NKOTB
Raleigh NC
July 2017
Entering the VIP:
This turned out to be a night I will never ever forget thanks to Donnie, Jordan, Joe, Jon and Danny! NKOTB has always done one of the best VIP experiences in my opinion. The only thing I really, really wish they would change is make it mandatory groups of 5 instead of 10. It’s so hard to find 10 people that will be happy with who they end up standing with. We had a full group for Raleigh but, a side note, I went to the Charlotte show as well and that was a total and complete cluster. The VIP management was not verifying groups before letting people in which resulted in our group of 10 being totally split up which wasn’t right at all. Back to Raleigh, we finally got in out of the heat and entered the party room which was set up great with all kinds of photo op props, the bar was open and they had some snack foods.
They started lining us up for our photos and as always the experience was awesome with the guys. Once all the group photos were done those of us that had the Ultimate upgrade were lined back up (we had an interaction just us and the guys). I love that they give this option! I entered and was met by Danny and Donnie. I was joking around with Donnie saying you always tell me to remind you to follow me on twitter but, you never follow. Little did I know at that time that Jordan was doing a FB live so Donnie’s face lights up and next thing I know Donnie is live following me on twitter after all these years on Jordan’s FB live. The entire experience had me laughing harder than I had in years! Joe was commentating, Jordan and Donnie were being absolutely hilarious. I quite literally had the time of my life in that 5-10 minutes I was with them. They all made me feel so special and really after the year I had to that point I needed a great laugh and they sure delivered.
Show: I had a pit ticket for the Raleigh show and then had a lower bowl seat for Charlotte. The pit is always such a crap shoot. I ended up with this very tall, very drunk woman in front of me when they were on the inside stage and didn’t really have any interaction when they were on the outer stage. In retrospect I probably should have done the bar stools like last tour. The lower bowl seat in Charlotte was ok and we did have interaction with Donnie when he was returning to the stage one time.
Final Verdict: NKOTB does it right, they always have in my opinion. In past blogs I have talked about the cruise. I would say if given the chance to only do one, I would always chose the VIP at one of their concerts. They are all such nice guys, the personal interaction you have with them is just second to none in my opinion. I have loved them since I was 15 years old and still love them today. As with a lot of other blogs I have done on other artists the VIP staff can either make or break your experience. In Raleigh it was totally fantastic, in Charlotte it was a poor experience the way they handled check in, the groups, not caring when several organized groups of 10 were split up.
Suggestion: Please switch this group of 10 to groups of 5! It would take away the one constant stress when doing your VIP’s. It might actually go faster because you don’t have to spend an hour trying to get a group of 10 and make 10 people happy who they are standing next to.
Fun concert wear!
Bebe: http://www.bebe.com/
Nordstrom: http://shop.nordstrom.com/
White House Black Market: https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/
Coach: http://www.coach.com/shop/women-wristlets
Until Next Time,
Xoxo
Heather
NKOTB Cruise! I really have never been one that is into cruising. I am usually the type that prefers an all-inclusive beach vacation but, I have seen how much fun these charter cruises are. This year I booked ahead and stayed with a friend of mine and it was absolutely an improvement this year to be in a cabin with the balcony.
One thing that became very obvious to me again in the first hours of being on the ship was the extreme selfie madness that was about to happen. It almost became this challenge. Can you get a selfie with each New Kid and it left you feeling like if you didn’t you were some sort of cruise failure. It truly took away from a lot of the theme nights in my opinion. It was also frustrating when you were waiting or wanting to get a selfie with a New Kid to see someone else that had already had 5 with them were trying to get in for another one. All you saw were cell phones in the air and it’s almost like those circling the various stages cared less about the performance of the guys and more about pushing their way into location to get a selfie. I ended up getting a selfie with 2 out of the 5 this year. It was fun to be a part of Donnie’s World Record breaking selfie line. He did it officially this year!
The rest of the time on the ship you were kept entertained with NKOTB Game show which was funny and it was nice to see the guy’s fun personalities shine. They were really funny and a just a bit naughty this year. We also had a concert one night and were able to check out a taping of Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Sexy Funny Sirius XM show that she taped on the ship. There were a lot of fun surprises that occurred during that taping with guest appearances by the guys. I was excited to see the Trifecta added to the schedule this year with Danny, Joe and Jordan. I just wish each guy had equal time singing solos. I loved the Solo Wood portion, Jordan’s time was pretty short and he is amazing and Joe and Adam Ray also kept us entertained. I will also say I missed Duets at Dusk this year, last year it was such a touching part of the cruise.
The day we got off the ship we were in Cozumel. I had the worst sea legs so ended up getting back on the ship and laying out.
The ship smelled really bad this year too and I thought the food and service in the dining rooms was just ok. Guy’s Burger place on the Lido desk however was very good! I also think Carnival needs to vastly improve the wifi on the ship. It’s a good amount of money to pay for something that works insanely slow. The boarding process this year was a lot smoother going out of New Orleans!
Tips for cruise virgins:
I have to say they keep you busy and by the end of the trip you will be more exhausted than you ever have been in your life. Donnie Wahlberg especially I am convinced never sleeps. The photo below is the oath Donnie has everyone do together at the sail away party.
One thing that became very obvious to me the in the first hours of being on the ship was the extreme selfie madness that was about to happen. It almost became this challenge. Can you get a selfie with each New Kid and it left you feeling like if you didn’t you were some sort of cruise failure. It truly took away from a lot of the theme nights in my opinion. It was also frustrating when you were waiting or wanting to get a selfie with a New Kid to see someone else that had already had 5 with them were trying to get in for another one. All you saw were cell phones in the air and it’s almost like those circling the various stages cared less about the performance of the guys and more about pushing their way into location to get a selfie. I ended up getting a selfie with 4 out of the 5. I never had an opportunity with Danny. Joe, I thought did something great, after one of his performances he said I will be sitting in X spot anyone that still needs a selfie with me line up and he sat there for an hour or more but, everyone got their selfie in a much more controlled environment.
The day we got off the ship and had the Grand Turk Pool Party was just ok. I thought it was a very short time period the guys were there interacting and just didn’t seem to be well organized. I am not sure what I was expecting as a first timer. I know they tried to deal with the selfie madness by doing pool games and the winning team got a selfie but, then other games were played and the winning team never received the selfie.
It was wild too on the last night to stay up and party and dance with Donnie all the way into port. Many of the other guys turned in at various points in the night. Jon and Donnie both kept it going all the way until the sun came up. It was quite the experience.
Tips for cruise virgins: