Boarding Matchbox Twenty Cruise - 340/365

Today was boarding day for our Matchbox Twenty Cruise! 

We couldn't wait to get on the ship! We got over to the terminal and were escorted right to the desk. The lady handed each of us a tiny envelope with a wrist band inside. We knew we were guaranteed the first three rows, but didn't know exactly where we would be. I pulled out the wrist band and started SQUEALING! We were FRONT ROW! How awesome was THAT! 

When we walked on the ship, our jaws just DROPPED! They had these HUGE banners of Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls hanging in the atrium! They were awesome! 

We took some pictures, then wandered a little bit around the ship. We stumbled on the theater where the concerts would be, so we went in to try to find our seats. I got down to the front. Then, got thrown out, by the road crew of Matchbox Twenty, because they were trying to set the stage for later. Ooops! On the ship 10 minutes and already getting in trouble! 

After getting tossed, we decided to hit the lido deck for a snack and some drinks! They were walking around with these drinks called the "Real World", after one of MB20's most famous songs. They were really pretty and in these awesome MB20 Cruise glasses, so we HAD to have them. I said I'd get the first drinks. We were all howling when he brought the bill and it was $60.00 for three drinks. OMG! They were so worth it, though! 

 As we were sitting there, we noticed, Joe Bachman, from the supporting third band, walking by. Jennifer and I happened to know who he was, because he opened for Sister Hazel this summer in Cleveland. None of us really enjoyed him back then, so we were like, UGH! We decided to get a picture with him anyway. LOL! We kind of felt bad, because he was really nice, and really happy that someone actually recognized him. 

After our snack and drinks, our room was ready, so we went to check that out. On our way, we realized the elevators had these awesome Matchbox Twenty skins on them! TOO COOL! 

Our room was AWESOME! It was nice and big and we had a really cool balcony! Nana ended up sleeping on the huge pull out couch. Jenny was the middle twin bed. We called it her own private island. I, was the other twin bed by the wall. They even had a channel that played every Matchbox Twenty video they made. We tuned to that channel and left it on. It was so fun just hanging around the room watching and listening to old songs! We were really happy with everything!

Finally, it was time for the sail away party. What a good time this was! They had the tunes cranking!! Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls made an appearance as well! They thanked everyone for coming on the cruise and promised an amazing vacation. They talked for a few minutes, then started shooting off these air guns loaded with confetti. It was GREAT! 

Next up, we were off to dinner. The food was GREAT! We were all pleased with our meals. Dessert was pretty good, too! Jennifer got an awesome orange cake! It was bright orange, too! Scrumptious! 

Finally, it was time for our song writers session. We were SO EXCITED! It started a little bit late, but it was worth the wait! They talked all about their songs, and played some awesome clips from when they are just jamming, trying to get it to come together. We were HOWLING! 

At one point, Rob Thomas looked RIGHT AT JENN and asked, "Are you having a good time?" It was so funny! 

They started a little Q&A session next and I actually got to ask a question! They had talked earlier about how they are brutally honest with each other during song writing. Since, everyone has songs they hate, dislike, kinda hate and so on, I asked if there were any songs they have recorded, that their families disliked? I was so nervous when I was handed the microphone. We had our Matchbox Twenty Cruise shirts on, that Nana had made, and Rob Thomas said, "Oh no. This is going to be serious, they have effing t-shirts." LOL! It was too funny! In answer to the question, they talked about their kids and how they are all pretty much unimpressed with the rock star life. They said when the smaller kids, go on tour with them, instead of going to the show, they ask to stay on the bus and watch TV. How funny..what a life! 

During the songwriters session, every band member the entire hour and a half drank wine. It was so funny. They had this girl that would bring out more wine when they needed it. Kyle even snuck of the stage to use the bathroom. They are all just so down to earth. At the end of the session, Rob Thomas stayed to sign some autographs. I didn't really have anything, so I handed him my phone. The case on my iPhone used to have Mickey on the back, but it had rubbed off, so it was completely white. He signed his name in silver sharpie. It was AWESOME! We kept laughing because his signature actually looked like it said, "Judy." 

This evening was the Goo Goo Dolls concert. We REALLY enjoyed their show. It was outside on the lido deck. What an unbelievable place to have a concert. Floating in the ocean, stars above, listening to a great band. We were actually starting to feel pretty bad that we put up a stink about the Goo Goo Dolls being included in the cruise. It wasn't that we disliked them, we just didn't want them taking away any MB20 time. Turns out GGD were really were adding a lot! It was FUN! 

After the GGD concert, we were just hanging around the lido deck, enjoying the DJ, when all of a sudden, Paul Doucette, was up on the next balcony jamming on a set of drums that glowed. He and another guy just pounded away. It was SO AWESOME! You could tell he was feeling pretty good from all the wine he consumed earlier in the evening. When the other guy was playing, he jumped up and sat on the railing right above us. We were so afraid he was going to tip backwards and fall down to our level. Actually, he ended up falling the other way. When he jumped down, he lost his footing and fell right into a chair. It was so funny! 

At this point, it was pretty late, so we decided to call it a night. We wanted to save our energy for our day in Nassau and our MB20 concert the next night! 

 Meanwhile, back at home, Jim and Reagan were continuing on their adventure without me. Jim had to go into work today for a little bit, so Jim's mom came to get Reagan for the day. When Jim got home from work, they all had dinner together over her house. They had ice cream for dessert which made Reagan super happy! 

The funniest photo of the day is....us with Joe Bachman

Our fabulous drinks...

And, my "Judy" phone. The blob above the "J" used to be Mickey's foot.

Finally, ROB!

Jim and Reagan's adventures - Reagan enjoying dessert with Grandma and Papa.

 Eppie Adventure - Sitting over the door.