What happens when the New Kids on the Block and 3,000 giddy fans are booked on the same cruise ship?
You’ve got the second season of the band’s reality series, “Rock This Boat: New Kids on the Block.”
The 10-episode show will kick off 8:30 p.m. June 1 on the POP TV cable network then move to its regular Wednesday time at 8 p.m. June 8. It chronicles the experiences of the pop quintet made up of Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre and brothers Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight-Rodriguez as they interact with their biggest fans (also known as Blockheads) during a four-day cruise on the Carnival Victory from Miami to Grand Turk Island.
“I tell everybody it’s a four-day party,” said Wood, 47, who has lived in South Florida for 18 years, with the last four in North Miami. “There is a lot of humor. There is a lot of heart. There are all these elements to it, and you get a little insight of what we go through on the boat.”
During scenes from the cruise, which took place in October, you see the band members standing for hours posing for photos with fans and crowdsurfing on the Lido deck. They attended a 1980s-inspired prom, then dressed up as their favorite TV character for another themed-party.
Throughout the excursion, there also are performances before screaming fans in different areas of the ship.
“We wanted the show to really show our point of view and our fans’ point of view of what the cruise really is,” Wood said.
Cameras also captured the guys hanging out with each other in their cabins and talking about life under the pop spotlight since they were teens in Boston.
And, in comic turns, they also shared with one another (and viewers) the cons of aging (droopy eyelids) and dealing with overly enthusiastic fans who have been known to grope them.
“They get grabby. Sometimes there’s a hand on your ass,” said Wood, who brought his three children, ages 17 to 23, with him on the cruise.
The first episode captured him and his family having breakfast at home before heading to PortMiami to board the ship.
“I’m pulling double duty. I’ve got to be a New Kid, and I’ve got to be a dad at the same time,” he said.
This is the seventh cruise with fans since the band reunited in 2008.
“We decided to host the cruise to thank our fans for standing by us after a 15-year-break,” said Wood, during the first episode. “In 2008, I never thought we’d be back on stage and my kids would get to see me performing and break-dancing and doing all that stuff. I really enjoy having them with me whenever I can.”
The group has another cruise planned, which will leave in October from New Orleans to Cozumel.
In the meantime, Wood said he enjoys living in South Florida, where he has a low-key life.
“I tell people I am a Boston boy living in Miami. That is still home, and this is where I live,” he said. “I like my normal life here … I can go anywhere and not think about much. I love living here. It’s been a blessing to be here.”
Wood is promoting his seventh solo album titled, “Look at Me,” which he released earlier this year. A portion of the proceeds from the album benefit Wood’s nonprofit foundation, Remember Betty, named after his mother who died from breast cancer in 1999. The foundation helps breast cancer patients in different ways.
“We try to make their daily living a little easier. We provide wigs, compression sleeves … We help if they are having problems with paying their bills,” said Wood, who wrote and recorded the soft rock album in Miami.
“It’s really nice to do it with a purpose,” said Wood. “It’s very fulfilling.”
