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DLF CRUISE

Date: Dec 05, 2002
Submitted By: Jenn

My question is this.....why is it those who are complaining and *itching, you aren't able to reply to thier review? Just an observation?

I was there..I had a blast, even though I wasn't able to compete in the kareole contest, well because I didn't get picked, am I whinning and moaning aboutit..NOPE! I am also embarrassed for those who feel the need to post the fact that they had "words" with certain family members....I forgot, I guess you never have or had a stressful day, you have to enlighten us to you secret to "not EVER being stressed" IF you had them, fine, but I'm lost on the need to publizied them, I guess we need to feel like we accomplished something (yes, this is sarcasm!). Personally, what I think is this....Those who are whining about stuff being diorganized must realize that yes, things did have a tendancy to run on "Howie" time, but carnival also had stuff that they had planned for that room (or any room that we had a planned event in,) at a specific time and the weren't gonna disrupt that to accommodate our little group, so lets see how well you do at getting 300 plus people together and then get everyones picture taken and have an exchange with Howie all in a span of a little over and hour, maybe and hour and a half! Perhaps you are alittle irrked at the fact that you didn't have carte blanche to Howie. Perhaps you didn't get the chance to have your whatever signed.

To those who submitted your reviews fairly and objective, yes their is some validity to what you wrote,however last year we had a show, meet and greet/auction..that's it. This year was a learning experience as far as activites, and next time things will probally run different. I think things went fine and even if they didn't at times the oh, well, the visual of Howie doing that balloon thingy will keep me giggling for months!.

I had a great time as I stated in the beginning and I will continue to support each DLF function!

Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 03, 2002
Submitted By: Jane Schneider

I titled this the Dorough Fiasco not only because it sounded good, but because there we were out in the middle of the ocean floundering. I will try to keep my rantings to a minimum. I’ve read all of your submissions and I wrote my own and then I changed it. When I reread what I wanted to post I felt bitchy and not very appreciative. I will say this...I had a great time. There is much to be learned though.

Day by Day

Saturday...I won’t bore you with the airport delays and the security checkpoint hassles...but once we got on the ship we wandered to the Big Easy Lounge to get our information packets and the week’s rundown. I got the Steve Madden bag and let me tell you...it had some cool stuff in there. The Buddy Lee headphones were cool...I spent several hours on deck listening to Miami Radio with them. Since I’ve been home my cats have chewed them apart...so I’m bummed about that. Anyway...we also received a DLF T-shirt...nice touch. This is when things began to take a nasty turn. I’m standing in line(I seemed to do that alot that weekend) behind this young woman with too much makeup and really big hair and I overhear her whining that Nick cancelled again. She went on to whine about this for nearly 10 minutes. When I could take it no longer I reminded her that we were not here to see Nick...after all this was not the Carter Lupus Foundation. I told her that she needed to remember that this was Howie’s thing. She didn’t think much about what I had to say...oh well. That’s when I ran into Chelsea. She’s Howie’s neice and she was in charge of the events. Okay...she’s very young and she should never have been given total control of the events because it was evident that she could not shoulder the stress of the position. She overheard me telling the ‘Nick fan’ that this was for Howie and she seemed even more angry.

Okay so dinner was the next thing. I made some new friends and for that I will be greatful to the DLF. Malissa, Marla, Betty and Jocelyn turned out to be alot of fun. We wound up hanging together on the ship and went to all of the shore excursions together. Even if I hadn’t met Howie or had my picture taken with him...I’m glad I met them.

So now it’s time for the meet and greet. I’m not one of these overzealous fans who have seen the guys more than 50 times, nor do I stalk them when I hear that they are in a town near me. I’ve never been to one of these meet and greets...so I had no idea what was about to happen...I certainly wasn’t ready for this. Well, here’s Chelsea again and one of the first nasty things out of her mouth was...and I quote...”this is all about Howie...” Now I may be wrong, but I thought it was all about the Dorough Lupus Foundation. Do you know that not once did we ever really hear anything about what a debilating disease Lupus is? So, in walks Howie with this entourage of people. The first thought that hit me was...he’s really, really short. And as I watched him talk to the fans in line in front of me...I thought what a sweetie he was. He was patient and he took a few minutes with the fans as they met him. Suddenly I had a touch of nerves. I was next in line and as I stepped up to pay my money Chelsea began to get nasty with the fans again. She had just finished saying something when I turned to look at her as though she’d lost her mind...but then Howie was holding his hand out to me and it was time for our picture. So, my brush with a Backstreet Boy was over that quick. He was nice enough to talk with me for a second...and then it was all over...WOW.

