was finally confirmed and tickets were on sale through his website, I quickly bought a ticket. I figured since I never did this kind of event with Nick before and would be in the area, I just had to be there and thought it would be a great way to celebrate the start to my BSB vacation. I was a little reluctant at first because no time and location were announced right away, but it felt a little good to be spontaneous and I figured since I should be in Miami around 2 p.m. that day, I would be okay time-wise. Come to find out that it would be held at the Hard Rock Café. I was happy about that because there's a free shuttle that takes me from my hotel to Bayside Marketplace where Hard Rock is at and last year a friend and I ate there for dinner so I was somewhat familiar with the area. Also, it gave me an opportunity to buy some KISS merchandise for my brother.

As far as price goes, of course it would have been nicer if it was cheaper, but it was the same price as a Nick VIP for Nick & Knight so I thought it was pretty fair.

Welcome to Miami

I had to use a cab service to get to O'Hare Airport and had them pick me up at my house at 5:30 a.m. to make sure I had plenty of time for my 9 a.m. flight. As far as their service goes, they got me from point A to point B, but I could have done without the question probing on the way there. I mean, it was 5:30 a.m. I was not awake and didn't feel like talking lol. Also, I don't understand why the cab driver needed to bring her boyfriend with. Kind of unprofessional, but whatever, I got to the airport.

I didn't have no trouble getting my tickets and checking my luggage, but it felt like forever waiting for my flight to board so I had some breakfast to kill some time. I was really anticipating the Miami palm trees and the cruise so when it was finally time to board, I was happy. It was about a three hour flight that went very well. I even had an empty seat next to me so I was able to have more room. I was enjoying looking at the clouds and listening to music.

When I finally arrived in Miami, I quickly got my luggage and headed for Super Shuttle, noticing that the weather was dreary, windy, and rainy...which sucked. I could have stayed in Chicago for that kind of weather lol. After waiting a little while, I ended up being in a crowded Super Shuttle van and thought since I was the last one to be picked up I would be the last one to be dropped off, but luckily I was the first to be dropped off. The guy did try to charge me more though, but I pointed out how the receipt had a certain price and he changed his tone. At first I thought he wasn't going to give me change and assume that was his tip, but he didn't.

Anyway, I arrived at Marriott Biscayne Bay and was able to check-in early. This was the same hotel I used last cruise and it's the one Rose Tours partners with. It's a pretty good hotel. After I checked out my room with a balcony and king size bed, I grabbed my camera and headed downstairs from the 21st floor to take some pictures. I ended up taking pictures of the hotel's pool and hot tub, which sadly I didn't get to utilize because of the weather and because I had a dinner with Nick to go to lol. I also took some pictures of the stores that are connected to the hotel and had a quick bite at an Italian restaurant. OMG, real imported Italian salami and strawberry gelato...yum! Also, I really enjoyed hearing the husband and wife owners speak to each other in Italian.

View outside my balcony on the 21st floor.

My hotel's pool and hot tub. I wish I could have used the hot tub.

My balcony! I enjoyed the view, but rediscovered I'm afraid of heights.

I see the tail of Carnival Ecstasy!

Oversized chess board. Too bad I don't know how to play.

Puppies! They were at a doggie salon getting pampered.

I wanted to get a palm reading, but it was too much. I wonder if they would have said anything about the cruise???

Took a picture of this place because it reminded me of Nick and his wheatgrass lol.

The Italian restaurant I went to for a late lunch.

Real Italian salami!

Best all-natural strawberry gelato!



Getting to Hard Rock Café

After walking around a bit and checking things out, I changed and made my way to the shuttle bus pickup. After getting rained on, I decided to go back up to my hotel room to retrieve my jacket and tried leaving again. While outside, I heard some fans say that Brian and Leighanne's Wylee vehicle was just outside my hotel picking people up who won the contest they were having to get a ride to their Wylee party. I did enter, but didn't win and decided that I wanted to make my way to Nick's event. It would have been really nice to go to the Wylee event, but there wouldn't have been enough time. I also decided not to see them at the hotel since I thought that would take time too. I was really excited for Nick's event and wanted to get there as soon as I could.

The shuttle came pretty quickly and was crowded because of the downpour, but I did end up getting a seat and a nice older guy told me where to get off at that would be closest to Hard Rock. I took some pictures and after briefly browsing some of the shops, I made it to Hard Rock.



Smiling and all ready to go to Nick's dinner.

Thought this bird was pretty and it's "black and blue" ;)

I Made It!

When I got to the Hard Rock Café, there was about five or so girls in front of me, one of who was my BSB friend Laura who I was very happy to see and it was nice that we were able to chat while waiting to get in. If I remember correctly, I think I arrived around 5 p.m. and we were told to be there by 7 p.m. I'm glad I arrived early and the line quickly got really long. In my mind, when Nick tweeted that it would be intimate, I pictured 50 fans, but I guess that was a naïve thought. I also remember it being tweeted that it was almost sold out so I thought that they weren't going to sell as many tickets, but that was probably a tactic to get more tickets sold. Regardless, I still felt it was intimate.

Me waiting to get inside to see Nick. The wind already screwed up my hair and makeup lol.

I'm Inside!

I was so fortunate to be one of the first ones in and thanks to a good BSB friend, I was able to sit at the table that was right in front of the stage! Inside my head I was flipping out that I had such a wonderful seat for the dinner! This right here made everything worth it.

Had to take a picture of this Metallica memorabilia.

Once our drink orders were taken, we made our way to the buffet. There was chicken tenders, fried chicken, spicy eggrolls, macaroni and cheese, fruit and cheese plates, salad, and some desserts to try. Overall, it was a good spread and looked pleasing to the eye. I didn't get too much to eat and regretted it later that night when I was starving, but I was too nervous to eat knowing Nick would be around soon. I didn't want to have a shovel of food in my mouth when he came to our table lol.

