Title: The Aaron Carter Cruise to the Bahamas
Source:
Source: http://www.ezstoreit.com/cruise/
Date: May, 2002
Author: Ted
Topic: Other
Pick: Yes
The Aaron Carter Cruise to the Bahamas - 28 April - 3 May 2002
Disclaimers & Legal Stuff: This story is based upon my personal observations and conversations while traveling on the vessel Disney Wonder, a Bahamian flagged ship, operated by the Disney Company. Any opinions expressed are just that, my personal opinions. Other persons may have different perspectives of the same events. My perspective or viewpoint is as an adult male and a witness to the events mentioned. No malice is implied or intended towards the Disney Company, the Carter Family, Spectra Music and Management, or certainly Aaron Carter himself. I boarded the ship as a fan holding Aaron Carter in high regard and left the ship holding him in even higher regard. Porky Pig is a copyrighted trademark of Warner Brothers Inc (you'll see why I mention this during the story).
INTRODUCTION:
My name is Ted, and by now, if you are a fan of Aaron Carter, you have seen (and probably copied) my photographs of the cruise to the Bahamas with the Carter family. If you haven't seen them, they are at http://www.picturetrail.com/gaq69. Richard and Steve, from the Yahoo group Aaron's Army, approached me to tell the story that goes with the pictures and share it with the rest of the fans.
DAY 1: EMBARKATION - 28 April 2002
Very busy time. Everyone had to check in just like any airport in the world. Metal detectors. Explosive sniffing dogs (darn you, Al Qaeda!). Tons of teenagers (and others) hoping to catch a glimpse at Aaron (I don't know why, they are going to spend about 100 hours on the same ship with him). Once on board, everyone got a buffet lunch and tried to access their stateroom. I was with a single mom and her daughter when, lo and behold, there was Aaron playing ping-pong on Deck 9 with someone. In the frenzy that followed, a dozen or more cameras started to explode in Aaron's face. In my pictures, these are the ones, with Aaron looking quite relaxed (and in a shirt). After having enough, Aaron disappeared down the forward stairwell.
I want to point out that I utilized a Nikon camera with a zoom lens and 800-speed film. This allowed me to be in Aaron's face without "being in Aaron's face".
During the afternoon, Aaron had an obligatory interview with Radio Disney. This involved him playing basketball with one of the DJs. This went very routinely, except for the fact that there were about 100 spectators for the basketball match. The basketball court was on Deck 10, just below the bridge.
Basketball became the pivotal event of this cruise because this is where the Little Prince of Pop held court for most of the cruise, day or night.
Ummm.... considering how much time he spends playing basketball, you would think he would be better at it. More than one spectator had commented that Shaq had nothing to worry about (Sorry, pal!). To his credit, he played team ball or one on one with anyone and was very gracious considering this was his personal time. Apparently the cruise was the Carter family reunion with many relatives converging on the ship. This is in addition to his staff, dancers and musicians.
At any given time during day, you could find Aaron on Deck 10 playing ball. Anytime anyone wanted to know if Aaron (or later Nick) was playing ball, they just needed to turn on the TV in their stateroom. The view from the bridge was broadcast on ship's TV 24 hours a day and the basketball court was just below the bridge. From the get go, a swarm of fans was constantly around Aaron...loads of pictures...and it was incredibly hot! I was asked why I had so many shirtless pictures of Aaron during the cruise. Well...that was because he never showed up on deck with a shirt.
The ship departed Port Canaveral (Florida) and there was a departure concert on deck (you know, Disney characters, etc). They introduced Aaron and told us of the few planned events and that this was supposed to be a vacation for him. Most of us felt that this was cool and would respect his space. Some wouldn't...
The first day was probably the most trying for him in that a huge number of people were not yet used to Aaron Carter the person as opposed to Aaron Carter the star. On a few occasions, he could be seen retreating. Nick and Bob were still in Daytona at the Offshore Grand Prix (speed boating) and had not boarded in Port Canaveral. The rest
By nightfall, things seemed to quiet down and Aaron had some personal space. He easily found some people his own age and he began interfacing with them. He played basketball with the guys and talked with the girls or spent time in the pool with them. The adults on the cruise were impressed with how easily he made friends. It appeared he never had less than 5 to 10 girls around him at any one time, When he left for the night, he gave each one of the girls a hug and a kiss. We adults just looked at each other. The deck was awash with teenage hormones for the entire voyage.