Later that night my new friends and I were dancing in the little club on the boat when lo and behold in walked Howie with his ever diligent entourage. I remember looking up and thinking...’hey...it’s the short guy!’ Let me tell you now...I would never want to be a Backstreet Boy...they are hounded by the fans all the time. Howie couldn’t even dance for the fans. I was on the dance floor having a blast until I was nearly shoved off the floor by one of the fans so that she could get to Howie. I said it all weekend...poor Howie...I wonder if he ever just gets a chance to do his own thing?

Sunday was our first full day at sea...and the celebrity auction. Now, I haven’t been to many auctions but this one was as disorganized as any of the DLF events that week. I was surprised and confused by the fact that there was so much sports memorabilia available and hardly any BSB stuff. Then I was appalled by the price things were going for. One young woman actually paid 500 dollars for a hug from Howie. 500 dollars! Am I missing something here? Dinner with Howie and his family went for several thousand dollars as did a day in Jamaica. I’m sorry...I just don’t get it.

Monday and we were off to Cozumel. Cozumel has grown alot since I was there last...but we had a good time. My new found friends and I all took a picture with beautiful birds and we autographed the picture to give to Howie as a fun little joke. We did give it to him...but there’s no telling what he did with it from there.

Tuesday's the day things went downhill. This was the day of the infamous scavenger hunt. This was the worst planned event I have ever joined. First, everyone was late. Okay...so someone was on the Lido Deck feeding their face...just be on time...the ship’s not that big. Our group, along with many other groups didn’t have a name. We all were supposed to have group names and we were supposed to tell the monitor at the location our name to keep things fair...that didn’t work. You could tell that this was put together last minute. It was either done the night before or that morning. Regarding the clues for the hunt...first of all...someone needs to learn proper grammar. They also need someone who can type. I realize no one’s perfect...but I’m feeling really close right about now. Let me give you a sample of some of the clues that we had...several of them made absolutely no sense. Check it out...

Where are two Star Wars Tilogies found...(ya got me there...where are the Tilogies found?) This one makes absolutely no sense...if anyone out there knows what it means...please email me!

Paul Simon sings about this the near your destination the more you keep...(I still have no clue as to the what they were trying to get across there.) I also would like to say one thing to whoever typed the clues...SPELLCHECK!! Note to the DLF next year if you plan on doing a Howie scavenger hunt...ask for volunteers from the guests. You whined that you didn’t have enough help...you had nearly 350 guests who would have been more than happy to help...I know I would have. By now I’m sure that you can tell that we didn’t make it to the final cut. We were told that only 5 groups were going to make the cut...but I think if we had raised a big enough stink...we would have made a 6th or 7th team. We were also told that only the 5 top teams could be in the room for the final part of the event...but we could have walked in with the rest of the passengers...oh well...Chelsea...are you taking notes for next year?

Wednesday we went ashore in Grand Cayman. We all took a trip to Hell, Grand Cayman. If you had asked anyone in my group from the scavenger hunt...we had already spent the day in Hell and we didn’t need to visit the one on Grand Cayman. Sorry, that was mean, but then so was Chelsea. My friends and I snorkled and swam and we lost our cares in the warm crystal clear waters of the Cayman Islands...if you’ve never been...you really must go. That evening one of my friends joined Chelsea on the elevator. My friend had several words with Chelsea and her father the day before regarding the scavenger hunt screw up...Chelsea told my friend that the Karaoke contest was not going as planned and for us all to ‘get drunk’ before showing up for the event. Lovely.

Thursday...Jamaica...very nice. My friends and I went to Dunn’s River Falls and the Dolphin Encounter. We never saw Howie or any of the entourage. We were warned that the evening’s events with Pollyanna were not going as planned either. This event was supposed to be music trivia fun with Pollyanna. From my view there was no music, trivia, or fun with Pollyanna. I don’t know why we were given an itenerary. No one followed it. Apparently, Pollyanna doesn’t know any music trivia. Funny, I know plenty. Again, they could have asked for volunteers...I would have had a blast asking obscure music trivia...So Pollyanna did a little self promotion. I left during her second song...sorry...I just couldn’t handle it. I wish her all the luck in the world...but I just don’t know what market she will be accepted in. I must say that most of the Dorough family seemed to be in horrible moods this entire weekend. Both Pollyanna and Chelsea seemed perpetually pissed...I think I’m glad that I’m not them.

