Monday, August 30, 2010

100 Days!!!!!

Hey Cruisers!!!

How excited are you guys?? We are exactly 100 days away from cruising with our Boys!!! Yay!! Just to get you even more excited (as if that is even possible!!), here's a post from the nKoTb Cruise Blog about eating on board:

Breakfast:
With the drinking and all-night parties, nothing beats scheduled room service. Hang your order on your door at night, and you can get coffee, cereal, fruit, toast, or yogurt delivered at the time of your choice. However, I seem to remember the latest time being around 9:30, so you can't sleep in too long. We did this every morning to get coffee and juice. Otherwise it would have been difficult to get out of bed.

After we showered and dressed, we went upstairs to hit the breakfast buffet next to the pool. Breakfast buffets are my favorite kind of buffets. Scrambled eggs, pancakes, french toast, fruit, potatoes . . . I'm getting hungry writing about it. Of course they also had bacon and sausage if you're into that kind of thing. I believe this lasted until 11 a.m.

Inside near the shops there was a coffee bar that offered lattes and cappuccinos, but those were an additional cost.

Lunch:
We didn't get around to eating lunch until after 3 p.m. both days. There are two buffets: one next to the pool and a larger one inside. The one next to the pool offered hamburgers and chicken sandwiches. Not much for vegetarians.

The larger buffet had a full salad bar, a hot bar with various meats, sides, and apps, the pizzeria, a dessert table, and an ice cream machine. I was a big fan of the salad bar. I seem to remember some kind of broccoli slaw that was particularly good.

From room service, you could order deli sandwiches or salads. There was also a sushi bar near the casino, but I never saw it open.

Dinner:
If you managed to stay on schedule and eat at either 6 or 8 p.m. you could go to the dining room for multi-course waiter service. The portions were tiny, but you could order as much as you wanted. You get a choice of six starters, a couple of salads, and six or seven main courses.


The inside, large buffet was also reset for dinner. They seemed to have most of the same dishes as what was in the dining room, but in buffet form. They also had the pizza and ice cream. Unless you really hate getting up in the middle of your meal, I think the buffet is the better option. For one, when you're getting a fruit salad, you can give yourself more than half a strawberry. And the dessert table has the same chocolate lava cake you get in the main dining room. This was available until 9 p.m.

Room service was limited for dinner. Same sandwiches and salads they had at lunch. Still, if you're in your room getting ready for the night, it could be the way to go.

Late Night:
At midnight, they'd reopen the buffet near the pool. I remember Friday night was Mexican night. I don't know if the other nights had themes. Since I didn't get around to eating dinner till around 9 p.m., I never hit this buffet. The pizzeria and room service were available 24 hours a day.


The only problem with eating onboard is finding time to do it. You may find yourself stuck in line during meal times, and staying up all night tends to throw off your schedule. Still, the food is there and decent when you can get to it. Worst case, you eat pizza and ice cream for three days, and there's nothing wrong with that!

[Taken from nKoTb Cruise Blog]

Now, that might not be exactly the same as our cruise, but it should give you an idea of what will be available to eat onboard! Yum!!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Budgeting

Hey Cruisers! It's nearly the end of the summer, so I figured it was time for a budgeting post! :)

This is taken directly from the nKoTb Cruise blog
, so anything different for us will be noted in red.

There's a lot more that has to be budgeted. Keep all this in mind as you plan for the next few months.
  • Remaining balance: The total of your cabin less the $700 we've already paid ($300-1800)
  • Flights: Have you booked yet? (~$200-700 depending on where you're flying from)
  • Transportation to/from FL airport: $30-75
  • Transportation/parking at home airport: $0 if you're lucky, up to $200 if you're not
  • Hotel: One night, split with a roommate, probably $100
  • Passport (if you need it): $100
  • Clothes: Pre-cruise party, theme nights, swim suits, daywear, shoes. . . let's be serious. $200-700
  • Drinks, photos, shore trips, misc on board: ~$150
  • Other (door decor, travel toiletries, pre-cruise mani/pedi, etc): ~$150
Maybe some of my estimates are a bit high. I live in one of the most expensive areas of the country, so I'm rounding up. For example, I know parking at JFK costs a lot more than it does at the Pittsburgh airport. And you certainly don't HAVE to spend anything on clothes or get a pedi before the trip, but chances are you will.

Where does that put our totals?

At the low end: You're in a category 4 room, have a ride to the airport, don't need a passport, and are very good at keeping a budget. $1150

At the high end: You booked a suite, have an expensive flight, and will spend $300 on the perfect theme outfit if necessary. $4000

Did you read that and think, "Katie, you are crazy. NO way I will be spending $300 on a dress. Put me in the $1150 group." Well, I would have said the same thing to you last year. And how much did I spend on my white dress two weeks before we sailed because I was getting frantic to find something white and flattering? $300. (Note to TPTB: If we do white night again, I'm wearing that same dress.)

[Taken from nKoTb Cruise Blog]

So, Cruisers, does anybody have any suggestions for budgeting? Have you already purchased your plane tickets? Where is everybody staying in Miami? Without the themes yet, has anybody bought any cute clothes yet? Let's compare notes, Cruisers!! :)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Second payment is today!