The pre-teen females, meantime, had a better idea...they went on a search and destroy mission to find Aaron's stateroom, which they did (and quickly).
Unfortunately for me it was only several doors down from mine on Deck 7 forward. (Actually, I'm glad it was because I ran into him several times during the voyage because of it).
Every night during the cruise, I could hear the pitter-patter of little hooves through the hallways. No one got much sleep.
The first time I ever met him in my life was in the 7 forward hallway. As I was going to my stateroom, he literally bumped into me going to down the hall with 5 girls in tow followed by two huge, frantic security guys who didn't see where he went. I pointed both hands over my head and said "That way"!
I found out later that my stateroom was on the edge of Carter Country. His entourage, I was told, entailed about 14 separate staterooms and about 30 people.
DAY 2: NASSAU - 29 April 2002
Very early in the morning of April 29th, the Disney Wonder docked at Nassau, capital city of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. And, unfortunately, we again experienced record heat.
I slept in. Since I am a veteran of cruising to third world countries, I decided that I need not leave the ship, in that the view from the ship was reminiscent of my previous visit to the Bahamas in 1975 (same pile of horse crap on the street included).
Nick and Bob had now embarked after winning the Offshore Grand Prix at Daytona.
The majority of the ship's company opted to take their chances haggling with the locals in the purchase of leather, jewelry and liquor. That left the ship to the few of us who were wise enough to stay on board.
Luckily for me, the Carters were as wise...in that some of them stayed on board.
Since, as I had mentioned, Aaron's stateroom was close to mine, I ran into him in the 7 forward stairwell. With him was a rather surly fellow who was his bodyguard, his tutor, and Aaron himself. Aaron is kind of a chameleon. Depending on what he is wearing, he can appear to be anywhere from 12 to 18 years of age. At this moment, he was wearing a yellow cap and appeared no older than 12.
He was waiting for someone, probably Angel who came by a little later. I took the opportunity to go to my stateroom and get the book that I had brought with me for him. Let me explain this. My grand niece (who wasn't with me and will probably never forgive me) told me that his fans "always" brought him a stuffed animal for a gift. I told her that there was NO way that I was going to drag a stuffed animal for a 14-year-old boy 2000 miles across the United States! We decided that I would give him a book on marine biology since he liked this and I had access to this kind of material (at least medical aspects).
So...here is this young man sitting on the stairwell complaining about muscle ache from last night's basketball match and here am I, a mature, highly-educated adult (I'm a doctor for goodness sake), wanting to give this book to him. What would I say? I was tongue-tied and frankly, star-struck. I must have sounded like Porky Pig. Before you laugh in my face, I would like to hear how any of you would start a conversation with him! I managed to say "excuse me". His response was "yes SIR?" which took me totally aback since I have not been addressed like that since I consulted for the US Navy.
I said: "This is for you from me and the family grand kids" His response was "for ME?!" with those trade-marked large brown eyes wide open. He really seemed to appreciate the gift. It was as if no one ever gave him something without expectation of something in return (hmmm?maybe he doesn't!). He flipped through it and gave it to his tutor. I told him that I would get an autograph later for the grand kids and left them alone. I will never forget the way he addressed me and the look on his face.
Later that afternoon, I did my usual walk around the pool areas of deck 9, noticed the Carters (Nick, Bob, Jane, and a few others) chatting by the adult pool section and found a comfortable place near the stern to read a book.
Overhead was announced "Brightstar deck 9!" three times. Since I work in an acute medical care facility, I said to myself "that sounds an awful lot like a 'Code Blue'" which would be a cardiac arrest. I decided to take a walk. Down by the adult pool, the medical team from the ship was busily trying to resuscitate a man around 42 years of age. At first, I thought it might have been one of the Carters because they were sitting nearby not 30 minutes earlier, but it was NOT one of the Carters, thankfully.