Friday...another fun day at sea...and the infamous karaoke contest. I was impressed with all of the contestants. They have more nerve than I do to get up in front of nearly 350 strangers and a Backstreet Boy to sing. Finally, I got to hear Howie sing. I was impressed...of course he was joined by the ‘Not so nearly Backstreet Boys’ but...oh well. I must say that there were a few good parts...there was a father/daughter team that did ‘I Got You Babe’...if I’d been a judge they would have won...they were awesome. Pollyanna showed us that gravity really does work...even out on the ocean...hehehe. I’m still a little shocked about the song that she did that night. The song was awfully adult for the young crowd that was there. Later on that night Howie DJ’d in the club. I cannot believe that when he got up to DJ all he played was Backstreet stuff. Don’t get me wrong...I’m a fan...but I want to hear club music...not BSB pop.

Howie only hung around for half an hour and then he was gone again. It’s amazing how when he was DJing the floor was crowded with fans...but the minute he left...so did they.

So Saturday rolled around and we headed off to the airport and back to our lives. I must say...I’m glad that I’m not a Backstreet Boy. I’m happy being one of their fans though. I can definitely tell you that I’m over being starstruck by them. They are after all human...and vulnerable. I will never get over seeing Howie trying to eat his french toast one morning as one his fans approached him. He graciously stopped eating long enough to listen to her and to grant whatever she wished. He’s a really cool guy...I just wish I had seen him under different circumstances. And you know, I probably would not recognize him if I fell over him in some airport. I ran into him all over the ship and each time it was a good few minutes after he was gone that I realized that he was just there and I missed the opportunity to make a complete fool of myself.

In conclusion...I’m glad that I was on the cruise. After all, I got to see Mexico, Grand Cayman and Jamaica again. I finally met a Backstreet Boy. I was able to give to a worthy cause, but most of all I made some great new friends...that’s something I will cherish for a very long time...Thanks Howie.

Lupus Cruise

Date: Dec 03, 2002
Submitted By: Bombi

Hey everyone. I did not go on the cruise myself but I am planning on going next year. I have been reading everyones reviews and I think you are all really cruel to one another. YES the cruise was for Charity but what is so wrong about going on the cruise to see Nick? I agree it shouldn't be the ONLY reason you went but you cant judge people like that. And since people were under the assumption that Nick WAS going to be on it they were disappointed but it doesnt mean they wouldn't have gone in the first place. Its like saying that a fan cant be mad about going to a show with only 4 Backstreet Boys. That one boy is missed but you still have a good time! If they wanted to go and see Nick FINE that is there problem. Seriously if Howie wasn't going on the cruise not as many people would support it. We are all fans of the Backstreet Boys and like to support everything they do. There is nothing wrong with wanting to meet them. As for the people that had nice detailed reviews of the cruise THANK YOU for all the information because it made me want to go next year. And not only because I want to meet Howie (I have already met him several times and hes a sweetheart!) I love meeting other BSB fans too and experiencing different things and going to new places. I think the cruise is a great opportunity for all of that and I cant wait to go! Happy New Year everyone and I did not write this review to offend anyone...jusy voicing my opinion.

Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 03, 2002
Submitted By: Corrina

