I bumped into the ladies from the multimedia machine known as The Moms, which I'd profiled, in a different format (and different era), way back in 2010, on a frigid January 26 on the far western reaches of Manhattan. Well, I didn't really bump into them--I'd been invited on one of their press events, this one for Norwegian Cruise Lines. The Moms' events are, by definition, kid-centric, so a number of them turn out to be good matches for my and my little ones.
Back when I'd profiled them, The Moms were Moms and the City, a trio--Denise Albert, Melissa Gerstein, Raina Seitel Gittlin--that tackled mothering issues, such as parenting and fashion, in New York. (You may have heard of Denise's dad Marv, who is a pretty promiment dude in the New York, and beyond, TV circles.) "Moms and the City" was a newspaper column, then a blog, and then a show on WNBC's "Nonstop" digital channel, along with anchor David Ushery. All three had TV experience; Gerstein had been at CNN, and Seitel Gittlin and Albert worked at GMA.
Jump ahead four years, and The Moms have scrapped the "and the City" part of their name (brands, names and headlines playing off "Sex and the City" were turning into a pretty big cliche). Gittlin has moved on, as has NBC Nonstop, for that matter, the multicast channel converted to the oldies net Cozi TV a year ago. Albert and Gerstein are going strong, however, with a show on XM Sirius called"The Moms with Denise and Melissa".
The Moms also partner with various entities--authors, films, spas--in a marketing capacity, gathering bloggers and journalists to hear about some new product.
Such as Sunday's Norwegian Cruise Line event. The Norwegian Getaway will be all over the news this week in a different capacity--it is transforming into the Bud Light Hotel for the Super Bowl. But yesterday, it was all about the Getaway, which partners with Nick to feature the likes of SpongeBob and Dora as kid entertainment on the ship.
My eight year old son is a cruise ship expert--he knew precisely how many feet longer the Norwegian Breakaway is than the Norwegian Getaway, or maybe it's the other way around--so this one was a natural for an otherwise dull Sunday. The Moms introduced the ship's cruise director, who was named, naturally, Julie. They fed us lunch, repeated the hashtags we were to use, and said everyone who blogged about the event was eligible to win a cruise. (Sounds great, but you'll have to take us out of the running, B&C being bound by those pesky ethics of journalism and all.)
Julie then showcased four snippets of entertainment the cruise ship features: a high energy dance sextet called Burn the Floor, a magician who elevated a table, a number from the Legally Blonde musical, which featured shrill sorority girls in high camp mode repeating "Oh-My-God!" dozens of times (it is as annoying as that sounds, or perhaps more so), and a song and dance routine from the Nick stars--Dora, Diego, SpongeBob and Patrick.
"Why does SpongeBob have to go last?" asked my son, who's also a SpongeBob aficionado. "He's the best one...except the magician."
After a tour of the ship, we were done. It was a bit of a cruel tease, being ejected back into the 18 degree NYC temps instead of pushing off for someplace tropical.
But it was good to catch up with 2014 version of The Moms.