Nick's Here!

Nick came out into the dining area pretty quickly and he started making rounds to each table talking, signing autographs, and taking pictures. Since our table was closest to the stage, we were the last table to get a chance with Nick, but I spent the time eating and watching Nick interact with other fans.

I was trying to think of something to say to Nick while I was eating, but kept getting distracted with watching what was going on and seeing BSB's videos played on tv so I ended up deciding on focusing on the music.

When Nick did get to our table, it was very exciting. After a few fans from our table got their time with Nick, it was now my turn! I was able to exchange hugs with Nick, get a picture of him and I, and then I asked him if he was going to sing "Just Kids." He said that he wasn't but that he should have and then I asked about "Prisoner." He said that he wasn't going to sing that one either. I then said that his show was going to be great and he smiled and went to the next fan. I wish I would have thought of something better to say, but I wanted him to know that I am a big fan of his music, so much so that I know tracks that weren't released, and I wanted him to know that I love those songs (I frequently watch the youtube videos of Nick singing these songs for one of his birthday events he did in the past. Here's a link to "Just Kids" and another to "Prisoner." Be prepared to have goosebumps.)

Nick's at our table! Yay!

Trying to keep my cool lol.

A Nick hug :)

LOL I look so giddy there. So much for playing it cool...

Our photo! Turned out nice! I'm so happy :D

Despite Nick not choosing these two songs to sing during the dinner, I really enjoyed the show...so much so that I think this event might have even topped the cruise for me *gasp!* I say this just because I liked the more relaxed atmosphere with no pushing and shoving and enjoyed having the best seat in the house while watching Nick's soul pour out through his songs. Everyone pretty much behaved themselves at this event, with the exception of some girls sitting on the steps leading up to the stage right in front of me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the cruise but I suppose that could have been worse.

I think it was maybe afterwards with Nick that I was able to ask Mike, Nick's bodyguard for a picture. He was really nice and said of course. I respect him for taking care of our Nick and making sure no one harms him.

Mike and I

Nick's Concert!

After Nick socialized with a few more fans, he got on stage and talked for a little bit. He thanked us for coming and apologized for the crappy Florida weather. He mentioned that some fans were complaining that he was chewing gum and he said it was only because he thought he had bad breath lol. I can't believe someone would tell someone else to stop chewing gum lol. At least I'm glad I didn't say that to him! He also mentioned the cruise and of course a lot of us were going to be going so that was nice of him to bring it up.

I liked the stained glass behind the stage.

Nick!

I love this picture! Nick looks so handsome!

Nick ended up singing seven songs. I wish we could have just stayed there forever and heard Nick sing, but I enjoyed the songs he picked which were "I Got You," "Quit Playing Games," "Falling Down," "I Want It That Way," "Help Me," "Incomplete," and "Halfway There." A good mix of solo songs, BSB, and Nick & Knight and I'm glad he did more solo stuff. I enjoyed hearing "I Got You" because it's from his first solo album and "Falling Down" because it's always an emotional song. "Help Me" was awesome to hear because it brought back memories from the Now or Never tour and I enjoyed hearing "Halfway There" without Jordan lol. Hey, I'm a Nick girl ;)

I was trying to achieve the perfect balance of recording and just being in the moment so I ended up just taking video of each song's chorus because I just wanted to be there and not play photographer. At the same time though, I wanted video to watch later on when I miss hearing Nick sing.

I think I was lucky enough to get some eye contact from Nick while he was singing and that's always surreal to me. Part of me wants to look over my shoulder thinking he must be looking at someone else lol.

At the end of the show, Nick said he loved us and he'll see us on the cruise! He's so sweet! Then he took a group picture of us and video of us that he posted on Twitter. You can see me waving at the end!

Throughout the show, I kept noticing Nick drinking out of his water bottle and then having to throw it down to the ground (can the guy get a small stool to put his stuff on???) so when the show was finished, I ended up asking a nice stagehand guy to give me the water bottle LOL. I know, I kind of felt a little weird asking for it but I figured someone else would have just done the same or it would have gotten thrown out. I guess the guy sensed I felt weird asking because he said that he gets it and would do the same if his favorite artist was just up there. He made me feel better about asking and was nice enough to give me some tape to tape around the top.

I had a little fun with this with my friend and wanted to get a reaction out of her. When I came home from the cruise, I told my friend (same friend who went to Nick's vip with me) that I got the water bottle and that I drank some of it and then poured the rest of it all over my body. She started laughing and asked if I really did that. I asked her what she thought and she said she thought I was joking. I said "was I?" and she started laughing some more. Well, I came clean and told her that yes, I was just joking. She said she knew and then said, good thing you are joking because you would be a weirdo if you did LOL. It was fun to get that response from her! I wish I would have been more convincing though but I kind of cracked up haha!

Back to the Hotel

Well, after the show it was time to get my brother's KISS shirt and pin and then go back to the hotel. It was after 10 p.m. so the free shuttle wasn't an option. I ended up finding a cab and had the singing taxi driver take me back to the Marriott. I really think he purposely took me a little farther out to charge more, but I was just glad to be back at the hotel.

I promise I usually don't take this many pictures of myself lol.

Once I was in my room, I just ended up taking a shower and getting ready to leave for the cruise the next day. I was exhausted already, but was still having a hard time falling asleep because of all the excitement of getting to talk to Nick and hear him sing and knowing I'll be on the cruise the next day. Also, I was starving and there was nothing to eat. When I did fall asleep, I'm sure I had a smile on my face thanks to Nick :)

Thanks for reading and I'll be continuing my posts with my BSB Cruise 2014 review!