Hi everyone its been a while now since the cruise. I read some of the reviews and some people are complaining about other people saying Nick didnt come. This isnt a page to boost traffic to the Lupus Cruise its a REVIEW page so everyone is entittled to thier own opinion whether it's good or bad! People who never went on the cruise want to know everyones experience not just one person. And for the people saying the cruise was for charity and not to see Nick well if youre so concerned about the charity why didnt you just give the money for your ticket directly to DLF? Because after you bought it only a portion of the money went to DLF. So alot of people were on there to see Howie or Nick theres nothing wrong with that! If anyone should be mad its my girlfriend who didnt even get to go on the trip. After we bought our airfare from "Dream Cruises & Tours" they mailed mine but thet didnt send hers and she kept emailing them and they never replied so her money went up into thin air and we dont know what happened they just didnt care! I did have as awesome time on the trip and Howie and his family are very sweet people! Other people however cant just have a good time without complaining like one attendee kept saying I look like Shakira and she was giving me more attention than she was giving Howie's hot behind when I walked in the room!! So I felt kinda creeped out after that cuz I felt like she was always watching me or something isnt that creepy I mean "Youre on cruise man have fun loosen up"!!!! Then I heard this same person was balling her eyes out in the bathroom because she said her Christmas wish was to be with Howie and she didnt think it was gonna come true!!!LOL- No ya think?? Geez some people need to get a life!! I wont say any names so we'll just call her Nicole...LOL! I agree with the person who said there wouldnt have been so many tickets sold if Nicks name wasnt used but what can ya do, everyone had fun anyway right? Pollyanna turned me into a fan too shes an awesome singer and her personality's amazing! And Howies so sweet too I think he makes an effort to spend a little time with everyone isnt that thoughtful? Hes amazing too and amazingly hotttt omg! So whoever it is out ther talking about other people on the boat like "Shakira" Im soo flattered that you know me cuz I dont know you and this site is for HOWIE and the bsb and the Lupus Cruise 2001 so act your age and show some respect for the boys!! And for those of you who didnt attend the ship and are Howie fans, he smells soo good and he's such a good person so you gotta go next year dont miss out! I cant go cuz that was my first cruise and unfortunately I discovered Im sea-sick so I was drinking wine from the 15th-22nd and I hardly remember anything..ahehe!Anyway that"s my final word...Slike that! Lol

lupus cruise

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: christina carter

u know what i already did a review and im friggin sick and tired of u peeps comin in here sayin people went just for nick!!!!! yeh i love nicky, but gimme a break there were a lot of reasons why i went on the cruise...stop asumin' all this crap about those who were disappointed..if u payed the money and it was advertised for 4 months nick was goin to be there and then calls at the last minute and cancels dont sit there and tell me u wouldnt have been disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!im so sickkkkkkkk of u asumin crap gimme a break and shut ur mouth, esp. if u werent even there!!!!!

Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: Sherri

The Lupus Cruise was fantastic! Never did I think a vacation helping a charity could be so fun and relaxing at the same time. The ship was beautiful, the staff was always helpful and the excitement and fun was sensational.

I thought the events for the cruise went well and they tried to give everyone a chance to participate in a function if they wanted. I would do it all again, infact, I wish I was still there on the Triumph.

You have all read the journals of the people with the daily events with Howie and his family which sounds like most everyone had a great time. I finally got a minute with Howie on the last night and was able to give him his Christmas gift which went with his purple vet. I wish I would of had more courage to talk with him earlier in the cruise as much as everyone else did. {I'll get him next cruise.}

I am so grateful to have been given the chance to meet Howie and some of his family. I am especially thankful for the wonderful friends that I made on this trip, I don't think the cruise would of been as much fun without them. We shall all meet again in Hawaii.

Thank you to the DLF.

Luspus cruise

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: annie*

ok--i had the greatest time on this cruise! i reccommend it for sure for next year! before i go on and tell about the cruise i want to add something--to all you people who are yelling at everyone for saying they are mad cause nick didnt show and for bitching at them cause they went because of howie--you know that you did too!! so get over it! you wouldnt have gone if it was a cruie labeled: lupus cruise 2001 featuing steve chun! --

but on the brighter side:).......the first day was sort of hectic long lines alllllll day! from the airport to the boat then the meet and greet! it was chaos! well when i found out nick wasnt going to show i was upset....extremely upset! but i realized i could make the best of it! when i got to meet howie i fell in love lol!! he is indeed the biggest sweetheart!--the only time i really talked to howie the first say was when we got pur pic together. all i said was "im really nervous" and hes like "aww dont be nervous we are going to have fun" lol right then and there howie and i fell in love--JUST KIDDING!! lol

i dont really remember day by day o lemme think what else happened..... oh the first few days we got to know ricky and adam---those are some great guys! they made my trip alot more interesting! well we seen them all go into the casino (i think this was the second night) so little me follows and who else is in there?? howie and jr! i wasnt going to say anything to howie but......as i was walking away shape of my heart was playing so i went up to howie and was like "yah howie your songs on! lol" hes like "yah!!" it was so so so funny!! then i was singing it to him and doing the movements and showing him the shape of my heart! haha