The ship's medical team seemed to be doing everything correctly and according to the book. The gentleman apparently had been playing basketball with some of the young kids and collapsed on the deck. I asked a bystander how long had they been trying to revive the man and was told 25 minutes. This was not good, and the man did not survive. Adding to the tragedy, this man died on a Bahamian flagged ship in port in the Bahamas and there would probably be an incredible amount of red tape involved to get him back to the States. The Disney medical staff did all that they could possibly do. Some passengers called home to assure their families that they themselves were well, in case the incident made the news in the States.
It is interesting to note that fans constantly surrounded Aaron and Nick was left relatively unmolested.
Since Nick and Bob had won the Offshore Grand Prix, there was a lot of congratulations and celebration. Let's just say that at least one Carter had an incredible hangover the next morning.
Later that evening, it was basketball as usual on deck 10. Aaron one-on-one or in team play with Nick, other kids or his staff and dancers. It must be the way that he is built, but the shirtless Carter had a fairly difficult time keeping his pants up. There was one rather loud parent who kept on shouting "Aaron! pull up your pants!" to which AC performed an exaggerated act of compliance.
After nightfall, the adult Carter clan moved to deck 3 for nightclub activities. Aaron and friends basically took over the pool decks for water polo and volleyball while the pre-adolescent girls plotted the nightly stake out of his stateroom...7032 deck 7 forward.
DAY 3 : CASTAWAY CAY - 30 April 2002
"Ah...lovely Deck 7 forward... 3AM ... little size 4 shoes running down the hallways knocking on stateroom doors ... one wonders where the hell are your parents! If you would just ask, I would tell you which one is his! (7032)"
Day 3 started with the docking of the ship at Castaway Cay in the Bahamas, about 65 nautical miles from Nassau, if I remember correctly. This island is wholly owned by Disney and consists of private beaches and cabanas with sugar-like sandy beaches and private lagoons.
Again today had record heat (this was ridiculous: no breeze, and hotter than the hinges of hell).
Most people disembarked after 10 AM and went their merry way to whatever they wanted to do...parasailing, snorkeling, swimming or just lounging on the beaches.
Aaron had a few commitments: Some Radio Disney promotions and a scavenger hunt with the pre-teens (see photos). He managed to get some time in snorkeling on his own to the delight of some fans that did this with him.
One lady I know asked him if they let him have any fun. He just rolled his eyes and said "Yeah...right!".
For the most part, the morning and early afternoon were pretty mellow. BUT at 4 PM, as the ship was to depart this private paradise, Aaron was scheduled for the concert on the deck.
By now, most of us knew the drill. If you want to have a good seat, you had better be there early. So. Many fans parked in front of the stage on Deck 9 by 2 PM for a 4 PM concert. The problem with this is three-fold. 1) There are no reserved seats 2) it is incredibly hot and 3) some people don't think twice about forcing themselves (or their kids) at the last minute to the front of the stage.
I had my perch on deck 10 looking down at the stage on deck 9. Not the best of seats, but I made a few friends and it was workable (again, see concert photos). It was so hot that sunscreen didn't cut it. I had white pool towels on all exposed areas.
As the time of the concert began to approach, some latecomers pushed their kids in front of others who were there an hour before. Some parents "resented" this (Oh, yeah). Tempers were flaring between the parents (not so much the kids) and some unsavory epithets were shouted across the pool deck.
Needless to say, the concert was to begin in the nick of time. Aaron and his dancers came out on stage to do a sound check. Really good, to the tune of "Leave It Up To Me" from the Jimmy Neutron Soundtrack. Aaron was his pleasant and charming self. One of the dancers, I believe his name was Matt, fell flat on his face. We don't know if he slipped or what, but he seemed all right. This may have been a portent of things to come.
As you may know, it is usual for water bottles and Gatorade to be placed in strategic areas around the stage at Aaron's concerts. This is a good thing because he needs to replace the fluids he looses during the performance as well as keeping his throat moist.
The concert began, no live band, but Aaron and dancers doing their best. Aaron singing, smiling and reaching out to touch his fans. Nick joined him for "Not Too Young Not Too Old" even though he had no obligation to do so. By now this is a tradition with the brothers.
