Trip of a lifetime -cruising with NKOTB!

I don't even know where to start. So much happened on this trip that I don't know that I've remembered it all. I really didn't know what to expect as I had never even been on a cruise before. I decided to take it all in stride and think of it as just a vacation and that served me well.

Sail Away Day - The atmosphere on the boat was electric. Everyone is just super excited to be on the boat. We dropped our stuff off at our room and grabbed some lunch. While sitting there eating Donnie came by. I didn't rush him but he and I locked in an intense eye stare that continued while he hugged other people then he waved. I was happy with that as I wasn't expecting to run into him at all. Then I stand up to get some water when I spot Danny taking pictures. I let my roommate know as he's her favorite. She headed that way and waved me to follow so I could take their picture. It was great to run into some of the boys before we left. It felt more real that this was happening and we were sailing with the New Kids.

The sail away party is just something you have to witness. Seeing the pictures from previous cruises doesn't do the sail away party justice. We grabbed a spot on the lido deck and preceded to dance and talk to people while the boat pulled out of port. The guys were in good spirits and ready for a weekend of fun & sun!

After the sail away party it was Group B's turn to see the game show Double Dare. The guys were broken into 2 teams with some fans. I don't know if the guys couldn't hear or what but they really didn't understand the rules. Watching Joey complain about the points and Donnie completely confused was hilarious. The last game was one of my favorites. The team of Donnie, Danny & Jon had to dress in woman's clothes and then relay and dress their teammates until everyone had dressed in these clothes. First Danny called suspect on the Crocs and refused to play (he eventually played). Then they all got a kick out of the bra that was in the box. Donnie's reply, "I've never held one this big". Those boys are too much.

The first night theme was 80's night. My roommates and I went as the Robert Palmer video girls. It was a hoot! We got a lot of compliments. Funny thing is there was another group dressed like the Robert Palmer video girls but from a different video. The night was a lot of fun and a great way to start the cruise.

Half Moon Cay - What a beautiful private island. Blue water & white sandy beaches, what more could you ask for? We took our tender over to the island and grabbed drinks before settling in the hot sun for the show.

Now I know a lot of people were not happy with the concert being on the beach. I didn't have feelings one way or the other. I packed up some water, my hat and some sunscreen and settled into my spot with my girls. We had a pretty good spot on the side of the stage which proved to be perfect for seeing the show. Before the concert started Donnie, Joey and Jordan came out with super soakers and shot water into the crowd. Donnie scored a direct hit at me. Then he pointed at me and said, "You in the hat, I got you". That he did! The guys were true sports standing out there singing and dancing in that hot sun. The plus side of it being super hot...shirtlessness!

After the concert we splashed around in the ocean and just cooled off from standing in the hot sun. We grabbed one more drink before heading back to the boat. Back on the boat we gathered our selves and got ready for pajama/toga night and watching the Season finale of Blue Bloods. We grabbed a spot on the lido deck (near one of the stages) and waited for the show to start. Donnie came out before and thanked us all for our support. It was good to see him emotional about the show and show a different side. They played a outtake reel that was very funny. Watching the show with Donnie was surreal. He said he doesn't normally watch the show he just reads twitter while it's on. Thus was born the hashtag just sayin' that everyone has been saying. Donnie was making commentary during the commercials. The season finale was very good. Probably my favorite episode of the whole season.

The guys were dressed up in togas and I have to say they looked pretty good. The best part was listening to Donnie and Joey while they were introducing the guys. Donnie gave them all Roman names and it was too funny.

Thanks to camping out for Blue Bloods we had a pretty close spot to the little stages in the crowd. Of course it was my luck that Donnie went to the other stage but that's ok because Danny and Jordan came to the stage we were on. My roommate was able to get the Danny autograph she has been wanting for 20 plus years. I was able to get a Jordan and a Danny autograph. There was a fight a little later in the night once the guys had gone back up their main stage but we didn't let that dampen our spirits. We kept dancing the night away.