im really bad with the days so ill jsut tell bits and pieces: well anyways we were in the club with howie like every night--he would come out and dance with everyone jsut about everynight--one night in perticular we waved howie over to us and he was like "one minute" and winked of course lol well he took a very LONG minute so we jsut got off the dance floor--BUT a few songs later we were back on and howie seen us and came over to us! it was so cute! he was like "i was coming over to you guys b4 but i was dancing with my friends for a few minutes!" (keep in mind the music is extremely loud and he was whispering in my ear haha) so i go " oh its fine you dont have to dance with us its alright you can go back" and hes like "no its cool, i want to" then he goes " are you having a good time?" and i was like joking around "of course now that your here!" then he was like "ohhh your makin me blush!" and rubbed his cheeks! it was so so cute:) then my friend christine was talkin to him about his cut on his eye! howie is a doll:)

i got to take quite a few pics with howie by the end of the cruise:) the best one was when we were in the club and we both made funnny faces with our tongues all stickin out its adorable!

some people keep saying that they didnt really see howie! i dont know how you couldnt i seen him everyday like 10 times! he was always around and always generous to talk to people! hes a sweet guy and i love him to death i am for sure going next year! there is wayyyy too much to tell so youll have to go next year to experience it for yourself!

hopefully JR goes too cause i love him!

annie*

Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: Justina

Guys i think we should take it easy on the people who were a little upset that NICK wasn't there. It is OK to be upset, especially if he's your favorite BACKSTREET BOY. But i agree that they still should have had a good time b/c HOWIE was there and HOWIE is awesome!! So RELAX lol!! NICK is MY FAVORITE (even tho i love all of them soooo much) and if he wasn't there I would be upset but i would be wicked excited HOWIE was there cuz i LOVE HOWIE!!!! KTBSPA!

Howies Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: Nicole Amaya

The Cruise was pretty fun. Howie and his family were all really nice and although everyone ran on "howie time".(lol) I didn't mind because I hated the schedules! It wasn't the Lupus things it was the cruise schedules! You had to be places at certain times and that bothered me because I wanted to come and go when I wanted to. But the Lupus Foundation made everything a lot of fun. After I got there and I met Howie and his family I realized how normal they really are so after the first time meeting them I was kind of over the fact that Howie from BSB was on the boat with me. I was never really overly happy about that because I've always thought of him as just being a regular guy, but that really helped me to see just how human he really is. I didn't go to the auction but I heard that they raised a lot of money from it which is great. A friend of mine actually won dinner with Howie and his family, which I couldn't believe. She paid A LOT of money. Some fans there went a little over board and that got to me. Howie was there to have a vacation just like everyone else, but a lot of the time he didn't have all the privacy I'm sure he wanted. There were a few people (Shakira wanna be and Barbie, LOL) that were ruining everyone else's fun because they didn't know how to take No for an answer, but besides that the cruise was fun and I'd definitely do it again. I met a lot of great people and for the most part I had time to relax which was what I was going for.

Lupus Cruise 2001

Date: Dec 02, 2002
Submitted By: Bren

I'm sitting here reading the reviews of the 2001 cruise, and I feel the need to weigh in. Everyone on the cruise had a different experience. If you were chosen to karaoke, then of course you were not dissappointed. If you made it to the obstacle course, then of course you weren't dissappointed there either. Those of us who did neither have every right to feel the way we do. If I was someone considering going next year, I would want to be fully informed of the good and the not-so-good. Every person on the cruise went with some type of expectations. If you were truly only wanting to support the DLF, then a check sent directly to them in the amount you would have spent on the cruise would have done much more to benefit DLF financially. These expectations were raised by the promotional materials provided by the DLF and Dream Cruises. Both are equally to blame when the events are cancelled or changed. As far as Nick is concerned, I was understanding of his not being able to make it until I overheard a conversation about how he was never really expected to go,but they sure did sell more cruises using his name. These same two people went on to discuss how the Howie D cruisers are a bunch of "psycho stalkers" who have "no lives". They mentioned one attendee specifically wher ethey mocked her having been to a large amount of BSB concerts. Guess what folks--these were DLF people talking!!

This is a business, and we should never lose track of that.

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