Friday, March 25, 2011

We're taking over the FULL boat

Much to my displeasure, we will be getting a full charter this year. They did tell us on last year’s cruise that they wanted to do a full ship, but I was hoping it was only conjecture. I did do a previous post on the full vs half argument but now that I have experienced the half, I can say with 99% certainty I’m very pro- half charter. I reserve that last 1% because I have never done a full charter, and I suppose its unfair to judge something I've never tried. But here are some pros and cons that I can think of for a full charter:

PROS
  • Lots of energy. I'm excited for the deck parties with a full deck full of fans. I suspect it will blow last years' deck parties out of the water (pun not intended)
  • Less door vandalism. I'm hoping that by not having ‘non-fans’ on board there will be a level of respect for all of the door decorations
  • We’ll hopefully get a sail away party. Fans who went on the NKOTB cruise said this was one of the best events, and we couldn’t do that on the half charter last year
  • No non-BSB fans and significantly less kids. I think it will be neat to know everyone on board is as excited to be there as I am and we all have something in common
  • I suspect more decorations, posters, etc around the ship pertaining to the BSB cruise.
  • Hopefully less issues with weather ruining deck parties because we will have the whole ship, allowing them flexibility to move events around if needed
  • Give more fans the chance to go and us the opportunity to meet more fans

CONS
  • Bottom line: More fans = more craziness and less possible face time with the boys
  • Along with my first point, there will be less of a chance to have your special moment with one of the guys. Last year AJ made great strides to knock on fans’ doors and only made it through 2 decks. This year there will be twice as many fans and even less of a chance for moments like that.
  • BSB will have to do all events twice. This mean that you will have to miss events when its not your group. I’ll be so upset if I found out the other groups concert/games was better.
  • There is no ‘non-fan’ buffer to maintain a sense of normalcy.
  • More crowded and less chance to get into events not hosted in the main lounge. Last year many people were denied access to the club on the last night due to room capacity. With 2X the numbers of fans, there will be that many more disappointed fans
  • Possibility of less events all around because they have to do everything twice and only have 3 days to do it in.
  • Events may be more rushed
  • People will miss out on being able to eat dinner in the main dining room with them. I know not everyone was able to last cruise, but I think the majority of the fans did get that experience. With a full charter, a lot of people will not be able to eat with them and enjoy some of their interactions in between courses. And this is assuming they will even have the luxury to join us for dinner at all. I could see them being too busy since they now have to do all events twice.
  • I suspect that they will be more drained all around due to the sheer amount of people, number of events they have to do, and lack of time spent with their family
  • Due to my prior point, I'm worried that they will not be around the ship as much for a potential chance encounter. And those are the best! I loved standing innocently in line for some french fries and chicken fingers and then I see Howie walk by. And try not to judge me on the fried food, but I cant help that its delicious, free, and available practically 24/7.
  • With 2 groups there’s a good chance your friends may be in a different session for the events, photos, and even dinner.
  • Too much estrogen on board. This scares me a little. lol

I’m trying not to be too biased here, but its hard not to. As I said, I haven’t experienced the full charter yet so hopefully I won't be too disappointed. I sure hope I'm wrong! What do you guys think? I need someone to help me come up with some more pros!

2 comments:

  1. I have to agree with you on all of your points!!! I would have rather it was a half charter like last time but like you said its hard to judge because I've never been on a full charter...we'll just have to wait and see how it goes!!!

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  2. Being with the Backstreet Boys is one thing, but being on THE BOAT with them is uber cool! I’m sure the fans went absolutely crazy during the whole cruise. For a fanatic, partying and being close to their idol is a dream come true. And the beautiful view of the sea is an added bonus. Maybe the boys of BSB would do some activities next time, like fishing and sailing with their fans. Sounds fun, right?

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