Aaron did a back flip or two, but this had to be exceedingly difficult in that god-awful heat. Breaks were taken to introduce water and dry off with a towel stage left.
About 30 minutes into the concert, while Aaron was singing "I'm All About You" he couldn't quite hit some of the notes. People were kind of giggling because this is not usual for Aaron. I looked into my neighbor's telephoto lens and noticed that he did not appear to be sweating anymore. The lady next to me was with Aaron's group and I told her that I think he is dehydrating too quickly and that I wanted to point it out the ship's doctor, who I saw on the deck. Luckily, the concert ended about at that point. I really believe that he was within a few minutes of passing out from heat exhaustion. I found out later, that the concert was indeed cut short and heard that Aaron was sick later that evening.
I don't know if anyone was truly to blame for that, but I do think it was too much for the fans, Aaron and dancers to deal with in that heat.
The rest of the night was uneventful, and I believe Aaron re-emerged after dark to partake of the pool and basketball court.
Today, the scuttlebutt was that Aaron had just gotten the role of Peter Pan in the Disney live movie production, although he was not too thrilled about the prospect of green tights.
DAY 4: DAY AT SEA - 1 May 2002
Another glorious and HOT day?
Today was the day of the infamous Meet and Greet Session, or as most of the old folks now call it, the Meet without Greet Session. For the most part, most of the passengers of the ship didn't assail Aaron for his autograph. This was mainly due in part to fact that Disney had scheduled a Meet and Greet Session for 1 hour on the last day of the cruise. We were even told that we would have opportunity at that time.
From the previous day's experience, people knew they had better get there early to assure a spot. A rumor (later proven to be untrue) had circulated that you had to be in the Buena Vista Theater on Deck 4 and in a seat or you couldn't meet him. The theater held about 300. Some families were there at 6 AM for 10 AM session. Many had family members bring in breakfast from the buffet so that they wouldn't loose their seat. This became quite a mess. Before they let Aaron in, they had stewards remove the fallout from the feeding frenzy.
At precisely 10 AM, the Disney staff arrived and introduced Aaron. He was his charming self as he sat at a table to begin. Jive/Zomba had VHS copies of the "Oh Aaron" video for signing, but only for kids (Darn!). Whatever?most people brought things with them for him to sign.
The session started well enough. Aaron signed, smiled, exchanged a few words, posed for a picture and on to the next. After dozen or so fans, the staff started to move people more quickly. Apparently, the theater had filled and there were people as far as you could see down the corridor of the deck. Someone did some time computations and the result was as follows. Aaron was signing away, people were lead up, got their autograph and maybe a word or two and were moved along. People got whatever pictures they could. Aaron tried very hard to accommodate people. The scene was reminiscent of a US Army induction physical. Many people, including staff were talking to him simultaneously and all he could say was "excuse me?" or "what?".
By the time I saw him, he didn't even have time to look up. He signed my eTicket for the canceled Salt Lake City concert of the Winter Tour. It had "Canceled, Sorry" written on it and he graciously signed it. In retrospect, it was too bad that I didn't have any blank checks or contracts on me (just kidding). When the fan got off the stage, they stamped your hand so that you could not return. When I left the theater, I could not believe the size of the line.
I later heard (or overheard) from Disney staffers that Aaron had signed something like 700 autographs in a little under 90 minutes. This time I did the math. Aaron had a little less than 8 seconds to meet his fan and sign the autograph. It does not seem to be quality time for either Aaron or the fan.
Needless to say, in conversations I had with people later, that this session did not set well with a lot of people, parents and fans alike. To my astonishment, many of them blamed Aaron. I could not believe it. It had nothing to do with him. I could see that he was being rushed and wasn't having a great time either. Aaron, in yet again another bad situation, tried his best to make it work.
This brings up the interesting subject of parents of fans (or just parents). For the most part, parents of fans have come to like Aaron and his music personally and enjoyed the cruise like the kids did. Other parents feel that Aaron "owed" their kid some special attention or time because of the amount of money they spent on the cruise or promises made and not kept by travel agents or other third parties. It is interesting that none of them could produce these promises in writing.