Nassau - We got up and headed off the boat to see the sights of Nassau and visit Atlantis. Atlantis was huge and beautiful. I would love to stay at Atlantis if I were ever to go back to the Bahamas. We walked around, did some shopping and then headed back over to the port. There were some local venders so we walked around their tables. After we were shopped out we headed back to the boat for some food and a nap (which I never got since Jared came on the speaker system right as I was about to fall asleep).

This night was our groups night for the Acoustic Wood/Broadway Joe Show. The Acoustic Wood show was good. Danny was a little emotional with it being his birthday. He sang 30 minutes of songs. Now the Broadway Joe Show was something else. First of all he came out in a cage because well, he's a hot mess. He sang a whole bunch of broadway songs that he performed over there years even a song he sang in Wicked. Joe is an amazing performer. It is in his blood. He was born to perform and it shows when you see him.

Tonight's theme was pink night for breast cancer awareness and it was Danny's birthday. I have to say of all the nights this was my favorite night. All the guys were in high spirits. Danny was in a great mood for his birthday. It was just a good atmosphere. This time we staked claim near the other stage. I of course knew Donnie would go to the other stage...and he did. Luckily he came back to the other one (more on that in another blog). They guys gave Danny a birthday cake. We all sang him Happy Birthday. To raise money for breast cancer they had a "dance" for a donation. We got to the lido deck about 7:30 and continued to dance until 5:30 in the morning. It was a blast! Even Jordan and Joey came into the crowd and had a dance party with us.

Day at sea - This was the day we had been waiting for. We woke up after a few hours of sleep to get ready for our photo. Our group lucked out. As we were all walking down to the line a girl needed a group and joined us. Now, the rule was supposed to be if you had a group of 10 you were to get in line. Sadly most people didn't listen to that rule and I think this is what caused the line to take so long to go through. We stood in line for 3 and half hours! As we were going in to the room the guys were in Earl stepped in front of me and is pointing at himself. I looked up at him and he said, "hug"? I said, "sure". Earl gives the best hugs. So I walked to meet my group and wait to walk up to the stage. The groups were going so fast. We probably had about a minute on stage with the guys. Finally it was our turn. We had decided to get in the orderthe guys were on stage so the Jon girls went first as he was last on the stage. I was the very last one up. As I walked up Donnie grabbed my hand and pulled me on stage next to him. He hugged me and gave me a kiss and said, "It's good to see you baby". Then I heard the camera man say OK. I turned to the camera and smiled. Now the whole time they are taking the picture Donnie is whispering in my ear. "Oh that feels good, that feels nice", all the time he's squeezing me closer. I'm sure I'm smiling like an idiot in my picture. When it was all over he said, "Thank you and I'll see you later baby". My friend who was on the other side of him commented that she wasn't looking so Donnie had the photographer take another picture of the three of us. That moment with Donnie was worth standing in line.

We went back to the room and put on our swimsuits and headed up to the lido deck. Time to hang in the sun and take in Jordan's Stretchify. We ordered drinks and took in the sun...until it started to rain. Luckily it didn't rain for too long. Right before Jordan came out the sun started to shine. We didn't stay for the whole Jordan set but the parts we saw were very entertaining. There were people actually doing the stretches but most people were just taking pictures and video.

Tonight was the last themed deck party so we headed back to get dressed in our Red Carpet finery. The guys came out looking very nice in their suits and tuxes. Joey was actually wearing a normal outfit for once. There had been crowd surfing every night so tonight was no different. Joey said he wanted to crowd surf in a tux...and he did. Donnie & Jordan followed him. The party started off slow but after awhile Donnie came down to one of the stages and stayed there for hours dancing and entertaining. I wanted to stay until the very end but one by one my roommates were heading back to the room. I went back to the room, changed and headed back down to the deck. I arrived just in time for the last song of the night, One Song. And just like that 4 days of partying on a big boat in the middle of the ocean with New Kids on the Block had come to an end.

What an amazing trip! I'm so glad I went on this boat. I had a blast with my girls. I can't wait to do it all over again.

See you on NKOTB Cruise 2012!