Rock the Boat!

On our cruise ship!  Waiting to get
out on the water

2012 is going to be quite a year of firsts for me.  Mike and I will be going to a lot of places I've never been and doing a lot of things that I have never done before.  So there will be no shortage of adventures for me to share over 2012 with all of you.  But this year's first first, was a cruise.  I have gone almost 28 (this is they first time I've referred to myself as that age) years without going on a cruise.  Some of that was by chance, some of that was by choice.  I'm terrified of boats sinking (unless I can hold hands with Leonardo DiCaprio on floating piece of wood), I've heard mixed reviews about typical cruise clientele, and I'm not a fan of the fact that you don't get to enjoy the nightlife at any of the destinations because the ships travel at night.  But, I decided to face my fears and hop aboard for the "Monsters of Rock" cruise to Key West & the Bahamas.

Night Ranger getting excited for their first
Monsters of Rock Cruise!

I love these kids

There are a few reasons why I chose this particular cruise to give away my boat virginity.  First, it's the Monsters of Rock Cruise....3 nights of awesome 80s hair metal bands to enjoy with my husband, whilst being tropical.  Second, we have some family going too!  Our cousins James & Julie are our favorite couple to hang out with in LA, and we miss them every day now that we live in New York.


When I found out that the Blades family was going to be there, it was a bit of a no-brainer because they are so much fun.  Third, this wont be your average cruise clientele....I was intrigued to see what type of eclectic people were going to be on the ship.  Fourth, my husband promised to fly us first class to and from Ft. Lauderdale and that we would have upgraded accommodations on the boat if I agreed to join them on this excursion.  And finally, I've never been to either Key West OR the Bahamas (another TWO firsts for ya right there).  Key West is hands down Mike's favorite little weekend retreat, and I couldn't wait to visit this tropical destination with the most festive person I know in the world.

A happy Blades Family

It was extremely hard to pack for this trip.  I had to bring a mix of 80's, some metal attire, and let us not forget to be tropical!  Prior to leaving, we also got upwards of 20 documents with boarding information, cruise survival kits, itineraries, maps of the boat, schedules for dining, and of course the concert lineups for all three nights.  So needless to say, I was nervous about the embarkation and safety drills required for each passenger. But Mike prepared a survival kit that was indicative of something Tom Hank's could have benefited from while stranded on Castaway, so I felt safe in the event that our ship sank and we needed water purification drops and  emergency rope.

It's hard to give kisses when you have life vests on!

THE single most popular shirt on the entire ship!

Our first order of business was to meet up with the Blades family in Fort Lauderdale before embarkation.  We haven't seen the Blades family together since our wedding almost 10 months ago and we were SO happy to see everyone!  We loaded up all the gear and packed up into the vans to head over to the dock where we THANKFULLY didn't have to wait in the general boarding lines.  The embarkation process was not seamless and we even had special treatment!  Mike and I got to tag along with Night Ranger and the crew and it STILL took over an hour to get everyone boarded and through customs and security.  Not to mention, we were waiting in line with some extreme metal heads.  Not white trash, there is a difference.  We're talking grown men with waist length hair, a sea of black clothing, and metal fans from all over the world.  That was definitely not my favorite part of the whole process, but once we got on board it was all awesomeness for the next 72 hours.

The Mobley's cabin was directly above James & Julie.  We could go out onto our balcony and yell down to them anytime we wanted to chat.  But fear not, we had walkie talkies in case we needed to communicate (you'll notice my handset in my hand in most of the cruise pictures).  If you ever go on a cruise with a group of people, the walkie talkies are clutch because phones don't work out in the middle of the ocean.  We were always able to get in touch with each other with those little radios.  Everyone had code names that we made up for each member of the party for the trip.

Mike = Ghost rider
James = Colonel
Uncle Jack = Commodore
Julie = JuJu
Aunt Mollie = Mamma Gia
and for myself....Shemobs (or Stef Leppard...depending on the mood)

Mike and I fit in a LOT of music on the first night while a few of the members of the party were battling a bit of sea sickness.  We saw Tesla, Cinderella,

Firehouse & Y&T all in one night.  Mike was like a kid in a candy shop.  There was amazing music all day, all over the boat, any time you wanted.  Right out of the gate, we rallied pretty hard and tried to fit in as much music as possible.  Firehouse was definitely a favorite of mine one night one, but all the shows were extremely intimate and completely unlike any traditional concert experience you could ever have.  But day 2 of the trip was hands down one of my favorite days so far of 2012.  We woke up docked at beautiful Key West and were anxious to get off the boat to enjoy everything that wonderful Key West had to offer.  So obviously, with less than a day to run around the island, it was evident that we needed to rent scooters.  Mike was so excited to show me around and share some of his favorite places with me during my first trip to one of Mike's favorite places in the world. Key West is such a quaint little island town with endless places to stop in and have cocktails & delicious shellfish.


We went to the Southernmost point (90 miles to Cuba!), we saw the Hemmingway House where Ernest Hemmingway lived with all his ladies and a 6 toed cat. We went to an art fair and bought some pieces for our apartment, and we had a wonderful group lunch at the Conch Republic.  Every place on the island had happy, tropical tunes playing from local beach bums and the conch fritters and cocktails were flowing.

If it wasn't for an impending Night Ranger show, we would have been bummed to leave.  But we hurried back to the boat to get ready to see NR rock the faces off  the entire boat.

Night Ranger Captain's Hats!

As some of you may know, Mike's Uncle Jack is the front man for Night Ranger, so as you can imagine, we've seen them quite a few times, Mike more than myself of course, but we've seen them play a lot.  But the show we saw on the boat was the best thing ever!  People all over the cruise were talking about how amazing the NR show was and how it wasn't just the highlight for us,but a highlight for a lot of the metal fans on the boat as well.  Obviously, there was nothing to do after that show but just party with everyone, right?  We had cocktails in the room, we had dinner with the band, and we caught some more music with the rest of the crew (including a Lynch Mob jam session, Eric Martin (aka Mr. Big), and Kix).  It.Was.A.Blast!!!!

Our rock star night made for a painful day 3 on the cruise ship when we docked in Nassau.  I'm not sure how I feel about Nassau and we weren't in the Bahamas long enough to explore the more remote areas, but we did a day trip to the beach/pool for some much needed re-hydration and relaxation. And nothing beats sparkling turquoise Caribbean ocean at the end of February when you still have a few more weeks of winter to go home to in New York.  Nothing could beat the energy from day 2 on the boat, but Night Ranger played an amazing acoustic set the final night, which was more fitting for an evening where everyone was on their reserve tanks and feeling the effects of 3 days on a boat coupled aggressive amounts of tequila.

All of the things that concerned me about taking a cruise were obsolete and silly after the epic adventure I had with amazing people.  The music was unbelievable and it was unreal to have all of my favorite music at my disposal whenever I wanted to enjoy it live.  And while I there were some "interesting people" on the cruise it wasn't the white trash boat ride I feared but rather 2700 extremely enthusiastic metal maniacs from all over the world.  I admit, I had my hesitations about this little trip before going, but I'm so glad I went and I hope we can make it an annual tradition.  Thank you to the Blades family for including us and we can't wait until Monsters of Rock 2013!!!