Today is July 1st, and we all know what that means!! :) The second payment is due today, so hopefully everybody is ready! It really makes me excited to know how close we are getting!! :)

As of this morning, my payment still hasn't been taken from my account. So, I'm not sure when Rose Tours is going to automatically take it, since I heard it was suppose to happen at midnight? According to the nKoTb cruise blog, the second payment varies on when it is taken out, so I guess we will have to wait and see!!

UPDATE: The money hasn't left my account yet, but it is a pending charge, as of 10:07 am. Anybody else have their money taken or a pending charge yet?

UPDATE (Again): The money left my account today (07/02). :) @SarahMcTamney also tweeted me that hers left yesterday, and Rose Tours even called her just to double check. Anybody else? :)

Waitlisters MelMuff (#2471), Melissa (#2541), Carrie (#2554), Emelita, and Kate were all called (and accepted!!), so don't get discouraged if you're on the wait list!! It also appears they are going in order on the wait list, based on what I have heard so far!

The spot in Gissell cabin has been filled by @nonoebel1103, but I haven't heard about the spot in Saldawgli9979's cabin. Also, @Swayshay is looking for a spot in the cruise, if anybody has a roommate who drops out.

Hope everybody has a great day! Only 160 more days!!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Get excited, waitlisters!!

The wait list calls have started!! :)

Laura and Abbey (#2433) were called (and accepted!) today, and their wait list number was 2433! Congrats, girls!! :)

I also saw on the Facebook group that another waitlister (Rorey) was called (and accepted!), and their number was in the 2000s.

Also, there are two different girls looking for new roommates on the fan club:

Gissell is looking for a new roommate. She has a 6C oceanview quad cabin. The other cruisers are all girls with ages 22, 19, and 26. Two of the girls live in Florida, and Gissell lives in Pennsylvania. She is looking for somewhere to fly down to Florida with, but anybody would work. :) As far as I'm aware, she hasn't found a new roommate yet, so contact Gissell or leave a comment here, if you're interested!!

Saldawgli9979 is also looking for a new roommate. I believe she's in a double, but I'm not sure. Again, as far as I'm aware, she hasn't found a new roommate yet, so contact Saldawgli9979 or leave a comment here, if you're interested!! :)

So, if you're on the wait list, and you receive a phone call (and accept or decline!), leave a comment or tweet @bsbcruise!! :)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Cruise Article

Hey hey Cruisers!! :)

Somebody retweeted this article today, and I just had to share a small tidbit that might get you even more excited for the cruise (As if that was even possible!!):

Whose idea was the upcoming Backstreet Boys Cruise?
AM:
It was a collective idea. We've been talking about it for years now, because we've heard other artists have done it, like New Kids on the Block. It's something cool for us to do with our fans. Whether it's having a pool party or a gambling night...we're doing a full concert with our dancers. We might do some weird things. I heard some rumors that New Kids went as a group and knocked on fans' doors to say hi and hang out.

Read the rest of the article here.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Six Months!! :)

Hey cruisers!!

I can hardly believe the cruise is only six months away! So, in honor of this eventful day, let's keep a few things in mind...

The second payment is due July 1st, which is about three weeks away! Hopefully everybody is budgeting and is ready for the payment!

Waitlisters, don't lose hope! It seems that the calls will start soon after this second payment, as a few will probably drop out then!

Not that I need to tell you this, but since we are the peak of summer, it would be a great time to pick up a new bikini or some summer clothes! I know I'm keeping an eye out for anything that is super cute to wear on the cruise!!

Another thing to keep in mind is flights down to Miami, so if you haven't already booked, here's a few tips from the nKoTb Cruise blog concerning which airport to fly into:

Already looking at flights? You may have noticed that fares into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) tend to be cheaper than those into Miami (MIA). Rose Tours lists FLL as one of the airports to fly into, so it seems like a no-brainer to take the cheaper flight, right? Not always.

FLL is about 20 miles from the Port of Miami. MIA, on the other hand, is 6 miles. So what you save in airfare may be much less than what you spend to get to the port from FLL.

In a later post, I'll cover transportation options from either airport to the port, but in general, FLL is only a better option when the flight is more than $50 less than one into Miami AND you are traveling with a group. If you're traveling alone, it would need to be more than $100 less to save you money. Shuttles from FLL are available but many require at least two people to make a reservation. (You then have the added step of finding/waiting for your shuttle.)

If your friends are flying in at different times, or if you don't want the extra bother of reserving shuttles, taxis are the way to go. Taxis from FLL are about $75 + tip. If you've got 3-4 people sharing a ride, that could still make the FLL fare better. On the other hand, taxi fares from MIA are around $20.

Good luck booking!

[Taken from the nKoTb Cruise Blog]

Saturday, May 29, 2010

North American Concert Tour

...starts today! :)

Just for fun...

How many of the cruisers are going to a concert this summer?
Which one(s) are you going to?
How many are you going to?
Are you doing any of the VIPs?

Leave a comment! :)