The AfterGLOW Cruise Heats Up New York

I was 8 years old when the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling (GLOW) hit the airwaves. It wasn’t a surprise to see strong, fighting women on television because my family is full of women who are survivors. The difference is, GLOW was a professional wrestling comedy show, not a revolution or civil war.

Fast forward 30 years and the first annual AfterGLOW Fan Party Cruise took place out of Long Beach, CA that tested the waters with a weekend trip to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Last year, we set sail for a full week from out of New Orleans, LA to the Western Caribbean. So there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I would rejoin the fanmily (a word coined by former GLOW wrestler Gremlina) on the Norwegian Breakway out of New York City.

Granted, Manhattan in the dead of winter isn’t the best idea, but Roxy Astor, the mastermind behind AfterGLOW, wanted to do something for the fans on the Northeast that felt neglected in missing out on most of the adventures here on the West Coast.

Our first stop was Port Canaveral, Fl where several cruisers (myself included) joined Original GLOW Girls, Sunny the California Girl, Hollywood and Lightning at the Kennedy Space Center, where were toured the facilities and were able to experience Mach 3 in the Atlantis Shuttle Launch Simulation. I fanboyed out when I saw the Shuttle Atlantis. I was definitely a robot kid and I have always loved astronomy, so it was a great adventure for me. I turned back into that 8-year-old who originally was wide-eyed and ready for anything.

Just like last year, I spent a lot of time in the cigar lounge and accidentally missed Dirty Bingo hosted by Hollywood, but did make it out for the AfterGLOW Fan Party and Hot Seat, which words cannot do the “fashion show” performed by some of the male attendees any justice. However, The AfterGLOW Gong Show was a big hit and there were quite a few talent people where the big winner was the newly adopted “GLOW Nephew” Petey, who won a pair of LA Gear high tops and a WWE Slam Crate by Loot Crate for his efforts.

The biggie however, was the lead up to Gremlina and her husband, Allen renewing their wedding vows after 10 years of marital bliss. We celebrated the only way we knew how, by started with the AfterGLOW On-Board Pub Crawl sponsored by Zubaz. Beginning on Deck 16 and working our way to the wedding itself, we picked up several new members of the fanmily singing the GLOW theme song at every single station while the bartenders poured our drinks. Norwegian security shut us down at Deck 8. In our defense, we didn’t expect 3-to-4 bars per deck.

Gremlina’s renewal went off without a hit while a packed hour in zebra striped headbands and workout pants cheered her on.

There was one more day at sea to recover from all the boozing and then we headed home. Yet another AfterGLOW cruise went off without a hitch and we can only see what the future holds for AfterGLOW and the Original GLOW Girls.

To join the AfterGLOW Fan Party on Facebook click here.