One of Aaron's staffers tried to assuage some really disgruntled people by trying to set up a special session with Aaron, if Jane would agree, but he said that it was doubtful since Aaron "knew" his schedule (smart kid!). It turned out that Jane wouldn't allow it because Aaron needed his time off, too. I couldn't agree more. It was amazing. These people were treating him like a commodity. Thank God his managers are also his parents.
I believe this was the end of any official duties that Aaron had and he could now join his family for the rest of the cruise.
After four days on the same ship, people started getting used to seeing him on deck and started treating him like any other passenger. There were times you could actually see him alone.
Most of us, including myself, would not take pictures of Aaron with his family or family members alone. Nick was an obvious exception. We felt that his family time is private and would respect it. Aaron finally had time to just be himself on deck with his family. It is obvious to anybody that they are a very close knit and loving family.
Nick even participated in the "belly flop" contest at the pool (I believe he lost).
There is one family story that I will share since it was public and a little funny. I saw it but someone else had to tell me what was said.
Jane asked Aaron: "Why don't you join Nick in the pool?" To which Aaron replied: "I can't Mom, it's an adults-only pool." To which Jane replied: "Oh, go ahead." and gave him a little push and in he went. Whatever, Aaron was in the water and talking with Nick. Bob happened by at that point and gestured for Nick to tell Aaron to get out of the pool. A bit frustrated, Aaron got out and went to Bob to explain. Bob just smiled and reminded him that rules were for everybody.
Later that afternoon, Aaron challenged anyone to a game of ping-pong. Anyone who beat him would get a tour of his stateroom and a bunch of autographs. This started a buffalo stampede. Incidentally, no one could beat him.
At dinner that night, I met his tutor again. He told that Aaron really liked the book. I gave his tutor my business card and encouraged him to email me if he would like more material like it. Maybe he'll be inspired.
Since this was the last night of the cruise, the audience at the basketball court was twice its size. Around 10 PM, Aaron made his official "Good Bye" and disappeared down the forward stairwell.
Around 11PM one of the parents that I had been talking to on the cruise was wondering where her 12-year-old daughter was. I asked her: "Did you try the stakeout in the 7 forward stairwell?" "What is that?" she asked. I replied: "Every kid on this bucket knows that Aaron's stateroom is 7032. They wait for him in shifts at the entrance to the corridor near the stairwell to avoid the security guy." She was furious. "After all the times she met him on this cruise, the attention he gave her and even the hugs and she would have the nerve to invade his privacy! If I find her there, she is SO grounded!" And then she stormed off for 7 forward. All I could say to myself was "Dang...It's going to suck being you tonight, kid." I found out later, that was exactly where the girl was.
I saw him one final time in the hallway, shook his hand, and told him to enjoy the book I gave him. He gave me a smile and said "Thanks, man." As I walked away, it suddenly hit me...this was Aaron Carter, and I thought of all the things he had accomplished in his short life. I suddenly thought of 1000 questions I would like to ask him...but, he was gone.
That night there was a nice loud party going on down the hall in Carter Country that lasted until the wee hours of the morning.
DAY 5: DISEMBARKATION - 2 May 2002
All bags had to be offloaded the previous night for inspection by US Customs. After breakfast, the passengers were lining up in the Grand Atrium on Deck 5 for disembarkation in the terminal at Port Canaveral. The crowd was getting pretty thick and the doors were set to open for disembarkation in 10 minutes. Everybody was looking around for Aaron. At 9 AM precisely, the doors opened. A side door opened and the entire Carter Family was to disembark first. Aaron waved and there was an explosion of 1000 camera flashes simultaneously. It looked like the red carpet at the Academy Awards. He waved once again and disappeared down the gangway....he was gone.
There was a moment of eerie silence, since Aaron was so much a part of this cruise for just about everybody. Then you could hear the soft crying of some of his fans.
Ted ( bshunda@yahoo.com )
Well fans: I saw this as, mostly, a spectator. This is basically the way I saw it and my humble opinion of the events. Some events may be slightly out of sequence. Your perspective may be totally different. If you are one of the few teenaged girls or guys who were on the cruise in his "inner circle", I challenge you to write of your experiences.
For myself, I don't think I have ever been more impressed with anyone in my life.
